Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
A MHCE Project
Prepared by
Jeyachandran Thavamtoo
0017MRMMRM1118
10 January 2019
1.0 Executive Summary - 185
7.0 Conclusion
8.0 References
9.0 Bibliography
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1.0 Executive Summary
The purpose on this assignment is to explore and analyses whether entrepreneur are born or
made. To further analyses on the question, is it possible to learn how to build successful
companies and employ thousands of people? Or, are epic entrepreneur like Mark Zuckerberg,
The research question also covers the function and definition of entrepreneur, the characteristic
and quality trait of a successful entrepreneur, academic disciplines of entrepreneurship and finally
Philomena Lartey, 2007, there is continuous debate on the definition of entrepreneurship and
who the entrepreneur is, although there have been several studies on the subject (Low, 2001; Bull
and Willard, 1993), which are often very confusing (Hull et al., 1980, Wortman, 1987).
The debate on whether entrepreneurs are born or made is ongoing. Some researchers are of the
view that entrepreneurs are born and not made (Cohen, 1980); others think that entrepreneurs are
made and not born (Burns and Dewhurst, 1993; Kent, 1984) whilst others think that
entrepreneurs are both born and made (Bolton and Thompson, 2005).
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4.0 Introduction
Entrepreneurs have been found to be important to the entrepreneurship process although other
factors, such as the social constitution and the role of government, cannot be underestimated.
(European Commission, 2004, p.3). It is therefore not surprising that several researchers have
indicated the immense role entrepreneurship plays in the creation of wealth and the economic
McClelland and Winter, 1969; Keeble et al., 1990; Audretsch and Fritsch, 1991).
growth and innovation, improving social conditions and addressing environmental challenges.
development. As entrepreneurs start and grow their firms, they transform the economy and drive
broader outcomes contributing to the global sustainable development agenda. United Nation,
(2016).
Entrepreneurship also play vital role in reducing country poverty level in developing countries.
Riznaldi Akbar, (2016). Goel and Rishi (2012) found that entrepreneur help poverty alleviation
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program in India. The authors argued that all stakeholder of government, entrepreneur and
Entrepreneur are also effective instrument for job creation in a country (Malchow-Moller,et al,
2011; Syedet al.,2012: Mensah & Benedict, 2010) Malchow-Moller et al(20111)analyzed the
importance of entrepreneur in term of job creation and wage growth in Danish economy. The
studies suggest that entrepreneur establishments are significantly responsible for gross job
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5.0 Literature Review
5.1 History
The term entrepreneurship is derived from a French word ‘Entreprendre’ which means ‘to
undertake’, ‘to pursue opportunities’, or ‘to fulfill needs and wants through innovation and
In early 16th century it was applied in military expedition. In17th century the word entrepreneur
was used for civil engineering activities such as construction and fortification. The word
entrepreneur was applied to business for first time in 18th century to designate a dealer who buys
and sells goods at uncertain prices. M.C Garg, Entrepreneur & Entrepreneurship,
Long-waves (cycles) were first noted and discussed by a researcher from Russia N. Kondratieff.
His research was further continued by the Austrian economist J Schumpeter. In Schumpeter view,
each of these long business cycles was unique, driven by entirely different clusters of industries.
Typically, a long upswing in a cycle started when a new set of innovations came into general
use—as happened with water power, textiles and iron in the late 18th century; steam, rail and
steel in the mid-19th century; and electricity, chemicals and the internal-combustion engine at the
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turn of the 20th century. In turn, each upswing stimulated investment and an expansion of the
economy. These long booms eventually petered out as the technologies matured and returns to
investors declined with the dwindling number of opportunities. After a period of much slower
which destroyed the old way of doing things and created the conditions for a new upswing. The
entrepreneur's role, as Schumpeter saw it, was to act as a ferment in this process of creative
destruction, allowing the economy to renew itself and bound onwards and upwards again.
The Robert D. Hisrich and Michael P. Peters (1998) said, “Entrepreneurship is the process of
creating something new with value by devoting the necessary time and effort, assuming the
accompanying financial, psychic and social risks and receiving the resulting rewards of monetary
An entrepreneur is the person who sees a problem in the world and immediately focuses on
creating the solution. They’re the leaders that strike out on their own to improve society. Whether
they’re creating jobs or a new product, they constantly act to ensure world progress. In the
process of understanding what is entrepreneurship, let’s look at why entrepreneurs are important
in society.
Without entrepreneurs, jobs wouldn’t exist. Entrepreneurs take on the risk to employ themselves.
Their ambition to continue their business’ growth eventually leads to the creation of new jobs. As
their business continues to grow, even more jobs are created. Thus, lowering unemployment rates
Entrepreneurs dream big so naturally some of their ideas will make worldwide change. They
might create a new product that solves a burning problem or take on the challenge to explore
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something never explored before. Many believe in improving the world with their products, ideas
or businesses.
While some have this notion of the rich being evil and greedy, they often do more for the greater
good than the average person. They make more money and thus pay more in taxes which helps
fund social services. Entrepreneurs are some of the biggest donors to charities and nonprofits for
various causes. Some seek to invest their money in creating solutions to help poorer communities
have access to things we take for granted like clean drinking water and good health care.
Figure 1
because they think effectually; they believe in a yet-to-be-made future that can substantially be
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shaped by human action; and they realize that to the extent that this human action can control the
future, they need not expend energies trying to predict it. In fact, to the extent that the future is
shaped by human action, it is not much use trying to predict it – it is much more useful to
understand and work with the people who are engaged in the decisions and actions that bring it
into existence.
Today, entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of economies all over the world. Even in command
economies like China, entrepreneurs are valued for their contributions to the economy and
encouraged to innovate to compete with companies around the world. The global economy –
combined with modern infrastructure and communications – has introduced a new age of
According to the European Commission (2004), entrepreneurship refers to the process and
innovation, and risk-taking and appropriate management practices within an existing or new
organization. Entrepreneurship is therefore regarded as a process and the individual or group who
sets this „process in motion and directs the early stages of a new venture‟ (Bird, 1989, p.1) is
regarded as an entrepreneur.
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5.3.2 Management Control:
Earlier writers used to consider the management control one of the chief functions of the
entrepreneur. Management and control of the business are conducted by the entrepreneur himself.
So, the latter must possess a high degree of management ability to select the right type of persons
to work with him. But, the importance of this function has declined, as business nowadays is
The next major function of the entrepreneur is to make necessary arrangement for the division of
total income among the different factors of production employed by him. Even if there is a loss in
the business, he is to pay rent, interest, wages and other contractual incomes out of the realised
sale proceeds.
Risk-taking is perhaps the most important function of an entrepreneur. Modern production is very
demand. Broadly, there are two kinds of risk which he has to face. Firstly, there are some risks,
such as risks of fire, loss of goods in transit, theft, etc., which can be insured against. These are
known as measurable and insurable risks. Secondly, some risks, however, cannot be insured
against because their probability cannot be calculated accurately. These constitute what is called
uncertainty (e.g., competitive risk, technical risk, etc.). The entrepreneur undertakes both these
risks in production.
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5.3.5 Innovation:
frequent inventions of new products, new techniques and discovering new markets to improve his
The above description indicates the supreme position of the entrepreneur in an organization. This
is particularly true in the capitalistic or even mixed economy which is based on the price-profit
system. In the socialistic economy, the state becomes the entrepreneur; the scope of private
entrepreneur is extremely limited in such an economy. It is to be noted that the importance of the
entrepreneur has been declining with the growth of joint stock business and state-undertakings,
this is since “risk is borne by the shareholders and the day-by- day control of the business is
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5.4 Characteristic of Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship culture implies a set of values, norms and traits that are conducive to the growth
of entrepreneurship as below;
I. Entrepreneurs are action oriented, highly motivated individuals who takes risks to
achieve goals.
II. Entrepreneurs will have unwavering determination and commitment. They are
creative and result-oriented. They work hard in return for personal and financial
rewards.
IV. Entrepreneur have self-confidence, they are dedicated, setting self-determined goals
VI. Entrepreneurs can for see the future, as a salesman’s persuasiveness, a financial talent
VII. Entrepreneur depends on the intelligence, imagination and strength of purpose of the
individual.
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1.1 RESEARCH CONTEXT
policymakers will determine the kind of structures that will be established in order
policymakers share the view that entrepreneurs are made, efforts will be geared
towards enacting polices that will support the training of people to become
entrepreneurs are born. The basic question of whether entrepreneurs are born or
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4
This research comprises five chapters. Chapter 2 focuses on a critical review and
serves as the basis for tackling the research problem and also „placing the
research in a historical context‟ (Hart, 1998, p.37). It offers the reader coherent
also examines whether entrepreneurs are born or made. Finally, it explains the
basis upon which entrepreneurship policies are enacted. The main themes that
emerge from the literature review form the basis for a discussion of the primary
design and tactics (Saunders et al., 2007) adopted for this study. The research
onion (Saunders et al., 2007) framework has been used to explain the processes
of the study. The chapter throws light on the kind of research philosophy, strategy
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and methodologies that are employed. Chapter 4 presents a discussion and
evaluation of the findings of the study. It defines who the entrepreneur is within
entrepreneurs and the question of whether entrepreneurs are born or made from
Ghana and the basis under which these policies are designed.
The final chapter (Chapter 5) presents the conclusions drawn by the author on the
basis of the key research findings and issues of the study. It also provides a set of
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Literature Review
Economic Theories
Economic entrepreneurship theories date back to the first half of the 1700s with the work of
Richard Cantillon, who introduced the idea of entrepreneurs as risk takers. The classic,
neoclassical and Austrian Market process schools of thought all pose explanations for
entrepreneurship that focus, for the most part, on economic conditions and the opportunities they
create. Economic theories of entrepreneurship tend to receive significant criticism for failing to
recognize the dynamic, open nature of market systems, ignoring the unique nature of
entrepreneurial activity and downplaying the diverse contexts in which entrepreneurship occurs.
Resource-Based Theories
Resource-based theories focus on the way individuals leverage different types of resources to get
entrepreneurial efforts off the ground. Access to capital improves the chances of getting a new
venture off the ground, but entrepreneurs often start ventures with little ready capital. Other types
of resources entrepreneurs might leverage include social networks and the information they
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provide, as well as human resources, such as education. In some cases, the intangible elements of
leadership the entrepreneur adds to the mix operate as resource that a business cannot replace.
Psychological Theories
Psychological theories of entrepreneurship focus on the individual and the mental or emotional
elements that drive entrepreneurial individuals. A theory put forward by psychologist David
McCLelland, a Harvard emeritus professor, offers that entrepreneurs possess a need for
achievement that drives their activity. Julian Rotter, professor emeritus at the University of
Connecticut, put forward a locus of control theory. Rotter’s theory holds that people with a strong
internal locus of control believe their actions can influence the external world and research
suggests most entrepreneurs possess trait. A final approach, though unsupported by research,
suggests personality traits ranging from creativity and resilience to optimism drive
entrepreneurial behavior.
Sociological/Anthropological Theories
The sociological theory centers its explanation for entrepreneurship on the various social contexts
that enable the opportunities entrepreneurs leverage. Paul D. Reynolds, a George Washington
University research professor, singles out four such contexts: social networks, a desire for a
context of culture and examining how cultural forces, such as social attitudes, shape both the
Opportunity-Based Theory
Prolific business management author, professor and corporate consultant, Peter Drucker put
forward an opportunity-based theory. Drucker contends that entrepreneurs excel at seeing and
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taking advantage of possibilities created by social, technological and cultural changes. For
example, where a business that caters to senior citizens might view a sudden influx of younger
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8.0 References
Øvig, Øystein Stavø & Pettersen, Inger & Aarstad, Jarle. (2018). Entrepreneurial Causation vs.
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