Knowledge that Transforms

The critical importance of small business management and entrepreneurship in determining the future of the economic and social well-being of the United States is generally accepted by leading experts in government and business. While there clearly is a boom in entrepreneurial enterprise throughout the nation, the extent of the growth in the educational services supporting this effort is at best only partially known through prior studies, such as those of Vesper (1985). This paper reports the results of three surveys on the development of courses, academic programs, seminars, and workshops in small business management and entrepreneurship in the U.S. The survey results point to a dramatic change in the number of colleges and universities that are now offering small business management and entrepreneurship courses and programs and in the quantity and scope of the courses offered within schools.

This article outlines a conceptual model of entrepreneurship as an organizational-level phenomenon. The model is intended to depict the organizational system elements that relate to entrepreneurial behavior among larger, established firms, but may also be applicable in varying degrees to many smaller firms. Entrepreneurship is described as a dimension of strategic posture represented by a firm's risk-taking propensity, tendency to act in competitively aggressive, proactive manners, and reliance on frequent and extensive product innovation. The proposed model delineates the antecedents and consequences of an entrepreneurial posture as well as the variables that moderate the relationship between entrepreneurial posture and firm performance. The advantages of a firm-behavior perspective on entrepreneurship are discussed, as are the theoretical and managerial implications of such a perspective.

Attitude is presented as a better approach to the description of entrepreneurs than either personality characteristics or demographics. The development and validation of the Entrepreneurial Attitude Orientation (EAO) scale are explained. Sixty-three undergraduates were used in developing and establishing the test-retest reliability of the EAO. Fifty-four entrepreneurs and fifty-seven non-entrepreneurs served as known groups in establishing the discriminant validity of the EAO. There was a significant difference between known groups for all four of the EAO subscales (achievement, personal control, innovation, self-esteem); all subscales but achievement entered into a stepwise discriminant function.