The main aim of this study was to establish the biographical and business variables as predictors of of success of small business' owners in South Africa. is based on secondary information obtained from the national venture capital organisation. value of the level The study files of a The sample consisted of 569 small business owners active within 435 businesses. The statistical analysis strategy implemented was aimed at eliminating chance and capitalisation on chance in an attempt to eventually identify discriminants in a more accurate, valid and reliable manner. One-way Analyses of Variance with Bonferroni's Ranges test specified (only ordinal and interval scale variables) and Chi-square (only nominal scale variables) were used to initially investigate relationships among level of success of small business owners and biographical and business variables. Stepwise Discriminant analyses was then used to determine the relationship between level of success of small business owners and biographical/business variables. Significant differences in the level of success of small business owners were found for five biographical and seven bus iness variables. Discriminant analyses was then used to predict level of success of small business owners by means of the significant biographical/business variables identified in the first phase of the statistical analysis (Chi-square, One-way Analyses of Variance, Stepwise Discriminant Analyses). The results of the study revealed that certain biographical and business variables are promising as predictors of the level of success of small business owners. The results are discussed in terms of (1) implications for the selection criteria of venture capital organisations in selecting possible successful small business owners and (2) future economic policies for South Africa. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1992.

Despite the economic significance of entrepreneurship, relatively little is known about the entrepreneur, particularly how the entrepreneur differs from the corporate manager. This problem is both cause and symptom of the discord regarding definitions of the entrepreneur, rendering sampling, research replication and generalizations about entrepreneurs problematic. As a result, inquiry has failed to adequately establish how entrepreneurs differ from managers, a problem partially stemming from a dearth of methodologically rigorous comparisons of entrepreneurs with managers. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of psychological constructs to predict a proclivity for entrepreneurship. Moreover, differences in types of small business owner-managers were also investigated. Included in the research model were three common themes in the entrepreneurship literature: achievement motivation, risk taking propensity and preference for innovation. Also incorporated were the interactions of the psychological constructs, as well as individual and firm demographic variables.

The research study investigates factors that influence entrepreneur’s ability to identify new venture opportunities. Entrepreneurial alertness has been widely argued as fundamental to the opportunity identification process, yet this relationship remains largely unverified by empirical evidence. This study provides an explicit investigation into the implications of entrepreneurial alertness for opportunity identification as well as how metacognitive factors moderate the proposed relationship. First, Chapter 1 provides an overview the purpose, research questions, the significance of the study, and the conceptual framework. Next, a comprehensive review of the existing literature on opportunity identification is provided which is followed by the development of theoretical arguments, associated hypotheses, and the conceptual model. Subsequently, and overview of the research methodology and sampling procedure is presented. Finally, the analyses and results presented followed by a discussion, future research, and conclusions. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

D.Ed. / The aim of the study was to determine a strategy to identify and develop entrepreneurship from the point of educational psychology. In this regard, it was necessary to divide the study into two components. The first was to determine a profile of the entrepreneur and secondly how this profile could be developed. In the first part in the literature attributes and skills of the entrepreneur were researched and empirical tested. Two questionnaires were specifically developed to identify attributes and skills of entrepreneurs: firstly a questionnaire, The Entrepreneurial Index Questionnaire, for individuals with a qualification standard six and higher and secondly a projective format questionnaire, The Entrepreneurial Index Projective Format, for semi-skilled and unskilled individuals. In the second part techniques were introduced to developed entrepreneurial attributes and skills: Neurolinguistic Programming and Educational Kinesiology. A specific program to develop entrepreneurship with young adults was also introduced. The programme was completed with a illustration of a young adult that completed the program. The following results were obtained from the empirical investigation: From the anova variance-analysis there is a significant statistical difference on all the entrepreneurial attributes and skills. The Scheffe-pair-variance-analysis show significant statistic differences on the average scores of the entrepreneurial attributes and skills except for: Questionnaire test General knowledge and driving force, responsibility, selfimage and interpersonal relations. Risk and responsibility, self-image and interpersonal relations. Drive force and depression. Adaptation and interpersonal relations. Responsibility and stress, aggression and depression. Stress and interpersonal relations. Self-image and depression. Aggression and interpersonal relations. Depression and interpersonal relations. Projective test Mental alertness in all pairs. Total work attitude and responsibility. Locus of control and responsibility. Locus of control and interpersonal relationships. Adaptation and responsibility. The program for the development of entrepreneurial skills was divided into four phases: what is possible, what is realistic, critical analysing of the business opportunity and lastly the implementation of above mentioned steps. Each phase went through specific steps and NLP and Edu-K was used in each step one to develop and anchor specific attributes and skills of entrepreneurship. The implementation of the program is implemented on five levels. The basic level is the individual environment. The entrepreneur is going to operate in the environment through behaviour. The behaviour is guided by the individual capabilities. These capabilities are organized by the believe systems. Believe systems are organized by the identity of the entrepreneur. The illustration analysis of the individuals that completed the course shows a growth and development in the entrepreneurial attributes and skills that were identified in the first part of the study. It seems possible to identify certain attributes and skills that is part of the successful entrepreneur, and develop it in the young adult to become an entrepreneur.

With the growing importance being placed on the small business environment as having a positive influence on economic growth and vitality (Erwee, 1987: Burns & Dewhurst, 1989), there has been a corresponding increase in attention being paid to entrepreneurship and the characteristics of the entrepreneur. This increased attention is due to the fact that entrepreneurs have long been linked to small business creation and recognised as an important factor in the small business development process (Boyd & Gumpert, 1983). Despite the quantity of research on entrepreneurship, there appears to be an ongoing controversy oyer what characterises an entrepreneurial business. and the specific characteristics of the small business entrepreneur. It has been argued that although there is an overlap between entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial businesses. they are in fact different entities (Carland, Hoy, Boulton & Carland, 1984: Drucker, 1985), and that not every individual who starts a business is an entrepreneur (Drucker. 1985). Small business entrepreneurship has been found to be specifically related to the psychological characteristics of the owner-manager who controls the business (Miller. 1983). The purpose of this research was to identify and describe psychological characteristics displayed by a group of South African small business entrepreneurs, thereby compiling a psychological profile of the small business entrepreneur. Given the nature of entrepreneurial activities and processes, Hofer and Bygrave (1992) recommend that accurate, precise qualitative data that is rich in its descriptive characterisation of the situation and the phenomenon involved be collected. As a result the researcher used qualitative rather than quantitative methods of investigation. Innovative behaviour has long been linked to entrepreneurship (Schumpeter. 1934) and entrepreneurial businesses were distinguished from other small businesses by their use of innovative strategic practices. Two sample groups consisting of entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial businesses, were created and the data collected were analysed independently. The results, based on personal interviews with 32 small business owner-managers and the administration and interpretation of tihe Structured Objective Rorschach Test (SORT), indicate that small business entrepreneurship should not be used as a term synonymous with small business ownership and/or management. Despite similarities between small business entrepreneurs and other small business owner-managers. the results suggest that a distinction between the two groups is necessary for accurate future research on entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs differed from other small business owner-managers in terms of their psychological characteristics including their motives, their perception and attitude towards the external environment, and various sociological factors. The entrepreneurial businesses were also different in that they were more innovative and growth oriented than the non-entrepreneurial businesses. The research contributes towards a clarification of the concept of small business entrepreneurship and indicates a need for more precise sampling techniques to be used in entrepreneurial research.