ENTREPRENEURIAL GOALS, TIME ORIENTATION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TYPES
Rose Mary Almeida Lopes, University of São Paulo
Principal Topic
Only a minority of SMEs grow, and the ones presenting significant growth is even less. Growth is a function of factors related to Marketing and Management (“propensity for growth and the ability to manage growth”). The latter are related to entrepreneurial psychological make up (Sexton and Bowman (1991). Researches reveal that growth is an entrepreneurial choice: goals for the business vary, being affected by an internal impulse and anticipated consequences of growth (Davidsson, 1989).
Das (1987) found individual differences on temporal orientation which impact on strategic planning time: some people prefer working towards a more near future, and others on a more distant horizon. Research on Psychological Types has shown that people do differ on their preferences: Intuition Types are more prone to perceiving possibilities and working on a future oriented mode; Sensing Types are more oriented towards details and to the present. Therefore, this research investigated the relationship among: goals and time orientation of Intuition and Sensing types of entrepreneurs, and in what extension the entrepreneurs really use planning.
Method
Sample: 18 growth-oriented entrepreneurs (owners/ principal executives of restaurants in the area of Paraíba Valley) were interviewed; they filled out a form (events they expect to happen for their businesses in the future) and answered an Indicator of Psychological Types (QUATI, a questionnaire developed in Brazil, based on Jung’s typology). Qualitative Analysis was developed.
Results and Implications
Data obtained is quite intriguing: suggest that Intuition Types (NTs or NFs) entrepreneurs work more on a near future oriented mode, expecting to achieve goals on a shorter period of time (< 1 year) than the Sensing Types (STs or SFs); these expect events happening in the whole spectrum of future and on a longer horizon (distant future between 2 to 20 years). Although these entrepreneurs achieved growth in their businesses, planning is rarely used. This research contributes to our understanding on entrepreneurial psychological dispositions associated to growth, with implications for selection, counseling, support and financing. Directions for future research will also be presented.
CONTACT: Rose Mary A. Lopes, Psychology Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo SP; rmalopes@usp.br or roselopesbr@uol.com.br
2002 Babson College. All Rights Reserved. Last Updated March 2003.