Empretec Philosophy

The Behavioural Approach to Entrepreneurship
 

Traditional approaches taken to entrepreneurship by scholars and practitioners regard entrepreneurship as being a personality type, a culture, or normal reaction to the presence of economic opportunity. By implication, these approaches view the quantity and quality of entrepreneurial activity at any given place and time to be relatively fixed.

More promising is an approach that regards entrepreneurship as a set of behaviours and practices which can be observed and acquired. While the proclivity and facility with which an individual evidences these behaviours and practices might indeed be strongly conditioned by his or her genes, family background, culture or economic environment, the behavioural approach to entrepreneurship suggests that such proclivities and facility can be significantly strengthened in individuals by appropriate exposure and training. Equally important, the behavioural approach suggests that entrepreneurial acumen can be meaningfully and accurately assessed by measuring the extent to which an individual manifests key entrepreneurial behaviours.

On the basis of comprehensive research related to the behavioural approach towards entrepreneurship, The Empretec “Entrepreneurship Training Workshop (ETW)” was developed and is being implemented by UNCTAD. The research employed a careful methodology to analyse the actions and thought processes of successful entrepreneurs in a number of countries and to isolate these behaviours that distinguish the more successful entrepreneurs from the less successful entrepreneurs in their own countries. Among the surprising findings of this research was the fact that these behaviours were remarkably consistent from country to country. The result of the research was the identification of ten Personal Entrepreneurial Competencies (PEC’s) and 30 behavioural indicators found to be most useful for detecting and strengthening entrepreneurial potential.

The ETW is an intensive programme for identifying and expanding participants’ potential to initiate or improve small businesses or other entrepreneurial activities. It is an opportunity for individuals to become more familiar with the behavioural competencies of successful entrepreneurs; to look for, recognize and “code” those behaviours in themselves and in others; to strengthen and enhance the behaviours they choose to work on through practice and reinforcement; finally to apply these behaviours in their own businesses. Participants in the ETW prepare a business plan and have the opportunity to present their business ideas to a banker panel for possible funding.

The programme is preceded by a rigorous selection procedure in which standardized instruments and personal interviews are used to assess participants’ entrepreneurial strengths and weaknesses, their overall entrepreneurial potential and their business “readiness”.