Reg Jennings, Charles Cox and Cary L. Cooper: Business Elites. The Psychology of Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs

Organization Studies, June 1, 1997

Reg Jennings, Charles Cox and Cary L. Cooper: Business Elites. The Psychology of Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs

1994, London and New York: Routledge. 159 pages.

This book is about elite entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs--about very successful founders and about managers heading very large organizations. The study is based on in-depth interviews and questionnaires analyzing the differences and similarities between the two groups of business leaders. The driving question is: What motivates these individuals and what factors contribute to their development? Based on a modified version of Sonnenfeldt and Kotter's career development model, the researchers' thesis is that careers reflect and interact with the personality of the business leader. The book is organized into nine chapters. Following the introduction, the second chapter gives an outline of the careers of a number of entre- and intrapreneurs, portraying the lives and characteristics of the people this book is about. Chapters 3-8 set out to investigate the influence of such factors as childhood, socioeconomic background, education, approach to work, personality, and philanthropic activity. In Chapter 9 the personal characteristics entre-and intrapreneurs seem to have in common and that appear to be related to their success are discussed. As a conclusion, it is finally stated that independent entrepreneurs, in contrast to intrapreneurs, have a greater ability to overcome failure and to learn from adversity.