Type of entrepreneur, type of firm, and managerial motivation: Implications for organizational life cycle theory

Abstract

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.

Artisans, Athletes, Entrepreneurs, and other Skilled Exemplars of the Way [1]

“…Loosely construed, they can be seen as akin to the "craftsman" type of entrepreneur (Smith and Miner, 1983) but these parables are not distinctively entrepreneurial. Only one passage in the Zhuangzi is.…”

“…47-50) this passage is a metaphor for cognitive processes, but business scholars will be struck by how well this trader exemplifies "opportunistic" entrepreneurship (Smith and Miner 1983) as theorized by "Austrian school" economists (Kirzner, 1973: 198), by sociologists such as Burt (1992), and anthropologists such as Barth (1967). In these approaches, opportunities for profit are generated by discrepancies of evaluation across social and cultural boundaries, geographic distance, or time.…”

Entrepreneuring as a puzzle: an attempt to its explanation with truncation of subjective probability distribution of prospects

“…As such, its focus shifts to seeking congruence or fi t among key variables. This line of studies explores factors, which originate from the environment, structure, and strategy, with the investigation centered on how these factors impinge on the context (e.g., Covin and Slevin, 1989;Gartner, 1985;Miller, 1983;Smith and Miner, 1983). 3 Although it has a better, often cogent rationale behind the explanation, the contingency approach fails to give answers to the question of why a reasonable person would not seek a premium for an investment riskier than the public investment index.…”

Evolving toward product and market-orientation: The early years of technology-based firms

“…Two studies that postulate organizational life cycle theories of the firm have attempted to relate psychological characteristics of entrepreneurs to the adaptation needed during a firm's transition, but neither study examined technological companies. [4,17] Only the few works cited below have been found that applied these models toward data collection on technical firms.…”

“…Two studies that postulate organizational life cycle theories of the firm have attempted to relate psychological characteristics of entrepreneurs to the adaptation needed during a firm's transition, but neither study examined technological companies. [4,17] Only the few works cited below have been found that 5 applied these models toward data collection on technical firms. Van de Ven [21] classifies the research on the creation of organizations into entrepreneurial (focusing upon personal characteristics of founders), ecological (focusing upon shifts in organization populations and their reasons), and organizational (focusing upon managerial processes involved in initiation and early development).…”