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The Entrepreneur
and Underlying
Theories
By Handema M
Entrepreneurship experts, academics and researchers usually tend to ask four key questions about the nature of entrepreneurs.
The questions give rise to equally four models of Entrepreneurship.
The questions that Entrepreneurship experts, academics and researchers ask about entrepreneurs are the following:
1. Are entrepreneurs economic agents that are central or critical to economic development?
2. Are entrepreneurs a breed of individuals that are born not made?
3. Are entrepreneurs formed through exposure to Social Development influence?
4. Are entrepreneurs a combination of economic agents, born and made?
Introduction
1. Economic agent model
2. Born not made model
3. Social development model
4. Economic agent, Born and Made model
Models of Entrepreneurship
Generally, proponents of the Economic Agent Model argue and contend that:
a) Entrepreneurs are people gifted with risk taking and decision making abilities in conditions of uncertainty
b) Entrepreneurs are motivated to undertake entrepreneurial programmes and activities that contribute effectively to economic growth and development.
c) All entrepreneurial activities ultimately, are of an economic nature, such as provision of goods and services, creation of employment, payment of taxes and many others.
Economic Agent Model
Early studies on the origins of the entrepreneur concentrated almost entirely on the in-born personalities and motivations of the entrepreneur.
Supporters of this born not made model view of entrepreneurs argue that the entrepreneurial ability to take risks and the desire to create a business were inherent in an individual
One was born with the entrepreneurial characteristics in place.
The proponents of this view further argue that the in-born characteristics would be exhibited in the form of personality traits that evidently differentiate an entrepreneur from non entrepreneurs.
Born not made model
Below are some genetically bound entrepreneurial traitsand characteristics that are generally associated withhigh flying entrepreneurs:
Alert to opportunities and always seeking and not waiting for them (opportunities)
Anxiety
Creative
Decisive and progressive mind-set
Easily bored
Flair and vision
Independent nature
Inner locus of control (the belief that one can influence the environment in which he or she lives)
Innovatory tendency
Goal setting
Leadership aspiration
Born not made model
Need to achieve
Perseverance
Risk taking propensity
Self-confidence
Ambitious
Self-motivation
Hard work
Self-starter and action oriented
Versatile
Habit of planning systematically before any key action, followed by implementation, monitoring and evaluation
Financial discipline
Persuasion and networking
Born not made model
Problem solving
Demand for quality and excellence in performance
Making the customer the most important in their dealings
Good interpersonal and public relations skills
Information seeking
Habit of consulting
Association with successful people
Culture of saving and ploughing back
Willingness to start small usually from own resources
Elimination of self-pity and shyness
Separation of business matters from personal or family matters
Born not made model
Whether the above traits and characteristics are in-born or can be acquired remains a huge debate among some opponents of the born not made model
They contend that there are problems associated with attempting to measure personality characteristics such as:
◦ The models fails to come up with up with a generally accepted list of traits for entrepreneurs
◦ The Model is not good for explaining the development of entrepreneurs but is good listing entrepreneurial traits
◦ No single entrepreneur can have all the traits listed since they seem to be inexhaustible.
Critics of the Born not made Model
The characteristics are not stable and can change
overtime
Judgement of such characteristics or traits is generally
subjective
Measurement of the characteristics may tend to ignore
cultural and environmental influences
The role of education, learning and training in the
entrepreneurial process is usually overlooked
Issues such as gender, age, social class and education,
which can have a bearing on the propensity of an
individual to enter entrepreneurship are ignored.
Critics of the Born not made Model
The Social Development Model does not
ignore the born not made model but observes
that most of the traits and characteristics can
be developed through or are linked to the
social context or environment of an individual.
Emphasises the point that social factors
influence the development of an individual's
entrepreneurial traits and characteristics.
Contends that it is the family background and
other deprivations which shape the personality
found in entrepreneurs.
Social development model
Below is a summary of the Social Influences
that determine entrepreneurial behaviour, as
advanced by proponents of the Social
Development Model:
Availability of appropriate role models
Career experience over life-cycle
Deprived social upbringing
Family background
Family position
Social development model
Inheritance of entrepreneurial tradition
Level of education attainment
Peer influence, whether positive or
negative
Social marginality
Uncomfortable with large bureaucratic
organisations
Social development model
Some experts contend that entrepreneurs are
economic agents that are both born and made
and whose behaviours have a lot to do with
influences of the social environment in which
they have lived and are found.
This is a hybrid model of entrepreneurship.
This model recognises three key factors that
contribute to entrepreneurial behaviour namely:
◦ The Entrepreneur
◦ The organisation
◦ The Environmental Factors
Economic agent, Born and
Made model
The Entrepreneur
This is a person who is economically active,
with wide open eyes and ears that constantly
search for progressive business opportunities.
This individual possesses certain genetically
bound traits that are continuously subjected to
a social development process, which affect his
motivation, perceptions, skills and knowledge.
Economic agent, Born and
Made model
The organisation
The organisation or organisations in which the
entrepreneur has previously worked, may have an
incubating (moulding) influence on the entrepreneur's;
◦ Choice of business type
◦ Where it may be located
◦ Target customers and
◦ How he operates it.
The organisation is therefore, viewed as having shaped
the entrepreneur's career through;
◦ Spin-off effects
◦ Incubation
◦ Apprenticeship
Economic agent, Born and Made
model
The Environmental Factors
The external environment with factors such as
cultural values, educational opportunities,
unemployment and the general state of the
economy, has an impact in terms of the available
volume of opportunities and resources, and the
nature of consumer demand.
All these combine to influence entrepreneurial
activities and degrees of success achievable within
certain markets and societies.
Economic agent, Born and Made
model
Entrepreneurship experts and
researchers advance six dominant themes
called Universal personal entrepreneurial
competences or desirable and acquirable
competencies:
Economic agent, Born and
Made model
Advantages
Theme Attitude or behaviour
Commitment and determination Tenacity and decisiveness
Discipline, particularly financial
Persistence in problem solving
Willingness to sacrifice
Total immersion
Leadership Self-starter with high standards
Team builder, inspiring and hero maker
Treats others as he would want them to treat him
Shares wealth with all who helped create it
integrity, reliability, fairness and trustworthy
has no monopoly of knowledgeable, learner and teacher
Patience and urgency
Opportunity obsession Knowledge of customers' needs
Market driven
Obsessed with value creation and enhancement
Tolerance of risk ,ambiguity and
uncertainty
Calculated risk taker , minimiser and sharer
Manages contradictions
Tolerance of uncertainty
Tolerance of stress and conflict
Problem solving
Creativity, Self-Reliance and
ability to adapt
Open minded,Ability to adapt and change
Ability to learn quickly
Lack of fear of failure
Motivation to excel Goal and results oriented-high but realistic goals
Drive to achieve and grow
interpersonally supporting
Aware of weaknesses and strengths
Having sense of humour
Thank You….
