WHATAREWE TALKINGABOUT WHENWE TALKABOUT ENTREPRENEURSHIP?
WILLIAMB.GARTNER GeorgetownUniversity EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Thepurposeofthisresearchwastoexploretheunderlyingmeanings
researchersandpractitionershaveaboutentrepreneurshipandtooutline
somethemesthatcharacterizethemajorissuesandconcernsthatconstitute
thedebateaboutentrepreneurshipasa fieldofstudy.
Theprocessusedtoidentifythethemesthatcharacterizeentrepre-
neurshiptooktheformofapolicyDelphi.ThisDelphiwasconstructed
asaseriesofthreequestionnairestoelicitdehnitionsofentrepreneurshipthatwerethenanalyzed
andevaluated.IntheJirstphase,aone-pagequestionnaireaskingforadefinitionofentrepreneurship
wassenttoleadingacademicresearchersinentrepreneurship,tobusinessleaders,andto
politicians.
Thefirstquestionnaireaskedindividuals:Whatisyourdefinitionofentrepreneurship?Wereceived
44responses(36fromacademics,8
frombusinessleaders,andnonefrompoliticians)fromthe280
individualswhomweinvitedtoparticipate(a16%responserate).
Inphase2,alloftheentrepreneurshipdefinitionsfromthehrstquestionnaireweretypedand
sentbackwithasecondquestionnairetothe44respondents.Thesecondquestionnairewasgenerated
throughacontentanalysisoftheentrepreneurshipdefinitions.Ninetyattributeswereidenti$edfrom
theentrepreneurshipdefinitions.Thesecondquestionnaireaskedparticipants:Howimportantiseach
attributeto
yourdefinitionofentrepreneurship?Participantsrankedtheattributesfromveryimportant
tounimportant.Ofthe44participantsinphase2,41respondedtothesecondquestionnaire(93%
responserate).Theresponsesfromthesecondquestionnairewerethenevaluatedand
factoranalyzed. The
factoranalysissoughttoclusterthe90attributesintoasmallersetoffactors(themes).Theeight-
factorsolutionwasselected.Thedebateaboutwhatconstitutesthenatureofentrepreneurshipcanbe
characterizedbytheseeightthemes.
AddresscorrespondencetoDr.WilliamB.Gartner,OldNorthBuilding,SchoolofBusinessAdministration,
GeorgetownUniversity,Washington,D.C.20057.
Aversionofthispaperwaspresentedatthe1987NationalAcademyofManagementmeetings.Theauthor
gratefullyacknowledgesallparticipantswhooffereddefinitionsandrespondedtotwolengthysurveys.
JournalofBusinessVenturing5,15-28
01990ElsevierSciencePublishingCo..Inc.,655AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYork.NY10010
08X3-9026&W/$3.50 15 16W.B.GARTNER
TheEntrepreneur.Theentrepreneurthemeistheideathatentrepreneurshipinvolvesindividuals
withuniquepersonalitycharacteristicsandabilities.
Innovation.Theinnovationthemeischaracterizedasdoingsomethingnewasanidea,product,
service,market.ortechnologyinaneworestablishedorganization.
OrganizationCreation.Theorganizationcreationthemedescribedthebehaviorsinvolvedin
creatingorganizations.
CreatingValue.Thisthemearticulatedtheideathatentrepreneurshipcreatesvalue.
ProfitorNonprofit.Theprofitlnonprojitthemeisconcernedwithwhetherentrepreneurship
involvesprojit-makingorganizationsonly. Growth.Atissuein
thisthemeis theimportanceof growthas a characteristicof
entrepreneurship.
Uniqueness.Thisthemesuggestedthatentrepreneurshipmustinvolveuniqueness.
TheOwner-Manager.Thisthemesuggestedthatentrepreneurshipinvolvesindividualswhoare
ownersandmanagersoftheirbusinesses.
ThethirdphaseoftheDelphiaskedthe41participantstoevaluateandcommentontheeight
factorsgeneratedinthesecondphase.Ofthe41participantsinphase3,34respondedtothethird
questionnaire(83%responserate).Sincenooneagreed-upondefinitionofentrepreneurshipappeared
toemergefromtheDelphiprocess,theresearcherundertookaclusteranalysisoftheresponsesto
the thirdquestionnairetouncoverwhetheranysimilaritiesin
viewpointsexistedamongthe participants,
Thedatawasclusteranalyzedusingbothhierarchical(completelinkageandsinglelinkage)andK-
meansclusteringtechniques.Resultsfromtheseanalysesrevealedtwodistinctclusters.Themajority
(79%)oftheparticipantswereclusteredingroupI.Thefocusofthisgroupseemstobeonthe
characteristicsofentrepreneurship.GroupIlookedatwhathappenedinthesituation.Thisgroup
indicatedthatasituationwasentrepreneurialiftheycouldansweryestothesequestions:Isthere
anentrepreneurinvolved?Isthereinnovation?Istheregrowth?Isthereuniqueness?Theothergroup,
group2,focusedontheoutcomesofentrepreneurship.Group2sawasituationasentrepreneurial
onlyifvaluewascreatedorifsomeonegained. R
ecentreviewsofentrepreneurshipresearchhaveindicatedthelackofanagreed-
upondefinitionofentrepreneurshipand,morebasic,aconcernoverwhatentre-
preneurshipconstitutesasafieldofstudy(Brockhaus1987;BrockhausandHorwitz1985;
Carsrudetal.1985;LowandMacMillan1988;Ronstadtetal.1986;SextonandSmilor
1985;Wortman1985).Behindthisconcernistheworrythatentrepreneurshiphasbecome
alabelofconveniencewithlittleinherentmeaning.Labelingaresearchstudyasanentre-
preneurshipstudydoesnotseemtoidentifywhatwillbestudiedandwhy.Forexample,
theEntrepreneurshipDivisionsCallforPapersforthe1989NationalAcademyofMan-
agementmeetingillustratesthefieldofentrepreneurshipwiththesewords:thecreationand
managementofnewbusinesses,smallbusinessesandfamilybusinesses,andthecharacter-
isticsandspecialproblemsofentrepreneurs.Ifweassumethatallofthesetopicsare
entrepreneurialinnature,thenwhatarethecommonalitiesthatlinkfamilybusinesses,small
businessmanagement,andnewventures?Isentrepreneurshipjustabuzzword,ordoesit
haveparticularcharacteristicsthatcanbeidentifiedandstudied?
Thepurposeofthisresearchwastoexploretheunderlyingmeaningsresearchersand
practitionershaveaboutentrepreneurshipandtooutlinesomethemesthatcharacterizethe
majorissuesandconcernsthatconstitutethedebateaboutentrepreneurshipasafieldof
study.
Thepaperisdividedintothreesections.First,theDelphiprocessisoutlinedandthe
resultsfromtheDelphiarepresented.Second,theDelphiprocessandresultsareexplained
andevaluated.Third,argumentsareofferedontheimportanceofcontinuingthediscussion
ENTREPRENEURSHIPDEFINITIONS17
onwhatconstitutesthefieldofentrepreneurship.Thispapercanonlyhighlightsomeofthe
informationgeneratedfromtheentireDelphiprocess.Foracompletedescriptionofthe
resultspleaserequesttheworkingpaperAnEntrepreneurialDelphifromtheauthor.
METHODANDRESULTS
Theprocessusedtoidentifythethemesthatcharacterizeentrepreneurshiptooktheformof
a
policyDelphi(Turoff1975).ThisDelphiwasconstructedasaseriesofthreequestionnaires
toelicitdefinitionsofentrepreneurshipthatwerethenanalyzedandevaluated.Animportant
aspectofthisDelphiwasthateachparticipantreceivedfeedbackonwhatotherparticipants
wrotebeforerespondingtothenextround.Also,participantscouldshifttheirviewsas
additionalinformationbecameavailable.
Inthefirstphase,aone-pagequestionnaireaskingforadefinitionofentrepreneurship
wassenttoleadingacademicresearchersinentrepreneurship,tobusinessleaders,andto
politicians.The9
1academicswereidentifiedthroughBabsonEntrepreneurshipResearch
Conferencepublications,AcademyofManagementproceedings,andindividualsknownto
theauthor.The83businessleadersidentifiedwerefromthemid-Atlanticregion(one-half
werethefoundersofcompaniesinawiderangeofindustrieswithsalesofover$1million,
andtheotherhalfwerenewventuredevelopmentexperts-lawyers,CPAs,andventure
capitalists).The109politiciansweremembersoftheU.S.HouseandSenatewhosaton
committeesaddressingissuesrelevanttonewbusinesscreation.Thislistwasbynomeans
exhaustive.Thegoalwastoidentifyabroadspectrumofentrepreneurshipresearchers,
practitioners,andpolicymakerssothatmanydifferentviewsoftheentrepreneurshipfield
werelikelytoemerge.
Thefirstquestionnaireaskedindividuals:Whatisyourdefinitionofentrepreneurship?
Afollow-upquestionnaire(withthesamequestion)wasmailedtoindividualswhodidnot
respondtothefirstquestionnaire.Wereceived44responses(36fromacademics,8from
businessleaders,andnonefrompoliticians)fromthe280individualswhomweinvitedto
participate(a16%responserate).Theresponserateforacademics,businessleaders,and
politicianswas40%,lo%,and0%,respectively.Insubsequentphonecallstoselected
businessleadersandpoliticianssomereasonscametolightforthepoorresponserate.
Businessleadersfeltthatdefiningentrepreneurshipwasnotverypracticalandrelevantto
them.Asonebusinessleaderremarked,WhywouldIwanttoknowwhatanentrepreneur
is?Iamone.Thepoliticianswantedinformationonwhattheyshouldbedoingtoimprove
policyonentrepreneurship,regardlessofhowentrepreneurshipisdefined.
Inphase2,alloftheentrepreneurshipdefinitionsfromthefirstquestionnairewere
typedandsentbackwithasecondquestionnairetothe44respondents.Someexamplesof
theentrepreneurshipdefinitionsfromthefirstquestionnairearelistedinTable1.Thesecond
questionnairewasgeneratedthroughacontentanalysisoftheentrepreneurshipdefinitions.
Thedefinitionswerebrokendownintoseparateattributes.Forexamplethisentrepreneurship
definition:
Imostoftendefineentrepreneurshipasconcernedwiththoseactivitiesassociatedwith
becominganowner-managerofaneworsmallfirm.Thisincludesthestartingofany
firm,regardlessofwhetherit isinnovative.It
alsoincludesthepurchasingofanestablished
neworsmallfirm.Entrepreneurshipcanalsobedefinedtoincludethestartingofnew
andtypicallyinnovativeventureswithinestablishedorganizations.Thisincludesthe
startingofinnovativeventureswithinestablishedcorporations,aswellasinnonprofitor
governmentalorganizations. 18W.B.GARTNER
wassegmentedintothefollowingattributes:
Activitiesassociatedwithbecomingan Creationofanewbusiness
Innovative owner-managerofafirm Purchasinganexistingbusiness
Startsaninnovativeventurewithinanestablishedorganization
Creationofanot-for-profitbusiness Creationofagovernmentorganization
TABLE1ExamplesofEntrepreneurshipDefinitions
Wethinkofentrepreneurshipasthestartingofnewventures.Weavoidanyimplicationofsmallorlarge.We
viewanewventurequitebroadly.Anewventuremightbethebuyingofanoldbusiness:Itisanewventure
forthebuyer.Weprefertostressthecreationofneweconomicenterprises-thecreationofwealth.
Entrepreneurssharefinancialrisk,managementrisk,and,perhapsmoreimportantly,puttheirwholecareer
onthelineintheirpursuitofanen,independententerprise.Essentially,theybecomeinextricablyintertwined
withthenewenterprise.Intheearlydaysofthenewenterprise,theoverallenterpriseisnotviablewithout
theentrepreneur.Theenterpriseshouldbeafor-profirbusiness.Itshouldbeanewventurealthoughnot
necessarilyastart-up.Forexample,aleveragedbuy-outofadivisionofalargebusinessisinmostcasesa
newventure(eventhoughnonewproductsorservicesarecreated),andtheleadentrepreneurmeetsthe
conditionsofmydefinitionoftheentrepreneurialactor.
Imostoftendefineentrepreneurshipasconcernedwiththoseactivitiesassociatedwithbecominganowner-
managerofaneworsmallfirm.Thisincludesthestartingofanyfirm,regardlessofwhetheritisinnovative.
Italsoincludesthepurchasingofanestablishedneworsmallfirm.Entrepreneurshipcanalsobedefined
toincludethestartingofnewandtypicallyinnovativeventureswithestablishedorganizations.Thisincludes
thestartingofinnovativeventureswithinestablishedcorporations,aswellasinnonprofitorgovernmental
organizations.
Thedefinitionofentrepreneurshipisadifficultonetoachieveconsensuson.Websterdefinesitasaprofit-
makingundertaking.Mydefinitionisasfollows:Anentrepreneurisapersonwhorefinesacreativeideaand
adaptsittoamarketopportunity,gathersresourcestoprovidepotentiallyforself-employmentand/orprofit.
Ifeelthatthisdefinitionaddressestheoriginalcreativethoughtprocess.Secondly,I
disputetheideathat
ithastobeasuccessfulventureinorderforonetobeclassifiedasanentrepreneur.LastlyI
feelstrongly
thatthereisnoprofitmotivationandatmostperhapsthegoalofself-employment..Idonotnecessarily
feelcomfortablewithequatinginnovationwithentrepreneurshipsinceitdoesnotalwaysinvolvethesame,
orasmany,skills.Thekeywordformeisinitiationandimplementation.Ifeelthatatrueentrepreneur
isalwaystheinitiatorandtheimplementor.He/sheisthepersonwhoputsittogetherandcarriesitoff.
Entrepreneurship:Thecreationofanewventure.Thenewventurestrategypossessesoneorbothofthe
followingcharacteristics: l
Anorientationtowardsignificantandrapidgrowth
0Innovativeinproduct.service,technology,ormarket
Anentrepreneurisaleaderwhostartsuphis/herownprofitornonprofitenterprise.His/hermostimportant
(mostseverelytested)personalitytraitiscommitment,whichismanifestedasperseveranceorpersistence.
Theentrepreneurisarisktaker-moderate,he/shesays.Buthe/shemayviewriskinanentirelydifferent
light(accordingtodifferentcriteria)fromthemanagerwhotakemoderaterisks.
Ipreferthetraditionaldefinitionofanowner-managedbusiness.Itseemstomethatownershipmakesa
differenceinthemotivationandinterestsofthemanager.Thepersonalitytraitapproachtoentrepre-
neurshipisahopelessdirectionforidentificationofsuccesfulentrepreneurs.Althoughwemayeventuallybe
abletoidentifytraitsappropriatetoentrepreneurship,wewillnotbeabletopredictsuccessbaseduponthese
ENTREPRENEURSHIPDEFINITIONS19 TABLE1(Continued) 8. 9. 10. Il. 12.
traits.Thereasonisthathumanbeingsarecapableofchangeinpersonality,andtheydothiswhentheyare
subjectedtotrauma.Thereisnotraumagreaterthanthreattoincomesurvival,sowecanexpectmuch
personalitychangetooccurintheprocessofentrepreneurship.Infact,itmaybethatthispersonalitychange
isexactlythephenomenonthatunderliestheassumptionthatowner-managersaremoreeffectivethanhired
managers.Existentialistphilosophyisprobablyabettertoolforunderstandingentrepreneursthanpsychology.
Entrepreneursaretypicallyrisktakerswhohaveavisionthattheirneedforachievement,power,andcontrol
overtheirlifeandenterprisecanbebestaccomplishedinanewenvironmentundertheirdirectionandcontrol.
Astubborndetermination,belief,andperseverancethattheycanandwillachievetheirgoalsandobjectives
inthefaceofadversityseemstobearequirementforthesuccessfulentrepreneur;theymustalsohavethe
abilitytochallengethecommonwisdomoflogicalintelligentadvisors,friends,andassociateswhoindicate
thattheywillbeunabletoachievetheirgoalsandobjectives.
Theactofinnovationforcommercialbenefitwithinanautonomousorganizationalentity,beitastart-up,or
aninternalventuresubsidiary.
Entrepreneurshipisthesumofthequalitiesandactivitiesofapersonwhoestablishes,andassumestherisk
for,aneworinnovativebusinessventure.Entrepreneurshavespecialskillsandtalents,whichincludeman-
agementskillsandgivethemasixthsenseforbusiness.Thosepersonalitytraitsandcharacteristicslisted
above,plusimagination,creativity,andlong-termvisioncanprobablybeenhancedwithexperience,butI
dontbelievetheycanbetaughtorlearned.
Innovativeactivityincombiningresourcestoexploitanewtechnology,invention,sourceofsupply,outlet,
orconsumerdemand.Theexerciseofleadershiptodirectandinspirepurposefulactivity.Theacceptanceof
personalresponsibilityforresultsandtheriskoflossorgainofpersonalcupifal.Theassumptionofcontrol
overanenterpriseasawhole.
Entrepreneurshipistheprocessofdesigningandmanagingdynamicgrowthstrategiesforanorganization.
Inthisway,90attributeswereidentifiedfromtheentrepreneurshipdefinitions.Thesecond
questionnaireaskedparticipants:Howimportantiseachattributetoyourdefinitionofen-
trepreneurship?Participantsrankedtheattributesfromveryimportanttounimportant.Of
the44participantsinphase2,41respondedtothesecondquestionnaire(93%response
rate).AsummaryoftheattributerankingsispresentedinTable2.
Theresponsesfromthesecondquestionnairewerethenevaluatedandfactoranalyzed.
Thefactoranalysissoughttoclusterthe90attributesintoasmallersetoffactors(themes).
Theeight-factorsolutionwasselected.AdescriptionoftheeightfactorsisprovidedinTable
3.
ThethirdphaseoftheDelphiaskedthe41participantstoevaluateandcommenton
theeightfactorsgeneratedinthesecondphase.Ofthe4 1
participantsinphase3,34responded
tothethirdquestionnaire(83%responserate).Table4presentsasummaryoftheratings,
rankings,andcorrelationsamongtheseeightthemes.
Sincenooneagreed-upondefinitionofentrepreneurshipappearedtoemergefromthe
Delphiprocess,theresearcherundertookaclusteranalysisoftheresponsestothethird
questionnairetouncoverwhetheranysimilaritiesinviewpointsexistedamongthepartici-
pants.Thedatawasclusteranalyzedusingbothhierarchical(completelinkageandsingle
linkage)andK-meansclusteringtechniques(Anderberg1973;SneathandSokal1973).
Resultsfromtheseanalysesrevealedtwodistinctclusters(seeTable5).Theseclusters
representwhatappeartobetwomajorviewpointsonhowentrepreneurshipmightbedefined.
20W.B.GARTNER
TABLE2HighestandLowestEntrepreneurshipDefinitionAttributeRankings
Howimportantiseachattribute toyourdejkitionofentrepreneurship?
3.48Thecreationofanewbusiness 3.34Newventuredevelopment
3.24Thecreationofanewbusinessthataddsvalue
3.09Integratesopportunitieswithresourcestocreateproductorservice
3.09Bringsresourcestobearonaperceivedopportunity
3.07Refinesacreativeideaandadaptsittoamarketopportunity
3.07Innovative 1.91 1.97 I .95 1.92 1.90 1.87 1.82 1.68 1.63 1.58
1.56 Understandsthegovernmentregulationsinfluencingthebusiness
Purchasinganexistingbusiness Aspecialtalentthatfewhave
Creationofagovernmentorganization Destroysthestatusquo
Thecreationofalife-stylebusiness Thecreationofamom-and-popbusiness
Mustbefor-profitbusiness Aleveragedbuy-out Extroverted
Egocentricbehavior
4:VeryimportantAmostrelevantpoint.First-orderpriority.Hasdirectbearingonmajorissues
3:ImportantRelevanttotheissue.Second-orderpriority.Significantimpactbutnotuntilotheritems
aretreated.
2:SlightlyimportantInsignificantlyrelevant.Third-orderpriority.Haslittleimpact.
1:UnimportantNorelevance.Nopriority.Nomeasurableeffect.Shouldbedroppedasanitemto
consider. DISCUSSION PhaseOne
ThegenerationofentrepreneurshipdefinitionsinthefirstphaseoftheDelphiprocessresulted
ina
widerangeofviewpointsonwhatconstitutesthefieldofentrepreneurship.Thedefinitions
inTable1wereselectedtoshowadiversityinviewpoints.Somedefinitionsappeartobe
verysimple(e.g.,l),whileotherdefinitionsaremorecomplex;thatis,theyidentifymany
differentconstructsinonedefinition(e.g.,5).Somedefinitionsseemtobesimilar(e.g.,3
and7),whileotherdefinitionsseemtobeatoppositeendsofthespectrum(e.g.,7and8).
Noobviousagreementastothemeaningofentrepreneurshipwasapparentfromreadingthe
definitions.
Wehadnoexpectationsthatparticipantswouldchangetheirideasaboutentrepre-
neurshipwhenratingthe90attributesinthesecondround.Inmanyrespects,thepurpose
ofapolicyDelphiwastohelpsurfacediversityofviewpointsonasubject,ratherthanwork
towardcreatingagreement.Ourbeliefwasthatparticipantswouldseetheresultsofthefirst
round(thelistingofall44definitions)andcometogreaterappreciationofthediversityof
viewpoints.Yet,theparticipantsprobablywouldnotchangetheirviews.
PhaseTwo
TheanalysesinthesecondphaseoftheDelphiwereundertakentodeterminespecifically
whatsimilaritiesanddifferencesinentrepreneurshipdefinitionsexistedamongthepartici-
ENTREPRENEURSHIPDEFINITIONS21
pants.Byhavingeachparticipantratethesameattributes,aquantitativeprofileforeach
participantcouldbeconstructed.Thesequantitativeprofilescouldthenbecomparedand
contrasted.Thefirstanalysissoughttodiscoverwhichattributesreceivedthehighestand
lowestratingsbyalloftheparticipants(Table2).Themostimportantattributesdescribing
entrepreneurshipinvolvedorganizationcreation,innovation,andtheacquisitionandinte-
grationofresources.Theleastimportantattributesdescribingentrepreneurshipwereno-
growthbusinesses,nonprofitbusinesses,andpersonalitycharacteristicsoftheentrepreneur.
Theseresultsaredifferentfromthosefoundinasurveyof63researchersattheBabson
EntrepreneurshipResearchConferencein1986(Ronstadtetal.1986).TheBabsonsurvey
askedresearcherstorankthetopthreeareasaccordingtohighestinterest.Inbothweighted
andunweightedrankings,entrepreneurialcharacteristicsandtraitsreceivedthehighestnum-
berofvotes.Butwhenresearcherswereaskedfortheirtwoareasofleastinterest,entre-
preneurialcharacteristicsandtraitswasrankedthird.TheBabsonresultspresentavery
mixedmessageontheimportanceofentrepreneurialtraits.TheBabsonsurveysuggested
thatsomemembersseethetopic(entrepreneurialtraits)asrelativelyunproductivefroma
researchstandpointandnotveryusefultopractitioners(p.xiv).IntheDelphiratingsthe
definitionofentrepreneurshipseemstobeabehavioralone(e.g.,newventuredevelopment,
integratesopportunitieswithresourcestocreateproductorservice,bringsresourcestobear
onaperceivedopportunity)andnotbasedonpersonalitytraits(e.g.,egocentricbehavior,
extroverted,aspecialtalentthatfewhave).Thenextanalysisexploredthisissueingreater
detail.
Thesecondanalysissoughttoclusterthe90attributesintoasmallersetoffactors
(themes).Manyoftheattributesweresimilartoeachother(e.g.,innovative,innovative
product,innovativemarket,meetsmarketdemandinanewway),andthefactoranalysis
soughttocombinethem.Aneight-factorsolutionwaschosen,whichaccountedfor67.3%
ofthevarianceintheresponses.Theprimarygoalofthefactoranalysiswastouncovera
simple,parsimonioussetofthemesthatarticulatedmostofthebasicideasaddressedinthe
90attributes.Statisticalconcernswereofsecondaryimportance.Theeightfactors,thetotal
varianceaccountedforbyeachfactor,theeigenvalues,thefrequenciesforeachattribute,
andthecorrelationsforthehighest-loadingattributesforeachfactorarepresentedinTable
3.Eachfactor(theme)isaviewofentrepreneurshipaboutwhichparticipantsheldstrong
beliefs-proandcon.WhenWC
thinkaboutentrepreneurship,ourideascenteraroundthese
eightprincipalideasorthemes.Theseeightthemes,therefore,representeightissueswhich
theparticipantsstronglydebated. TheEntrepreneur
Theentrepreneurthemeistheideathatentrepreneurshipinvolvesindividualswithunique
personalitycharacteristicsandabilities.Mostoftheattributesthatdescribedtheentrepreneur
(e.g.,risktaking,locusofcontrol,autonomy,perseverance,commitment,vision,creativity)
correlatedwiththisfactor.Itwasnotsurprisingthatthisthemecaptured17%ofthetotal
variance.Aspreviouslymentioned,theBabsonsurveyrankedentrepreneurialtraitsand
characteristicsasthetopicofhighestinterestaswellasthethirdleastinteresting.Inboth
definitionsandrankingsfromtheDelphi,respondentsbeliefsabouttheimportanceofthe
entrepreneurasamajorthemeinadefinitionofentrepreneurshipshowedgreatcontrast.For
example,definitions7and10inTable1showedrespondentsonoppositeendsofthe
spectrum.Respondent7believedthatpersonalitytraitsareahopelessdirectionforentre-
preneurship,whilerespondent10
believedthatentrepreneurshipwasthespecialunteachable TABLE 3
Entrepreneurship Factors Factor 1 The Entrepreneur 17.4% V. 23.6 E
UN 3 m g CORR - 17 17 34 32 ,889 12 27 29 32 ,864 15 17 32 36 ,847
17 17 24 42 ,847 17 10 34 39 ,840 15 17 37 31 ,833 24 34 22 20 ,826
17 17 24 42 ,189 24 30 24 22 ,766 12 17 31 34 ,762 20 29 24 21 ,758
21 24 29 20 ,689 32 22 37 09 ,622 24 29 32 I5 ,621 22 20 37 21 ,621
27 20 34 19 .617 IO 24 34 32 ,608 24 22 37 17 ,599 22 20 32 26 ,576
20 20 37 23 ,565 41 22 24 13 .545 27 21 32 14 ,545 Assume
management risk Assume financial risk Capacity for hard work
Requires perseverance Perseverance A risk taker Assume social risk
Requires commitment Willingness to sacrifice Risk taking Assume
psychological risk Need for achievement Willingness to move quickly
without full information Locus of control Requires autonomy Risk
career Involves creativity (.475 on factor 2) Someone who wants to
be his/her own boss Vision Ability to go out on ones own
Self-assessment Creates self-employment Factor 2 Innovation 12.0%
V, 10.0 E 15 29 41 15 ,878 Innovation service 10 20 49 21 ,840
Meets market demand in 12 27 39 22 ,825 12 32 37 19 .825 17 24 49
10 ,791 12 10 37 41 .744 a new way Innovative product Innovative
market Innovative technology Refines a creative idea and adapts it
to a market opportunity Innovative Draws together resources in a
new way Can occur in older organizations Starts an innovative
venture within an established organization Convinces others to join
the venture Corporate entrepreneurship Can occur in large
organizations 10 20 24 46 ,697 07 27 37 29 ,680 22 39 27 12 ,653 24
17 41 18 ,614 17 32 37 14 ,524 32 32 29 17 ,517 22 34 29 15 ,503
Factor 3 UN SI -- pJ VI - 05 20 37 38 07 22 24 47 ,134 07 29 39 25
,725 20 20 29 31 ,716 05 22 46 27 ,676 22 31 20 21 ,644 00 15 02 22
37 48 ,639 24 52 ,538 Factor 4 Organization Creation 6.6% V, 5.8 E
CORR ,744 Brings resources to bear on a perceived opporhmity
Integrates opportunities with resources to create product or
service Gathers resources Must add value Mobilizes resources
Creates incremental wealth New ventllre development The creation of
a business that adds value Creating Value 5.9% V. 5.3 E gNgIMVI= 20
34 34 12 ,784 02 05 34 59 ,587 34 37 22 07 ,547 27 29 17 21 ,518 46
27 17 10 ,513 17 24 39 20 ,509 42 34 12 12 ,502 The transformation
of a business that adds value The creation of a new business
Manages a growth strategy for an organization Process of breaking
away from traditional procedures Destroys the status quo The
creation of wealth A special talent that few have TABLE 3
(continued) Factor 5 27 29 51 15 Factor 6 yNg 34 27 20 22 29 34 32
05 63 12 17 08 56 29 10 05 56 32 12 00 12 20 34 34 IM VI -- 22 22
24 10 IM VI -- 32 07 44 14 Profit or Nonprofit 5.7% V, 4.9 E CORR
.-Ill .I61 Creation of a not-for- profit business Creation of a
government organization Growth 6.1% V, 4.5 E CORR .738 ,685 .662
,618 ,617 ,540 .510 Involves rapid growth A growth-oriented
undertaking Creates profit Must be for-profit business A leveraged
buy-out Egocentric behavior The creation of a business growth
intent on significant growth Factor 7 Uniqueness 8.7% V, 3.4 E UN g
E E CORR - 27 34 22 17 ,651 12 29 34 24 ,623 15 32 38 14 ,606 07 22
49 22 ,587 17 34 32 17 ,587 15 41 24 20 ,566 20 44 20 16 ,554 22 32
29 17 ,530 15 24 29 32 ,517 39 29 27 05 ,506 A special way of
thinking A vision of accomplishment for an enterprise Creates a
competitive advantage Identifies a market Provides a concept of a
product or service Creates a unique combination Understands the
requirements to accomplish goals Identifies others to join the
venture Ability to see situations in terms of unmet needs
Understands the government regulations influencing the business
Factor 8 The Owner-Manager 4.9% V, 3.1 E 49 24 22 05 ,815 The
creation of a mom- and-pop business 49 20 27 04 ,736 The creation
of life- a style business 34 39 22 05 ,550 Purchasing an existing
business 20 37 24 19 .525 Activities associated with becoming an
owner- manager of a firm V, variance; E, eigenvalue; UN, %
unimportant; SI, %, slightly important; IM, % important; VI, % very
important; CORR, correlation. 24W.B.GARTNER
TABLE4Ratings,Rankings,andCorrelationsofThemes ScoreCorrelations on
RatingRankbRankENTINNRIACVFPGRH UNQ OWN ENT3.0044.091.00
INN3.1523.24.42I .oo RIA3.4433.27-.I5-.I31.00
cv3.2913.08-.I1-.25.071.00 FP1.5087.24-.03-.05.I0.231.00
GRH2.3575.24.30.23-.I6-.I6-.I91.00
UNQ2.5565.00.26.61-.24-.21-.13.351.00
OWN2.7754.85-.03-.05.22.I8.38-.09-.I81.00
ENT,TheEntrepreneur:INN,Innovation:RIA.OrganizationCreation(ResourceIntegrationandAcquisition);CV,Creating
Value;FP.ForProfit:GRH,Growth:UNQ.Uniqueness;OWN,TheOwner-Manager.
*Veryimportant=4.notlmpottant=I. bHighest rank=1.lowestrank=8.
skillsandtalentsofuniqueindividuals.Almost50%oftherespondentsratedcharacteristics
oftheentrepreneurasnotimportanttoadefinitionofentrepreneurship;thatis,anaverage
oftheresponsestotheattributeslistedinfactor1
(Table3)foundthat22%and23%ofthe
respondentsrankedtheseattributesasunimportantandslightlyimportant,respectively.
Whethertheentrepreneurismalignedandacclaimed,theentrepreneurthemehasa
prominent
placeinourthoughtsaboutentrepreneurship.Thisresultfurthersupportsthesuggestion
fromtheBabsonsurveythatperhapsthetimemayberipefordebateonthesubject
TABLE5SummaryStatisticsforK-meansClusterAnalysis Variable Between
ss 4 WithinSS 4 FratioProbability ENT INN RIA cv FP GRH UNQ OM
2.87I31.12323.96,095 6.54121.72329.63,004 .66121.7232.96,332
4.39118.67327.53,010 7.60120.893211.64,002 10.04123.723213.54,001
8.59I33.78328.13,008 10.52129.523211.37,002 Variable
Cluster1Cluster2 MeanSDMeanSD ENT3.151.012.43.73 INN3.37.822.29.70
RIA3.37.873.71.45 cv3.11.834.00.OO FP1.26.522.431.40
GRH2.63.871.29.70 OM2.481.031.57.49 ENTREPRENEURSHIPDEFINITIONS25
(Ronstadtetal.1986:xiv).Thequestionthatneedstobeaddressedis:Doesentrepreneurship
involveentrepreneurs(individualswithuniquecharacteristics)?
Innovation
Theinnovationthemeischaracterizedasdoingsomethingnewasanidea,product,service,
market,ortechnologyinaneworestablishedorganization.Attributesthatdescribedvarious
typesofinnovationcorrelatedwiththisfactorarelistedinTable3(factor2).Theinnovation
themehadrespondentswhowereeitherpro(definition9)orcon(definition4)onitsim-
portancefordefiningentrepreneurship.Itshouldberecognizedthattheattributesthatde-
scribedcorporateentrepreneurshipandolder,largerorganizationswerealsocorrelatedto
thisfactor.Theinnovationthemesuggeststhatinnovationisnotlimitedtonewventures,
butrecognizedassomethingwhicholderand/orlargerorganizationsmayundertakeaswell
(e.g.,definition3).Doesentrepreneurshipinvolveinnovation?
OrganizationCreation
Theorganizationcreationthemedescribedthebehaviorsinvolvedincreatingorganizations.
Thisthemedescribedacquiringandintegratingresourceattributes(e.g.,Bringsresources
tobear...,Integratesopportunitieswithresources...,Mobilizesresources,gathers
resources)aswellasattributesthatdescribedcreatingorganizations(Newventuredevel-
opmentandThecreationofabusinessthataddsvalue).TheresultsinTable2indicatethat
participantsrankednewventuredevelopmentandthecreationofabusinessthataddsvalue
asthesecondandthirdmostimportantattributes,respectively,ofalltheattributesdescribing
entrepreneurship.Butsomeparticipants(e.g.,definitions9,10,and12)indicatedthat
organizationcreationwasnotnecessaryforentrepreneurship.Doesentrepreneurshipinvolve
resourceacquisitionandintegration(newventurecreationactivities)?
CreatingValue
Thisthemearticulatedtheideathatentrepreneurshipcreatesvalue.Theattributesinthis
factorindicatedthatvaluecreationmightberepresentedbytransforminga
business,creating
anewbusinessgrowingabusiness,creatingwealth,ordestroyingthestatusquo.Does
entrepreneurshipinvolvecreatingvalue? ProfitorNonprojt
Theprofit/nonprofitthemeisconcernedwithwhetherentrepreneurshipinvolvesprofit-making
organizationsonly.Respondentshadverydifferentviewpointsonthistheme.Thefirst
attributecorrelatedtothisfactor(Creationofanot-for-profitbusiness)showedaneven
distributionofresponses:veryimportant(22%),important(22%),slightlyimportant(29%),
unimportant(27%).Mostrespondentsfeltthatthesecondattribute(Creationofagovernment
organization)wasnotanimportantcharacteristicofentrepreneurship:veryimportant(lo%),
important(24%),slightlyimportant(15%),unimportant(51%).Theseratingsandsomeof
thedefinitionsprovidedinTable1indicatethatmanypeoplethinkthatentrepreneurship
canonlybeafor-profitundertaking(definition2).Butothersbelievethatorganization
creationcanbeentrepreneurialwhetheritisfor-profitornot(definitions3and6).Does
entrepreneurshipinvolveprofit-makingorganizationsonly?
26W.B.GARTNER Growth
Atissueinthisthemeistheimportanceofgrowthasacharacteristicofentrepreneurship.
Mostoftheattributesinthisfactordescribedgrowth(e.g.,Involvesrapidgrowth,Agrowth-
orientedundertaking,Thecreationofabusinessintentonsignificantgrowth),althoughtwo
oftheattributesdescribedprofitsaswell(Createsprofits,Mustbeafor-profitbusiness).
Theattributeratingsshowedmixedresults.Forexample,morethanhalfoftherespondents
indicatedthatgrowthwasnotimportanttoadefinitionofentrepreneurshipbytheranking
ofthefirstattribute(Involvesrapidgrowth):veryimportant(7%),important(32%),slightly
important(27%),unimportant(34%).Somedefinitions(e.g.,5and12)indicatedthatgrowth
wasoneofthemajorcharacteristicsofentrepreneurship.Doesentrepreneurshipinvolve
growth-orientedorganizations? Uniqueness
Thisthemesuggestedthatentrepreneurshipmustinvolveuniqueness.Uniquenesswaschar-
acterizedbyattributessuchasaspecialwayofthinking,avisionofaccomplishment,ability
toseesituationsintermsofunmetneeds,andcreatesauniquecombination.Doesentre-
preneurshipinvolveuniqueness? TheOwner-Manager
Theownershipandmanagementofanongoingbusinesswasthelastthemegeneratedfrom
thefactoranalysis.Thefourattributescorrelatedwiththistheme(Thecreationofamom-
and-popbusiness,Thecreationofalife-stylebusiness,Purchasinganexistingbusiness,
Activitiesassociatedwithbecominganowner-managerofafirm)pointoutthattheman-
agementandownershipofanongoingsmallerorganizationisoftentiedtoentrepreneurship.
Mostoftherespondentsdidnotfeelthatmom-and-poptypeorganizationswereentrepre-
neurial:veryimportant(5%),important(22%),slightlyimportant(24%),unimportant(49%).
Butsomeofthedefinitions(e.g.,3and7)clearlyidentifytheowner-managerasthemost
importantcharacteristicofentrepreneurship.Doesentrepreneurshipinvolveowner-managed
businesses? PhaseThree
Thevalueofidentifyingtheseeightthemesofentrepreneurshipwasthatthediversityand
complexityontheoriginal44definitionsofentrepreneurshipcouldbesimplifiedtosome
commonconcerns.Theeightthemesprovidedawayforindividualstoreflectontheirown
definitionsofentrepreneurship.ThethirdpartoftheDelphiaskedparticipantstocarefully
considertheimportanceoftheseeightthemestotheirideasaboutentrepreneurship.One
benefitofthiswasthatitaskedindividualstoconsiderthemesthattheymightnothave
broughtupintheirowndefinitionsbutthatwerearticulatedbyothers.Assomeofthe
writtendefinitionsindicate,manyrespondentsfocusedsolelyoninnovationorgrowth,
withoutconsideringissuesofuniqueness,valueorganizationcreation,profits,theentrepre-
neur,ortheowner-manager.Inaddition,thequestionnaireaskedrespondentstoconsider
whytheybelievewhattheybelieve.Whyiscreatingvalueimportant?Whymustacompany
beinnovative?Whymustacompanyhavegrowth?Howimportantistheentrepreneur?Is
athemeimportanttotheparticipantbecauseitissupportedintheentrepreneurshipliterature
ENTREPRENEURSHIPDEFINITIONS27
orbytheindividualsexperience?etc.Takingalloftheparticipantsscoresintotal,the
resultsfromtheratingandrankingoftheeightthemes(Table4)appeartodividethethemes
intoahighrated/rankedgroup(theentrepreneur,innovation,organizationcreation,and
creatingvalue),andalowrated/rankedgroup(for-profit,growth,uniqueness,andtheowner-
manager).Yettheonlythemethatwasclearlyalow-rankingthemewasfor-profit.A
consensusfromtheparticipantsappearstobethatentrepreneurshipcaninvolvenonprofit
organizations. TwoViewpointsonEntrepreneurship
Aclusteranalysiswasundertakentodiscoverwhethertheparticipantscouldbegrouped
togetherbasedontheirratingofalleightthemes;thatis,whetherthe34participants
represented34distinctviewsonentrepreneurshiporasmallernumberofviewpoints.Exactly
thesametwogroupsemergedfromboththehierarchicalclusteringandtheK-meansclustering
(Table5).Participantsineachofthesetwogroupsdidnotratetheeightthemesexactlythe
same,buttheirratingsacrosstheeightthemesweremoresimilartoparticipantsintheir
groupthantoparticipantsintheothergroup.Onethemethatshowednosignificantdifference
betweenthetwogroupswastheresourceacquisitionandintegrationtheme(newventure
creationactivities).Bothgroupsindicatedhighratingsforthistheme(thisthemereceived
thehighestratingovertheparticipants;Table4).Wemighttakefromthisresultanindication
thatorganizationcreationisoneimportantaspectofentrepreneurship.Forsomeindividuals,
itappearstobetheonlyaspectofentrepreneurship,butforothers,thisthemeisimportant
onlyinthecontextofsomeoftheotherthemes.Afterreadingovereachgroupswritten
responsestotheeightthemes,twomajorviewpointsonhowtoseeentrepreneurshipbecame
apparent.
Themajority(79%)oftheparticipantswereclusteredingroup1.Thefocusofthis
groupseemstobeonthecharacteristicsofentrepreneurship.Participantsratedtheentre-
preneur,innovation,growth,anduniquenesssignificantlyhigherthantheothergroup.Group
1lookedatwhathappenedinthesituation.Thisgroupindicatedthatasituationwas
entrepreneurialiftheycouldansweryestothesequestions:Isthereanentrepreneur
involved?Isthereinnovation?Istheregrowth?Isthereuniqueness?Forthisgroup,itappears
thatsituationswithoutthesecharacteristicsarenotentrepreneurialsituations.
Theothergroup,group2,focusedontheoutcomesofentrepreneurship.Participants
rankedcreatingvalue,forprofit,andowner-managerhigherthantheothergroup,while
rankingtheotherthemesmuchlower.Group2sawasituationasentrepreneurialonlyif
valuewascreatedorifsomeonegained.For-profitandowner-managerwereratedhigher
becausegroupmembersfeltthatsituationsinwhichtheentrepreneurcouldexperience
positiveoutcomeswerelikelytobeentrepreneurial.Forthisgroup,itappearsthatsituations
wherenovalueiscreated,orwherenoonegains,arenotentrepreneurialsituations.
IMPLICATIONSANDCONCLUSIONS
Weneedtogiveseriousconsiderationtoarticulatingourbeliefsaboutentrepreneurshipand
torecognizingthatthesebeliefsinfluencethekindsofquestionsweaskourselvesandothers
aboutthistopic.Forexample,researcherswhobelievethatentrepreneurshiprequiresin-
dividualswithspecialpersonalitycharacteristicsareprobablygoingtodoresearchthat
exploresthesebeliefs.Individualswhoconsiderentrepreneurshiptobethedomainofowner-
managersarelikelytodoresearchthatisverydifferentfromindividualswhobelievethat
28W.B.GARTNER
innovationandgrowthareimportant.Yetnoneofthesedomainsareexclusiveoftheothers,
andaconcernaboutonethemeprobablywilloverlapanother.
Entrepreneurshipisaverycomplexidea.Theeightthemesdescribemanydifferent
typesofactivitiesandstatesofexistence.Weneedtobeawarethatwhenwetalkabout
entrepreneurshipwecarryaroundawiderangeofbeliefs.Someofusmaybelievethat
entrepreneurshipmustinvolverisk-takingindividualswhostartnewventuresthatarein-
novativeandexperiencerapidgrowth.Othersmaybeconcernedonlyaboutentrepreneurship
asstartingnewventures.Whatwemustallbeconcernedaboutismakingsurethatwhen
wetalkaboutentrepreneurshipwerecognizethatithasmanydifferentmeaningsattached
toit.
Adefinitionofentrepreneurshiphasyettoemerge.Theviewsonentrepreneurship
thathavebeenarticulatedherereflecttherobustnessofanewfield,buddingwithnewideas
andthoughts,allcompetingfora
prominentplaceinsomefutureorthodoxy.Noonedefinition
ofentrepreneurshipneedemerge.Adefinitionofentrepreneurshipthatissosimplethatit
failstoreflectthethingweareconcernedaboutdoesnothavetobecreated.Butifno
existingdefinitioncanbeagreeduponbymostresearchersandpractitioners,thenitis
importanttosaywhatwemean.Ifmanydifferentmeaningsforentrepreneurshipexist,then
itbehoovesustomakesurethatothersknowwhatwearetalkingabout.Thevariousthemes
ofentrepreneurshipexpressedhereseemtoreflectdifferentpartsofthesamephenomenon.
TheimportanceofthisentrepreneurshipDelphiisinhelpingusmakeexplicitwhatweare
talkingaboutwhenwetalkaboutentrepreneurship.Onlybymakingexplicitwhatwebelieve
canwebegintounderstandhowallofthesedifferentpartsmakeupawhole.
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