International Entrepreneurs
EDI Ahmedabad, of India conducted a study under the guidance of Prof. David C. McClelland, a renowned behavioral scientist, to identify a set of competencies or characteristics of successful entrepreneurs in India, Malawi & Ecuador. He found that certain characteristics are cross-culturally valid, and concluded that these competencies are necessary in varying measures in all the cultures and countries and linked these with the nature of socialization in the society.
A third group of thinkers emphasized the existence of economic entrepreneurship. The economists assume that factors of production are highly mobile; that inputs and outputs are homogenous, and that producers, consumers and resource owners have knowledge of all open possibilities. In underdeveloped countries, ideal conditions do not exist. As such, the entrepreneurship envisaged by economists cannot be developed in such a country by considering the economic dimensions alone.
A fourth school of thought attached importance to the managerial aspects. They emphasized perception of market opportunities as well as operational skills, required to run a business or an industry.
A critical evaluation of these four major currents of thought however, reveals certain common characteristics. These include the identification and perception of economic opportunity, technical, organizational and behavioral skills, managerial competence, and motivation to achieve results.
The various concepts and theories propounded by researchers seem to indicate that the developing entrepreneurs in a society depend upon closely interlinked economic, social, religious, cultural and psychological variables.
Prof. Frank Knight Hawley, A. C. Pigou and others opine that entrepreneurs bear the uncertainty & risk of production. The theory alone is unable to explain the occupational choice question. To build a development model of entrepreneurship it is necessary to look at some of the other characteristics that help explain why some people are entrepreneurs; risk may be a factor, but it is not the only one.
Read more about this topic: Entrepreneurial Economics