PERCEIVING AND MANAGING-BUSINESS RISKS - DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ENTREPRENEURS AND BANKERS

We compared entrepreneurs with bankers in their perception and managem ent of a variety of risks. Problems included financial risk, risk to h uman life and health, and risk of a natural disaster. Cluster analysis and content analysis of think-aloud protocols revealed surprising det ails. Entrepreneurs accept risk as given and focus on controlling the outcomes at any given level of risk; they also frame their problem spa ces with personal values and assume greater personal responsibility fo r the outcomes. Bankers focus on target outcomes - attempting to contr ol risk within structured problem spaces and avoiding situations where they risk higher levels of personal responsibility. Published by Else vier Science B.V.