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Jagannath University
Department of Management Studies
Group List
10th Batch Section-B
Team innovation (A)
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ENTERPRENURSHIP: AN OVERVIEW
There exist in the literature a variety of definitions for the terms entrepreneur and
entrepreneurship, each reflecting a distinct perspective on the topic3. The 19th century
economist John Stuart Mill identified "risk bearing," or the ability to accept and take risks, as
the characteristic that distinguishes an entrepreneur from an organizational manager. Another
economist, Joseph Schumpeter, saw entrepreneurship as simply the "creative activity of an
innovator."5 In this case, innovation is the distinguishing characteristic. Some researchers
apply the term entrepreneur only to those individuals who are the founders of a new business
(i.e., a person who started a new firm where one had not existed before.) 6 This view is limited
because it excludes those individuals who inherit or acquire an enterprise.
In their attempt to define entrepreneurship, researchers have identified five relevant schools
of thought, each taking a somewhat different perspective on the term:
1. The "Great Person" school views entrepreneurs as having inborn, intuitive abilities to
successfully run an enterprise.
2. The "Psychological Characteristics" schools views entrepreneurs as having unique values,
attitudes and needs that drive them to be in charge of a firm.
3. The "Classical" school views entrepreneurs simply as innovators.
4. The "Management" schools views entrepreneurs as organizers and managers of an
economic venture.
5. The "Leadership" school views entrepreneurs as leaders of people.

Several additional views of entrepreneurship are given below.

1. It involves the identification and exploitation of an opportunity.
2. It involves uncertainty and risk complementary managerial competence, and creative
opportunism.
3. It requires a wide range of skills capable of enhancement to add value to a targeted niche of
human activity.

Choosing an entrepreneurial career

There are several factors make an entrepreneurial career distinct from traditional career in
which one is employed by an organization.
First, entrepreneurial careers are marked by a substantially higher degree of personal
commitment to the success of the firm because the career and the business are intertwined.
Second factor that makes the entrepreneurial career unique is the lower degree of structure,
predictability and support with what the standard organization would provide. Third factor
is that those in entrepreneurial careers must possess a great tendency toward action
and innovation. And the forth factor of the entrepreneurial career is that the
entrepreneur simultaneously performs a number of functional roles like operation, marketing,
accounting, human resources and planning.
And then all those factors include Autonomy and independence, personality characteristics
and psychological conditions, environmental conditions, passion for product or service,
and presence of role models.
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Autonomy and independence

In the study of the values expressed by the members of the baby boom generation,
Douglas T. Hall and judith Richter found the "need for autonomy and d a questioning of
authority" to be prominent One could argue that employees, regardless of their ages, value
a certain degree of autonomy and independence in their work. Autonomy and
independence imply that the individual experiences a substantial amount of freedom, in his
or her job- freedom of choice in decision making, freedom of expression in work, freedom
from close supervision, and freedom from the bureaucratic process. With autonomy,
individual can implement his or her self-concept and live out important values Pursuing an
entrepreneurial career is one of the primary ways that individuals are find an outlet for their
autonomy and interdependence needs. Indeed, the need for freedom, the lack of patience with
formal corporate structure, and a high degree of cynicism toward the meaningfulness of
corporate work can drive people out of corporations and into their own business.

Personal Characteristics
Several researchers have proposed that an entrepreneurs process certain personality
and psychological characteristics , traits and attitudes that predispose them to the
undertaking of, and success in business ventures of their own. In this sense, it is believing
that current and future entrepreneurs have common personalities and background factors,
like.

Need for achievement

According to David McLellan Need for achievement is a psychological characteristics
that consists three main behavioral traits.
They take personal responsibility for finding solution to the problem, they set
moderate performance goal and take moderate, calculated risk, and they specific feedback
concerning performance.

Internal locus of control

Individuals with an internal locus of control believe they can largely control their
environment and through their own action and behaviors.

Tolerance for ambiguity

The ability to accept and deal with conflicting and uncertain situations.

Risk taking propensity

Willingness to take risks was a common element in describing the entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurial Self-concept
Individuals have certain orientation toward work that reflect their personal motive values
and talents.

Demographic and background factors

This factors includes occupation, parents, socioeconomic status, birth order of entrepreneur,
and several others.
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Environmental conditions
Becoming an entrepreneur can also be influenced by a number of environmental
conditions and experiences, like work dissatisfaction Job loss and negative displacement can
influence the undertaking of an entrepreneur career.

Favorable business conditions

Several environmental, economic and technological factors have combined to provide
job satisfaction to entrepreneur.

Passion for a product or service

some people embark on an entrepreneurial career because of a personal zeal for a specific
type of product or activity. Thus, someone with a passion for cooking may decide to
open a restaurant or perhaps start a catering business. Michael Selz provides examples of
people who turned the loves of plants, animals, and fishing into a small commercial
nursery, a pet sitting service and a bass fishing enterprise, respectively. The allure of a
certain activity can be a strong motivator for entrepreneur.

Presence of role models

The influence of social forces, like parents, other family members , and friends can serve
as important role models and mentors in making career decisions. The relative importance of
role models and mentors in the undertaking and success of entrepreneurial ventures is
somewhat uncertain. It does appear that parents can play an influential role in encouraging
their children to pursue entrepreneurial careers. Once one become an entrepreneur, the
role of parents, mentors, and other alliances may diminish considerably. The nature of
the entrepreneurial career is such that decisive individual action is paramount. Advice and
intrusion from the social network may only inhibit the entrepreneur from taking required
actions.

Support for the Entrepreneurial Career

Coincident with the national surge in entrepreneurial activity is the emergence of a variety of
support mechanisms. These mechanisms include social networks and alliances, training and
education programs, publications, and web sites. Let us briefly consider each type of support.

Social Networks and Alliances

A number of different social groups and mutual benefit organizations can help entrepreneurs.
Social networks operate at two different levels. Informal alliances include business support
from friends and relatives. Formal assistance can come from such larger organizations as
community groups, governmental agencies, ethnic institution, religious associations, fraternal
organizations, and other small business associations. Other supportive alliance, such as
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cooperative housing and buying arrangements, trade groups, joint capital-raising activities,
and community professional advice, provide help for potential entrepreneurs.

Training and Education Programs

The growing demand for entrepreneurial education programs reflects the increasing level of
perceived desirability of the entrepreneurial career. Business college graduates perceive
business ownership in a positive light and being an independent entrepreneur us a long-term
goal for a significant number of business school students.

Characteristics and Experiences of Female and Minority

Entrepreneurs
Female and minority entrepreneurs possess the typical entrepreneurial personality profile
(i.e., need for autonomy and independence, high need for achievement, risk-taking
propensity, internal locus of control, tolerance for ambiguity) and/or display similar
background and social learning experiences (i.e., entrepreneurial parents, encouragement, and
support) as men and nonminority’s. The following sections discuss our knowledge of the
entrepreneurial experiences of women and people of color.

Female Entrepreneurs
Although the overall growth in new business formations during the past decade has been
exceptional, the growth in female-owned businesses has been especially impressive. Indeed,
the number of sole proprietorships owned by women has recently been growing 50 percent
faster than the total. Many research studies have investigated female entrepreneurs. Several
questions emerge from a review of this literature.

 Are women entrepreneurs’ characteristically different form either their male counterparts
or female managers in organizations?

In general, research has found few, if any, differences between female entrepreneurs and
either their male counterparts or female organizational managers in terms of risk-taking
propensity, need for achievement , desire for autonomy, level of education, level of prior
work experience, borrowing and financing routes, and the degree of planning conducted.
Therefore, motivations of female entrepreneurs are similar to those of men – to be financially
independent, to be autonomous and achieve, and to use their unique skills and talents.
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It has been found that female entrepreneurs are

(a) Relatively well-educated in general, but perhaps not in management skills;

(b) High in internal locus of control;
(c) More masculine or instrumental than other women in their values;
(d) Likely to have had entrepreneurial fathers;
(e) Likely to have been first born or an only child;
(f) Unlikely to start a business in traditionally male-dominated industries;
(g) More likely than not to be married;
(h) Seldom owners of a large business; and
(i) Experiencing a need for additional managerial training.

 What are the underlying reasons why women enter an entrepreneurial career?

It has been found that for women younger than 30 years of age, career dissatisfaction was a
predominant reason to seek entrepreneurial careers. Because there working women are
dissatisfied with their current employers and frustrated with their slow advancement,
entrepreneurship is perceived as a viable mechanism to establish oneself.

 Are there limiting factors in the career choices of female entrepreneurs?

It has found that women tend to have a lower overall preference for entrepreneurship than
men and those women entrepreneurs tend to be concentrated in mainly retail and service
firms.

The reasons for lower entrepreneurial preference among women are varied. It has been
suggested that cultural conditioning, social learning, a lack of encouragement and role
models, and low self-confidence can channel women away from an entrepreneurial career.

Minority Entrepreneurs
Even with the burgeoning interest in entrepreneurial activity overall, only a limited amount
of research attention has been given to the characteristics and experiences of minority
entrepreneurs. This may be because few small businesses are owned by people of color. In
1998, only 3 percent were owned by African-Americans, less than 2 percent were owned by
Hispanics, and 10 percent were owned by Koreans. Despite these small percentages of
minority-owned firms, the personality characteristics and motivations of minority
entrepreneurs are similar to those of nonminority’s.
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In terms of background and environmental factors, minority role models and family role
models are influential for people of color while starting a business and gaining access to key
markets.

Selecting and managing the Entrepreneurial career

This study focuses on the factors influencing students’ choice of selecting entrepreneurship as
their career after graduation. The paper aims to gain more understanding of how personality
traits, entrepreneurship knowledge-experience and current economic environment affect
entrepreneurial career among polytechnic students in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach- A theoretical framework based on a literature review is
developed. Empirical results were derived from a quantitative approach based on survey
method and a cross sectional study. Hypothesis testing were executed where multiple
regression analysis utilized to verify the direct relationship between independent variables
and dependent variables. Findings- Personality traits and favorable economic environment
were proven important in explaining students intention to choose entrepreneurial career as
their career choice after they graduated from study. Research Implications- The results shall
aid polytechnics management in formulating their curriculum and programs that fit students’
priorities that they shall choose their future undertaking as an entrepreneur. Development of
career strategies: some of the career strategies that we covered in chapter 4 do not necessarily
have direct relevance to the entrepreneurial career for example such strategies as image
building and organizational ately, the entrepreneurs career strategies would reflect the
strategies of the company such as expansion of the product line or perhaps a move into
another geographic market. Other strategies that we discussed are appropriate for the
entrepreneur. Competency in one extended word involvement. Skill development and
opportunity development would all be relevant career strategies for the entrepreneur. Career
appraisal: once and entrepreneurial career is undertaken, regular reappraisal should occur.
assessing one's career accomplishments in the light of established goals and strategies could
lead to the conclusion that on changes are necessary or that some fine tuning is required or
that wholesale alterations in career goals and strategies are mandatory. For the entrepreneur,
feedback on career progress can be immediate and crystal clear because progress in the
business venture should track closely with the success of the entrepreneur career. often but
not always failure of the business portends a lack of achievement in meeting the
entrepreneurs career goals especially if the career goals are focused on the success and
accomplished of the enterprise.
it is interesting to note that current research shows only limited differences between
entrepreneurs and salaried organizational members in terms of job
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Self-Assessment
We discussed the view that self -awareness is critical in choosing career goal that are
compatible with one interests, values and life -style preference. Previously discussed
assessment instruments such as the strong interest inventory and the career Anchors
inventory, have separate categories that indicate whether an entrepreneurial self-concept or
theme is present. For example

Assessment of the work environment

As with the gathering of self-information, the accumulation of knowledge on the work
environment takes on a broader meaning for the aspiring entrepreneur. A personal analysis of
conditions in the business environment becomes a wider assessment of expected conditions
that one hypothetical company would face. In this sense, the individual assessment of the
work environment can represent an environmental analysis for the company, covering,
expectations on economic conditions, change in demographics market preferences, legal and
regulatory issues, technology advancement and a host of other factor.