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1. Based on the economic approaches to entrepreneurship, how does Kirzner see the
entrepreneur’s main qualities?
a) Driving the economy through innovation
b) More than a businessman
c) Combining effective management with innovation
d) Alert to, and taking advantage, of opportunity

2. Also based on economic approaches to entrepreneurship which author believed the

entrepreneur was a combination of the ‘innovator’ as described by Schumpeter and
a routine effective manager?
a) Kirzner
b) Schultze
c) Liebenstein
d) Mengler

3. According to Trait Theory, which of the following would not be described as a

common trait associated with effective entrepreneurship?
a) Feeling in control of events
b) Strong need for achievement
c) Extremely high risk-takers
d) Strong desire for autonomy

4. Which of the following views the entrepreneurial individual as someone who is

‘deviant’ in society?
a) Psychodynamic approaches
b) Trait approaches
c) Sociological approaches
d) Cognitive approaches

5. Which of the following is not one of the three basic premises that psychodynamic
approaches to entrepreneurship are based upon?
a) Most behaviour is goal directed
b) All behaviour originates in the conscious mind
c) Childhood experiences are crucial to the development of a personality
d) Much behaviour originates in the subconscious mind

6. ‘Individuals are seriously constrained in making career choices by the limitations of

experience and by the expectations that individuals face.’ Which of the following
approaches to entrepreneurship would this statement best be associated with?
 a) Sociological approaches
b) Economic approaches
c) Psychodynamic approaches
d) Trait approaches

7. What might be the link between beliefs and behaviour?

a) Attitudes
b) Understanding
c) Intentions
d) Actions

8. While behaviour may be influenced by intentions, what else is needed to elicit

planned behaviour?
a) An alignment of belief and attitudes
b) Social norms supporting the intended behaviour
c) Sufficient personality traits being present in the entrepreneur
d) Individuals being exposed to an agreeable opportunity structure

9. According to the competency approach to entrepreneurship, which of the following

competencies is common to all entrepreneurs?
a) Creativity
b) Networking
c) Transformational leadership
d) There appears to be no competency that is possessed by all entrepreneurs

10. It can be argued that intentions can remain as a behavioural disposition without
which of the following?
a) Appropriate time and opportunity
b) Motivational factors
c) The approval of the entrepreneur’s peer group
d) Necessary personality traits

11. The Theory of Planned Behaviour suggests that there are three dependent
determinants of planned behaviour. Which of the following is not one of these
determinants?
a) Attitudes towards the behaviour in question
b) Subjective norms
c) Perceived behavioural control
d) The actual outcome of the behaviour inaction
12. Krueger’s model argues that, in order to have the intention to act entrepreneurially,
an individual must perceive the probable outcomes of his/her endeavours in a
favourable light. Which of the following factors underpins this perceived desirability?
a) Perceived self-efficacy
b) Perceived social norms
c) Perceived feasibility
d) The propensity to act

13. According to the attributes and resources approach, which of the following would be
considered a resources rather than an attribute?
a) Diligence
b) Interpersonal skills
c) Innovative behaviour
d) Experience

14. In the attributes and resources approach, how are resources acquired?
a) Nature
b) Nurture
c) Through processes of working or living
d) As a result of innovative behaviour

15. In his discussions of the trait approach, which of the following is not one of Deakins’s
comments?
a) Entrepreneurs have a set of characteristics that mark them out as different
b) They have particular insights not possessed by others
c) There is an infinite supply of potential entrepreneurs
d) There is a finite supply of potential entrepreneurs

16. According to Shane, which of the following is not a key situational factor that has
been argued to lead to entrepreneurial activity?
a) New firm formation
b) Competence-destroying technology change
c) Industry dynamics
d) Market structure

17. Nicolaou and Shane have argued that genetic factors may influence the tendency of
people to engage in entrepreneurial activity. Which suggestions do they make?
a) genes may affect chemical mechanisms in the brain to increase the
likelihood that people will engage in entrepreneurial activity
 b) genes may influence individual differences, such as extraversion and internal
locus of control, that pre-dispose people to engage in entrepreneurial
activity
c) genes may make some people more sensitive than others to environmental
stimuli that increase the likelihood of engaging in entrepreneurial activity
d) All of the above

18. Of the Three Models of Entrepreneurship Potential, which model argues that
entrepreneurship potential lies in a spectrum with some having little and some
having much?
a) Model A
b) Model B
c) Model C
d) All of them

19. Which of the following attributes could it be argued separates a stellar entrepreneur
from a professional manager?
a) Knowledge
b) Talent
c) Temperament
d) Skills

20. In terms of the spectrum of entrepreneurial potential, which of the following

attributes could be argued to be more supportive of the ‘entrepreneurs are made’
theory?
a) Knowledge
b) Talent
c) Skills
d) Temperament
Answers

1. Answer: (d) For Kirzner the entrepreneur is not interested in routine managerial
tasks. Kirzner’s entrepreneur is concerned to demonstrate qualities of creativity
and perception. The entrepreneur is alert to changes in the economy and takes
advantage of this.

2. Answer: (c) The work of Liebenstein moves towards confirming the more
complex profile of the effective entrepreneur. The first is a routine or managerial
figure allocating inputs to the production process in a traditional manner. The
other is the Schumpeterian entrepreneur who can produce a new product or
process through innovation.

3. Answer: (c) While they must be able to countenance risk that is not to say that
enterprising people are high risk-takers. Entrepreneurial research suggests that
effective entrepreneurs are moderate risk-takers, while others believe that
enterprising people take calculated risks.

4. Answer: (a) As well as trait theory, other personality theories include

psychodynamic approaches which view the entrepreneurial individual as
someone who is ‘deviant’ in society.

5. Answer: (b) Psychodynamic approaches are based on three basic premises: that
most behaviour is goal-directed and is caused by a force within the person, that
much behaviour originates from the unconscious mind, and that early childhood
experiences are crucial in the development of the personality.

6. Answer: (a) Psychological and economic approaches to entrepreneurship

emphasise the degree of choice exhibited by individual potential entrepreneurs,
but some sociologists consider that individuals are seriously constrained in
making career choices by the limitations of experience and by the expectations
that individuals face in the social world.

7. Answer: (c) Beliefs and attitudes can influence behaviour but it is suggested that
the link between these variables is mediated by intentions. Boyd and Vozikis i
argue that intentions are indicative of a person’s willingness to engage in a
particular behaviour.

8. Answer: (b) Behaviour is influenced by intentions but Delmar argues that more is
needed to elicit planned behaviour. A second condition is that perceived social
norms must be supportive of the intended behaviour.

9. Answer: (d) There appears to be no competency that is possessed by all

entrepreneurs, and many examples exist of non-entrepreneurs who appear to
possess more entrepreneurial competencies than do some people who clearly
are entrepreneurs.
10. Answer: (a) Intentions do not necessarily lead to immediate action and, once
they are formed, intentions initially remain as behavioural dispositions until,
given an appropriate time and opportunity, they translate into actions.

11. Answer: (d) This theory also suggests that there are three independent
determinants of intentions: attitudes towards the behaviour in question,
subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control. The outcome of any
behaviour is not known until after intentions have been formed.

12. Answer: (b) The perceived desirability is built upon both the personal desirability
and the perceived social norms.

13. Answer: (d) Attributes may include self-confidence, diligence, perseverance,

interpersonal skills and innovative behaviour. Resources may include finance,
experience, knowledge, skills, a network and a track record.

14. Answer: (c) Resources are acquired through many of the processes of working
and living. They will, however, be more readily acquired if this acquisition is
planned and targeted.

15. Answer: (c) It is possible to argue that the supply of potential entrepreneurs is
limited to a finite number of people with innate abilities, that they have a set of
characteristics that mark them out as different, and have particular insights not
possessed by others.

16. Answer: (a) Key situational factors that have been argued to lead to
entrepreneurial activity have included competence-destroying technological
change, industry dynamics, and market structure. New firm formation is often
used as a measurement of entrepreneurial activity.

17. Answer: (d). All of the above plus the suggestions that genes may affect the
tendency of people to select into environments that are more favourable to
entrepreneurship.

18. Answer: (c). Model C suggests that entrepreneurship potential lies in a spectrum
with some people having little or no potential and some people have so much
potential as to be instinctive entrepreneurs, but with most people being
somewhere in between with at least some potential.

19. Answer: (b). While a professional manager and stellar entrepreneur both share
the attributes of; knowledge, technique, skills and temperament, it is the talent
that could be argued to separate the two categories.

20. Answer: (a). Out of all the above attributes it could be argues that knowledge
could be acquired more easily than skills and that that talent and temperament
are more likely to be traits innate to an entrepreneurial individual.
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