ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
Purpose
The contribution of Entrepreneurs and owner managers in the creation of wealth and employment and overall economic growth is immense. Who is an Entrepreneur, what makes Entrepreneurs successful and what are the factors that contribute to the growth of Small businesses are the main aims of this study. It is also helps to give a clearer understanding of the antecedent, social, economic and demographic factors that influence success of start-ups in Bamenda, as perceived by local Entrepreneurs.
Design
The initial research framework, which emanated from a systematic literature review, was empirically investigated using a two-stage design, which incorporated both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The rationale behind the two-stage methodology was firstly to avoid common-method bias; and, secondly, to seek to illuminate findings arising from the survey by providing individual insights. Approaches were employed in succession with the findings from the quantitative phase informing the qualitative phase. Initially, a paper and online survey questionnaire was administered to a population of Small businesses. This survey was used in order to validate the initial conceptual framework and gain some insights on the perceptions of Entrepreneurs of the factors influencing the performance of Small businesses. Following the quantitative phase, fifteen in-depth face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with selected creators of startups, forming a judgmental sample, to explore their knowledge, experiences, beliefs, and attitudes with respect to the drivers of success.
Findings & Conclusions
Three main factors wer4e considered that can lead to the success or failure of Entrepreneurs. These were Antecedent factors particular to the Entrepreneur, personal characteristic of the entrepreneur and Socio-Demographic Characteristics of the entrepreneur. The quantitative phase of the study found that age, education, experience, family background, need for achievement, risk-taking propensity, managerial competences, and functional competences of the Entrepreneur were significantly related to business success. These factors can be grouped under the category of ‘Entrepreneurial attributes’. Findings of the two phases of the study showed that a host of internal as well as external factors, which are usually moderated by other variables, seem to influence business success in Bamenda. These findings added substantially to the understanding of Entrepreneurs’ views of the factors that contribute to business success in the context of Bamenda, Cameroon.
Aidis, R., & Mickiewicz, T. (2016). Small business managers, expectations and business expansion: lessons from Lithuania. Europe-Asia Studies, 58 (6), 855-880.
Aldrich, H. E., & Reese, P. R. (2003). Does networking pay off? A panel study of small business managers in the research triangle. In N. Churchill, S. Birley, & J. Doutriaux.
Babbie, E. R. (2016). The practice of social research (12 ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Baum, J., & Locke, E. A. (2015). The relationship of small business managerial traits, skill, and motivation to subsequent venture growth. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89 (4), 587-598.
Benzing, C., Chu, H. M., & Kara, O. (2016). Small business managers in Turkey: A factor analysis of motivations, success factors, and problems. Journal of small business management, 47 (1), 58-91.
Bolton Committee Report. (1971). Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Small Firms. London: HMSO.
Child, J. (2003). Predicting and understanding organization structure. Administrative Science Quarterly, 18 (2), 168-185.
Emory, C. W., & Cooper, D. R. (2011). Business research methods (4 ed.). New York: Irwin.
Man, T. W., & Lau, T. (2014). The context of Business Innovation in Hong Kong: an investigation through the patterns of small business managerial competencies in contrasting Agribusiness environments. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 12 (4), 464-481.
Mazzaro , T., Volery, T., Doss, N., & Thein, V. (1999). Factors influencing Small businessestart-ups. International Journal of Small business managerial Behaviour and Research, 5 (2), 48-130.
Nieman, G. (2016). Small business management: A South African approach. Van Schaik Publishers.
OECD, African Development Bank. (2009). African economic outlook 2009. Paris: African Development Bank.
Perez, E. H., & Canino, R. M. (2009). The importance of the small business manager’s perception of "success". Review of International Comparative Management, 10 (5), 990-1010.
Perez, S., Llopis, A., & Llopis, J. (2004). The determinants of survival of Spanish Agribusiness firms. Review of Industrial Organisation, 25 (3), 251-273.
Polit, D. F., & Hungler, B. P. (1999). Nursing research: Principles and methods (6th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott.
Sandberg, K. W. (2003). An exploratory study of women in micro enterprises: Gender-related differences. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 10 (4), 408-417.
Sapienza, H., & Grimm, C. (2007). Founder characteristics, start-up process and strategy/structure variables as predictors of shortline railroad performance. Owner-managership Theory and Practice, 22 (1), 5-24.
Siegel, R., Siegel, E., & MacMillan, I. C. (2003). Characteristics distinguishing high-growth ventures. Journal of Business Venturing, 8 (2), 169-180.
St Jean, E., Julien, P. -A., & Audet, J. (2014). Factors associated with growth change in ‘gazelles’. Journal of Enterprising Culture, 16 (2), 161-188.
Mbah, T. (2014). Contemporary business management, Green Edition. McDavid consulting group
Temtime, Z. T., & Pansiri, J. (2004). Small business critical success/failure factors in developing economies: some evidences from Botswana. American Journal of Applied Sciences, 1 (1), 18-25.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2014). OECD Small business and Owner-managership outlook. Paris: OECD Publishing.
The World Bank. (2009). Doing Business 2009. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
The World Economic Forum, The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank, and The African Development Bank. (2009). The Africa competitiveness report 2009. Geneva: World Economic Forum.
Wang, C. K., & Ang, B. L. (2004). Determinants of venture performance in Singapore. Journal of Small Business Management, 42 (2), 347-363.
Weinzimmer, L. G. (2003). A replication and extension of organizational growth determinants. Journal of Business Research, 48 (1), 35-41.
Woldie, A., Leighton, P., & Adesua, A. (2016). Factors influencing Micro Enterprises (Small businesses): an exploratory study of owner/manager and firm characteristics. Banks and Bank Systems, 3 (3), 5-13.
Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B. J., Carr, J. C., & Griffin, M. (2016). Business research methods (8th ed.). South-Western, Cengage Learning.
In-Text Citation: (Takwi, Bate, Akosso, & Sharon, 2020)
To Cite this Article: Takwi, F., Bate, B. E., Akosso, V. N., & Sharon, B. (2020). Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management: Critical Success Factors of Entrepreneurs and Small Business Managers International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences. 10(10), 488-503.
Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s)
Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode