Resources and Capabilities

There is nothing as practical as a good theory.

—Kurt Lewin

OUTLINE

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this chapter, you will understand

• various approaches to and theories of entrepreneurship.


• the resource-based theory of entrepreneurship, which explains how new firms can obtain and
  sustain competitive advantage.


• strategic resources, and how these resources influence success.


• some of the misconceptions about personality traits and the entrepreneurial personality.


• why and how an entrepreneur is the primary human resource for a new venture.


• the components of the entrepreneurial event, which is the creation of a new venture.


• creativity techniquesfor generating business ideas.

32

CHAPTER

2

Identifying Attributes of Strategic Resources
Valuable Resources
Rare Resources
Hard-to-Copy Resources
Nonsubstitutable Resources

Resource Types
Physical Resources
Reputational Resources
Organizational Resources
Financial Resources
Intellectual and Human Resources
Technological Resources

A Psychological Approach

Personality Characteristics

Limits of the Trait Approach

A Sociological Approach

Impetus for Entrepreneurship

Situational Characteristics

Summary

Appendix A. Creativity and Idea Generation