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The Significance of the Human Factor in Developing Entrepreneurs
The opportunity to create wealth and being their own boss has attracted many to entrepreneurship (Rose, et al., 2006): 1). However, the lack of the human factor content among corporate leaders has not made firm management entrepreneurial enough to drive the venture to excellence. Consequently, this has amplified the research into the formal and informal human endowments and attributes of the entrepreneurs who have led their businesses successfully to the growth stage, focusing mainly on their leadership, entrepreneurial orientation, management skills, competencies, human capital and personality traits (Rose, et al., 2006):1); hence, the recent emphasis on the human factor content of the entrepreneurs involved to successfully take the firm to this stage.
Fliaster (2011): 1) points out that collaborative efforts help identify or solve problems as well as validating new and creative ideas, offering crucial perspectives and entrepreneurial opportunities. However, finding a corporate entrepreneur is a monumental task. Before scouting for venture managers, it is imperative to define a profile of characteristics (Carman & Lussier, 1996): 398). Ohmae (1989): 151) concurs by adding that an employment alliance is more like a marriage. In some instances, there may be a formal contract but in others no formal contract may exist, resulting in a loose, evolving relationship.
A Model of Strategic Entrepreneurial Management
Citing Hitt and Ireland (2000) and Venkataraman and Sarasvathy (2001), Hitt, Ireland, Camp & Sexton (2001:480) suggest that strategic management and entrepreneurship have largely developed independently of each other. They have both been re-focused on how organisations adapt to environmental change and exploit opportunities created by uncertainties and discontinuities in the creation of wealth, to the extent that scholars have in recent times advocated for the integration of strategic and entrepreneurial thinking – to the point that the two fields are deemed synonymous with each other. This assertion is echoed by Lin, Li and Chen (2006:170). According to Dhliwayo, Van Vuuren & Fletcher (2011: 48) strategic planning and entrepreneurship have been viewed as inseparable twins; and Hitt, Ireland, Camp and Sexton (2002); Meyer, Neck, Meeks (2002); Kuratko and Welsh (2004) and Wickham (2006) have all termed this relationship “strategic entrepreneurship”. Chandler (1962), cited by Herrmann (2005:113), defined strategy as planning and executing company objectives, and the adoption of courses of action, whilst Andrews (1965) mooted the idea of distinct competence, company mission and business definition (Herrmann, 2005:113). Wells (2003:3) observed that Chandler’s (1962) and Andrews’ (1965) definition of strategic management suggested that a staff of strategic planners more or less thought up “…strategic programs” and then tried to sell them to decision makers. Wells (2003:3) reiterated that strategic management is much more than a staff job; it is, rather, a process that requires the senior leadership to establish the strategic direction of the organisation.
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO STUDY
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Background
1.3 Literature Review
1.4 Problem Statement
1.5 Research Questions
1.6 Research Objectives
1.7 Hypotheses
1.8 Research Methodology
1.9 Importance / Benefits of the Study
1.10 Outline of the research
1.11 Conclusion
CHAPTER 2 CONCEPTUALISING ENTREPRENEURSHIP
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Developments in the Field of Entrepreneurship
2.3 Force of Entrepreneurship: Exploring some Motifs
2.4 The Human Factor in Entrepreneurship Development
2.5 The Individual-Enterprise Nexus: Locating the Individual Entrepreneur
2.6 The Significance of the Human Factor in Developing Entrepreneurs
2.7 Chapter Summary
CHAPTER 3 ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENSITY – A CONCEPTUAL PERSPECTIVE
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Towards Entrepreneurial Intensity: A Conceptual Framing
3.3 Critical Theoretical Foundations
3.4 Entrepreneurial Intensity: A Definitional Approach
3.5 Relevant models relating to corporate entrepreneurship for entrepreneurial intensity
3.6 The Essence of Entrepreneurial Thinking and Opportunity Exploitation
3.7 The Nature and Extent of Entrepreneurial Intensity
3.8 Entrepreneurial Intensity for Uncertain Environments
3.9 Comprehending and Leveraging the Internal Environment
3.10 Firm-Level Responsiveness to the External Environment
3.11 Creating an Entrepreneurial Firm
3.12 Conclusion
CHAPTER 4 MEASURING ENTREPRENEURIAL EXCELLENCE
4.1 Explaining Entrepreneurial Performance
4.2 Key Dimensions for Firm Performance
4.3 Determinants of Entrepreneurial Intensity
4.4 Evaluating Entrepreneurial Intensity
4.5 Measurement Instruments
4.6 Measurable Constructs for Entrepreneurial Intensity
4.7 Firm-Level Entrepreneurial Outcomes
4.8 Net Impact of Entrepreneurial Intensity
4.9 Outcomes and Consequences
4.10 Conclusion
CHAPTER 5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Research Problem
5.3 Research Questions
5.4 Research Objectives
5.5 Hypotheses
5.6 Research Methodology
5.7 Data Collection
5.8 Data Analysis
5.9 Conclusion
CHAPTER 6 EMPIRICAL FINDINGS: ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Data analysis
6.3 Requisite Sampling Frame
6.4 Instrument Reliability and Validity
6.5 Demographic Description
6.6 Research Questions and Hypotheses
6.7 Results on Entrepreneurial Thinking
6.8 Entrepreneurial manifestations
6.9 Leadership Support
6.10 Dimensions of Entrepreneurial Intensity
6.11 Entrepreneurial Strategies: Mitigation of challenges in the environment (2007-2010)
6.12 Entrepreneurial outcomes
6.13 Positive Human Factor Antecedents
6.14 Conclusion
CHAPTER 7 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS325
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Research Objectives
7.3 Summary of Literature
7.4 Critical Theories
7.5 Empirical Findings
7.6 Key Lessons from the Research
7.7 Significance of Research Findings
7.8 Significant Findings
7.9 Findings with Regard to Research Questions
7.10 Implications of Research
7.11 Conclusions and Recommendations
7.12 Limitations of the Study
7.13 Summary and Conclusion
REFERENCES
