Using Large Language Models to Assess Entrepreneurial Personality in Generation Z College Students

Author

• Xianyong Wang, Clemson UniversityFollow

Date of Award

5-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management

Committee Chair/Advisor

Edmond Bowers

Committee Member

Corliss Outley

Committee Member

Amy Ingram

Committee Member

Shenghai Dai

Abstract

As entrepreneurial personality (EP) plays a critical role in Generation Z’s (Gen Z) long-term success, it is crucial to understand the EP of Gen Z college students. To date, little is known about what EP is and how it can be assessed in Gen Z. Therefore, this dissertation presented two sequential studies to address two closely related research foci. The first study examined the scope and dimensionality of EP in Gen Z college students using topic modeling. In the second study, pre-trained LLMs were fine-tuned to predict self-reported EP levels from personal narrative responses. To collect data, college students (N = 287) majoring in business completed a questionnaire encompassing the EP measurement scale, seven open-ended prompts, and demographic information questions. Findings from Study 1 supported six of the seven dimensions of the EP scale: achievement orientation, innovativeness, risk-taking propensity, proactiveness, locus of control, and autonomy orientation. The results from Study 2 demonstrated that personal narratives were valid and informative sources for predicting EP levels. This dissertation made significant theoretical, methodological, and practical contributions to the field of youth development. It proposed and tested seven dimensions to assess EP, offering a holistic understanding of EP among Gen Z college students. Researchers and practitioners in youth development could apply the findings from the present study to design customized youth development programs. Additionally, this dissertation presented an alternative method to conventional qualitative data analysis.

Recommended Citation

Wang, Xianyong, "Using Large Language Models to Assess Entrepreneurial Personality in Generation Z College Students" (2026). All Dissertations. 4238.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/4238