Need for achievement, emotional stability and the entrepreneurial success of asnaf entrepreneurs: An upper echelons perspective

Abstract

Zakat institutions in Malaysia increasingly fund productive entrepreneurship programmes intended to move recipients from dependency toward self-sufficiency. Prior studies and programme observations suggest that recipients receiving similar capital and training reach very different levels of business success. This raises the question of what individual-level factors account for the gap. This paper draws on Upper Echelons Theory to argue that the psychological characteristics of the entrepreneur, rather than programme design alone, help explain variation in outcomes among asnaf entrepreneurs. Two traits are proposed as relevant: need for achievement and emotional stability. Asnaf enterprises are typically single-founder micro-businesses, so the founder can reasonably be treated as the sole strategic decision-maker, or “upper echelon,” of the venture. This strengthens the case for applying Upper Echelons Theory at the individual level. Two research propositions are advanced linking each trait directly to entrepreneurial success. The paper closes by identifying additional psychological and cognitive mechanisms as directions for future research toward a fuller explanatory model.