MANUFACTURING ENTREPRENEURS - AN EMPIRICAL-STUDY OF THE CORRELATES OF EMPLOYMENT GROWTH IN THE TULSA MSA AND RURAL EAST TEXAS

This study, based on mail surveys in the five county Tulsa Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and thirteen East Texas counties, was designed with two goals in mind. The purposes of the study were to test three groups of literature-based hypotheses of entrepreneurial manufacturing performance and to begin the development of a model of entrepreneurial manufacturing firm performance that incorporates the background of the entrepreneur, psychological differences and environmental scanning practices. Results of this study suggest that the age of the entrepreneur at start-up, years of entrepreneurial experience, industry-specific experience,and environmental scanning practices all contribute to the performance of entrepreneurial manufacturing firms and are therefore incorporated into the model being developed.