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Heroes and Super-heroes
C o n t e n t s
?Born and made
?Character traits
?Character traits of owner-managers
?Character traits of entrepreneurs
?Antecedent influences
?Entrepreneurial culture
?Summary
LEARNING OUTCOMES

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By the end of this chapter you should be able
?Explain the influences that help?
develop owner-managers and
.entrepreneurs;
?Describe the character traits of?
owner-managers;
?Describe the character traits of
entrepreneurs;
?Explain the methodological\
problems associated with trying to measure character traits and thelinkages with growth businesses;
to:
Describe the antecedent influencesthat are likely to influence owner-
managers and entrepreneurs;Recognise the importance of culture;
Explain what constitutes anentrepreneurial culture and how itmight be measured.
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30 O Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Born and made
Launching and running your own business,even a lifestyle business,is not easy.Itrequires,amongst other things,hard work,tenacity and a willingness to live withuncertainty in varying degrees.But if owner-managers are the heroes of this book,then entrepreneurs must be the super-heroes.The personal character traits requiredto launch a business successfully are not sufficient to see it grow to any size.But what
are these characteristics?Notwithstanding this,we also know that the role of theentrepreneur needs to change as the business develops and all too often they are notable to make the transition.
Were it not for those who have a vested interest in identifying our super-heroes atan early stage in their business development,it is unlikely that economists,sociologists and psychologists would have paid this area so much attention.Becauseof this it remains an area of heated academic debate and constant development,notleast over the question as to whether entrepreneurs are born rather than made.Figure 2.1 shows the influences on individuals to start up and grow their
businesses.The model proposes that entrepreneurs,and indeed owner-managers,arein fact both born and made.Whilst they do have certain personal character traits thatthey may be born with,they are also shaped by their history and experience of life.This comprises their antecedent influences-the social environment that they findthemselves in,for example,their family,ethnic group,work,education and so on-
and the culture of the society they are brought up in.Some cultures encourageentrepreneurial activity,others discourage it.What is more,the situationsentrepreneurs find themselves in can influence thedecision.For example,if they arethrown out ot work they may have little option but to try to start up their ownbusiness.
INFLUENCES ON
OWNER-MANAGERS
AND ENTREPRENEURS
Figure ZV Influences on owner-managers and entrepreneursHeroes and Surer-heroes O 31All these factors influence the decision whether to start up a business and whetherto grow it.If all the factors are favourable the volume of start-ups should increase as,too,should the number of businesses that grow.Indeed both antecedent influencesand the dominant culture of the society will almost certainly influence the personalcharacter traits of individuals as they develop over time and vice versa-over time entrepreneurial characters will start to shape society and influence those they comein contact with.These three factors are interrelated.However,of most interest to many people are the chara