Personality perspective Flashcards
• Often loosely defined in terms of regularities in action, feeling and thoughts that are characteristic of the individual
(Synder and Cantor, 1998)
Who was need for achievement (Nach) developed by
McClelland (1961)
“… is more self-confident, enjoys taking carefully calculated risks, researches his environment actively, and is very interested in concrete measures of how well he is doing”
(McCelland, 1965, p.7)
presented an overall ‘index of task motivation’:
Self-achievement, risk-taking, feedback of results, personal innovation, planning for the future
• Link between ‘index of task motivation’ and superior business performance
• Miner and associates (1989, 1992, 1994)
• Economic theory suggests an entrepreneur is a risk-bearer or risk-taker:
– calculated risk-taker
Knight (1921)
– Perception of the situation (i.e., Prospect Theory)
Kahnemann and Tversky, 1979
– Individuals’ perception of their expertise in the field
(Heath and Tversky, 1991)
• Entrepreneurs have a tolerance for ambiguity
Scheré, 1982
found that entrepreneurs reported a higher TFA than managers
Schere 1982
‘social learning theory’:
– Individuals’ perception of control affects behavior
– Locus of control is one determinant of the expectancy of success
– Individuals categorize events and situations based on their underlying shared properties
• Rotter’s (1966)
Entrepreneurs are misfits or ‘at the crossroads’
Kets de Vries, 1977
• An entrepreneur is “an anxious individual, non-conformist, poorly organized and not a stranger to self-destructive behaviour”
Kets de Vries, 1977, p.41
• Personality theories do not adequately explain why some individuals engage in entrepreneurial behaviour and others do not
(Delmar, 2000)
• Depict general tendencies and situational factors are neglected - need to consider psychodynamic approaches
Kets de Vries, 1977
• Socio-economic factors will impact on opportunity structures and entrepreneurial decision-making
Reynolds 1991
