ENTREPRENEUR AND ENTREPRENEURIAL CULTURE

PROF. SUSHIL KUMAR

ATTRIBUTES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL
ENTREPRENEUR
 Personality characteristics- ◦ Three personality characteristics of entrepreneurs that are often cited are:
 Need for achievement
 Internal locus of control (a belief by an individual that they are in control of their own destiny)
 Risk-taking propensity
 Behavioural traits-
 Cognitive skills of successful entrepreneurs

 Big Five personality traits – extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism

(sometimes presented as emotional stability), and openness to experience (sometimes referred to
as intellect) – might be used to better understand entrepreneurs
 Characteristics –education, age, work history, role models and support system, mental-support network,
professional support network
BEHAVIORAL TRAITS

 drive and energy

 self-confidence

 high initiative and personal responsibility

 internal locus of control

 tolerance of ambiguity

 low fear of failure

 moderate risk taking

 long-term involvement

 money as a measure not merely an end

 use of feedback

 continuous pragmatic problem solving

 use of resources

 self-imposed standards

 clear goal setting.

ENTREPRENEURIAL COGNITIONS
 Entrepreneurial cognitions are the knowledge structures that people use to make
assessments, judgments or decisions involving opportunity evaluation and venture creation
and growth. In other words, research in entrepreneurial cognition is about understanding
how entrepreneurs use simplifying mental models to piece together previously unconnected
information that helps them to identify and invent new products or services, and to assemble
the necessary resources to start and grow businesses (Mitchell, Busenitz, et al., 2002, p. 97).
 The cognitive perspective emphasizes the fact that everything we think, say, or do is influenced by
mental processes—the cognitive mechanisms through which we acquire store, transform, and use
information.
 Specifically, it can assist the field in answering three basic questions it has long addressed:

 (1) Why do some persons but not others choose to become entrepreneurs?

 (2) Why do some persons but not others recognize opportunities for new products or services that can be

 profitably exploited? And

 (3) Why are some entrepreneurs so much more successful than others (Baron, 2004a, p. 221-222)?
COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE AND THE THREE QUESTIONS
 • Why do some and not others choose to become entrepreneurs?
 Prospect Theory
 Cognitive Biases

 • Why are some people better at recognizing entrepreneurial opportunities?

 Signal Detection Theory
 Regulation Theory
 Entrepreneurial Alertness

 • Why are some people more successful at entrepreneurship than others?

 Risk Perception
 Counterfactual Thinking
 Processing Style
 Susceptibility to Cognitive Errors
ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET

 Entrepreneurs thinking styles-

 1. think structurally
 2. engage in bricolage
 3. Effectuate – Saras Sarsavathy: Causation and effectuation
 4. Cognitively adapt – four type of questions – comprehension, connection, strategy, and
reflection
THE CULTURAL DIVERSITY OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

 Cultural diversity is increasing globally. This column examines diversity from the point of
view of entrepreneurship. It demonstrates that cultural diversity breeds entrepreneurship –
but the nature of the diversity is critical. Recent migrants, rather than the descendants of past
migrants, create the conditions for a more dynamic entrepreneurial environment. This effect
is most clearly substantiated in terms of knowledge-intensive start-ups