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1Tapas R. Dash is a Professor in Economics & Management and Vice President, Graduate Studies and Research, Build Bright University, Samdech Sothearos Boulevard, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He can be reached at tapas_dash@yahoo.co.in.
This paper is an attempt to analyse the individual and family characteristics of the rural micro-entrepreneurs and find out the association between individual and family characteristics with entrepreneurial behaviour of the selected micro-entrepreneurs. In addition, it finds out whether any significant differences exist among the selected microentrepreneurs in terms of different family environments in the study area. The empirical results of the study show presence of significant association between education and organising skills, as well as significant association between education and attitude towards work of the selected entrepreneurs. However, no significant association between experience and feeling towards failure of the micro-entrepreneurs are observed in the study area. So far, where years of experience and performance in enterprise operations of sample entrepreneurs in the study area is concerned, there exists significant association between micro-entrepreneurs belonging to joint families and nuclear families, with the former having better organising skills of managing their enterprises. The study finds significant association between type of family and organising skills of the selected micro-entrepreneurs. However, no significant association between type of family and feeling towards failure of the micro-entrepreneurs in the study area is revealed. Overall, both the types of families have provided similar type of environment to their members. However, differences among certain environmental factors like honesty, adventure, religion and openness are significant between the two groups of microentrepreneurs. In addition, different parameters of family environment differ substantially among themselves in terms of their emphasis. The differences among the environmental factors like honesty, innovation, hard work and religion are significant among different groups of the micro-entrepreneurs. Further, it indicates the presence of substantial difference in the overall family environments of different groups of the micro-entrepreneurs taken for study. Thus, to understand the personal and family characteristics of the micro-entrepreneurs on the entrepreneurial behaviour, further empirical studies in this direction are required.
Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneur, Microenterprise, Personal and family characteristics
JEL Classification: L2, L26, D21, M13
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