THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIO- ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF SMALL BUSINESS OWNER AND ENTREPRENEURIAL BEHAVIOUR

Abstract

Small family businesses are important for economic development through the start-ups stage and growth. The main person in small family business is the business owner who creates and owns the business. Even a small family business is operated and managed by more than one family members but the business owner is an important person. Therefore, the entrepreneurial behaviour among small business owners is a crucial study. In addition, small business owners have to adapt with the uncertain and competitive business environment.
Generally, this study is about the impact of business environment on small family business. There are little studies focusing on individual level in small family business (Gersick, Davis, Hampton, & Lansberg, 1997). As mentioned by Feltham, Feltham, and Barnett (2005) it is important to understand the small business owner because small family business tend to be overly dependent on a single decision maker. The old owner is a key in promoting a business's commitment and support of entrepreneurship (Zahra, Hayton, & Salvato, 2004). Thus, this research is interested in studying the entrepreneurial behaviour among small business owners. The objectives of the research are 1) to describe the socio-economic characteristics of small business owners, 2) to decribe the entrepreneurial behaviour among small business owners, 3) to analyse the relationship between characteristics of small business owner and entrepreneurial behaviour.