Merchandising-oriented entrepreneurs have been hypothesized to be more self-actualizing than craft-oriented entrepreneurs (Smith, 1967). To test this hypothesis the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI), a measure of self-actualization, was administered to samples of small business owners who were identified as merchant or craft-oriented. Since significant differences were obtained on the major Inner Directed (I) scale, the hypothesis was supported. Results are interpreted in terms of the significant differences obtained between entrepreneurial orientation on four out of nine POI scales considered.
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