THE ROLE OF CULTURE ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP

DEVELOPMENT

ByD.Srinivas reddy

In recent years a growing awareness of the importance of entrepreneurial activity

for economic development has triggered research on the fundamentals of

entrepreneurship. Cross-national differences in levels of entrepreneurial activity

may be explained by a wide range of economic, technological, cultural and

institutional factors.

Introduction

Why are some people more entrepreneurial than others? What motivates people

towards business entry and self-employment?

Profit may be one motive, as emphasized by several economists.

INFLUENCE OF CULTURE

Culture is may affect

entrepreneurship through individual orientations and higher-level institutions

However, positive reasons alone may not motivate entrepreneurship. Some

individuals may have no other option but to choose self-employment

CULTURE AS A FACTOR IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT:

Max Weber first emphasized the influence of culture on

entrepreneurship at the beginning of the twentieth century.

As Weber famously argued, Protestantism encouraged

a culture that emphasized individualism, achievement

motivation, legitimating of entrepreneurial vocations,

rationality, asceticism, and self-reliance.

Culture is greatly influenced by religion since religion determines

a person’s basic values and beliefs.

THE ROLE OF CULTURE IN BUSINESS

According to Tjaart Minnaar, MD of OIM International, a leading business consultancy firm, an organization's culture is now more relevant than ever to ensure sound risk and performance management. This is in light of the scale of global woes experienced against the backdrop of the financial crisis.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ENTREPRENEURIAL CULTURE

Entrepreneurial culture can be made to enable democratization of the capacity to create and manage (business) towards wealth creation, thereby eradicating poverty.

Culture refers to attitudes and values which in the case of entrepreneurship may be linked with autonomy, creativity and sense of responsibility (soft skills) and so on. It also refers to entrepreneurial knowledge and skills and management competencies which have to be acquired (hard skills).

Culture can be defined as the mix of norms, values and beliefs that are shared by a particular community

CULTURAL VALUES

Linton (1975) describes values as a predisposition to act in a certain way.

Values of entrepreneurs:According to Sexton & Bowman (1986), entrepreneurship is a value in itself for Americans. Different authors suggest different values for entrepreneurs:

Kets de Vries (1984): reputation, power, status and recognitionGordon Survey of values (1976): independence, efficacy and a negative reaction to affiliation.

CULTURAL ATTITUDES

According to J. M. Toulouse (1990), entrepreneurial culture is favored by the following set of attitudes:1. Business activities are valued.2. Individual and collective initiatives are highly rated.3. Determination and perseverance are desirable qualities.4. An equilibrium between security and risk is accepted.5. The tension between stability and change is resolved.

Therefore, in a society favoring entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs are role models who are not only acceptable, but desirable

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