Several variables are related to the development of entrepreneurial activities. An important one among them is the entrepreneurial agent. This study is one of many that contribute to the understanding of the entrepreneurial agent. In its line of thought, it upholds the idea that the entrepreneur has characteristics and personality traits that stand out from the general population and that are favorable to the success of the entrepreneurship. This study aims at developing a measurement scale for entrepreneurial potential using the Item Response Theory. The items were generated by Santos (2008) based on a theoretical model referenced in theories of entrepreneur's personality. The samples include 664 undergraduate and graduate students of Brazilian universitie, and 100 entrepreneurs of the state of Alagoas. A two- parameter logistic IRT model was used. The parameter estimates were obtained from a sample of 764 people who responded to an instrument containing 103 items. The information and the standard error curves and the qualitative interpretation of the scale levels allowed us to determine the most appropriate range for the instrument use. The results showed that the scale is most adequate to evaluate individuals with low to moderately high entrepreneurial potential. Therefore, it is suggested that new items are incorporated into the instrument to measure and interpret even higher levels. The Item Response Theory allows the calibration of new items to measure entrepreneurs with high entrepreneurial potential using previously obtained data.
Potential entrepreneur; Entrepreneur; Scale; Item Response Theory; IRT
