Entrepreneur background, resources access and market strategy:

a holistic view of entrepreneurship in Brazil

Abstract

A better understanding of the entrepreneur’s behavior should consider multiple theoretical perspectives. In this respect, studies capable of integrate different perspectives under a holistic framework are welcome. Gathering constructs under three perspectives, entrepreneurial-based view, resource-based view and market-based view, this article presents a holistic view about how the entrepreneur background influences the firm' strategy in a traditional industry. This article adopts a holistic perspective of the entrepreneurship investigating the importance of the entrepreneurs' background in their strategic decisions, showing important insights. Through the qualitative approach there were performed eleven comparative case studies with agricultural entrepreneurs of the artisanal cachaça industry in a mining region, which production started in the XVI century and is intimately related to the historical origin of Brazil. In the majority, entrepreneurs have access to key production and market resources through family ties. This situation directly influences the product value attributes, the consumer segments focused, and the size of product lines. There is also a relation between the entrepreneurs' motivation and segmentation strategy and between their formal education and cognitive style. This article should guide the elaboration of entrepreneurial training programs, whereas the firm's strategy can be designed considering the entrepreneur background.