TY - JOUR

T1 - Can personal initiative training improve small business success?

T2 - A longitudinal South African evaluation study

AU - Solomon, Goosain

AU - Frese, M.

AU - Friedrich, Christian

AU - Glaub, Matthias

PY - 2013/11

Y1 - 2013/11

N2 - High levels of personal initiative will be required to unlock the potential offered by the many untapped resources in Africa in terms of business opportunities. Significant resources are ploughed into the development of the small business sector by governments in Africa, particularly in South Africa. However, there is little evidence that these efforts are sufficiently effective to produce the desired results. Two issues are addressed in this article: (a) whether or not enhancing the personal initiative of owner-managers improves the performance of small businesses, and (b) the moderation of the content and effectiveness of a short training intervention by means of a longitudinal evaluation study, including a control group. The findings show an increase in the training group's business activities and performance, and also identify the varied contributions of the components of the training.

AB - High levels of personal initiative will be required to unlock the potential offered by the many untapped resources in Africa in terms of business opportunities. Significant resources are ploughed into the development of the small business sector by governments in Africa, particularly in South Africa. However, there is little evidence that these efforts are sufficiently effective to produce the desired results. Two issues are addressed in this article: (a) whether or not enhancing the personal initiative of owner-managers improves the performance of small businesses, and (b) the moderation of the content and effectiveness of a short training intervention by means of a longitudinal evaluation study, including a control group. The findings show an increase in the training group's business activities and performance, and also identify the varied contributions of the components of the training.

KW - Business psychology

KW - Entrepreneurial training

KW - Entrepreneurship education

KW - Personal initiative training

KW - Small businesses

KW - South africa

KW - Success factors

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84894070154&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.5367/ijei.2013.0129

DO - 10.5367/ijei.2013.0129

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:84894070154

VL - 14

SP - 255

EP - 268

JO - International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation

JF - International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation

SN - 1465-7503

IS - 4

ER -