The Entrepreneurial Personality

A Social Construction

By Elizabeth Chell

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• ISBN: 978-0-415-32809-8
• Binding: Hardback
• Published by: Routledge
• Publication Date: 9th May 2008
• Pages: 320

About the Book

Is there such a thing as an 'entrepreneurial personality'? What makes someone an entrepreneur is a question that has intrigued the lay person and the scholar for many years, but can such a personality be identified or is it simply a socially constructed phenomenon? Elizabeth Chell pursues an alternative line of argument: to show that the entrepreneurial personality is, on the one hand, socially constructed, but on the other hand, presents consistency in behaviours, skills and competencies.

This second edition of the highly acclaimed The Entrepreneurial Personality revisits the topic and updates the evidence from a multi-disciplinary perspective. The book carefully weaves together the arguments and views from economists, sociologists and psychologists in order to develop a strong conceptual foundation. It discusses the inferences that these experts have made about the nature of entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurial process, and explores whether such evidence has enabled psychometricians to develop robust instruments for assessing the characteristics of entrepreneurs. The evidence for a range of purported traits is reviewed and the models and research designs of interested social scientists are explained and evaluated. Throughout, Chell laces her argument richly with a set of cases derived from primary and secondary sources.

This book presents a timely set of views on the entrepreneurial personality, and will be of great interest to academics in the fields of entrepreneurship, economics, management, applied psychology and sociology. This accessible text will also appeal to the interested general reader, as well as practitioners and consultants dealing with entrepreneurs in the field.

Reviews

"Every library ought to have a copy of this book. Professor Chell provides an insightful and detailed interdisciplinary overview of entrepreneurship research incorporating psychology, economics and management. Her book will be welcomed by faculty and postgraduate research students in these areas; I have already reserved a space on my bookshelf for this book." Andrew Burke, Director of the Bettany Centre for Entrepreneurial Performance & Economics, Cranfield School of Management

"Understanding entrepreneurship is a major intellectual challenge which remains unresolved, despite the intensity of recent research. Elizabeth Chell identifies the key characteristics of the entrepreneurial personality, and explains how culture and institutions interact with economic opportunity to foster entrepreneurial activity, thereby bringing a full understanding of the subject significantly closer. This important book is essential reading for all social scientists with an interest in the entrepreneur." Mark Casson, Professor of Economics, University of Reading

"Elizabeth Chell’s book has the all the hallmarks of a classic. The comprehensive approach to understanding the exciting phenomenon of entrepreneurship is well informed, insightful and carefully crafted. This text is likely to become a must read for all, students and academics alike, who want to grasp the theoretical underpinnings of being enterprising." Alistair R Anderson, Aberdeen Business School

Table of Contents

1. Who is an Entrepreneur? 2. The Economists' View of the Entrepreneur. 3. The Socio-economic Environment. 4. The Search for Entrepreneurial Traits: 'The Big Three'. 5. New Entrepreneurial Traits. 6. Interactionism and Cognitive Approaches to Personality. 7. Paradigms, Methodology and the Construction of the Entrepreneurial Personality. 8. The Heterogeneity of Entrepreneurs: Cases and Colour. 9. The Entrepreneurial Personality: The State of the Art. Bibliography. Index.

About the Author(s)

Elizabeth Chell has held chairs at the universities of Newcastle, UMIST/University of Manchester and Southampton. She has published extensively in the fields of Organisational and Entrepreneurial Behaviour, Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Human Relations and Research Methods. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts (RSA) and the British Academy of Management.

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