As illustrated below in Figure 2.7, studying entrepreneurs is a complex matter of knowledge, passion and fire – concepts that are very abstract, tacit and unique. To date, entrepreneurship remains a largely degree a misunderstood concept and seems to defy the traditional methods of scientific inquiry.
Figure 2.7: Anatomy of an Entrepreneur
Source: University of Waterloo, Centre for Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (CBET) 2008 (http://www.cbet.uwaterloo.ca/Prospective_Students/index.html)
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Figure 2.10: Main Motivations for High-Tech Entrepreneurs
Source: Oxford University, “Survey of High-Tech Entrepreneurs’ Main Motivations”, 2008 (http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/entrepreneur_main.html)
Entrepreneur according to Kuratko & Hodgetts is seen as the aggressive catalyst for change in the world of business. Entrepreneurs have emerged within both males and females through the common drive of independent thinkers daring to be different in a background of common events. Within the vast expansion of entrepreneurial research being conducted to date, the following themes are identified as standing out in literature: personal initiative; ability to consolidate resources; management skills; desire for autonomy; risk taking; aggressiveness; competitiveness; goal-oriented behavior; confidence; opportunistic behavior; intuitiveness; reality-based actions; ability to learn from mistakes; and human relations/ interpersonal skills.
There are numerous cases where individuals having dropped out of education systems; and consequently becoming world’s greatest examples of successful entrepreneurs. For example, Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard University to give birth to Microsoft; and Sir Richard Branson could not even read or write, yet gave birth to the Virgin Empire. Whilst numerous scholars such as Kuratko & Hodgetts have attempted to present checklists and characteristics of successful entrepreneurs (Appendix One – Entrepreneurial Quotient), there is no standard entrepreneurial profile as such. It is generally accepted that the environmental context, the venture itself, the industry, entrepreneurs’ interactive efforts and a whole host of other reasons as contributing factors in entrepreneurial developments and successes. Thus, a range of varying types of entrepreneurial profiles ranging from high-growth, technology, academia, small business, corporate and others have proliferated across both the academic body of knowledge as well as the practical domains.
Another misunderstood entrepreneurial concept is that ‘all entrepreneurs need is money’. Whilst it is true that ‘money’ is important in business ventures and entrepreneurs by an large seems to have more means of access to and resources in terms of actual funds and potential funds; entrepreneurs are not directly motivated or driven by money alone. As illustrated by the following Figure 2.10 - a survey conducted by Oxford University found that money only motivated twelve percent (12%) of high tech entrepreneurs; whereas independence (39%) and challenge (30%) coupled with a host of other factors (19%) were the main motivators (Oxford University 2008 – http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/entrepreneur_main.html).
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© Prof. Dr. John Meewella PhD DBA MBA MMgt MCom MArts MPol PGD.HRM.IR BIS.Com ADip.Acc TAA
Fin +358-406-724-222 / +358-465-760-987 UAE +971-50-137-7965 Sri Lanka +94-728-178-858 Email. johnmeewella@windowslive.com Skype/Facebook/LinkedIn/Gmail/Hotmail.johnmeewella Dean, IPMI International Business School, Jakarta, Indonesia Associate Professor (Entrepreneurship & Management), Oulu Business School, Oulu University, Oulu, Finland Managing Director, International Expansions, Australasia Oulu Business School International Expansions Founder & Managing Director, Oulu Entrepreneurship Center, Oulu, Finland Founder & Managing Director/ Director, Aspire Solutions Group, Seeview Group, Meewella Group
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