Title: The leverage of entrepreneur skills and entrepreneur traits to business success: a case study of Pakistan's marble industry

Authors: Noor Ul Hadi; Naziruddin Abdullah

Addresses: Universiti Kuala Lumpur Business School (UNIKL BIS), Bangunan Yayasan Selangor, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kg Baru, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ' Universiti Kuala Lumpur Business School (UNIKL BIS), Bangunan Yayasan Selangor, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kg Baru, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Abstract: To date, knowledge of the relationship between entrepreneur skills, entrepreneur traits, and business performance is fragmented. Therefore, this study inspects the degree to which there is statistical significance that entrepreneur skills and entrepreneur traits predict the success of marble manufacturing businesses operating in the KPK Province, Pakistan. In order to do this, we used PLS-SEM analysis on data collected from 82 small-scale mineral-based marble manufacturing units in the KPK Province to examine these possible effects. Firstly, we empirically identified that the three dimensions of entrepreneur skills (managerial, resiliency, and strategic) are dimensions of entrepreneur skills in the marble manufacturing sector. The empirical results further support the relationship between entrepreneur skills, entrepreneur traits, and successful marble manufacturing. Secondly, we found that entrepreneur skills have a significant positive effect on the success of marble manufacturing within the KPK Province. It was further found that the effect of entrepreneur traits on the success of marble manufacturing in the KPK Province was marginally significant. Finally, the study develops a theoretical framework based on the collected empirical evidence.

Keywords: entrepreneur skills; entrepreneur traits; business success; Pakistan; PLS-SEM.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2018.090216

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2018 Vol.33 No.3, pp.315 - 334

Received: 26 Mar 2016
Accepted: 26 Apr 2016
Published online: 06 Mar 2018 *

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