Report on entrepreneurial behavior

7/27/2019 Report on entrepreneurial behavior

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STUDY ON ENTREPRENEURIAL BEHAVIOUR OF FARMERS

IN THONDAMUTHUR BLOCK OF COIMBATORE DISTRICT

SEMINAR REPORT

SUBMITTED BY

SHABEERA SULTANA

11-601-008

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL RURAL MANAGEMENT

CENTRE FOR AGRICULTURAL RURAL DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE

TAMIL NADU AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY

COIMBATORE


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CONTENTS

Chapter

No.

Title

I INTRODUCTION

II LITERATURE REVIEW

III DESIGN OF STUDY

IV RESULT AND DISCUSSION

V SUMMARY

REFERENCES

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION


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The entrepreneur is part of a complex process of new venture creation- (Gartner)

It is now widely accepted that, apart from the start up phase, most firms are more concerned

about survival rather than growth and relatively few are especially entrepreneurial (Gray 1998).Consequently, a lot of research in this field has focused on finding the characteristics that set

entrepreneurs and their firms apart from others. Elizabeth Chell (1985, 1999), a social

psychologist, has examined numerous psychological trait-based approaches and concluded that,

whilst psychological aspects such as entrepreneurial intention and the ability to recognize

opportunities are strongly linked to entrepreneurial behaviour, the context in which the

entrepreneur operates is also very important. Entrepreneurship reflects complex interactions

between the individual and the situation, which has to be dynamic because business situations

are always changing. However, a commonly quoted empirical and desk research study of new

venture start-ups, that has stood the test of time over the past quarter-century, was conducted

through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology by Jeffrey Timmons and colleagues

(Timmons et al. 1977). They identified 14 important entrepreneurial characteristics of successful

enterprise owners which still frequently crop up in entrepreneurship research.

Behavioural charcteristics of entrepreneurs

drive and energy

self-confidence

high initiative and personal responsibility

internal locus of control

tolerance of ambiguity

low fear of failure

moderate risk taking

long-term involvement

money as a measure not merely an end


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use of feedback

continuous pragmatic problem solving

use of resources

self-imposed standards

clear goal setting.

These characteristics appear consistently in other entrepreneurial research studies. For example,

more than 20 years ago in a study of Irish entrepreneurs, Cromie and Johns (1983) identified

achievement, persistence and self-confidence as general successful business characteristics as

well as internal locus of control and commitment to the business, as the characteristics peculiarto entrepreneurs. Some of the qualities that people often find a bit obscure include tolerance of

ambiguity (which basically refers to the ability to accept contradictory or unexpected evidence of

something while keeping an open mind) and fear of failure (which can lead to pushy, goal-

dominated behaviour but, in fact, is the opposite of need for achievement nAch mentioned in

Section 1; the anxiety caused by the fear can sometimes be strong enough to cause the individual

to deliberately bring about the failure that is feared). Low fear of failure means that the

entrepreneur is prepared to risk things going wrong and can handle setbacks without being

deterred (which is associated with but not quite the same thing as high nAch, where failure can

lead to severe disappointment and loss of confidence). High achievement motivation is a great

driving force but low fear of failure may be very useful in times of business chaos and

uncertainty.

There is a tendency for high nAch people to come from very supportive backgrounds and for

them to be motivated to achieve in different areas. In contrast, high fear of failure people tend to

come from disrupted or non-supportive backgrounds and focus more obsessively on areas wherethey are more likely to achieve their goals (Kets De Vries 1977) high fear of failure people

would have comparatively low perceived capabilities and expectations whereas high nAch

people may be a bit over-confident about their own capabilities and stretch their expectations by

setting challenging targets). However, these tendencies are not set in stone and the actual

experience of business can have a big effect in inducing either more caution or more confidence.


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Still, if you are uncertain of your own drive to succeed or your ability to persist, the wisest

course of action is to consider pushing your idea as part of a team. Small groups not only provide

support, they also have a wider range of abilities and skills and often come up with more

considered decisions.

Perhaps a little less familiar is the quality that successful small business owners are said to have

high internal locus of control. This means that they believe that their behaviour determines

what happens to them and that they can control their own behaviour. This is linked to the need

for autonomy and personal independence expressed by many entrepreneurs as their prime

motivation for setting up their own firms (Gray 1998). Internal locus of control has featured

fairly consistently in studies on the psychological characteristics of entrepreneurs. Essentially the

concept implies three separate beliefs on the part of individuals that:

1. the outcome of events and situations are susceptible to intervention

2. individuals can intervene and influence the outcome of situations positively from their

perspective

3. they themselves have the skills and capacity to intervene effectively in certain situations

or to influence certain events.

The self-confidence, energy flexibility and opportunism associated with entrepreneurial

behaviour suggests that entrepreneurs are individuals who are accustomed to getting involved

and that they expect positive results from their involvement. In other words, they are prepared to

expend energy and mental effort because they expect and often receive appropriate or, in their

terms, valuable rewards. Also, they are flexible and opportunistic because they believe they have

the capacity to become involved across a broad range of situations. Internal locus of control

beliefs are essential to the success of self-motivated behaviour and form a central core of the

entrepreneur's self-concept. However, it is equally clear that entrepreneurs will not be the onlypeople sharing these beliefs.

Rural development is more than ever before linked to entrepreneurship. Institutions and

individuals promoting rural development now see entrepreneurship as a strategic development

intervention that could accelerate the rural development process. Further, more institutions and


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individuals seem to agree on the urgent need to promote rural enterprises; development agencies

see rural entrepreneurship as an enormous employment potential; politicians see it as the key

strategy to prevent rural unrest; farmers see it as an instrument for improving farm earnings; and

women see it as an employment possibility near their homes which provides autonomy,

independence and a reduced need for social support. To all these groups, however,

entrepreneurship stands as a vehicle to improve the quality of life for individuals, families and

communities and to sustain a healthy economy and environment (Petrin, 2000).

Development of economy of any nation depends primarily on the important role played by

entrepreneurs. The role played by such entrepreneurs is of vital importance in developing

country like India, where there are ample opportunities for using innovations to exploit the

available resources, particularly in the field of agriculture. Thus, in all economic developmentactivities more and more focus is being centered on entrepreneurship of the people.

Entrepreneurship has been now recognized as a concept, not only vital for starting industries but

also in the development of agriculture.

Further, in a heterogeneous and stratified society like India, it is not adequately realized that the

characteristics which distinguish entrepreneurship may not be uniform for its different strata. In

other words, characteristics identified for urban entrepreneurs may not apply equally well to rural

entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship relating to self-employment in small industries may vary from

entrepreneurship related to agriculture.

The entrepreneurs are key persons of any country for promoting economic growth and

technological change. The development of entrepreneurship is directly related to the socio-

economic development of the society. Eighty per cent of the population resides in the rural areas

and seventy per cent of the work force depends on agriculture for their livelihood. Therefore role

of farmers is very important in agricultural and socio-economic development of the nation. In

this context, it was felt necessary to determine the level of entrepreneurial behaviour among the

farmers.


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OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To determine the entrepreneurial behavior of farmers

To assess the characteristic of farmers and to analyze their relationship with

entrepreneurial behavior

To identify factors which affect their entrepreneurship behavior

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The importance of entrepreneurship in economic development is being recognized all over theworld. A widely accepted view is the following : while personal characteristics as well as social

aspects clearly play some role, entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs can also be developed

through conscious action. Development of entrepreneurs and of entrepreneurship can be

stimulated through a set of supporting institutions and through deliberate innovative action which

stimulates changes and fully supports capable individuals and groups. It is argued that education

and training contribute significantly to the development of entrepreneurship.

So, to design effective training programmes, estimating the current level of entrepreneurialbehaviour of farmers is essential. With this in view, the present study was undertaken. The

results of the study therefore, will help the policy makers and programmers to design educational

and training programmes specifically for entrepreneurship promotion, that can greatly affect the

supply of entrepreneurs and thus indirectly represent an important source of entrepreneurship.

This study will help to streamline strategies for the development of farm entrepreneurs


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Chapter II

LITERATURE REVIEW

There are literally dozens and dozens of different definitions of the entrepreneur and the

concept of entrepreneurship.

THE ENTREPRENEUR

The word entrepreneur appeared for the first time in the French language Entreprendre

meaning to undertake. In France, in sixteenth century, a leader of the military expedition wasreferred to as entrepreneur.

The study of the entrepreneur is actually one step removed from the primary phenomenon of

entrepreneurship the creation of organisations, the process by which new orgnisations come

into existence. This behavioural approach views the creation of an organisation as a contextual

event, the outcome of many influences.

CONCEPT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

According to Stevenson and Sahlman, (1989) Entrepreneurship is most fruitfully defined as the

relentless pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled...there is an

underlying process in entrepreneurship that starts with the identification of opportunity and ends

with harvesting the fruits of ones labours.

Bheemappa (2003) described entrepreneurship as the creative and innovative response to the

environment, which can take place in variety of fields of social endeavour business, industry,

agriculture, education, social work and it is the potent limiting factor in economic development.

Samwel (2003) viewed entrepreneurship as a function which seeks investment and production

process by raising capital, arranging labour and raw materials, finding site, introducing new

techniques and commodities and discovering new sources for the enterprises.


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According to Suresh Reddy (2004) entrepreneurship is a composite skill, the resultant of a mix

of many qualities and traits these include tangible factors as imagination, readiness to take

risks, ability to bring together and put to use other factors of production, capital, labour, land,

and also intangible factors such as the ability to mobilize scientific and technological advances.

ENTREPRENEURIAL BEHAVIOR

Subramanyeswari and Veeraraghava Reddy (2003) operationalized entrepreneurial behaviour as

the changes in the knowledge, skill an d attitude of women livestock farmers towards dairy

enterprises.

Vijay Kumar et al.(2003) operationalized entrepreneurial behaviour as the cumulative outcomeof information seeking behaviour, farm decision making, leadership ability, risk taking ability,

innovativeness, achievement motivation and market orientation of respondent farmers.

Entrepreneurial behavior is also increasingly recognized as a proponent to social change and

facilitating innovation within established organizations (Kuratko, Ireland, Covin, & Hornsby,

2005).

Entrepreneurial behavior has been defined as the study of human behavior involved in

identifying and exploiting opportunities through creating and developing new ventures (Bird &

Schjoedt, 2009) as well as exploring and creating opportunities while in the process of emerging

organizations (Gartner, Carter, & Reynolds, 2010).

A recent Special Issue on Entrepreneurial Behavior emphasizes the importance of refocusing

research attention towards concrete and observable human action in venture and organizational

creation and emergence (Bird, Schjoedt, & Baum, 2012). Goals of research on entrepreneurial

behavior include: to explain, predict, shape and change behavior; to understand the relationship

between individual and team/venture levels; and to understand how entrepreneurial behavior can

be learned and what influences development, adaption and adoption.


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Jarkko Pyysiainesn et al. showed that the contexts of conventional farming and business

diversification called for clearly different entrepreneurial skills, some of which were more

amenable to teaching than others.


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Chapter III

DESIGN OF STUDY

Study area

Thondamuthur block is a revenue block of Coimbatore district. In Thondamuthur block, MBCs

constitute a major proportion of 45.60 closely followed by BCs with 44 per cent respectively.

The farm households are mostly headed by males, the percentage being 98.80 and follow small

family norms. Thondamuthur block is covered with red soil (98.4 per cent). Red soil has iron

content and is fit for crops like red gram, bengal gram, green gram, groundnut, castor seed etc

Agriculture is the main occupation and farmers are also involved in allied activities like goat

rearing based on which four villages were selected

Devarayapuram Narasipuram

Thennamanallur Madampatti

Selection of respondents

A farm entrepreneur is one whose main occupation is agriculture coupled with one or more alliedactivities like poultry, sericulture, goat rearing , mushroom cultivation etc. The present study

includes farm entrepreneurs who run goat rearing as commercial venture was selected. The data

was collected through Purposive sampling technique

A total of 120 respondents were selected for the study.

In the present study, entrepreneurship behaviour among the farmers is studied in the light of

seven variables namely Innovativeness, Achievement motivation, Decision-making ability, Risk-

taking ability, Aspiration, Locus of control, Management orientation. Each aspect of

entrepreneurship is based on some related statements, which are measured on a five-point scale.


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TOOLS OF ANALYSIS

I . Entrepreneurial Behaviour Index (EBI) Among the Farmers

Entrepreneurship is common to all businesses. Agriculture is not an exception. Farmers should

have entrepreneurship qualities in order to perform better in the field. The behaviour is measured

with the help of an index called Entrepreneurial Behaviour Index (EBI).

(Source :IJEMR January 2012- Vol2- Issue 1)

Where,

SEV = Score on entrepreneurial variables

MSEV = Maximum score on entrepreneurial variables.

i = 1 n number of variables included in entrepreneurship

II. Measurement of components of Entrepreneurial Behavior

Innovativeness

This refers to the behaviour pattern of an individual who has interest and desire to seek changes

in farming techniques and is prepared to introduce such changes into his operations whereverpractical and feasible. For quantifying the innovativeness or innovative characters of the

respondents Innovativeness proneness scale used by Fillis et. al (2004)


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Three sets of three statements were read out to farmers and asked to indicate one choice from

each of the three sets and scoring was given according to their choices. The statements are given

below:

1. a) I feel restless till I try out new farm practices I have heard about.

b) I try to keep myself upto date with information on new farm practices but that does not

mean I will all new methods on my farm.

c) they talk of many new farm practices these days but who knows they are better than old ones.

2. a) From time to time I have heard of several new farm practices and I have tried most of them

in last few years.

b) I usually wait to see what results my neighbours obtain before I have tried out the newfarm practices

c) I believe that traditional ways of farming is best

3. a) Im cautious about trying new practices

b) Often new practices are not successful however if they are promising I would surely like

to adopt them

c)Our forefathers are wise in their farming practices and I dont see any reason in changing

these old methods.

Decision making

The decision making ability of a farmer is operationally defined as the degree of weighing the

available alternatives in terms of their desirability and their likelihoods and choosing the most

appropriate one for achieving maximum profit on his farming. The scale developed by

Singh(1980) which was also adopted by Rao (1995) and modified by Nandpurkar(2000) with

suitable modifications was found to be more appropriate to measure decision making ability of

farmers. It was slightly changed and for each item relating to the management of farm operations

and resources , the response categories were not considered , considered after consultation

with others and decision taken independently for which scores were given as 0,1 and 2


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respectively. The scores were summed up and maximum decision making score for each

response was obtained.

The items were:

- to start new enterprise

- to try new varieties

- to try new practice

- to change cropping pattern

- buying /selling of land

- land improvement

- hiring labour

Achievement motivation

It was operationalized as the desire for excellence to attain a sense of personal accomplishment .

It was measured with the help of procedure adopted by Chandrapaul (1998). Six item scale with

five alternative response to each item with scores 5 to 1. The respondents were asked to give

their responses to each item .The six items are:

a) Success brings belief or further determination and not just pleasant feeling.

SA/A/UD/DA/SD

b) How true is it to say that our efforts are directed towards avoiding failure

F/PF/UD/PT/OT

c) How often do you seek opportunity to excel

nearly always/ frequently/half the time/ seldom/hardly ever

d) Would you hesitate to undertake something


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nearly always/ frequently/half the time/ seldom/hardly ever

e) How many spheres lead you to failure

very few/few/ some /many/ most

f) How many situations do you think you will succeed in doing as well as you can

very few/few/ some /many/ most

Risk taking ability

Risk orientation was operationalized as the degree to which the farmer is oriented towards risk

and uncertainty in facing problems in farming. Risk taking ability was measured by a scale

developed by Supe (1970). It consists of both positive and negative statements. The responses

fall into a five point continum- SA, A, UD,DA,SDA

Positive statements 5 4 3 2 1

Negative statements 1 2 3 4 5

The statements are as below

1. A farmer should grow large number of crops to avoid greater risks involved in growing one

or two crops.

2. A farmer should take more of a chance in making big profit than to be content with a smaller

but less risky profit.

3. A farmer who is willing to take greater risk than average farmer usually does better

financially.

4. It is good for a farmer to take risk when he knows his chance of success is fairly high.

5. It is better for a farmer not to try new farming methods unless most others have used it with

success

6. Trying an entirely new method in farming by a farmer involves risk but it is worth.


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Aspiration

Aspiration ismeasured by a scale used by Porchezian (1998)

1. what would you expect to be the increase in your land holding in the next three years

a) increase by one acre

b) 2-3 acres

c) 4-5 acres

d) 6-7 acres

e) 8 acres and above

2. In how many years you expect that your annual income would become doubled

a) One year

b) two years

c) three years

d) > three years

3. What would you expect to be the increase in production in the next three years

a) As it is

b) double

c) more than double

4. How many enterprises would you like to add to yours in the next 3 years

a) One

b)two


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c) three

d) > three

5. What would you expect to be your general standard of living in next 3 years

somewhat better/ mostly better/certainly better

III. Independent variables measurement

1. Age

Chaudhari et.al.,(2007)

2. Education

Chaudhari et.al.,(2007)

illiterate

can read

read and write

primary

secondary

young 44


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higher secondary

graduation

3. Occupation

According to Jarkko Pyysiainesn (2006), Occupation is defined as the extent to which a

respondent is agriculturally occupied .

Agriculturally occupied

Non- Agriculturally occupied

4. Experience in agriculture

Chandramouli et.al.,(2007)classified as:

5. Experience in enterprise

Chandramouli et.al.,(2007)

10 years High

6. Farm size

20 years High


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According to Jarkko Pyysiainesn (2006), farm size is classified as:

7. Size of enterprise


8. Annual income from agriculture

Ramasamy (1999): Depends upon crop and land size

Upto 2.5 acres marginal farmers

2.5 5 acres small farmers

5-10 acres medium farmers

>10 acres Big farmers

Upto 20 goats small

20- 40 goats Medium

>40 goats Big

Low upto 150000Rs

Medium 150001- 300000Rs

High >300000Rs


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9. Annual income from enterprise


10. Scientific Orientation

Scientific orientation is operationalized as the degree to which farmer is oriented to the use ofscientific methods in decision making in farming. It was measured with the help of a scale

developed by Supe (1969). The scale is of six statements amongst which the second statement

alone was negative. The responses for each statement was rated over a five point continuum viz.,

strongly agree, agree ,undecided, disagree, strongly disagree. The minimum and maximum score

range from 6 and 30. Higher score indicated better orientation towards scientific farming.

A scale of 6 statements was used and the scoring procedure followed

SA A UD DA SDA

positive 5 4 3 2 1

negative 1 2 3 4 5

low upto 40000Rs

Medium 40001- 80000 Rs

High >80000Rs


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Statements for scientific orientation

1. New methods of farming give better results to farmers than old methods

2. The way a farmers forefather farmed is still the best way to farming today

3. Even a farmer with lot of experience should use new methods of farming

4. Though it takes time for a farmer to learn new methods in farming it is worth than efforts

5. A good farmer experiments with new ideas in farming

6. Traditional methods of farming have to be changed in order to raise the level of living of a

farmer

11. Economic Motivation

It refers to the values or attitudes which attach greater importance to profit maximization

with the ends and means. This variable was measured with the help of scale developed by

Supe (1969). It consists of six statements of which first five statements are positive and last

one being negative. The responses for each of the statement was rated on a five point

continuum namely strongly agree, agree, undecided, disagree and strongly disagree.

With the scores of 7, 5, 4, 3 and 1 for positive statements and 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7 for negative

statements, respectively. Maximum and minimum score, an individual could obtain on this

scale were 42 and 6 respectively. Higher score revealed that the respondent is motivated

towards profit maximization to a greater degree.

SA A UD DA SDA

positive 5 4 3 2 1

negative 1 2 3 4 5

The statements are:


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Statements for Economic motivation

1. The community respects rich farmer more than poorer ones

2. Prestige is more important than profit in judging the success of farm

3. Money alone does not give entire satisfaction in a farmer life

4. A farmer should always aim at social recognition rather than recognition on monetary ground.

5. A farmer should adopt on innovation which helps him to get more money

6. A farmer requires only money to achieve most goals in his life

IV. Correlation

When two variables covary, there exists a relationship between them. Correlation coefficient

measures the strength and direction of a linear association between two variables. It ranges from

1 to +1. The closer to the absolute value is to 1, the stronger the relationship. When the

correlation coefficient is zero, it indicates that there is no linear relationship between variables.

The coefficient can either be positive or negative

To find out the association between independent variables and entrepreneurial behavior and its

significance Correlation analysis is used .

V. Regression analysis

Regression analysis is a statistical process for estimating the relationships among variables. It

includes many techniques for modeling and analyzing several variables, when the focus is on the

relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. More

specifically, regression analysis helps one understand how the typical value of the dependent

variable changes when any one of the independent variables is varied, while the other

independent variables are held fixed. Most commonly, regression analysis estimates the

conditional expectation of the dependent variable given the independent variables that is, the

average value of the dependent variable when the independent variables are fixed. Less

commonly, the focus is on a quantile, or otherlocation parameterof the conditional distribution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependent_variablehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_variablehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conditional_expectationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_valuehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Location_parameterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependent_variablehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_variablehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conditional_expectationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_valuehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Location_parameter


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of the dependent variable given the independent variables. In all cases, the estimation target is a

function of the independent variables called the regression function.

In this study, multiple regression analysis was to find the functional relationship between

independent variables and entrepreneurial behavior

= a + b1 X1 +b2 X2 + bn Xn

here = entrepreneurial behavior

a = intercept

b1 ,b2 bn = partial regression coefficient

X1 , X2 . Xn = independent variables

Chapter IV

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

I. Entrepreneurship behavior of farmers

Table 1. Entrepreneurial Behavior index

Entrepreneurial Behavior index

(in percentage)

Frequency Percent

Low (< 40) 37 30.84

Medium (41-80) 70 58.33

High(>80) 13 10.83
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Function_(mathematics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Function_(mathematics)


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120 100.0

From table 1 it is inferred that, majority of the farmers (58.33%) have medium

entrepreneurial behavior index and one third of the farmers have low entrepreneurial behavior

index. Thus there is potential among the farmers to become entrepreneurs and scope to improve

their entrepreneurial behavior.

II. Results of independent variables measurement

1. Age

Table 2. Classification of farmers based on age

From table 2, it is found that 46.67% of farmers were middle aged

2. Education

Table 3. Classification of farmers based on education

Frequency Percentage

Illiterate 2 1.67


Young 22 18.33

Middle aged 56 46.67

Old 42 35.0

120 100.0


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Can read 7 5.83

Can read and write 8 6.67

Primary 12 10.0

Secondary 16 13.33

Higher secondary 43 35.83

Graduation 32 26.67

120 100.0

3. Occupation

Table 4. Classification of farmers based on occupation


Agriculture 85 70.83

Non-agriculture 35 29.17

120 100.0

Among the total number of respondents, 70% of them are agriculture based and 30% are non-

agricultural.

4. Experience in agriculture

Table 5. Classification of farmers based on their

experience in agriculture

Level Frequency Percentage


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Low 6 5

Medium 89 74.17

High 25 20.87

120 100.0

Among the 120 Farmers surveyed, 75% of farmers are well experienced in agriculture.

5. Experience in enterprise


experience in enterprise

Level Frequency Percentage

Low 54 45.0

Medium 66 55.0

High 0 0

120 100.0

55% of farmers have medium experience in enterprise.

6. Farm size


Farm size

Size Frequency Percentage

Upto 2.5 acres 5 4.16


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2.5- 5 acres 39 32.50

5-10 acres 56 46.67

>10 acres 20 10.67

120 100.0

From table 7, it is inferred that 47% of farmers posses farm size of 5-10 acres thus are medium

farmers.

7. Size of enterprise

Table 8. size of enterprise

No. of goats Frequency Percentage

Upto 20 nos. 20 16.67

20-40 nos. 76 63.33

>40 nos. 24 20.00

120 100.0

About 63% of farm entrepreneurs had goats ranging between 20-40 nos.

8. Annual income from agriculture


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Low 25 20.83

Medium 74 61.67

High 21 17.50

120 100.0

Medium scientific orientation indicates farmers are creative and skill oriented.

11. Economic motivation

Table 12. Economic motivation


Low 30 25.00

Medium 85 70.83

High 5 4.16

120 100.0

Farmers are economically motive and try to maximize their profits.


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III. Results of Correlation of independent variables towards entrepreneurial behavior

Table 13. Correlation coefficients of independent variables towards


Variables Characteristics r value

X1 Age - 0.083 NS

X 2 Education 0.6399 **

X 3 Occupation - 0.3062 NS

X 4 Experience in agriculture - 0.1766 NS

X 5 Experience in enterprise - 0.0419 NS

X6 Farm size 0.2792 **

X7 Size of enterprise 0.2579 **

X8 Annual income from agriculture 0.1870*

X9 Annual income from enterprise 0.3117 **

X10 Scientific orientation 0.5418 **

X11 Economic motivation 0.4919**

* Significance at 5% level

** significance at 1% level

From table 13, we can see, the characteristics education, annual income from agriculture, annualincome from enterprise, farm size, size of enterprise, economic motivation and scientific

orientation has positive sign and thus are significantly related.

However, age, occupation, experience in agriculture and enterprise have no significance.


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Education has positive sign which demonstrates that the level of educational background

ensures entrepreneurial function.

Farm size and enterprise size are also positive which tells that large farms favour the

entrepreneur to make their farms more capital intensive.

Annual income from agriculture and Enterprise significantly related More income

derived, they are motivated to establish new enterprise.

More Scientific Orientation makes one to have depth knowledge and makes one progressively

creative having wide exposure and skill oriented.

The entrepreneur is an economic man who tries to maximize his profits by following innovative

methods.

IV. Results of regression between independent variables and entrepreneurial behavior

Table 14. Functional relationship between independent variables and entrepreneurial

behavior

Characteristics Partial regression SE of partial

regression

t value

Age 0.0009 0.0013 0.731

Education 0.0038 0.0024 1.552

Occupation -0.0085 0.0187 -0.457

Experience in agriculture 0.0016 0.0018 0.842

Experience in enterprise -0.0004 0.0018 -0.209


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Farm size 0.0089 0.0032 2.755*

Size of enterprise -0.0021 0.0023 -0.910

R2 = 0.7184

a= 1.2012

F= 14.31*

72% of variation in dependent variable (entrepreneurial behavior ) is explained by independent

variables (age, annual income from farm and enterprise, experience, education occupation, size

of farm and enterprise, scientific motivation, economic motivation) chosen for study.

V. Factors that affects entrepreneurial behavior of farmers

Table 15. Factors affecting entrepreneurial behavior of farmers

Personal factors Number Percentage

Achievement motivation 74 61.67

Annual income from agriculture -0.0033 0.0015 -2.252*

Annual income from enterprise -0.0001 -0.0001 -0.734

Scientific orientation 0.0063 0.0026 2.477*

Economic motivation -0.0014 0.0055 -0.250


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Experience 58 48.33

Self confidence 35 29.17

Own interest 32 26.67

Risk taking ability 18 15.0

Educational qualification 12 10.0

Eagerness to evaluate enterprise 8 6.67

Anticipation of future possibilities 4 3.33


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Physical factors

Availability of inputs 120 100.0

Good transport service 78 65.0

Farm size 18 15.0

Market factors

Good market potential 108 90.00

Responsive prices 79 65.83

Chapter V

Economic factors

Economic gain 106 88.33

Prior income 97 80.83

Financial assistance 46 38.33

Possession of ancestral property 12 10.0

Sociological factors

Previous occupation 92 76.67

Societal influence 78 65.00

Family background 15 12.50


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SUMMARY

Entrepreneurship is the central force of any economic activity and prime mover of

development and most essential component for the development. Development of economy of

any nation depends primarily on the important role played by entrepreneurs. The role played by

such entrepreneurs is of vital importance in a developing country like India, where there are

ample opportunities for using innovations to exploit the available resources, particularly in the

field of agriculture. Thus, in all economic development activities, more and more focus is being

thrust upon entrepreneurship of the people. Entrepreneurship has been now recognized as a

concept, not only vital for starting the industry but also in the development of agriculture.

In a heterogeneous and stratified society like India, it is not adequately realized that thecharacteristics which distinguish entrepreneurship may not be uniform. Therefore, the

entrepreneurial activity in particular section of the population has to be considered. The

generalizations can be based numerous studies involving different heterogeneous sections.

This research study was therefore aimed at finding out facts, results, in designing new strategies

for farm entrepreneurs. Keeping the above cited facts in view, an attempt was made to critically

analyse the entrepreneurial behaviour of farmers. The specific objectives of the study were:

To determine the entrepreneurial behavior of farmers

To assess the characteristic of farmers and to analyze their relationship with


To identify factors which affect their entrepreneurship behavior

The study was conducted in Coimbatore. In Coimbatore district, thondamuthur block was

selected. The total sample size for the study constituted 120 respondents. The data was collected


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by personal interview method. Statistical tools like percentage, correlation and regression

coefficient were used to analyse the data.

The measurement of entrepreneurial behavior of farmers revealed that there is still more

potentiality and scope to improve. Entrepreneurial training programs should be tailored to the

farmers to promote entrepreneurial behavior.

The entrepreneurial behavior of farmers was not influenced by their age but it was education

which acts to promote entrepreneurial behavior among farmers and is effective with all age

groups.

As majority of farmers were middle aged, this group should be imparted training, so that they

can act as catalysts in motivating other farmers.

The characteristics education, annual income from agriculture, annual income from enterprise,

farm size, size of enterprise, economic motivation and scientific orientation are significantly

related.

However, age, occupation, experience in agriculture and enterprise have no significance.

Education demonstrates that the level of educational background ensures entrepreneurial

function. Significant relationship of Farm size and enterprise sizeinfers that large farms favour

the entrepreneur to make their farms more capital intensive.

Annual income from agriculture and Enterprise significantly related More income derived,

they are motivated to establish new enterprise.

More Scientific Orientation makes one to have depth knowledge and makes one progressively

creative having wide exposure and skill oriented. The entrepreneur is an economic man who tries

to maximize his profits by following innovative methods.

REFERENCES


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Anitha, B.,2004, A study on entrepreneurial behaviour and market articipation of farm

women in Bangalore rural district of Karnataka. M.Sc. (Agri.) thesis, University of

Agricultural Sciences,Bangalore.

Bheemappa, A.,2003, Entrepreneurship development in agriculture. Yojana 47(12) : 19-

20

Chandramouli et.al.,2007 Comparative Analysis of Entrepreneurial Behaviour of

Farmers in Irrigated and Dry Land Areas of Raichur District of Karnataka Karnataka J.

Agric.Sci.,20(2): (320-222)

Chaudhari et.al.,2007,A Scale for Measurement of Entrepreneurial Behaviour of Dairy

Farmers,Karnataka J. Agric. Sci., 20 (4), (792-796)

Jarkko Pyysiainesn, et.al. 2006, Developing the Entrepreneurial Skills of Farmers: Some

Myths Explored, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research,

Vol.12, No.1, pp.21-39

Suresh reddy, J., 2004, Entrepreneurship : Concept and Development. Third Concept,

17(203) : 39-42.

SAMWEL, K. L.,2003, Co-operative entrepreneurship A perspective. Kurukshetra, pp.

20-23

TIMMONS, J. A., 1989, The entrepreneurial mind, And over Brick House.

Websites :

www.ruraleship.org http://libweb.surrey.ac.uk/library/skills/Entrepreneurship

www.euram2013.com/.../19_%20ABSTRACT%20FINAL%20KAREN%.


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STUDY ON ENTREPRENEURIAL BEHAVIOUR OF FARMERS IN

COIMBATORE DISTRICT

Interview Schedule

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Name of the farmer:

2. Village :

II. PERSONAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS

1. Age : ___________years

2. Education: Illiterate/Primary school/Middle school/High school/ PUC/Graduate

a. Occupation: Main:

Subsidiary:

Others:

3. Size of the land holding (acres) :

4. Annual family income (Rs.) :Main source :

Subsidiary :

Total :

III. ENTREPRENEURIAL BEHAVIOUR OF FARMERS

1. INNOVATIVENESS

Please indicate your degree of liking on hearing 3 statements under different items. From among the 3statements, you here indicate the statement you like most and also indicate statement you like least

S.No Statements Most like Least like

1 .a) I try to keep myself up to date with information on new farm practices butthat does not mean that I try out all new methods on my farm

b) I feel restless till I try out a new farm practices that I have heard about

c) They talk of many new farm practices these days but who knows whetherthey are better than the old ones


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4. ECONOMIC MOTIVATION

Please indicate your responses

S.No Statements SA A UD DA SDA

1. The community respects rich farmer more than poorer ones

2. Prestige is more important than profit in judging the

success of farm3. Money alone does not give entire satisfaction in a farmer

life

4. A farmer should always aim at social recognition ratherthan recognition on monetary ground.

5. A farmer should adopt on innovation which helps him to

S.No. Decisions

1. How did you decide to start new enterprise

2. How do you decide on the different varieties of crops

3. How did you decide to try new practice

4. How did you decide to change cropping pattern

5. How did you decide the time ofland improvement

6. What aboutbuying /selling of land?

7. Have you ever tried to figure out what your

profit


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get more money

6. A farmer requires only money to achieve most goals in hislife

5. RISK TAKING ABILITYPlease indicate your responses with the following six statements.


1. A farmer should grow large number of crops to avoidgreater risks involved in growing one or two crops

2. A farmer should rather take more of a chance in making abig profit than to be content with a smaller but less riskyprofits

3. A farmer who is willing to take greater risks than the

average farmer usually does better financially

4. It is good for a farmer to take risks when he knows his

chance of success is high

5. It is better for a farmer not to try new farming methodsunless most other farmers have used them with success

6. Trying an entirely new method in farming by a farmer

involves risk, but it is worth

6. ASPIRATION

1. what would you expect to be the increase in your land holding in the next three years

a) increase by one acre

b) 2-3 acres

c) 4-5 acres

d) 6-7 acres

e) 8 acres and above

2. In how many years you expect that your annual income would become doubled

e) One year

f) two years

g) three years


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h) > three years

3. What would you expect to be the increase in production in the next three years

d) As it is

e) double

f) more than double

4. How many enterprises would you like to add to yours in the next 3 years

a) One

b)two

c) three

d) > three

5. What would you expect to be your general standard of living in next 3 years

somewhat better/ mostly better/certainly better

7. SCIENTIFIC ORIENTATION


1. New methods of farming give better results to farmers thanold methods

2. The way a farmers forefather farmed is still the best way tofarming today

3. Even a farmer with lot of experience should use newmethods of farming

4. Though it takes time for a farmer to learn new methods infarming it is worth than efforts

5. A good farmer experiments with new ideas in farming

6. Traditional methods of farming have to be changed inorder to raise the level of living of a farmer

Documents

Report on entrepreneurial behavior