Performance Management in Entrepreneurial Contexts

Abstract

Using organizational performance management that is validated and used in active companies, this research aims to study business performance management in entrepreneurial frameworks. This study presents a conceptual approach based on some theories founded on the organizational performance management as a process, but adapted to the context of entrepreneurship. It is proposed the conceptual analysis and submitting the verification of the formulated hypotheses. An entrepreneurial framework is defined by some factors such as: entrepreneur, along with his personal and professional characteristics, who is the main actor of the so-called entrepreneurial process; business idea that entrepreneur wants to turn it into profitable business; market opportunity, which demonstrates that the business idea is valid, has novelty and can be fructified and developed; business plan, that needs to be well prepared in a very detailed manner and containing long run strategies; business start-up resources, including time resources allocated to implement the business plan, physical resources, information, financial and human resources; the environment where the business will be active; technology needed to develop the business activity. To study more closely the issue of performance management in entrepreneurial contexts, will be defined entrepreneurial performance management as a process, which can lead to the success rate of a business idea and to the rate of business sustainability. To perform this study it has been proposed a case study where an entrepreneur wants to develop a business in renewable energy, and more specifically, the development of a solar power plant that transforms solar energy into electricity, which then it’s been introduced into the national grid of electricity supply. So in this research will be studied the entire process by which the real business appears and a variant of the case that the solar power plant could be built in Romania and will be proposed a detailed system of performance indicators, specific to the entrepreneurial framework. Using a research methodology based on case study, this research has as a central objective, to define the entrepreneurial performance management through a set of specific performance indicators, which can then be used in practice, by entrepreneurs who want to start a new business in renewable energy.