FEATURE PAPER

Entrepreneurs -- Born or Made?

The following paper was written by Robert B. Matthews of Sam Houston State University, Charles R. B. Stowe of Lander University, and G. Keith Jenkins of Sam Houston State University and was presented at the 2011 Allied Academies conference in Orlando.

Literature on the subject of entrepreneurship has historically viewed entrepreneurship resulting from certain unique entrepreneurial character and personality traits, and has focused heavily upon identifying those particular traits and describing the exploits of "born entrepreneurs" who possess those traits. A logical extension of the view that entrepreneurship rests upon innate characteristics would imply that entrepreneurship cannot be taught. The authors adopt the more recent view that there are certain identifiable skills that increase the chances of being a successful entrepreneur for anyone, whether "born entrepreneur" or not. In part, this results because entrepreneurial skills can be applied successfully in several contexts- the CEO of an entrepreneurial enterprise, an intrapreneur within a larger corporate environment, or a social entrepreneur who applies entrepreneurial skills to development of enterprises with primarily social rather than economic goals. This paper identifies those characteristics and methods used by the authors to teach them.

Literature on the subject of entrepreneurship has historically focused heavily on the unique character and personality traits of the entrepreneur. This perspective assumes that entrepreneurial success can be attributed to certain character and personality traits unique to the successful entrepreneur, and focuses upon attempting to identify those characteristics. Much of the resulting literature is behavioral in nature and describes the personalities and exploits of "born entrepreneurs" who possess those traits.

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TIP OF THE WEEK

Takeaway: A Different Way of Looking at the World

Beyond mapping the future, effectuation carries certain assumptions about the world. Effectual thinkers:

-See the world as open, still in the making. They see human action as having a genuine role. They see firms and markets as human artifacts.

-Do not see opportunities as given or as being outside of their control. On the contrary, they believe in creating, as well as recognizing and discovering opportunities.

-Do not have an instrumental view of the world. On the contrary, they see companies as a tool that allows them to create novelty for themselves and the world, they see markets as being made rather than found, and stakeholders co-create with them rather than being used.

-Work on making success happen rather than trying to avoid failure. They see failing as a normal part of venturing. Because they are willing to fail, they often create portfolios of ventures, knowing and learning to kill those that will lead nowhere and nature those with potential.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Carland Academy

Want to learn how to commercialize an idea? Carland Academy is the complete source for online entrepreneurship training on the internet. For more information, click here.

SBI

Mark your calenders! The 2012 Annual SBI Conference will be held in San Antonio, Texas, Thursday through Saturday, February 16-18, 2012. For more information, click here.

ICSB

International Council for Small Business will be holding its International World Conference during June 10-13, 2012 in Wellington, New Zealand. For more information, click here.

Small Business Institute

The Small Business Institute will be holding its 2012 Annual Conference during February 16, 2012 in San Antonio, TX. For more information, click here.

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