Master (1) management entrepreneurship module course

Axis (1): the origin and historical evolution of entrepreneurship

Introduction:

Entrepreneurship is a current topic; almost all disciplines.

related to human and economic sciences are interested in it. Indeed, we are witnessing
today there is an enthusiasm for research on entrepreneurship and the
different themes related to it such as business creation,
innovation, women entrepreneurship, SME marketing, HRM in
SMEs,…etc. thus, the era in which today's societies live is marked by the
renewal of the entrepreneurial spirit seen the importance of entrepreneurship in the
development of the economic fabric of companies.

Definitions: basic concepts

Through readings and research, we can say that the field of

Entrepreneurship reveals several basic concepts that need to be defined.
However, it is important to remember the fact that in an essay defining the concept
of "entrepreneur", some researchers enumerate no less than 90 attributes
associated with this notion and by analyzing more precisely the publications
scientists dedicated to the field of entrepreneurship, other researchers
77 different definitions of the concept of entrepreneurship have been recorded. Furthermore,
the common point that unites all these definitions is indeed the notion of
creation which is the fundamental characteristic of entrepreneurship and
research dedicated to it. Thus, we can say that:

Entrepreneurship is the process of identifying, exploring and

exploitation of an opportunity with a view to creating an activity.

The entrepreneur is defined as the individual (or group of individuals) who

engage any action with a view to the creation or establishment

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Master management entrepreneurship course

of a company or an organization (Gartner, 1990; Reynolds, 1997). It is

also perceived as a business creator and an investor to successfully carry out
an economic project aimed at making profit and ensuring long-term sustainability
the survival of the company.

Nevertheless, the concept of 'entrepreneur' has been understood in different ways.

ways and this according to the historical and theoretical evolution related to the discipline

entrepreneurial.

Entrepreneurship: the different theoretical approaches

1/the economist approach:

Its birth is attributed to the publication of the writings of Richard CANTILLON.

towards the middle of the 18th century (1752). These writings are perceived by the majority of

entrepreneurship researchers as the first theoretical development and

clear conceptual understanding of the entrepreneur concept. They reveal the experience that they have

lived CANTILLON as an entrepreneur, he defines himself as a man of the

business opportunity search, concerned about smart management and
economic that optimizes its profit. "He knew how to analyze a situation, indeed or
she was profitable and how she could become it. For him, being
entrepreneur refers to taking risks and assuming them.
consequences.

The second author linked to the economist approach is J.B. SAY (1816). He saw the
development of a country's economy through the creation of businesses. It has
I observed the industrial revolution in Great Britain and dreamed of transposing it.
model in France. It associates the entrepreneur with a change agent who knows
how to allocate resources and organize them to make a profit, is the
the first to have described what an entrepreneur does.

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Master management entrepreneurship module course

The third pioneer of this approach is SCHUMPETER (1934), he is

recognized as the founding father of the current conception of entrepreneurship
and the one who set it free in this field by clearly associating it with
innovation. "The essence of entrepreneurship is the perception and exploitation
new opportunities.

2/ The behaviorist approach:

It is led by psychologists, psychoanalysts, sociologists all

specialists in human behavior. Some refer to the emergence of this
approach to the works of Max WEBER (1930), who through his famous
research translated in his work "the Protestant ethic and the spirit of
capitalism has been able to show that it is the existence of a system of values that
explain the behavior of a businessman "entrepreneur" and who it is
drives innovation.

The second pillar of this approach is David Mc CLELLAND (1950).

The author questioned the rise of the USSR and the USA at that time. He reflected on
asked why some civilizations remain very great
civilizations throughout all eras. To respond, he became interested in studying
their story, he identifies several elements that explain the greatness of these
nations, but essentially the presence of HEROES in their literature. The
generations that come after take them as models to imitate, it is
those who have blown up the barriers of traditions and rules of their
companies to bring something new, those who have pushed back the
limits of what can be accomplished. People who are born and live in
such companies tend to develop a strong need for self-actualization and
The author associates this need with the action of "undertaking" one's own life and business.

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Master management entrepreneurship course

3/the approach by personality traits

Emerging from the 1970s with the development of methods of

field research, data collection tools and scales of
specific measures for the entrepreneur, she was interested in studying 'who is
"The entrepreneur?" and "What are its characteristics?" in order to establish.
an entrepreneurial profile. To date, one could not establish a profile
scientific and absolute psychological of the entrepreneur seen the different
characteristics that can be related to an entrepreneur's profile, however
certain characteristics are agreed upon by most authors, including:

self-confidence: feeling capable of doing something,

to undertake and carry out a project, thanks to its knowledge and
to his skills.
Leadership: Propose actions, ideas, Influence 'positively'
the others in the execution of the task, Make the necessary decisions
and take action.
team spirit: Working and cooperating with others while being
respectful. It is created with others in synergy of action.
motivation: Having reasons to learn and take on a challenge.
the sense of responsibility: To respect one’s commitments by doing what
must be done and what has been agreed upon by the group.
The initiative: Make choices, become autonomous and make decisions
without needing supervision.
the sense of organization: Choosing good methods to be effective
in the execution of the work.
Risk-taking: knowing how to measure and apprehend the ambiguity that surrounds the
business opportunities.

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Master (1) management entrepreneurship module course

Perseverance: To continue/finish what has been started until

achieving a satisfactory result and demonstrating consistency and
tenacity in order to complete a project and achieve the set goal.
…etc.

According to this approach, individuals tend to lean towards action

They essentially caress their environment, which does not suit them. Thus,
The entrepreneur is a social being, he is the product of his environment.
chance of becoming an entrepreneur when you have someone from our close circle
that he is.

From the moment we become entrepreneurs, the nature of the activity drives us to
develop certain characteristics, thus, the entrepreneur is considered as
a being that learns and feeds on its experiences. Among the
the most studied characteristics in the entrepreneurial field include
need for self-fulfillment, internal internality, tenacity, etc.

4/The explosion of entrepreneurial discipline

Starting from the 1980s, and with the publication of the first encyclopedia on
entrepreneurship and the holding of the first international research conference on
this discipline, researchers from different specialties in the humanities and
Economists have taken an interest in studying the different facets of this field.
research. Several branches have thus emerged.

In conclusion, we can say that defining the notion of 'the entrepreneur',

it is relative to the approach that apprehends it, thus, this notion reflects different
facet according to different approaches.

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Master management entrepreneurship module course

Axis (2): the entrepreneur: profile, determinants and forms

entrepreneurship

1. The profiles of the entrepreneur

Several typologies are mentioned in the literature regarding the description

entrepreneurial profiles, the first is the one proposed by SMITH (1967)
who distinguished the ARTISAN entrepreneur from the OPPORTUNIST entrepreneur.

The artisan entrepreneur is one who has a low level of education, they do not
not done much study, however, he has technical skills
very high. He considers work as sacred and central in his life and he venerates
his autonomy, that's why he prefers not to grow, because that is
synonym of loss of control over one's business.
The opportunistic entrepreneur is rather one who is endowed with a level
of high study, he has certain work experiences that are diverse, and he
sees business as opportunities to seize, that's why he prefers
growth at the expense of certain decentralization of power and loss
control.

Based on this first typology, there are different typologies that have been
proposed in the literature, among those that are most cited we find the
typology proposed by LAUFER (1973), which had as a study sample
more than 50 cases of business creation, he distinguished 4 entrepreneurial profiles:
the innovative entrepreneur (manager), the owner entrepreneur, the entrepreneur
refusing growth and the artisan entrepreneur.

The innovator is one who is trained in the greatest schools, who has experienced
a brilliant career in large companies, motivated by the need to
creation and self-realization, but also a need for power, its goal is
the pursuit of growth and innovation.

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Master (1) management entrepreneurship module course

The owner is the one whose goal is the growth of their business.
however, it is marked by a concern to maintain the financial autonomy of this
last. The needs are similar to those of the innovator but with a need
to have more marked and important power with the owner.
The one refusing growth has as a goal the effectiveness of his
company, it leans more towards autonomy than growth that could it
distract from its fixed goal, thus, the most pronounced needs are that of power and
of autonomy.
The artisan is one who reveres his work, forsaking growth for fear of
losing control over one's business.

2. The determinants of entrepreneurial intention

Several factors can determine the intention to start a business.

it finds: the psychographic, sociocultural, economic factors and
contextual.

Psychographic factors: these are those related to qualities

personal traits of the individual (such as self-confidence, risk-taking,
the influence on others, perseverance,... etc.) and the motivations that drive him
driving to undertake (here, we distinguish five types of needs,
of accomplishment, autonomy, power, recognition and
creation.
Sociocultural factors: they correspond to those related to the environment in
which evolves the individual, we distinguish the influence of the family environment,

since it is considered one of the most important factors that

vehicle entrepreneurial culture and this through a process of
social reproduction, thus, certain values (such as the sense of freedom, the
sense of responsibility,...etc.) held by the parents then become

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Master (1) management entrepreneurship module course

as standards to be respected. The second factor is related to

academic environment (school, university) that serves as a foundation in
subject of acquiring knowledge in management and management and
internships that will provide a preview of the activity
entrepreneurial.
The economic factors: these are the ones related to the different resources
do not dispose of the individual to undertake a business, we distinguish the
financial, material, technological, human resources but
especially relational.
Contextual factors: these are those that reflect a situation.
specific to the individual in a given context, they can be
related to the professional context (dismissal, harassment, etc.) or to
personal context (divorce, accident, etc.).
3. The forms of entrepreneurship

Here, it is necessary to distinguish between two scenarios: the creation of the company and the takeover.

of the company.

3.1 The creation of a business: several cases can be cited including:

The creation of a company Ex-Nihilo: nothing existed before like
idea or structure, in this case the entrepreneur must face certain
requirements such as: properly assess the risks, cover the costs
of innovation,…etc.
The creation of a business through spin-off: it is the act of creating a
new business with the help and support of a company
in which we are employed, but in the end we would not be connected to
The parent company through an employment contract, we will be rather independent.

The establishment of a business by franchise: it connects a

franchisor (the company) and a franchisee (the entrepreneur), it is in the

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Master (1) management entrepreneurship module course

cases where we imitate a functioning that exists in a given context,

Here the company supports the entrepreneur who benefits from the notoriety.
and the company's image. Those affected are generally those
who lack original ideas, the ability to innovate or to accomplish
their goal of creating a company from scratch.
Intrapreneurship: It was Pinchot (1985) who was the first to
introduces the word 'intrapreneurship' which refers to the act of entrepreneurship

in an existing structure by developing practices and

entrepreneurial behaviors within a large company.
The key character of this phenomenon is the Intrapreneur who acts for the
account of a company that entrusts it with an entrepreneurial project, here,
the employee will always remain an employee of the existing company. Those
those who cannot question their interests
family and professional situations.

3.2. The takeover of a company:

Business takeover is defined by Fayolle (2004: 133) as "a

a situation that pertains to the entrepreneurial spirit and belongs to the field of
entrepreneurship. A process by which a natural or legal person,
entrepreneur, acquires the ownership of an existing business or activity and
takes on the functions of general management." Two situations are distinguished: the
taking over a healthy business that requires the acquisition of knowledge
in entrepreneurship and management, and the takeover of a struggling business
which requires rather significant financial and relational resources.

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Master (1) management entrepreneurship module course

The axis (03): the creator and the idea of creation

Some authors insist that we need to reject the myth of the brilliant idea,
or of a 'better' idea, it is after more than 15 years of observation of
many cases of business creation by the pioneers of research in
entrepreneurship noted that a good idea is merely a simple tool among
the hands of an individual, in other words, it is not the idea itself that is
the main ingredient for the success of a business but rather all the work that
may be made from the idea. Thus, good ideas do not constitute
necessarily good opportunities.

An idea is a way of doing, more or less original, that an individual or a

group of individuals imagined in the field of knowledge, action or
of creation.

The search for an idea

As of today, there is no satisfactory method to reliably provide the idea.

which will allow an entrepreneur to create a successful business.
However, some authors have tried to distinguish what can be called
the scientific methods of idea research and those that fall under
the analysis of the environment.

1.1 Scientific methods: these are the methods that translate a

the will for a systematic and methodical research and which aim for
goal of avoiding chance. They are divided into two categories:
Those called future prevention techniques, which are of a
reduced interest for the entrepreneur since they allow him to indicate
a promising sector, a trend, etc., but not the idea itself, the
the most well-known of these techniques is the DELPHI method and the exploration of

trends ;

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Master (1) management Entrepreneurship module course

The creativity techniques that are less general than the previous ones.
and more focused on problem-solving, they are used in
the large companies but not by an independent creator, the most
known of these techniques is BRAINSTORMING.
1.2 Observing the environment: a born entrepreneur is one who has the
with open eyes and mind, he has a constant concern to analyze the situation that
he surrounds himself, he is constantly looking for a sign that he can translate
in business opportunity. Some make more effort in the search for
information through reading specialized press, attendance
of fairs and trade shows,…etc. but generally,
the demographic environment, the evolution of lifestyles and
the technological environment, ...etc. are real sources
of acquiring business ideas.
2. The nature of the idea

The ideas that are at the base of the creation of new businesses are more
at least original, we find, depending on the degree of content innovation
an entrepreneurial project

2.1. The almost total absence of innovation: also referred to as classical

Traditional ideas are related to already existing phenomena,
old and frequent. In this case, there is no search for ideas, and the concern
the capacity to innovate remains limited and generally, the created company results from the

entrepreneur training.

2.2.Relative innovation: it can be a geographical innovation that

consists of transposing to a new place what was already being done elsewhere; or
of a sectoral innovation that consists of applying new techniques
to a traditional sector.

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Master (1) management entrepreneurship module course

Maximal innovation: this is the case where the idea is original, it

brings innovation compared to the existing.

The axis(4): the entrepreneur and the strategic approach during the creation
of the company

When an entrepreneur decides to start their business, it is

systematically the definition of a strategy which is the next step. However, the
research conducted in management sciences on the concept of strategy has
focused more on the cases of large companies than on the case of new ones
recently created businesses (entrepreneurial phenomenon), to the point where
some authors in management sciences have concluded that there is no
specific strategy for these companies, or they do not need to
strategy or if it exists, the entrepreneur does not realize it.
existence. These conclusions are justified by the fact of assimilating the strategy to
the only existence of a perfectly formalized planning process.

However, the most widely accepted definition of the concept of strategy is that of
M.Porter (1982) who perceives it as "a combination of ends (objectives)"
that a company strives to achieve and the means (measures and resources)
that she uses and organizes in order to achieve them," and that in a
given environment and facing competition.

If we try to transpose this definition to the case of a company

Recently created, we see that an entrepreneur defines himself too.
objectives, allocate and organize resources, in a given context for
to manage to ensure the survival of one's project. Thus, all elements can be found
which constitute the meaning of the concept 'strategy' in the actions of
the entrepreneur, and from this we can support the hypothesis of
today's researchers who support the idea of the existence of a strategy

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Master (1) management entrepreneurship module course

entrepreneurial, however, this strategy differs from that of a large

company in relation to some criteria.

Indeed, the entrepreneur when they have just committed to a process

The creation of a business is in a particular situation that differs.
from that of a leader of a large company, these differences will be
analyzed in relation to: set objectives, allocated resources and
the environment in which the company develops.

The objectives

The smaller the size of the organization, the greater the influence of the leader.
important and feels on the established strategy. In the case of a company
newly created, the goals of the company merge with the objectives and the
personal motivations of its creator, thus, the profile of the entrepreneur will
determine the objectives sought through its strategy (example:
the craftsman entrepreneur whose goal is to maintain his autonomy and abandon
growth and the opportunistic entrepreneur whose goal is growth
of its business). In the case of the large company, goal setting is
a more sensitive and complex process, as it requires a certain
consultation of all stakeholders.

The allocated resources

Unlike the large company, which, with experience, manages to build a

competitive advantage over one or a few of the resources,
The recently created company must pay attention especially to financial resources.
she doesn't have while trying to maintain the momentum of the early moments of the
creation to ensure its survival and durability. Regarding the organization of its
resources (human, technical, etc.), unlike the large

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Master (1) management entrepreneurship module course

company, in the case of a creation, a proper organization is

nonexistent, it is completely to be built, or under construction.

The environment or the context

Classically, the large company is presented as an organization that

is influenced but above all can influence its environment. The company
recently created must rather adapt to survive and has reduced possibilities
to modify this environment.

Possible strategies for starting a business

The strategies mentioned in the case of large companies are generally

those initiated by M. Porter, which are: the cost leadership strategy,
the differentiation strategy and the concentration strategy. In the case of the
business creation, or in the case of SMEs, several typologies have been
proposed, we mention one of the first classifications that was presented by
Miles and Snow in 1978 identified 4 types of strategies:

The defensive strategy: the company tries to position itself and to

maintain in a niche that is SAFE and relatively STABLE. She
is limited to a small number of products and services offered, and focuses on
high quality, a superior service and a lower price, it
don't try to reach the top position in its sector.
The prospective strategy: the company operates in a vast context and
changing, she tries to offer products and services first
new, it relies on originality and innovation.
The analysis strategy: it constitutes an intermediate case between the
the two previous strategies, it involves maintaining stability in
limiting its product line but trying to bring in some
new developments while moving between growing sectors.

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Master (1) management entrepreneurship module course

The reactionary strategy: it is a case that can be qualified as

"non-strategy" which consists of waiting and not acting except in response to
pressures from the competition to avoid losing its clientele.

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