Most entrepreneurs often start a new enterprise ignorant of many key dimensions of running their enterprises and must obtain the necessary information if they are to survive. This study searches to generalize entrepreneurial success with the purpose of providing insights to entrepreneurial venture management. The conclusion expresses that entrepreneurial success depends on growing industries, financial capital, market attractiveness, environmental favorableness, entrepreneur's personality traits, and social networks.

1. Management Scholars, 1(1), 9-10, 2002
Magazine of Kantipur City College. First Inspired Issue 2012.
Entrepreneurial Success: An Overview
Sajeeb Kumar Shrestha
Faculty, KCC
Teaching Assistant, Shanker Dev Campus
Abstract: Most entrepreneurs often start a new enterprise ignorant of many key dimensions of
running their enterprises and must obtain the necessary information if they are to survive.
This study searches to generalize entrepreneurial success with the purpose of providing
insights to entrepreneurial venture management. The conclusion expresses that
entrepreneurial success depends on growing industries, financial capital, market
attractiveness, environmental favorableness, entrepreneur's personality traits, and social
networks.
Keywords: Entrepreneurial success, Entrepreneurship.
Paper type: Review paper.
1. Introduction
The encouragement of entrepreneurial activities has been recommended as a way to stimulate
economic growth in less developed countries (Harper, 1991). Lau and Busenitz (2001) quoted
various researchers (Reynolds, 1991; Jackson et al., and 1999; Wright et al, 1998) who
support the view that the emergence of new and small enterprises has been recognized as
having a significant impact on economic development. Education has been directly linked to
successful entrepreneurship (Nieman et al., 2003).
2. Review
The entrepreneurial Success construct has been found to have two distinct dimensions:
economic success and the entrepreneur's satisfaction (Hisrich, 2000). There are small business
owners who see themselves as successful if their business supports a certain lifestyles,
eventhough they earn a smaller income compared to when they where employees (Nieman et
al., 2003).
Adhikary et al. (1999) argued as defining successful woman entrepreneurs as having a
business for longer than two years, having staff complement of more than five but less than
thirty, making a profit and expanding in terms of infrastructure and growth.
Articulating two distinct domains of success reveals uniquely different profiles for economic
success rather than for entrepreneurial satisfaction. The relationships between individual
attitudinal orientations and economic success display non-monotonic patters (Hisrich, 2000).
This argument is further strengthened in the work of Luk (1996) who reported that the highest
level of economic success did not correspond to the highest levels of entrepreneurial
behaviour. In addition Luk (1996) observed that the individual's attitudes had twice the effect
effect upon the economic success of the venture, as did the firm's characteristics. Successful
entrepreneurs indicated that good interpersonal skills were a great personal asset, which
facilitated business growth. Conversely, the firm's characteristics had twice the influence
upon the satisfaction of the entrepreneur as did the individual's attitudes (Hisrich, 2000).
Baron and Markman (2003) suggested that some personal characteristics of entrepreneurs,
such as their self-efficacy and overall proclivity for entrepreneurship, may play important
roles in entrepreneurial success.
Specifically, high social capital provides entrepreneurs with enhanced access to information
and increased cooperation and trust from others. Moreover, entrepreneurs who possess high
social capital (based on extensive social networks, status, personal ties, and referrals) are

2. Management Scholars, 1(1), 9-10, 2002
Magazine of Kantipur City College. First Inspired Issue 2012.
more likely to receive funds from venture capitalists than entrepreneurs who are lower on this
dimension (Baron & Markman, 2003). In general, these are entrepreneurs possessing high
levels of social capital: favourable reputations, an established record in the field, a degree
from an excellent university and work experience with reputable employers (Baron &
Markman, 2003).
Entrepreneurial success is often associated with the entrepreneur's personality traits, social
networks, and prior knowledge. Entrepreneurial alertness is a necessary condition for the
success of the opportunity identification triad: recognition, development, and evaluation
(Ardichvili et al., 2003). Entrepreneurship researchers have pointed to growth as the crucial
indicator of venture success (Covin & Slevin, 1997; and Low & MacMillan, 1988). This
study expressed venture growth as our performance measure. Success (Hisrich, 2000) is
measured in terms of sales growth, income growth, employment trends and satisfaction.
The dynamics of demand, sometimes expressed as market attractiveness, environmental
munificence, or dynamics, appears to be the most important variables in the environment to
enhance performance. Dynamics environments give rise to abundant opportunities for small
firms to take advantage (Chandler & Hanks, 1993; Covin & Slevin, 1991 and Zahra, 1993). In
Particular market growth is cited as being important to small firm performance (Chandler &
Hanks, 1994; Lumpkin & Dess, 1996; and Sandberg & Hofer, 1987).
Lumpkin and Dess (1996) proposed that firms in growing industries may perform better than
other firms, regardless of their environmental orientation and vice versa; i.e., market growth
and environmental orientation have independent, positive effects on performance. Thus,
environmental dynamism is an important control variable, likely to have a positive influence
on performance.
Wiklund (1999) depicted as access to financial capital can influence the performance of small
firms. Financial capital provides a buffer against unforeseen difficulties that may arise from
environmental changes, poor management (Castrogiovianni, 1996; and Cooper et al., 1994).
Financial capital also provides organizational financial slack, facilitating the necessary
response to changing conditions and increasing the willingness of the firm to innovate and
change (Castrogiovianni, 1996; and Zahra, 1991). A consistent finding across different
studies is that access to financial capital affects small firm growth (Storey, 1994). Cooper et
al. (1994) reported that in six out of eight studies they reviewed, availability of capital was
associated with better performance. Another study by Cooper et al. (1994) found that capital
availability was a predictor of firm performance. Consequently, it is important to control the
influence of financial capital on firm-level performance.
3. Conclusion
What is entrepreneurship? Who are entrepreneurs? How are they different from non-
entrepreneurs? Is entrepreneurship is just another career option? Drawing from research,
people choose entrepreneurial careers because of the perceived greater economic and
psychological rewards than regular employment. The myth that entrepreneurs are born and
not made (Timmons, 1994) can be dismissed by the notion that entrepreneurship can be
enhanced through education, accumulation of the relevant skills, experiences and know-how.
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