Entrepreneurial Motivations
Motivation is the driving force within people that get them to act in the ways they do. Entrepreneurial motivations are necessary steps of getting individuals to become entrepreneurs. Scholars have conducted various researches on entrepreneurial motivations and have come up with several factors that motivate people to become entrepreneurs.
The standard issue with the concept of “Entrepreneurial Motivation” is that many scholars do not agree on the all the special characteristics that the entrepreneurs are supposed to possess to function as entrepreneurs. In fact, there have been noted cases where successful entrepreneurs haven’t been found possessing many or all the special characteristics identified by experts to become successful entrepreneurs.
Hence, scholars now identify a set of several human motivations that influence the entrepreneurial process and have concluded that that entrepreneurial spirits are not solely the result of human action. External factors, such as the economy, the availability of business capital, competitors and government regulations are also important factors in entrepreneurship.
Non-motivational Factors that Influence Entrepreneurship
There are many non-motivational factors that also influence entrepreneurship. Some of the most prominent of them are as follows −
- Unsatisfactory work environment
- Unwanted career transition
- Positive pull influences
Apart from these, there are many other characteristics such as −
- Established family business
- Childhood
- Family environment
- Education
- Age
- Work history
Some of the most important factors behind entrepreneurship are −
- A desire for applying innovative thoughts
- A desire for independent functioning
- A desire for financial independence
- A desire to achieve personal goals
Need for Achievement
Entrepreneurs realize that they should engage in activities or tasks where they must share a high degree of individual responsibility for outcomes. Hence, they need individual skill and effort to design plans that have moderate or less than moderate risk.
In a nutshell, these individuals know how to deal with situations in which they can achieve results through their efforts. They also know that by effective utility of available resources helps them to achieve difficult goals through a timely and transparent feedback mechanism.
Risk-taking Propensity
Risk-taking propensity is one of the most eminent features in the world of entrepreneurship. It is defined as the willingness to take moderate risks.
This motivational influence on entrepreneurship is the result of the need to have achievements as people with a high need of achievement are always willing to take moderate risks.
This is because activities with moderate risk are both challenging and achievable at the same time. This keeps people interested in the potential profitability of the venture, while also motivating them to take a calculated risk.
Tolerance for Ambiguity
An entrepreneur is someone who is bringing his own vision into a world where such an idea has never existed. He needs to realize that there will be many loopholes in his idea which may place him in the grey areas while explaining his concept to others.
An entrepreneur needs to be fully prepared to handle tough questions on his ideas because people need to feel relaxed and assured that an idea is good before they invest in it. An entrepreneur needs to have a good amount of tolerance for ambiguity.
