Who Is An Entrepreneur, By William B. Gartner

William B. Gartner in his work titled; ‘Who is an Entrepreneur? Is the Wrong Question’ published in 1988 woefully addresses the dilemma that stands tall against the researchers undertaking studies to define Entrepreneurship in a simplistic manner. As highlighted in his work, he segregates the approaches to such studies in two classes namely the trait approach and the behavioral approach. Gartner sets out to debate the underlying assumption that a study of the characteristics of an entrepreneur will lead one to understand the phenomenon of entrepreneurship itself. His argument compels the reader to focus on the behavioral aspect of the entrepreneur and the organization while disengaging the reader from focusing on the qualities of the entrepreneur’s
It is assumed that the personality of an entrepreneur does not undergo changes as he ages i.e: the personality remains constant from the time of initiation of his/her venture to the time his defining qualities are assessed and included in a sample of study. As humans, the personality is prone to changes with aging and as such, the personality in question cannot be regarded as a mere constant.
2. The defining characteristics of an Entrepreneur in the course of the studies found as of date are too vague to set a constant definition. The variability in the thought processes assessing the lives of such entrepreneurs gives multiple perspectives as to what the ideal set of characteristics should be for the definition of such a person. As such, this manner of personal assessment gives rise to chaos instead of making order in line for the definition and study of Entrepreneurship.
3. The studies over the course of years have not compiled samples of entrepreneurs keeping in view a constant set of characteristics. This hinders the constancy imbibed within the selected samples of study. As such, one cannot validate the definition proposed by certain entrepreneurs since the studies to follow it generally consider a modified version of the definition which in turn leaves no room for comparison and a consistency check in the already proposed definition for the characteristics of personality of an
Traits of an entrepreneur are just a stage along the lines of viewing what the idea is all about but the focus ends with understanding the practices adopted whilst the venture was brought into creation. It assesses the actions on part of the founder rather than his personality on the course of studying his venture. He bases the analogy on the ardency of a sportsman’s performance which may be assessed as to how he is playing the game rather than focusing on his physical and innate characteristics to find more like him. The focus as such rests on the technique an entrepreneur follows rather than the qualities he