Introduction & Development of Entrepreneurship
An entrepreneur is an important input of economic level He acts as a change agent & has a significant role in the development of the economy. The term entrepreneur is defined in a variety of ways. As time passes changes in surrounding i.e economic, social, political give a different dimension to the process of entrepreneurship so there is no perfect definition of entrepreneurship. The concept of an entrepreneur varies from country to country as well as from period to period & also the level of economic development of a nation
The word entrepreneur is derived from the French word entreprendre –it means “ To Undertake
According to Bernal “ The function of buying labor & material at uncertain prices & selling the resultant product at a contracted price”
In many countries, an entrepreneur is associated with a person who starts his own business. The term entrepreneur was applied to business initially by the French economist Cantillon in 18 century.
According to him, an entrepreneur is an agent who buys a factor of production at certain prices in order to manufacture a product with a view to selling at an uncertain price in the future thus according to Cantillon entrepreneur bears a risk for the production of goods
According to Schumpeter “ Entrepreneur is the person who innovates something new in market or economy this may be
- Introduction of new product
- Introduction of a new quality in product
- Discover in new market i.e fresh demand
- Change in management or organization structure
According to Peter Ducker innovation is the specific tool of the entrepreneur to explore change as an opportunity for different businesses or services. Here entrepreneur considers every change as an opportunity or innovates something new. This entrepreneur has become a focal point in economic activity by taking a risk he innovates something new, acts as a change agent create employment & stimulate growth in the economy
Development Of Entrepreneurship
In a different period, the needs of society were different, social system, availability, technology, a pattern of the government of economy, stages of development of economy had an impact on the entrepreneur process
1.Earliest Period
In this period no manufacturing activity was there. Society was having basic needs so in this period a person who traded too far east via sea route was called an entrepreneur. In this period the economy was capitalistic & in this period the economy was capitalistic & these capitalists use to provide funds to the trader. The trader uses to bear risk in the journey-loss & accident
2) Middle age
In this period many kingdoms came into existence in this period king was of immense importance the person who used to manage the project was called an entrepreneur
For eg: – Architectural work building of castle, cathedrals, church, forts, etc .in the middle age entrepreneur was not at all bearing risk but he has to use his skill
3) 17th Century
In this century entrepreneur was a person who entered into a contractual agreement with the king or government to supply stipulated product or services i.e price was fixed before rendering services Richard Cantillon first time observed entrepreneur as a risk-taker
For eg- Merchants, farmers, craftsman, etc who buys at a certain price & sell at an uncertain price, therefore, he undertakes certain risk.
4) 18 the Century
In this period the industrial revolution was on the boom industrial revolution given birth to machine-made goods. So in this period, a person who introduces something new in the economy was called an entrepreneur.
For eg –Graham Bell invented the telephone, Edison invented the electric bulb. In this era innovator was the entrepreneur.
5) 19th Century
In this period entrepreneurs were different from managers The Entrepreneurs used to organize, operate & coordinate enterprise various factor of production, land, machinery, etc He plans to organize & monitor the enterprise