Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summary
Chapter 1 – The nature of entrepreneurship
1.1 – What is entrepreneurship?
The entrepreneur is someone who undertakes certain projects. The entrepreneurial process in which
the entrepreneur engages is the means through which value is created as a result of a project: the
entrepreneurial venture. An overarching definition is hard to grasp, but there are some returning
characteristics to every entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are involved in some sort of risk, they find or
revitalise businesses and they reward stakeholders. Entrepreneurs have managerial tasks in creating
wealth. The entrepreneur can be considered as: a manager undertaking and activity, an agent of
economic change and as an individual.
1.2 – The entrepreneur’s tasks, being a manager
Owning organisations (Ownership lies with those who invest in the business and own its
stock, the day-to-day management is delegated to managers)
Founding new organisations (Entrepreneurs make major changes in the organisation world of
organisations they founded, bought, absorbed, etc.)
Bringing innovations to market (Doing something in a way that is new, different and better
and capture value from it)
Identification of market opportunity (Identifying gaps in the market where the potential
exists to do something better and thereby create value)
Application of expertise (Allocating scarce resources in situations where information is
limited)
Provision of leadership (Support of others is needed)
1.3 – The role of the entrepreneur, an agent of economic change
Entrepreneurs play a critical role in maintaining and developing the economic order we live under.
Combination of economic factors (Three primary economic factors: raw material, physical
and mental labour and capital, value is created by combining these three things in a way that
satisfies human needs)
Providing market efficiency (Distributing resources in an optimal way, that the satisfaction
people can gain from them is maximized)
Accepting risks (Uncertainty becomes risk when we know the likelihood of various
possibilities, entrepreneurs take the risks of individuals away)
Maximising investors’ returns (Create and run organisations which generate long-term
profits on behalf of the investors that are higher than would otherwise have been the case)
Processing of market information (Entrepreneurs keep an eye out for information that is not
being exploited, this is information about opportunities)
1
,1.4 – The entrepreneur as a person, an individual
Entrepreneurs are seen in different lights. The can be seen as being a ‘great person’, born to succeed,
this is very limiting however. Another extreme is that entrepreneurs are seen as being social misfits
by heart, they started something else because they did not fit in.
The conceptual basis for the personality type view of entrepreneurship is that the way people act in a
given situation can be categorised into one of a relatively limited number of responses, on what hand
people can be classified. There is no general ‘entrepreneur-personality’, all personalities perform
equally well. Traits (kenmerken) are different from personality types. Psychologists distinguish three
types of traits that are relevant to understanding personality: ability traits, temperamental traits and
dynamic traits.
Personality type and traits are relatively fixed ad hard to change. Entrepreneurs are “made” because
personality is expressed in different social settings. A number of factors are seen as significant to the
social development of entrepreneurs, which fall into three broad categories: innate (aangeboren),
acquired and social. Entrepreneurship is a social phenomenon, it exists between people.
1.5 – Entrepreneurship: a style of management
An entrepreneur is a manager who manages in an entrepreneurial way, they manage an
entrepreneurial venture. Entrepreneurial management is characterised by three features:
A focus on change (Entrepreneurs make a difference)
A focus on opportunity (They innovate in order to create new value, offer returns on
resources)
Organisation-wide management (Manage the organisation as a whole)
The entrepreneur is a manager who is willing to venture, create change and pursue opportunity
rather than just to maintain the status quo and conserve resources. Part of this skill is to know when
venture is appropriate, since it not always is. Entrepreneurial management is characterized by its
whole organisation scope, its objective of creating change and a focus on exploiting opportunity.
1.6 – The human dimension: leadership, power and motivation
Entrepreneurs are disguised from ‘normal’ managers in their human dimension: the way in which
they use power, leadership and their ability to motivate those around them. Organisations exist to
process resources that are being distributed to stakeholders, equally or not. The ideas of the human
dimension require some definition:
Leadership, might be defined as the power to focus and direct the organisation.
Power, might be defined as the ability to influence the course of actions within the
organisation.
Motivation, might be defined as the process of encouraging an individual to take particular
courses of action.
Leadership, power and motivation come together in the means the entrepreneur chooses to shape
and drive their venture in the direction they wish to take it. This cannot be confined within the
formal organisation, because it must extend beyond it to draw all the stakeholders together.
2
, Power is not necessarily concentrated on one individual, rather, it is a result of the structural factors
that define how people work and interact with each other. Power must be distinguished from
authority, which represents the right to influence the course of actions owing to the position that the
holder of that authority has within the organisation, which is not the same as ability. Power can be
seen as something that manifests itself as the control of different aspects of the venture, which is a
reciprocal relationship: power enables control and control provides power.
Motivation is regarded as being an outward expression of inner drives or as something directed
towards achieving externally defined and rewarded goals. With some methods, these two insights
overlap. Self-motivation is achieved through asking yourself some questions: why am I doing this?
What did I do wrong the last time and how can I learn from this? Also, rewards need to be
recognized. After self-motivation has been achieved, others can be motivated. This has some key
points:
Understanding personal drives (Achieved by communicating the role they will play in this
vision and what they will get out of it)
Setting goals (Individuals must be able to link goals to the organisation’s overall goal, goals
should be achievable and realistic)
Offering support (Give people the room to use skills and insight, but never make them feel
they are on their own)
Using rewards (Rewards are the means that satisfy an individual’s economic, social or
development needs, they need to be appropriate for the task and in the right quantity and
equal)
A positive approach to sanctioning (Not primarily about what was wrong, but also about how
to improve)
Chapter 2 – Types of entrepreneur
2.1 – Classifying entrepreneurs
There is no single formula for success. There are two main approaches to classification: classify the
entrepreneurs themselves or classify their ventures. Classifying entrepreneurs themself;
Nascent entrepreneurs, who plan to start up an initial venture.
Singular entrepreneurs, who run a single business.
o Novice entrepreneurs, single entrepreneurs at an early stage of venture
development, when they are still actively learning.
o Opportunist entrepreneurs, who were interested in maximizing their returns from
short-term deals.
Growth oriented, who pursued opportunities to maximise the potential of
their venture.
Interdependence oriented, whose main ambition was to work for
themselves. Preferred stability to growth and were willing to limit the scope
of their ventures.
o Craftsman, who attempted to make a living by privately selling their trade or the
products they produced, not that interested in profits.
3
Chapter 1 – The nature of entrepreneurship
1.1 – What is entrepreneurship?
The entrepreneur is someone who undertakes certain projects. The entrepreneurial process in which
the entrepreneur engages is the means through which value is created as a result of a project: the
entrepreneurial venture. An overarching definition is hard to grasp, but there are some returning
characteristics to every entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are involved in some sort of risk, they find or
revitalise businesses and they reward stakeholders. Entrepreneurs have managerial tasks in creating
wealth. The entrepreneur can be considered as: a manager undertaking and activity, an agent of
economic change and as an individual.
1.2 – The entrepreneur’s tasks, being a manager
Owning organisations (Ownership lies with those who invest in the business and own its
stock, the day-to-day management is delegated to managers)
Founding new organisations (Entrepreneurs make major changes in the organisation world of
organisations they founded, bought, absorbed, etc.)
Bringing innovations to market (Doing something in a way that is new, different and better
and capture value from it)
Identification of market opportunity (Identifying gaps in the market where the potential
exists to do something better and thereby create value)
Application of expertise (Allocating scarce resources in situations where information is
limited)
Provision of leadership (Support of others is needed)
1.3 – The role of the entrepreneur, an agent of economic change
Entrepreneurs play a critical role in maintaining and developing the economic order we live under.
Combination of economic factors (Three primary economic factors: raw material, physical
and mental labour and capital, value is created by combining these three things in a way that
satisfies human needs)
Providing market efficiency (Distributing resources in an optimal way, that the satisfaction
people can gain from them is maximized)
Accepting risks (Uncertainty becomes risk when we know the likelihood of various
possibilities, entrepreneurs take the risks of individuals away)
Maximising investors’ returns (Create and run organisations which generate long-term
profits on behalf of the investors that are higher than would otherwise have been the case)
Processing of market information (Entrepreneurs keep an eye out for information that is not
being exploited, this is information about opportunities)
1
,1.4 – The entrepreneur as a person, an individual
Entrepreneurs are seen in different lights. The can be seen as being a ‘great person’, born to succeed,
this is very limiting however. Another extreme is that entrepreneurs are seen as being social misfits
by heart, they started something else because they did not fit in.
The conceptual basis for the personality type view of entrepreneurship is that the way people act in a
given situation can be categorised into one of a relatively limited number of responses, on what hand
people can be classified. There is no general ‘entrepreneur-personality’, all personalities perform
equally well. Traits (kenmerken) are different from personality types. Psychologists distinguish three
types of traits that are relevant to understanding personality: ability traits, temperamental traits and
dynamic traits.
Personality type and traits are relatively fixed ad hard to change. Entrepreneurs are “made” because
personality is expressed in different social settings. A number of factors are seen as significant to the
social development of entrepreneurs, which fall into three broad categories: innate (aangeboren),
acquired and social. Entrepreneurship is a social phenomenon, it exists between people.
1.5 – Entrepreneurship: a style of management
An entrepreneur is a manager who manages in an entrepreneurial way, they manage an
entrepreneurial venture. Entrepreneurial management is characterised by three features:
A focus on change (Entrepreneurs make a difference)
A focus on opportunity (They innovate in order to create new value, offer returns on
resources)
Organisation-wide management (Manage the organisation as a whole)
The entrepreneur is a manager who is willing to venture, create change and pursue opportunity
rather than just to maintain the status quo and conserve resources. Part of this skill is to know when
venture is appropriate, since it not always is. Entrepreneurial management is characterized by its
whole organisation scope, its objective of creating change and a focus on exploiting opportunity.
1.6 – The human dimension: leadership, power and motivation
Entrepreneurs are disguised from ‘normal’ managers in their human dimension: the way in which
they use power, leadership and their ability to motivate those around them. Organisations exist to
process resources that are being distributed to stakeholders, equally or not. The ideas of the human
dimension require some definition:
Leadership, might be defined as the power to focus and direct the organisation.
Power, might be defined as the ability to influence the course of actions within the
organisation.
Motivation, might be defined as the process of encouraging an individual to take particular
courses of action.
Leadership, power and motivation come together in the means the entrepreneur chooses to shape
and drive their venture in the direction they wish to take it. This cannot be confined within the
formal organisation, because it must extend beyond it to draw all the stakeholders together.
2
, Power is not necessarily concentrated on one individual, rather, it is a result of the structural factors
that define how people work and interact with each other. Power must be distinguished from
authority, which represents the right to influence the course of actions owing to the position that the
holder of that authority has within the organisation, which is not the same as ability. Power can be
seen as something that manifests itself as the control of different aspects of the venture, which is a
reciprocal relationship: power enables control and control provides power.
Motivation is regarded as being an outward expression of inner drives or as something directed
towards achieving externally defined and rewarded goals. With some methods, these two insights
overlap. Self-motivation is achieved through asking yourself some questions: why am I doing this?
What did I do wrong the last time and how can I learn from this? Also, rewards need to be
recognized. After self-motivation has been achieved, others can be motivated. This has some key
points:
Understanding personal drives (Achieved by communicating the role they will play in this
vision and what they will get out of it)
Setting goals (Individuals must be able to link goals to the organisation’s overall goal, goals
should be achievable and realistic)
Offering support (Give people the room to use skills and insight, but never make them feel
they are on their own)
Using rewards (Rewards are the means that satisfy an individual’s economic, social or
development needs, they need to be appropriate for the task and in the right quantity and
equal)
A positive approach to sanctioning (Not primarily about what was wrong, but also about how
to improve)
Chapter 2 – Types of entrepreneur
2.1 – Classifying entrepreneurs
There is no single formula for success. There are two main approaches to classification: classify the
entrepreneurs themselves or classify their ventures. Classifying entrepreneurs themself;
Nascent entrepreneurs, who plan to start up an initial venture.
Singular entrepreneurs, who run a single business.
o Novice entrepreneurs, single entrepreneurs at an early stage of venture
development, when they are still actively learning.
o Opportunist entrepreneurs, who were interested in maximizing their returns from
short-term deals.
Growth oriented, who pursued opportunities to maximise the potential of
their venture.
Interdependence oriented, whose main ambition was to work for
themselves. Preferred stability to growth and were willing to limit the scope
of their ventures.
o Craftsman, who attempted to make a living by privately selling their trade or the
products they produced, not that interested in profits.
3
