Focus on specific definitions of the terms: entrepreneur, entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial

venture. You should produce a critical comparison and review of these (perhaps 500 words)
and this will form an appendix to the assignment.
According to Schumpeter (1950) the word "entrepreneur" is a loanword from French. In
french the verb "entrepreneur" means "to undertake; an entrepreneur is a person who is
willing and able to convert a new idea or invention into a successful innovation.
Entrepreneurship is a challenging endeavour and by definition it is the practice of starting
new business ventures or bringing maturity to the businesses that have just began.
Entrepreneur see what others dont see and they have entrepreneurial alertness, a superior
insight into market imperfection creating an entrepreneurial opportunities (Kirzner (1997).
When successful entrepreneur identify an opportunity, they pursue it with vigour. They are
immersed in the business day in and day out, risking both capital and time. They are driven to
succeed and are probably more afraid of failure than anything else Wayne (2001).
An entrepreneur is a person who has possession of an enterprise, or venture, and assumes
significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome. It is an ambitious leader
who combines land, labour, and capital to create and market new goods or services
Sulivan A, (2003). Entrepreneur take actions to commercializes invention or innovation and
create new ventures to appropriate value from them - Burgelman & Hitt, (2007).
Entrepreneurs are persons who take actionthey engage in vigorous, persistent efforts to
convert their ideas and visions into profitable, operating companies Baron, (2007).
Irrespective of the terms, terminologies and the definition used to define and describe
entrepreneur and entrepreneurship; the early researches did not appreciate the influence of
risks on entrepreneurship; Frank Knight's Risk Bearing Theory introduced a new
dimension to entrepreneurship, wherein he argued that risk taking is the most paramount
characteristic of entrepreneurship, and that the profit earned by the entrepreneurs is as a result
of taking risks. While appreciating the existence of risks, Alfred Marshalls Theory of
Entrepreneurship as well as Mark Casson's Economic Theory argues that the success of an
entrepreneur depends on the prevailing economic situations Kuratko, (2008), this contradicts
with the opinions forwarded by Max Webbers Sociological Theory, which proposes social
cultures as the driving force of entrepreneurship, Harper, (2006).
Entrepreneurship is undertaken in response to a need or an opportunity that is new.
However, success percentage of most new businesses is very low as Entrepreneurship is a
challenging task and is quite different in its activity depending on the chosen field of the
business venture. In the process of succeeding in the venture, entrepreneurship creates job
opportunities. Entrepreneurial projects range from small scale and part-time businesses to
herculean projects.
For example Gompers et al (2008) in their studies in Performance Persistence in
Entrepreneurship argue that a venture-capital-backed entrepreneur who succeeds in a
venture (by our definition, starts a company that goes public) has a 30% chance of
succeeding in his next venture. By contrast, first-time entrepreneurs have only an 18%
chance of succeeding and entrepreneurs who previously failed have a 20% chance of
succeeding; and further to state that starting a company at the right time in the right
industry is skill rather than luck.
Support to the above can be found in the studies of Sorensen (2007), and Hochberg,
Ljungqvist, and Lu (2007); who believe that companies that are funded by more
experienced (top-tier) venture capital firms are more likely to succeed.