Linkage Between Entrepreneurial Traits and the Performance Among the Rural Industralists: An Empirical Study

Abstract

Village and Cottage Industries have a popular role in the Indian Economy due to scarcity of capital, regional imbalances and labour intensive techniques. The Government of India gives utmost, importance for the growth of these industries through all of its five year plans and the industrial policies. For the sustainable development of rural industrialization, entrepreneurship among the owners in highly essential. The entrepreneurial traits among the owners play an important role in their success. It is essential to verify these relationships in the Indian context in order to improve and upgrade rural industrialization. In Tamilnadu, Madurai District was purposively selected for the study. 20 industrialists from each of the 13 blocks are purposively selected for the study. The present study conclude that the important entrepreneurial traits among rural industrialists are their decision making ability, media exposure, scientific management skills, leadership activities, networks and accessibility. The significantly influencing entrepreneurial traits on their business performance among the rural industrialists are scientific management and networks. The rate of influence of entrepreneurial traits on the business performance among the experienced industrialists is higher than among the lesser experienced industrialists. Those with above 10 years of experience in managing an industrial enterprise are treated as more experience and those upto 10 years of experience are considered as less experience of resulting from a sample of 260 entrepreneurs from rural areas.