ABSTRACT
The increasing attention given to the role of small firms in the tourism sector has led to a recognition of the significance of entrepreneurship in such businesses. The uncovering of factors conditioning patterns of entrepreneurship within tourism contrasts in part with more general studies of small firms that have emphasised organisational structures (Goffee & Scase 1983) and features of entrepreneurial personalities. In terms of the latter, particular research has been directed at so-called proactive entrepreneur personalities (Kickul & Gundry 2002), alongside notions of risk taking (Das & Tend 1997). Studies of small firm entrepreneurs in tourism have, by contrast, identified a range of entrepreneurial cultures (Shaw 2003), only a few of which appear to embrace formal ideas of entrepreneurship and innovation. Such cultures range from a preoccupation with economic motives through to a range of entrepreneurs for whom non-economic factors are of primary importance. As Dewhurst & Horobin (1998) explain, such non-economic motives create difficulty in applying economic models of small enterprises within the tourism industry. In this situation, the concept and definition of the entrepreneur is far more complex and, according to Swedburg (2000), necessitates the adoption of different perspectives. This includes sociological and psychological views which highlight the knowledge, background characteristics and personality traits of the entrepreneur.
