The Mediating Role of Emotional Intelligence in the Relationship Between Light Triad Personality Traits and Entrepreneurial Tendency Among University Students

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is highly critical for countries’ development, economic growth, competitiveness, and the creation of new employment opportunities. A review of the literature indicates that personality traits have frequently been investigated as key antecedents of entrepreneurial tendencies. However, studies conducted within the framework of Light Triad personality traits remain limited. The present study aims to test the mediating role of emotional intelligence in the relationship between Light Triad personality traits and entrepreneurial tendencies. The data were obtained from 213 undergraduate students enrolled in foundation universities in Istanbul, Türkiye. The study was conducted using a quantitative research design and a survey method. The measurement instruments included the Light Triad Scale, the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS), and the Entrepreneurship Scale for University Students. The proposed mediation model was tested through mediation analysis, and indirect effects were evaluated using bias-corrected percentile bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples. The findings revealed that the Light Triad does not have a significant direct effect on entrepreneurial tendencies; however, it exerts a significant indirect effect through emotional intelligence, indicating a full mediation structure. Specifically, Light Triad traits are positively correlated with emotional intelligence, which in turn strongly predicts entrepreneurial orientation. Moreover, the proposed model explains approximately 45% of the variance in entrepreneurial tendency (R² = 0.45), demonstrating a moderate to strong explanatory power. Overall, this study indicates that entrepreneurial tendencies are explained not by the direct effects of personality traits but rather through emotional intelligence, which can be conceptualized as an individual psychological resource.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, University Students, Emotional Intelligence, Light Triad Personality Traits

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007582