The dynamics of entrepreneurs in Indonesia

Entrepreneurship is considered as a reliable way to improve a stagnant economy, facilitate economic growth in many developing countries, as well as absorb foreign technology effectively. However, despite the lavish studies on the motivation to become an entrepreneur, a little literature focuses on technical and business know-how that is actually more important to entrepreneurial success - particularly in emerging economies. This paper tries to bridge the gap by mapping, describing, and elaborating the character of entrepreneurs in Indonesia. We surveyed 357 entrepreneurs, 296 of them men and the remaining 61 are women. The focus of this study is on entrepreneurial performance, risk-taking propensity, family background, tolerance of ambiguity, need for achievement, educational background, managerial experience, and entrepreneurial experience. Our finding indicates that entrepreneurs' performance in Indonesia are largely affected by family background, need for achievement, vocational training, and entrepreneurial experience. However, there is no significance influence between risk-taking propensity and entrepreneurial performance. In fact, formal education was actually having negative effect to risk-taking propensity. It is expected that this paper will provide a glimpse into the extent to which the character of an entrepreneur in Indonesia compared with existing empirical studies conducted in developed countries.