Entrepreneurial dispositions in teacher leadership – the role of personal initiative and self-efficacy in shaping leadership identity and motivation to lead in the German K-12 setting

This study examines how entrepreneurial dispositions, personal initiative (PI) and self-efficacy (S-E), relate to leadership identity (LI) and affective motivation to lead (MTL) among German K-12 teachers. Drawing on an antecedent perspective, it further investigates how personality traits and values shape these dispositions. Despite growing theoretical interest in entrepreneurial teacher leadership, evidence remains limited regarding how dispositions shape leadership role internalisation and MTL in structured educational contexts. Using cross-sectional self-report data from a quota-controlled national online panel (N = 652), structural equation modelling with weighted least squares mean- and variance-adjusted estimation (WLSMV, theta) was conducted. Results showed differentiated effects of entrepreneurial dispositions: S-E was strongly positively associated with LI (β = .816, p < .001) and modestly with MTL (β = .197, p < .001). PI showed a small negative conditional association with LI (β = −.199, p = .014), indicating statistical suppression due to overlap with S-E, and no direct effect on MTL. Personality traits and values explained variance in these dispositions as antecedents. Findings indicate S-E as central to LI and MTL, whereas PI adds no incremental contribution beyond S-E in the German school context. Results inform professional development and cross-cultural research on entrepreneurial dispositions in teacher leadership.