|
Researchers have advanced theories of entrepreneurship around the entrepreneurial persons (Carland et al., 1988). A major thrust for this line of research came from the work of McClelland during the 1950s and 1960s (McClelland et al., 1953; and McClelland, 1961). McClelland’s studies showed that the entrepreneurial individual is characterized by high levels of achievement motivation, a psychological construct originally proposed by Murray (1938), and measured by projective techniques such as Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). In spite of the complexities of the construct and the difficulties associated with the projective measurement, the concept fascinated entrepreneurship researchers for two decades (Manimala and Pearson, 1998).
Among the various aspects of personality that have attracted the attention of researchers, the most prominent ones were the motives of the entrepreneurs (Brockhaus and Horwitz, 1986; Naffziger et al., 1994; and Gatewood et al., 1995). Motivation is an indispensable function of management. A man cannot be forced to work like a machine. The efficiency of the enterprise is related not merely to the efficiency of sophisticated machines, but more importantly to the satisfaction and the spontaneous desire of the man who is at work. This spontaneous involvement in work is not merely related to monetary rewards or assignment of position but to the system of motivation. If the entrepreneur feels motivated, his behavior will bring about the desired action. Motivational factors constitute the inner drive present in an individual which continuously demands him to do something new and unique as also to perform better than others. These motivational factors stimulate the persons to undertake entrepreneurial activities relating to creation of new business (Palanivelu, 2008).
|
