A recent article (W. H. Stewart & P. L. Roth, 2001) in the Journal of Applied Psychology presented the conclusion from meta-analysis that entrepreneurs have a higher risk propensity than managers and that this propensity is particularly pronounced among the growth-oriented. A previously unresolved question was said to be laid to rest and a "vital component" of a theory of entrepreneurship established. The present article disagrees and cites data from 14 studies not included in the Stewart and Roth (2001) analysis, adding up to a conclusion (supported by new meta-analyses) that entrepreneurs (and those with a growth orientation) are more risk avoidant. Thus, a conservative view, retaining the position that the role of risk propensity in entrepreneurship remains unresolved, is upheld. Potential explanations for the conflicting results are explored.

Miner Sentence Completion Scale measures of managerial motivation for a sample of Oregon entrepreneurs were compared with interview data on entrepreneur and firm type using a system of differentiation derived from the Enterprising Man (Collins, Moore and Unwalla, 1964) research. Certain relationships between aspects of managerial motivation and firm expansion and growth were found. In addition, the overall level of managerial motivation among the entrepreneurs relative to corporate managers was found to be low, and the previously noted association between an opportunistic entrepreneurial type and growthoriented firms was confirmed. These findings are discussed in the context of organizational life cycle theory with special reference to the early stages of transition from entrepreneurial to bureaucratic forms and various typologies of entrepreneurs. It appears that under certain circumstances growth may not require a shift in leadership style, but that in some important respects entrepreneurial and bureaucratic systems are managerially distinct.

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The Miner Sentence Completion Scale-Form T and an innovative technology survey were administered to applicants for development grants under the National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research Program. Data were obtained from 118 entrepreneurs who had founded their firms and from a comparison group of 41 manager/scientists who had submitted applications but were not founders. Measures of firm growth were developed from the innovative technology survey to serve as dependent variables. The MSCS-T has been developed to measure the motivational variables of a task theory that closely parallels achievement motivation theory. Task motivation exhibited a substantial relationship with the indexes of firm growth; it also differentiated between entrepreneurs and nonentrepreneurs. Thus, this article presents a new research direction that differs substantially from previous efforts to use the hierarchic theory of managerial motivation and the MSCS-Form H to study the motivation of entrepreneurs. 554This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.