The objective of the research was to discover the chief determinants of entrepreneurship, the process by which organizations renew themselves and their markets by pioneering, innovation, and risk taking. Some authors have argued that personality factors of the leader are what determine entrepreneurship, others have highlighted the role played by the structure of the organization, while a final group have pointed to the importance of strategy making. We believed that the manner and extent to which entrepreneurship would be influenced by all of these factors would in large measure depend upon the nature of the organization. Based upon the work of a number of authors we derived a crude typology of firms: Simple firms are small and their power is centralized at the top. Planning firms are bigger, their goal being smooth and efficient operation through the use of formal controls and plans. Organic firms strive to be adaptive to their environments, emphasizing expertise-based power and open communications. The predictiveness of the typology was established upon a sample of 52 firms using hypothesis-testing and analysis of variance techniques. We conjectured that in Simple firms entrepreneurship would be determined by the characteristics of the leader; in Planning firms it would be facilitated by explicit and well integrated product-market strategies, and in Organic firms it would be a function of environment and structure. These hypotheses were largely borne out by correlational and multiple regression analyses. Any programs which aim to stimulate entrepreneurship would benefit greatly from tailoring recommendations to the nature of the target firms.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/2630968

The Correlates of Entrepreneurship in Three Types of Firms

https://isiarticles.com/bundles/Article/pre/pdf/9391.pdf

Competing models of entrepreneurial intentions

Entrepreneurial intentions, entrepreneurs' states of mind that direct attention, experience, and action toward a business concept, set the form and direction of organizations at their inception. Subsequent organizational outcomes such as survival, development (including written plans), growth, and change are based on these intentions. The study of entrepreneurial intentions provides a way of advancing entrepreneurship research beyond descriptive studies and helps to distinguish entrepreneurial activity from strategic management.

Implementing Entrepreneurial Ideas: The Case for Intention

Differences between entrepreneurs and managers in large organizations: Biases and heuristics in strategic decision-making

Presents a framework that highlights the differences among entrepreneurs and among their ventures. Building on the work of others, four dimensions are identified for this framework describing new venture creation. These are: individuals, environment, organization, and process. This is the first framework to combine all four of these dimensions. The individual dimension should consider not only the psychological characteristics of the entrepreneur such as need for achievement and locus of control, but must also consider the entrepreneur's background, experience, and attitudes. The process dimension should be viewed in light of six different behaviors including the location of a business opportunity and the accumulation of resources. Twelve factors are identified for the environmental dimension. These twelve factors were chosen based on the review of 17 research papers focused on environmental variables which affect new venture creation. The organization dimension is composed of three generic competitive advantage strategies and 14 competitive entry wedges. This framework allows for the examination and comparison of very different new ventures. Conflicting results in prior research studies may be explained by considering the dimensions used in that work. (SRD)

A Conceptual Framework for Describing the Phenomenon of New Venture Creation

Conventional ways of viewing the social aspects of entrepreneurship are considered unsatisfactory; hence, this emphasis is recast in terms of the "entrepreneurial event." The entrepreneurial event is shaped by groupings of social variables (such as ethnic groups) and the social and cultural environment. The entrepreneurial event is denoted by initiative-taking, consolidation of resources, management, relative autonomy, and risk-taking. The proposed paradigm attempts to include all versions of the entrepreneurial event and all variables (situational, social, and individual) identified with the event. The paradigm will answer two basic questions: what brought about the life-changing event? and why this particular event? Negative information, events, or displacements often lead to entrepreneurial events. The particular action taken depends upon (1) perceptions of desirability (values), and (2) perceptions of feasibility. The utility of the paradigm lies in its application to questions of policy, historical examples, and future research. (TNM)

The Social Dimensions of Entrepreneurship

Given that personal initiative and enterprise are taken for granted in the United States, it is surprising that - as of 1975 - only 350,000 to 500,000 individuals per year actually start a new company. This study discusses the conditions and the kinds of personalities associated with people who become entrepreneurs, in contrast to others with the same education and opportunities who do not. The research finds that most entrepreneurs are DPs, displaced persons, who have been dislodged from a comfortable, safe situation. Some are literal DPs, such as political refugees, but most common are people fired from their jobs, or deprived of an opportunity to advance in their jobs. Another factor impacting entrepreneurial behavior is the perception that the individual has no future, or does not want to do her or his current job for the rest of her or his life. This tends to occur when individuals near the age of 40 or 50. Two categories of people are identified, who differ in terms of locus of control, i.e. the degree to which people feel they can affect the world around them. Some people are "external" and believe that their success is mostly impacted by outside forces, while others are "internal" and believe in their own influence on the course of events, which tends to help in entrepreneurial success. Other entrepreneurial conditions and characteristics identified by the study are: a need for independence; being able to imagine oneself in the role of an entrepreneur; having examples around of others who resemble one and have started businesses; and coming from an ethnic group that has traditionally been associated with entrepreneurial success. Apart from all those, having the necessary resources such as labor, materials, and facilities, is a necessary element. The analysis concludes by listing certain tactics for creating more entrepreneurs -- e.g., acquiring knowledge of conditions that induce potential entrepreneurs to take action, and using this knowledge to make new towns and regions more entrepreneurially active; and demonstrating to individuals that they do have internal control. (AT)

Albert Shapero

Papers

The Social Dimensions of Entrepreneurship

The Displaced, Uncomfortable Entrepreneur