A relationship between owner-manager's characteristic and business performance

AuthorNimalathasan. B
PositionUniversity of Jaffna,SriLanka
Pages61-68

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Introduction

All developed and developing countries have recognized the importance of the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), because, they play a significant role in economic development. SMEs perform as a useful vehicle for economic growth of countries, because they have the capacity to achieve rapid economic growth, while generating a considerable extent of employment opportunities (Reddy, 1991).

Development of SMEs is significant in the developing countries, which suffered from problems of unemployment, lack of investment , balance of payment , poverty etc because, growth of SME's provides solution for the complex economic problems of a country. Small and Medium Enterprises are assumed to play a key role in social and economic development. Entrepreneurship is a decisive factor for any economy to attain its competitive and dynamic character. It is the driving force for the achievement of economic development and creation of jobs, contributing at the same time to personal development. It is important to encourage entrepreneurship because they are market oriented. Their outlook effectively solves many problems or "voids" in the community and market place, with optimal use of resources. They organize themselves effectively, they thrive at their work and their influence on employees results in productive and efficient working ventures. They build businesses creating wealth and developing themselves and others in their communities. Thus entrepreneurial action result in contributing towards the development of overall environment and society.

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Entrepreneurship is a process undertaken by an entrepreneur to argument his business interests. It is an exercise involving innovation and creativity that will go towards establishing his/ her enterprise. Entrepreneurship is a composite skill, the resultant of a mix of many qualities and traits-these include tangible factors as imagination, readiness to take risks, ability to bring together and put to use other factors of production, capital, labor, and land as also intangible factors such as the ability to mobilize scientific and technological advances.

Organization performance today has assumed special significance, since it is a key to economic development. The objectives of industrial development, regional growth and employment generation depend upon Organization performance. Entrepreneurs are thus the seeds of industrial development and the fruits of industrial development are greater employment opportunities to employed youth, increase in per capita income, higher standard of living and increased individual saving, revenue to the government in the income tax, sales tax, export duties, import duties, and balanced regional development. The aim of this study is to evaluate the characteristics of the entrepreneurs and the extent of the success gained in the enterprise through the business performance.

Review of literature

Entrepreneurship covers business activities including manufacturing, retailing and also service industries. The word "entrepreneurship" has entered the managerial vocabulary as the 1980s' equivalent of "Professionalism" the managerial buzzword of the 1970s. Many managers are trying to understand the concept of entrepreneurship, and their own organization can be made more "entrepreneurial".

The theory of entrepreneurship comes in many guises. Management scholars and economists have made the entrepreneur an innovator, a leader, a creator, discover, an equilibrator, and more. In only a few of these theories, how ever, is entrepreneurship linked to asset ownership (Knight, 1921; Mises, 1949; Casson, 1982; Foss, 1993; Langlois and Cosgel, 1993; Foss and Klein, 2005).

Entrepreneurship plays an important role in the economic system, which determines the nature and scope of this field. Economic systems grow and take shape under the influence policy, economic policy, and the socio- political and cultural ideas of the people. Entrepreneurship gives a fillup to new organizational forms and the economy bring about economic reforms which determine other factors affecting the economy.

According to Cole (1942) production of goods and services is possible due to integration of various factors of production such as land, labour, capital, management and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is the purposeful capacity of individual or a group of associated individuals, undertaken to initiate,

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maintain or organize of profit -oriented business unit for the production or distribution of economic goods and services.

According to McClelland (1961) entrepreneurship is a risk -taking, which is responsible for end results in the form of profit or loss according to him, the function of an entrepreneur is to promote economic...

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