Professional Documents
Culture Documents
WHO IS AN ENTREPRENEUR?
*What profile do we imagine when term entrepreneur is mentioned?
*This raises a number of issues for which we must seek answers to a
variety of questions.
*What is the makeup of entrepreneurs?
*Are entrepreneur born or made?.
*Can anyone become an entrepreneur?
*How do we identify entrepreneurs?
*Can we separate entrepreneurs from non-entrepreneurs?
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Diversity of definitions in the literature
*(Adam Smith)
Entrepreneur is a person who only provides capital without taking
active part in the leading role of an enterprise.
*(B. Say)
Entrepreneurs are persons endowed(provided or equipped) with the
qualities of judgment, determination, and knowledge of the world as
well as of business.
*Schumpeter
Entrepreneur is a person who introduces innovative changes.
Entrepreneur is an integral part of economic growth and is a
fundamental source of economic disequilibria (change).
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Cont…..
*Frank Young
Described the entrepreneur as a change agent.
*Francis A. Walker
Observed that the true entrepreneur is one who always searches for
change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity.
*Robert D. Hirsch
Said entrepreneur is the person who establishes a new business
venture and is a visionary leader:-a person who dreams great dreams.
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Some recent definitions
*Entrepreneur is a person who organizes and manages a business
undertaking assuming the risk for the sake of profit (Hull, et al).
*Entrepreneur is person who has the ability to see and evaluate
business opportunities, to gather the necessary resources to take
advantage of them, and to initiate appropriate action to ensure
success (Meredith, 1982).
*Entrepreneur is someone who is specialized in taking judgmental
decisions about the coordination of scarce resources (Casson).
*Entrepreneur is a person who owns, organizes, manages and runs an
enterprise assuming the risk of a business (NIESBUD, 1994).
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Cont…..
*The character we seek to define the entrepreneur is much
more complex and inexplicable and no definition can be
either comprehensive or wholly satisfactory.
*In general, it can be said that entrepreneurs are not
characterized by every action they take, but by a particular
set of actions aimed at creation of new wealth with their
ventures.
*Wealth creation is a general managerial activity.
*Entrepreneurship is characterized by a particular approach
to wealth creation.
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Cont…..
In general an entrepreneur can be considered as:
*a manager undertaking an activity – i.e., in terms of the
particular tasks they perform and the way they undertake
them;
*an agent of economic change – i.e., in terms of the effects
they have on economic systems and the changes they
derive; and
*an individual – i.e., in terms of their psychology,
personality, and personal characteristics.
*Entrepreneurs are found in all professions.
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ii. ENTREPRENEURSHIP:
*As the term is usually a misused and confused one and a variety of
definitions exist for it, it appears useful to briefly discuss what
entrepreneurship involves.
*Let’s consider the following definitions.
*Entrepreneurship is the process of doing something new and
something different for the purpose of creating wealth for the
individual and adding value to the society (KAO, 1993).
*Entrepreneurship is a creative and innovative response to the
environment in any field of social endeavor – business, industry,
agriculture, social work, and the like. It refers to doing new things
or doing things that are already being done in a new way (RAO).
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Cont…..
*Entrepreneurship is a quality required to perceive opportunities,
organize resources, create facilities, and set up and run a business
successfully. (NIESBUD, 1994)
*Entrepreneurship means the willingness to exercise initiative and to
take considerable risk to operate one’s own business. (Mauser, et al,
1982).
*Entrepreneurship is the dynamic process of creating incremental
wealth. The wealth is created by individuals who assume the major
risks in terms of equity time and/or career commitment or providing
value for some product or service. (Robert C. Ronstad.)
*Entrepreneurship is a dynamic process that requires the function of
talents, ideas, capital, and know-how, the process of which can be
risky, uncertain and sometimes hazardous, but always dynamic.
(Kao)
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Summary of definitions:
*Essentially a creative activity that consists of doing things that are
not generally done in the ordinary course of business.
*Generally a mannerism, a skill, and a profession, which must be
developed;
*Considered as the personal quality that enables people to start new
business vigorously and innovatively and expand an existing one.
Composed of five crucial elements:
The ability to perceive an opportunity;
The ability to commercialize the perceived opportunity
The ability to follow it on a sustainable basis; and
The ability to pursue(carry it out) it through systematic means
The acceptance of risk or failure
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Cont….
In almost all of the definitions of entrepreneurship there is agreement
that we are talking about a kind of behavior that includes:
(1) Initiative taking;
(2) The organizing and reorganizing of socially/economic
mechanisms to turn resources and situation to practical account; and
(3) The acceptance of risk or failure. (Albert Shapiro)
*Moreover, although each of these definition views entrepreneurs
from a slightly different perspective, each contains similar notions
like:
*Newness
* Organizing wealth, and
* Risk taking.
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1.2 STAGES OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP
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How Do Ideas generate?
*Divine gift:-
* Heaven gift, insight, imaginative efforts, illumination, outside of normal
being human, magical quality
*Accident
* Simply arise by chance
*Personality
* Natural human trait (quality, or tendency that someone has)
* Some people seem to have a facility for creative thinking
* With practice people can improve
*Association
* From one area of knowledge to another
*Cognitive (involved in, perception, learning, and understanding
things)
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Evaluating new ideas
* Original?, Feasible?, Marketable?, Profitable?
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Creativity and innovation
Creativity
*Creative behaviors possessing an element of newness,
novelty (different, new, and unusual.), and difference
(Herrmann, 1996)
*Creativity is an act, an idea, or product that
changes an
existing domain, or that transforms an existing domain
into a new one, and creative person is whose thoughts or
actions bring these changes.
*Creativity leads to innovation
*Creativity is about the “ability” to bring something new
into existence.
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Innovation
*Exploring and developing new technologies and new ways of doing things.
*Vital for the future viability(development) of an organization.
*Innovation is a key to long-term success.
*“Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship. The act endows
resources with a new capacity to create wealth. Innovation, indeed, creates a
resource.” (Drucker)
*Entrepreneurship is all about innovation.
Innovation: Five C’s
*Capability: the ability to innovate
*Culture: the innovation requires supportive culture
*Cash and Recognition: the innovation must be capable of being resourced, it must be recognized
as having potential
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Cont…..
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1.3 FORMS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP
a). Individual Entrepreneur (Proprietorship):
*‘Business owned by an individual’
*However, individuals who simply, substitute income by leaving their
jobs to operate local stores or independent service businesses are
described as small businesspersons.
*Distinguishing factors that entrepreneurs have:
Vision for growth,
Commitment to constructive change &
Persistence to gather necessary resources & energy to achieve unusual results.
b) Corporate entrepreneurship (Intrapreneurship).
*Is legal entity separate from the individuals who own it.
C) Partnership – association of two or more persons acting as co-
owners of a business
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1.4 THE IMPACT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN
SOCIO – ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
*Entrepreneurship is one of the most effective methods for bridging
the gap between science and technology and the market place
creating new enterprises and bringing new products and services to
market.
*These entrepreneurial activities significantly impact the economy of
an area by building the economic base and providing jobs.
*Many economic theories emphasize on the vital function of the
entrepreneur in economic development.
*Some even contend that economic growth was bound to be less
unless there was an adequate supply of entrepreneurs looking for
new ideas willing to take the risk of introducing them.
*Zinkin (1961) briefly expressed the importance of entrepreneurs
stating “No entrepreneur - No development”.
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Cont…..
*Hence many countries regard the scarcity of entrepreneurs as a
hindrance (difficulty) to economic development.
*It is even asserted that the presence of abundant natural resources
skilled and unskilled labor and capital in the form of cash or
technology has not proven itself sufficient enough to result in
arousing enterprising zeal in people and lifting them out of
economic doldrums (stagnation).
Why Entrepreneurships Fail?
*Lack of capital
*Poor knowledge of the market
*Faulty product design
*Human resource problems
*Poor understanding of the competition
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1.5 THE ROLES OF THE ENTREPRENEUR
Some important effects of entrepreneurial activity are listed
below.
Combination of Economic Factors(resources).
*Value is created by combining factors of production (land,
labor, and capital) together in a way which satisfies human
needs. Thus value is added to the resources and output
increases.
*However, factors do not combine themselves. They have
to be brought together by individuals working together and
undertaking different tasks.
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Providing Market Efficiency
*Economic theory suggests that the most efficient economic system is
one in which unrestrained markets determine the price at which
goods are bought and sold.
*Efficient means that resources are distributed in an optimal way, i.e.,
the satisfaction that people can gain from them is maximized.
*An economic system can only reach this state if there is competition
between different suppliers. Entrepreneurs provide that efficiency.
*If suppliers are not facing competition, then they will tend to
demand profits in excess of what the market would allow and so
reduce the overall efficiency.
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Accepting Risk
*No matter how well we plan, there is always the possibility that
some chance event will result in outcomes we neither expected nor
wanted.
*This is risk. Some economists have suggested that the primary
function of the entrepreneur is to accept risk on behalf of other
people.
*Risk is something that people, generally, want to avoid.
Entrepreneurs provide a service by taking this risk off people’s
hands. Of course, entrepreneurs expect that in return for taking the
risk they will be rewarded.
*This reward, the profit stream from their ventures, is the price that
customers have agreed to pay to get the benefits of the product and
yet not face the risk of developing it.
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Processing of Market Information
*Classical economics makes the assumption that all the
relevant information about a market is available to and is
used by producers and consumers. In practice, however,
markets work without all information being made
available or being used.
*Entrepreneurs keep an eye out for information that is not
being exploited. By taking advantage of this information,
they make markets more efficient and are rewarded out of
the revenues generated. This information is information
for opportunity.
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1.6 TASKS OF THE ENTREPRENEUR
*This aspect provides a starting point for understanding the
entrepreneur and the way in which they are different from other
types of manager. These tasks include:
1. Owning Organizations:
*When an entrepreneur actually owns the business, then he/she is in
fact undertaking two roles at the same time: that of an investor and
that of a manager. In developed economies, however, sophisticated
markets exist to give investors access to new ventures and most
entrepreneurs are active in taking advantage of these to attract
investors. So, we recognize many people as entrepreneurs even if
they don’t own the venture they are managing.
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2. Founding Organizations:
*Many thinkers see entrepreneurs as the person who
undertakes the task of bringing together different elements
of the organization (people, property, productive
resources, etc.) and giving them a separate legal identity.
This is considered to be an essential characteristic for the
entrepreneur.
*Entrepreneur makes major changes in their organizational
world. Making major change is a broad notion, but it goes
beyond merely founding the organization and
differentiates entrepreneurs from managers who manage
within existing organizational structures or make only
minor or incremental changes to them.
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3. Bringing Innovations to Market:
Innovation is a crucial part of the entrepreneurial process. It is
process of wealth creation (J.A. Schumpeter). Entrepreneurs must do
something new or there would be no point in their entering a market.
Innovation is the central task for the entrepreneur-manager (Peter
Drucker).
Innovation in business can mean new product/service, but it can
also include a new way of delivering an existing product or service,
new methods of informing the consumer about a product and
promoting it to them, new ways of organizing company or even
new approaches to managing relationships with other
organizations. Thus, entrepreneur’s task goes beyond simply
inventing something new. It also includes brining that innovation to
the market place and using it to deliver value to consumers.
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4. Identification of Market Opportunity:
An opportunity is a gap in a market where the potential exists to do
something better and create value. New opportunities exist all the
time, but they do not necessarily present themselves. If they are to be
exploited, they must be actively sought out. The identification of new
opportunities is on the key tasks of entrepreneurs.
5. Application of Expertise:
Entrepreneurs have a special ability in deciding how to allocate
resources in situations where information is limited. It is their
expertise in doing this that makes entrepreneurs valuable to investors.
6. Provision of Leadership:
Leadership is increasingly recognized as a critical part of managerial
sources. Entrepreneurs need the support of other people to achieve
their innovation to market on their own. These people must, however,
be supported and directed by entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs must
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show leadership.
1.7 ENTREPRENEURIAL FEELINGS AND
CONTROL
*Entrepreneurs come from a variety of educational backgrounds,
family situations, and work experience. A potential entrepreneur can
also be male or female. But what differentiate entrepreneurs from
the general populace?
*Locus of Control. One common concern people have when
considering forming a new venture is whether they will be able to
sustain the drive and energy required not only to overcome the
inertia in forming something new but also to manage the new
enterprise and make it grow.
*Feeling on Independence. Closely related to this feeling of control
is the need for independence. An entrepreneur is the kind of person
who needs to do things in his or her own way and time each has a
difficult time working for someone else.
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Cont…..
*Need for Achievement. Of a more controversial nature is the
entrepreneur’s need for achievement. McClelland’s work on the need
for achievement identified psychological characteristics present in
entrepreneurs. He specified three attributes from his overall theory of
need for achievement (nAch) as characteristics of entrepreneurs:
* a) Individual responsibility for solving problems, setting goals, and reaching
these goals through own efforts;
* b) Moderate risk taking as a function of skill, not chance; and
* c) Knowledge of results of decision/task accomplishment.
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1.8.2 Entrepreneurial Background:
The backgrounds of entrepreneurs are also very important for the
success of entrepreneurs.
*While a wide variety of aspects of an entrepreneur’s background
have been explored, only a few have differentiated the entrepreneur
from the general populace or managers. The background areas
explored include:
* Childhood
* Family environment
* Education
* Personal values
* Age and
* Work history.
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Cont…
a. Childhood Family Environment
Specific topics in the family environment of the entrepreneur include
birth order, parent’s occupation and social status, and relationship
with parents.
Birth Order. Being the firstborn or an only child is postulated to
result in the child receiving special attention and thereby developing
more self-confidence.
Parent’s Occupation and Social Status. In terms of the occupation
of the entrepreneurs’ parents, there is strong evidence that
entrepreneurs tend to have self-employed or entrepreneurial fathers.
Having a father who is self-employed provides a strong inspiration
for the entrepreneur. The independent nature and flexibility of self-
employment exemplified by the father is ingrained at an early age.
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Cont…
Relationship with parents. Some parents are supportive and
encourage independence, achievement, and responsibility. This
supportive relationship of the parents (particularly of the father),
appears to be most important for entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs tend
to grow up in middle - to upper-class environments, where families
are likely to be relatively child centered and be similar to their
fathers in personality.
b. Education.
*The education of the entrepreneur has received significant research
attention. While it is frequently stated that entrepreneurs are less
educated than the general population, the research findings indicate
that this clearly is not the case. Education was important in the
upbringing of the entrepreneurs.
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Cont…
*Its importance is reflected not only in the level of education
obtained, but also in the fact that it continues to play a major role in
helping to cope with problems confronted and correcting divinities
in business training.
*Entrepreneurs have cited an educational need in the areas of
finance, strategic planning, marketing (particularly distribution),
and management. The ability to deal with people and communicate
clearly in the written and spoken word is also important in any
entrepreneurial activity.
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Cont…
c. Personal Values.
*While there have been many studies indicating that personal values
are important for entrepreneurs, frequently these studies fail to
indicate that entrepreneurs can be differentiated on these values
from managers, unsuccessful entrepreneurs, or even the general
populace.
*While personal value scales for leadership as well as support
aggression, goodwill, conformity, actuality, and resource seeking are
important for identifying entrepreneurs, they frequently also identify
different set attitudes about the nature of the management process
and business in general.
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Cont…
d. Age.
*The relationship of age to the entrepreneurial career process has also
been carefully researched. In evaluating these results, it is important
to differentiate between entrepreneurial age (the age of the
entrepreneur reflected in the experience) and chronological age.
*Entrepreneurial experience is one of the best predictors of success,
particularly when the new venture is in same field as his/her
business experience.
e. Work History.
*Is important in the growth and eventual success of the new venture.
*While dissatisfaction with various aspects of one’s job - challenge,
promotional opportunities, frustration, and boredom - often
motivates the launching of a new venture, previous technical and
industry experience is important once the decision to launch has
been made 40
1.8.3 Entrepreneurial Skills:
*A skill is simply knowledge which is demonstrated by
action. It is an ability to perform in a certain way. An
entrepreneur is someone who has a good business idea and
can turn that idea into reality.
*Turning an idea into reality, calls upon two sorts of skills.
1. General management skills are required to organize the
physical and financial resources needed to run the
venture.
2. people management skills are needed to obtain the
necessary support from others for the venture to succeed.
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Some important general management skills:
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Cont…
1.9.2 Made cases
*On the other hand, and just contrary to the above, the more
popularly accepted proposition is that entrepreneurs are made by
their experiences and the working environment would encourage the
creating of such conditions. This means clearly that with very few
exceptions, entrepreneurs are not necessarily born but can be made.
*It is now widely accepted that entrepreneurs can be developed
through a lengthy process of education, training, experience transfer,
etc. In this respect, therefore, training indeed plays a vital role as a
significant input influencing the varied components of
entrepreneurship-to mold the makeup of entrepreneurs.
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Cont…
CHALLENGES OF BEING AN ENTREPRENEUR:
*Must be comfortable with change and uncertainty
*Must make a bewildering number of decisions
*May face tough economic choices
*Must be comfortable with taking risks
*Need many different skills and talents
*Must be comfortable with the potential for failure
ENGINEER ENTREPRENEURS
*Engineer entrepreneurs will feed a continuous flow of new products
and service innovations (in the form of intellectual property) into
these “virtual global design/manufacturing/service factories provide
to the market.
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Cont…
*To be effective contributors, engineers must become entrepreneurs,
i.e., must know exactly:
* What to invent,
* Why it should be invented,
* Who will actually buy the invention,
* What to do with the invention after it is invented,
* How to make money off the invention.
*Engineers must be capable of immediately and effectively applying
entrepreneurial skills as they join teams – must hit the ground
running.
*The engineer as entrepreneur:
* Must learn how to run an innovative business,
* Must learn how to be an innovative business.
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