Exploring the linkage between digital entrepreneurship intentions and personality traits among university students in Morocco

Zakia Ait Oufkir; Brahim Ouzaka

doi:10.31893/multiscience.2025425

Keywords:

digital entrepreneurship

personaity traits

students entrepreneurial intentions

attitude

Morocco

Abstract

The world of business has been transformed by digitalization, giving rise to a new style of entrepreneurship known as ‘digital entrepreneurship’. Recently, a growing body of research has been devoted to studying the impacts and links of this new form of entrepreneurship on business transformation, particularly during and after the period of the recent health crisis (covid 19). This exploratory empirical study examines the intention of Moroccan university students to engage in digital entrepreneurship. To this end, we conducted an empirical study of students at Cadi Ayyad University-Morocco using the Big Five model. We collected data by means of an online questionnaire sent to the students and the processing and results were carried out using Smart PLS software. The results confirmed a direct and significant impact of the two personality traits ‘open-mindedness’ and ‘extroversion’ on students' attitudes, as well as on their intention to undertake digital entrepreneurship. The study also revealed that gender had no significant effect on university students' attitudes toward digital entrepreneurship. The results obtained have made it possible to contribute to the literature on student entrepreneurship, particularly with regard to the contribution of personality traits and the personal attitudes of individuals and their impact on the intention to become a digital entrepreneur. This will enable practitioners, academics and public authorities to give more and more priority to the psychological aspect of young people in order to better configure their entrepreneurship training platforms and their strategies for developing entrepreneurship among young people in Morocco.
References
1. ADD. (2020). Notre d'orientations générales pour le developpement du digital au Maroc à horizon 2025. Mars 2020 - Maroc: Agence de developpement du digital.
2. Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behaviour: Reactions and reflections. Organizational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes.
3. Akanbi, S. T., & Akanbi, G. (2013). Familial factors, Personality traits and self efiicacy as detreminants of entrepreneurial intenions among vocational based college of education students in Oyo state, Nigeria. Education, Business, Psychology.
4. Alkhalaileh, M. Y. (2021). Systematic Review: Digital Entrepreneurship Intention. Network Intelligence Studies Volume IX, Issue 17 (1/2021), 25.
5. Badarudin, M., Mohamad, Z., Awee, A., Mohsin, F., & Kadir, S. (2015). Cyber entrepreneurship ecosystem: proposed concept paper. Proceeding of 2nd International Conference on Information Technology & Society (IC-ITS 2015), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 485-492.
6. Bamarouf, N., & Laiachi, M. (2024). The digital transformation of Moroccan universities: Issues and perspectives. International Journal of Accounting, Finance, Auditing, Management and Economics - IJAFAME, 5(11).
7. Bandera, C., & Passerini, C. (2020). Personality traits and the digital entrepreneur: Much of the same thing or a new breed? Journal of the international council for small business.
8. Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. . American Psychologist.
9. Boudabbous, S. (2011). L’intention entrepreneuriale des jeunes diplômés. Revue Libanaise de gestion et d'economie, Volume 4, Issue 6, 2011, Pages 1-20.
10. F.Hair.J, M.Hult.G.T, M.Ringle.C, M.Sarstedt, & O.Thiele.K. (2017). Mirror, mirror on the wall: a comparative evaluation. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.
11. Fornell.C, & Cha.J. (1994). Partial Least Squares. Advanced Methods of Marketing Research. 407,52-78.
12. Fragoso, R., Rocha, W., & Xavier, A. (2019, January). Determinant factors of entrepreneurial intention among university students in Brazil and Portugal. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 32(2):1-25.
13. Guthrie, C. (2014). The Digital Factory: A Hands-On Learning Project In Digital Entrepreneurship. Journal of Entrepreneurship Education.
14. Hair Jr, J., Hult, G., Ringle, M., Sarstedt, M., Danks, N., & Ray, S. (2021). Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) Using R,A workbook. Springer.
15. Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate data analysis: A global perspective. Upper Saddle River: . Pearson Education, Inc.
16. Harris, M., & Gibson, S. (2008). Examining the entrepreneurial attitudes of US business students. . Education & Training. Vol.50 No.7, 568-581.
17. Hmaidouch, I., Jafari, A., El-Khaddar, H., Elmeskine, L., & Chakir, A. (2023). Predicting Students’ Digital Entrepreneurial intention. Revue de l’Entrepreneuriat et de l’Innovation, Volune 5, N°19 (2023).
18. Hockerts, K. (January 2017). Determinants of Social Entrepreneurial Intentions. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2017(1):105-130.
19. Hsu, C. Y., & Wang, S. M. (2018). Social entrepreneurial intentions and its infuential factors: A comparison of students in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 385–395.
20. Hull, C. E., Hung, Y., Hair, N., Perotti, V., & Demartino, R. (2007). Taking advantage of digital opportunities: A typology of digital entrepreneurship. International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations, 4(3), 290–303.
21. Ip, C. Y. (2018). Social entrepreneurial intentions of students from HongKong. . The Journal of Entrepreneurship, 27(1), 47–64.
22. Kerrouch, H., & Bouazizi, A. (2023). Vers la digitalisation de l'enseignement supérieur au Maroc : approches théoriques et perspectives. International Journal of Accounting,Finance, Auditing, Management and Economics, 4(4-1), 61-80.
23. Kluckhohn, F. S. (1961). Variations in Value Orientations . Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. .
24. Kolvereid, L. (1996). Prediction of employment status choice intentions. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 47-57.
25. Koubaa, S., & Sahib Eddine, A. (2012). L’intention entrepreneuriale des étudiants au Maroc : une analyse PLS de la méthode des équations structurelles. 11ème CIFEPME, Congré international francophone de l'entrepreneuriat et PME, 15-17.
26. Kraus, S., Palmer, C., Kailer, N., Kallinger, F., & Spitzer, J. (2018). Digital entrepreneurship: A research agenda on new business models for the twenty-first century. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research ISSN: 1355-2554.
27. Krauss, S. F. (2005). Entrepreneurial orientation: A psychological model of success among southern African small business owners. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, , 14(3), 315-44.
28. Krueger, N. F., Reilly, M., & Carsrud, A. (2000). (2000), Competing models of entrepreneurial intentions. Journal of Business Venturing, 411-432.
29. Lai, C. (2019). Personality Traits and Stock Investment of Individuals. Sustainability.
30. Liang, C., Chia, T., & Liang, C. (2015). Effect of Personality Differences in Shaping Entrepreneurial Intention. International Journal of Business and Social Science, Vol. 6, No. 4(1).
31. Liu, H. C., Liang, C., Chang, C. C., Ip, C. Y., & Liang, C. T. (2020). Optimizing personality traits and entrepreneurial creativity to boost the precursors of social entrepreneurial intentions: Five studies in Taiwan. Journal of Social Service Research,, 10-32.
32. N.Miller, & R.Falk. (1992). A primer for soft modeling. Akron: The university of Akron, Ohio 44325-1703.
33. Nachit, H., & Belhcen, L. (2020). Digital Transformation in Times of COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of Morocco. SSRN Electronic journal. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3645084
34. Nambisan, S. (2016). Digital Entrepreneurship: Toward a Digital Technology Perspective of Entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 414, , 1-27.
35. Pagès, V. (2017). Les névroses: Handicaps et psychopathologies: En 29 notions . Dans V. Pagès, Les névroses: Handicaps et psychopathologies: En 29 notions (pp. (pp. 113-116).). Paris: : Dunod.
36. Pandey, D., Uprety, S., & Risal, N. (2023). Personality traits and their impact on the social entrepreneurial intentions of management students: a test of big five personality approach. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 17-21.
37. Pen, C. (2014). Extendeing the link between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and intention: a moderated mediation model. international entrepreneurship and management journal.
38. Peng, Z., Lu, G., & Kang, H. ( 2012). Entrepreneurial intentions and its influencing factors: A survey of the university students in Xi’an China. . Creat. Educ., 3, 95–100.
39. Piff, P., Kraus, M., Côté, S., Cheng, B., & Keltner, D. (2010). Having Less, Giving More: The Influence of Social Class on Prosocial Behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 99, No. 5,, 771–784.
40. Primahendra, R., Purba, J., Ugut, G., & Budiono, S. (2021). Do Digital Literacy and Digital Entrepreneurship among University Students Contribute to Digital Economy? Budapest International Research and Critics Institute-Journal (BIRCI-Journal), Volume 4, No 3,, 7387-7394.
41. Rauch, A., & Frese, M. (2007). Born to be an entrepreneur? Revisiting the personality approach to entrepreneurship. The psychology of entrepreneurship,, 41-65.
42. Rothmann, S., & Coetzer, E. P. (2003). The Big Five personality dimensions and job performance. Journal of Industrial Psychology.
43. Singh, R., & Dwivedi, A. (2022). Digital Entrepreneurship Competency And Digital Entrepreneurial Intention: Role Of Entrepreneurial Motivation. Journal of Positive School Psychology, Vol. 6, No. 6, 2310-2322.
44. Solesvik, D. (sd). A Study of Entrepreneurial Intentions among Norwegian students. Haugesund International School, 5-10.
45. Soumyaja, D., & Alexander, L. (2016). A Study on The Influence of Personality Traits on Entrepreneurial Intention among Working Professionals in the Indian Technical Organizations. Pacific Business Review International.
46. Spence, R., Owens, M., & Goodyer, I. (2012). Item response theory and validity of the NEO-FFI in adolescents. . Pers. Indiv. Differ. 2012, 56,, 801–807.
47. Tremblay, M., & Gasse, Y. (2007). L’impact des antécédents sur les perceptions, attitudes et intentions des étudiants collégiaux et universitaires à l’égard de l’entrepreneuriat. Aims, XVIème Conférence Internationale de Management Stratégique, Montréal, 6-7 Juin.
48. Yáñez-Valdés, C., & Guerrero, M. (2024). Determinants and impacts of digital entrepreneurship: A pre- and post-COVID-19 perspective. Technovation, Volume 132, April 2024, 102983.
49. Yusuf, B. N. (2015). Relationships of big fve personality traits and locus of control on entrepreneurship. intentions among students in higher learning institutions. Global Journal of Research in Social Sciences, , 65–73.
50. Zhao, H. S. (2010). The relationship of personality to entrepreneurial intentions and performance: A meta-analytic review. . Journal of Management, , 381–404.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to cite

Oufkir, Z. A., & Ouzaka, B. (2025). Exploring the linkage between digital entrepreneurship intentions and personality traits among university students in Morocco. Multidisciplinary Science Journal, 7(9), 2025425. https://doi.org/10.31893/multiscience.2025425

[1] ADD. (2020). Notre d'orientations générales pour le developpement du digital au Maroc à horizon 2025. Mars 2020 - Maroc: Agence de developpement du digital.

[2] Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behaviour: Reactions and reflections. Organizational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes.

[3] Akanbi, S. T., & Akanbi, G. (2013). Familial factors, Personality traits and self efiicacy as detreminants of entrepreneurial intenions among vocational based college of education students in Oyo state, Nigeria. Education, Business, Psychology.

[4] Alkhalaileh, M. Y. (2021). Systematic Review: Digital Entrepreneurship Intention. Network Intelligence Studies Volume IX, Issue 17 (1/2021), 25.

[5] Badarudin, M., Mohamad, Z., Awee, A., Mohsin, F., & Kadir, S. (2015). Cyber entrepreneurship ecosystem: proposed concept paper. Proceeding of 2nd International Conference on Information Technology & Society (IC-ITS 2015), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 485-492.

[6] Bamarouf, N., & Laiachi, M. (2024). The digital transformation of Moroccan universities: Issues and perspectives. International Journal of Accounting, Finance, Auditing, Management and Economics - IJAFAME, 5(11).

[7] Bandera, C., & Passerini, C. (2020). Personality traits and the digital entrepreneur: Much of the same thing or a new breed? Journal of the international council for small business.

[8] Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. . American Psychologist.

[9] Boudabbous, S. (2011). L’intention entrepreneuriale des jeunes diplômés. Revue Libanaise de gestion et d'economie, Volume 4, Issue 6, 2011, Pages 1-20.

[10] F.Hair.J, M.Hult.G.T, M.Ringle.C, M.Sarstedt, & O.Thiele.K. (2017). Mirror, mirror on the wall: a comparative evaluation. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.

[11] Fornell.C, & Cha.J. (1994). Partial Least Squares. Advanced Methods of Marketing Research. 407,52-78.

[12] Fragoso, R., Rocha, W., & Xavier, A. (2019, January). Determinant factors of entrepreneurial intention among university students in Brazil and Portugal. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 32(2):1-25.

[13] Guthrie, C. (2014). The Digital Factory: A Hands-On Learning Project In Digital Entrepreneurship. Journal of Entrepreneurship Education.

[14] Hair Jr, J., Hult, G., Ringle, M., Sarstedt, M., Danks, N., & Ray, S. (2021). Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) Using R,A workbook. Springer.

[15] Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate data analysis: A global perspective. Upper Saddle River: . Pearson Education, Inc.

[16] Harris, M., & Gibson, S. (2008). Examining the entrepreneurial attitudes of US business students. . Education & Training. Vol.50 No.7, 568-581.

[17] Hmaidouch, I., Jafari, A., El-Khaddar, H., Elmeskine, L., & Chakir, A. (2023). Predicting Students’ Digital Entrepreneurial intention. Revue de l’Entrepreneuriat et de l’Innovation, Volune 5, N°19 (2023).

[18] Hockerts, K. (January 2017). Determinants of Social Entrepreneurial Intentions. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2017(1):105-130.

[19] Hsu, C. Y., & Wang, S. M. (2018). Social entrepreneurial intentions and its infuential factors: A comparison of students in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 385–395.

[20] Hull, C. E., Hung, Y., Hair, N., Perotti, V., & Demartino, R. (2007). Taking advantage of digital opportunities: A typology of digital entrepreneurship. International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations, 4(3), 290–303.

[21] Ip, C. Y. (2018). Social entrepreneurial intentions of students from HongKong. . The Journal of Entrepreneurship, 27(1), 47–64.

[22] Kerrouch, H., & Bouazizi, A. (2023). Vers la digitalisation de l'enseignement supérieur au Maroc : approches théoriques et perspectives. International Journal of Accounting,Finance, Auditing, Management and Economics, 4(4-1), 61-80.

[23] Kluckhohn, F. S. (1961). Variations in Value Orientations . Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. .

[24] Kolvereid, L. (1996). Prediction of employment status choice intentions. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 47-57.

[25] Koubaa, S., & Sahib Eddine, A. (2012). L’intention entrepreneuriale des étudiants au Maroc : une analyse PLS de la méthode des équations structurelles. 11ème CIFEPME, Congré international francophone de l'entrepreneuriat et PME, 15-17.

[26] Kraus, S., Palmer, C., Kailer, N., Kallinger, F., & Spitzer, J. (2018). Digital entrepreneurship: A research agenda on new business models for the twenty-first century. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research ISSN: 1355-2554.

[27] Krauss, S. F. (2005). Entrepreneurial orientation: A psychological model of success among southern African small business owners. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, , 14(3), 315-44.

[28] Krueger, N. F., Reilly, M., & Carsrud, A. (2000). (2000), Competing models of entrepreneurial intentions. Journal of Business Venturing, 411-432.

[29] Lai, C. (2019). Personality Traits and Stock Investment of Individuals. Sustainability.

[30] Liang, C., Chia, T., & Liang, C. (2015). Effect of Personality Differences in Shaping Entrepreneurial Intention. International Journal of Business and Social Science, Vol. 6, No. 4(1).

[31] Liu, H. C., Liang, C., Chang, C. C., Ip, C. Y., & Liang, C. T. (2020). Optimizing personality traits and entrepreneurial creativity to boost the precursors of social entrepreneurial intentions: Five studies in Taiwan. Journal of Social Service Research,, 10-32.

[32] N.Miller, & R.Falk. (1992). A primer for soft modeling. Akron: The university of Akron, Ohio 44325-1703.

[33] Nachit, H., & Belhcen, L. (2020). Digital Transformation in Times of COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of Morocco. SSRN Electronic journal. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3645084

[34] Nambisan, S. (2016). Digital Entrepreneurship: Toward a Digital Technology Perspective of Entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 414, , 1-27.

[35] Pagès, V. (2017). Les névroses: Handicaps et psychopathologies: En 29 notions . Dans V. Pagès, Les névroses: Handicaps et psychopathologies: En 29 notions (pp. (pp. 113-116).). Paris: : Dunod.

[36] Pandey, D., Uprety, S., & Risal, N. (2023). Personality traits and their impact on the social entrepreneurial intentions of management students: a test of big five personality approach. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 17-21.

[37] Pen, C. (2014). Extendeing the link between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and intention: a moderated mediation model. international entrepreneurship and management journal.

[38] Peng, Z., Lu, G., & Kang, H. ( 2012). Entrepreneurial intentions and its influencing factors: A survey of the university students in Xi’an China. . Creat. Educ., 3, 95–100.

[39] Piff, P., Kraus, M., Côté, S., Cheng, B., & Keltner, D. (2010). Having Less, Giving More: The Influence of Social Class on Prosocial Behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 99, No. 5,, 771–784.

[40] Primahendra, R., Purba, J., Ugut, G., & Budiono, S. (2021). Do Digital Literacy and Digital Entrepreneurship among University Students Contribute to Digital Economy? Budapest International Research and Critics Institute-Journal (BIRCI-Journal), Volume 4, No 3,, 7387-7394.

[41] Rauch, A., & Frese, M. (2007). Born to be an entrepreneur? Revisiting the personality approach to entrepreneurship. The psychology of entrepreneurship,, 41-65.

[42] Rothmann, S., & Coetzer, E. P. (2003). The Big Five personality dimensions and job performance. Journal of Industrial Psychology.

[43] Singh, R., & Dwivedi, A. (2022). Digital Entrepreneurship Competency And Digital Entrepreneurial Intention: Role Of Entrepreneurial Motivation. Journal of Positive School Psychology, Vol. 6, No. 6, 2310-2322.

[44] Solesvik, D. (sd). A Study of Entrepreneurial Intentions among Norwegian students. Haugesund International School, 5-10.

[45] Soumyaja, D., & Alexander, L. (2016). A Study on The Influence of Personality Traits on Entrepreneurial Intention among Working Professionals in the Indian Technical Organizations. Pacific Business Review International.

[46] Spence, R., Owens, M., & Goodyer, I. (2012). Item response theory and validity of the NEO-FFI in adolescents. . Pers. Indiv. Differ. 2012, 56,, 801–807.

[47] Tremblay, M., & Gasse, Y. (2007). L’impact des antécédents sur les perceptions, attitudes et intentions des étudiants collégiaux et universitaires à l’égard de l’entrepreneuriat. Aims, XVIème Conférence Internationale de Management Stratégique, Montréal, 6-7 Juin.

[48] Yáñez-Valdés, C., & Guerrero, M. (2024). Determinants and impacts of digital entrepreneurship: A pre- and post-COVID-19 perspective. Technovation, Volume 132, April 2024, 102983.

[49] Yusuf, B. N. (2015). Relationships of big fve personality traits and locus of control on entrepreneurship. intentions among students in higher learning institutions. Global Journal of Research in Social Sciences, , 65–73.

[50] Zhao, H. S. (2010). The relationship of personality to entrepreneurial intentions and performance: A meta-analytic review. . Journal of Management, , 381–404.

Abstract

References

How to cite