Business owners' action planning and its relationship to business success in three African countries.

Abstract

A model of business success was developed with motivational resources (locus of control, self-efficacy, achievement motivation, and self-reported personal initiative) and cognitive resources (cognitive ability and human capital) as independent variables, business owners' elaborate and proactive planning as a mediator, and business size and growth as dependent variables. Three studies with a total of 408 African micro and small-scale business owners were conducted in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. Structural equation analyses partially supported the hypotheses on the importance of psychological planning by the business owners. Elaborate and proactive planning was substantially related to business size and to an external evaluation of business success and was a (partial) mediator for the relationship between cognitive resources and business success. The model carries important implications for selection, training, and coaching of business owners.

Successful Entrepreneurship as Developmental Outcome

“…Furthermore, the effects of goals and action strategies on success are seen to be moderated by contextual conditions (task environment, organizational differences, and life cycle). Initial empirical support for the model comes from studies on the indirect effect of personality traits on entrepreneurial success via action strategies, skills, and growth goals (Baum & Locke, 2004;Frese et al, 2007;Rauch, Frese, & Sonnentag, 2000).…”

Resource endowment and opportunity cost effects along the stages of entrepreneurship

“…Evidence suggests that highly educated people are believed to be better at solving complex problems (Cooper et al 1994), which increases their capabilities of performing entrepreneurial tasks (Ucbasaran et al 2008). This relates to an individual's entrepreneurial alertness (Westhead et al 2005), the likelihood of discovering opportunities that are not visible to other people (Shane 2000(Shane , 2003, and an individual's approach, planning, and strategy to exploit these opportunities (Chandler and Hanks 1998;Frese et al 2007). …”

Entrepreneurial training for girls empowerment in Lesotho: A process evaluation of a model programme

“…This kind of entrepreneurial orientation has been found to be a predictor of business success (Krauss, Frese, Friedrich, & Unger, 2005). Research has also established that elaborate and proactive planning can be taught, and that training increases participants' business success (Frese, Krauss, Keith et al, 2007).…”