Skip to main content
Log in

Individual and Environmental Determinants of Entrepreneurship

  • Published:
The International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

I argue that to better understand the emergence of entrepreneurial activity in a given country, we need to complement the analysis of the psychological and non-psychological characteristics of the individual entrepreneur that currently dominates entrepreneurship studies with the analysis of environmental characteristics in terms of the availability of resources and competition, as well as the conditions of the institutions that govern economic activity. These three groups of factors enable the entrepreneur not only to identify a business opportunity, but also to exploit it, and create a firm that achieves profitability and generates wealth.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Acs, Z.J. & Audretsch, D. 1990. Innovation and small firms. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aldrich, H.E. & Wiedenmayer, G. 1993. From traits to rates: An ecological perspective on organizational founding. In J. Katz & R. Brockhaus (Eds.), Advances in entrepreneurship, firm emergence, and growth: 145–195. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alvarez, S. & Busenitz, L. 2001. The entrepreneurship of resource-based theory. Journal of Management, 27: 755–775.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amit, R., Glosten, L. & Muller, E. 1994. Challenges to theory development in entrepreneurship research. Journal of Management Studies, 10: 815–834.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arend, R. 1999. Emergence of entrepreneurs following exogenous technological change. Strategic Management Journal, 20: 31–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baumol, W.J. 1993. Entrepreneurship, Management and the Structure of Payoffs. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Begley, T.M. & Boyd, D.P. 1987. Psychological characteristics associated with performance in entrepreneurial firms and smaller business. Journal of Business Venturing, 2: 79–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhide, A. 2000. The origins and evolution of new businesses. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Busenitz, L.W. & Barney, J.B. 1997. Differences between entrepreneurs and managers in large organizations: Biases and heuristics in strategic decision-making. Journal of Business Venturing, 12: 9–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Busenitz, L.W., Gómez, C. & Spencer, J.W. 2000. Country institutional profiles: Unlocking entrepreneurial phenomena. Academy of Management Journal, 43: 994–1003.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bygrave, W. & Minniti, M. 1999. The microfoundations of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 23(4): 41–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bygrave, W. & Minniti, M. 2000. The social dynamics of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 24(3): 25–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Capelleras, J.L. & Genescá, E. 2003. Formación y empleo por cuenta propia: Un análisis comparativo a nivel internacional. In Creación de empresas—entrepreneurship. Barcelona: UAB.

  • Carlson, B. (Ed.) 2003. Technological systems in Bio industries: An international study. Kluwer Academic Publishers.

  • Carreras, A. & Tafunell. 1997. Big Manufacturing firms between state and market. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Casper, S. & Murray, F. 2003. Scientific labor markets and the building of biotechnology firms: A comparative analysis. Paper submitted to the 2003. Academy of Management Conference, Seattle.

  • Casson, M.C. 2000. Economics of international business: A new research agenda. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Casson, M. 2003. The entrepreneur an economic theory. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chandler, A. 1977. The visible hand. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chandler, G.N. & Jansen, E. 1992. The founder’s self-assessed competence and venture performance. Journal of Business Venturing, 7(3): 223–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen, C.M. 1997. The innovation’s dilemma. New York: Harper Business.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, J.M. 1961. Competition as a dynamic process. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claessens, S., Djankov, S., Fan, J. & Lang, H. 1999. Expropriation of minority shareholders in East Asia, World Bank.

  • Comín, F. & Martín Aceña, P. 1996. Rasgos históricos de las empresas de España. Un panorama. Revista de Economía Aplicada, 6(12): 75–123.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham, B. & Lischeron, J. 1991. Defining entrepreneurship. Journal of Small Business Management, 29(1): 45–61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Demirguc-Kunt, A. & Maksimovic, V. 1998. Law, finance, and firm growth. Journal of Finance, 53: 2107–2139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Demsetz, H. 1983. The neglect of the entrepreneurship. In J. Ronen (Ed.), Entrepreneurship: 271–280. Lexington, MA: Heath and Co.

  • Dodd, S. & Seaman, P. 1999. Religion and enterprise: An introductory exploration. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 23(1): 71–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dosi G. 1988. The nature of the innovative process. In G. Dosi, C. Freeman, G Silverberg & L. Soete (Eds.), Technical change and economic theory: 221–238. New York: Pinter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fiet, J.O. 2002. Systematic search for entrepreneurial discoveries. Westport: Quorum Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenfield, S.M. & Strickon, A. 1995. A new paradigm for study of entrepreneurship and social change. In H. Livesay, (Eds.), Entrepreneurship and the growth of the firms.

  • Henderson, R.M. 1993. Underinvestment and incompetence as responses to radical innovation. Rand Journal of Economics, 24(2): 248–270.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herron, L. & Robinson, R.B. 1993. A structural model of the effect of entrepreneurial characteristics on venture performance. Journal of Business Venturing, 8: 281–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, M.C. & Gulati, R. 2003. Getting off to a good start: The effects of upper echelon affiliations on underwriter prestige. Organization Science, 14: 244–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hull, D.L., Bosley, J.J. & Udell, G.G. 1980. Renewing the hunt for the Neffalump: Identifying potential entrepreneurs by personality characteristics. Journal of Small Business, 18(1): 11–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kenney, M. 1986. Biotechnology: The university-industrial complex. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khilstrom, R. & Laffont, J.J. 1979. A general equilibrium entrepreneurial theory of firm formation based on risk aversion”. Journal of Political Economy, 87: 719–748.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirzner, I.M. 1973. Competition and entrepreneurship. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirzner, I.M. 1995. Creatividad, capitalismo y justicia distributiva. Madrid: Unión Editorial.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knight, F.H. 1921, 1947. Risk, uncertainty, and profit. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin.

  • Langpois, R. & Robertson, P. 2000. Empresas, mercados y cambio economics. Barcelona. Projects A Ediciones.

  • La Porta, R., López-Silanes, F., Shleifer & Vishny, R.A 1999. Investor protection and corporate valuation, NBER Working Paper 7403.

  • Lee, D.Y. & Tsang, E.W.K. 2001. The effects of entrepreneurial personality. Background and network activities on venture growth. Journal of Management Studies, 38(4): 583–602.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leibenstein, H. 1968. Entrepreneurship and development. American Economic Review, 58: 72–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leibenstein, H. 1979. X-efficiency: From concept to theory. Challenge, September–October: 13–22.

  • Lerner, J. 1995. Venture capitalists and the oversight of private firms. Journal of Finance, 50: 301–318.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lumpkin, G.T. & Dess, G.G. 1996. Clarifying the entrepreneurial orientation construct and linking it to performance. Academy of Management Review, 21: 135–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, 1961, 1890. Principles of economics. London: Macmillan.

  • Mazingo, C. 1999. Effects of property rights on economic activity: Lessons from the Stolypin land reform.” Unpublished Paper, Department of Economics, MIT.

  • McClelland, D.C. 1961, 1968. The achieving society. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand.

  • McClelland, D.C. & Winter, D. 1969. Motivating economic achievement. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Minniti, M. 1999. Social environment and alternative patterns of entrepreneurial activity. Working Paper, Babson College, MA.

  • Moran, P. & Ghoshal. 1999. Markets, firms and the process of economic development. Academy Management Review, 24: 390–412.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mourdoukoutas, P. & Papadimitriou, S. 2002. Nurturing entrepreneurship: Institutions and policies. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfeffer 1977. The ambiguity of leadership. Academy of Management Review, 2: 104–112.

  • Romanelli, E. 1989. Organization birth and population variety: A community perspective on origins. In B. Staw & L. Cummings (Eds), Research in Organization Behavior: 211–246. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

  • Romanelli, E. & Schoonhoven, K. 2001. The local origins of new firms. In K. Schoonhoven & E. Romanelli (Eds.), The entrepreneurial dynamic: 40–67. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumpeter, J.A. 1936. The theory of economic development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumpeter, J.A. 1943, 1950. Capitalismo, socialismo y democracia. Barcelona: Ariel.

  • Sexton, D.L. & Bowman-Upton 1991. Entrepreneurship: Creativity and growth. New York: MacMillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shakle, G. 1982. Imagination and the nature of choice. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shane, S. 2003. A general theory of entrepreneurship. the individual-opportunity nexus. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shane, S. & Cable, D. 2002. Networks ties, reputation and the financials of new ventures. Management Science, 48: 364–381.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shane, S. & Venkataraman, S. 2000. The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research. Academy of Management Review, 25: 217–226.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaver, K.G. & Scott, L.R 1991. Person, process, choice: The psychology of new creation. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 16(2): 23–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stigler, G.J. 1976. The existence of X-efficiency. American Economic Review, 66: 213–216.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tortella, G. 1995. La iniciativa empresarial, factor escaso en la España contemporánea. In F. Comín & P. Martín Aceña (Eds.), La empresa de la Historia de España. Madrid: Cívitas.

  • Tushman, M. & Anderson, P. 1986. Technological discontinuities and organizational environments. Administrative Science Quarterly, 31: 439–465.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valdaliso, J.M. 2004. La competitividad internacional de las empresas españolas y sus factores condicionantes. Algunas reflexiones desde la historia empresarial. Revista de historia industrial, 26: 13–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Veciana, J.M. 1989. Características del empresario en España. Papeles de Economía Española, 39: 19–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Von Mises, L. 1986, 1949. La Acción humana. Tratado de economía. Madrid: Unión Editorial.

  • Weber, M. 1930. The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. New York: Scribier.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alvaro Cuervo.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Cuervo, A. Individual and Environmental Determinants of Entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Mgt. 1, 293–311 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-005-2591-7

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-005-2591-7

Keywords

Navigation