Clarence Dan of, on the basis of his study of American agriculture, observed that at the initial stage of economic development entrepreneurs have less initiative and drive and as economic development proceeds they become more innovating and enthusiastic.
Dan of classified entrepreneurs into four categories:
1. Innovating entrepreneur:
An innovating entrepreneur introduces new goods, inaugurates new method of production, discovers new market and organises the enterprise. These entrepreneurs can work only when a certain level of development is already achieved and people look forward to change and improvements.
2. Imitative entrepreneur:
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These are characterized by readiness to adopt successful innovations made by successful innovating entrepreneurs. They follow innovations originated by innovating entrepreneurs.
Imitative entrepreneurs do not innovate, they only imitate techniques and technology innovated by others. These3 entrepreneurs prefer to imitate the technology already existing anywhere in the world.
3. Fabian entrepreneur:
These entrepreneurs are characterized by very great caution and skepticism in experimenting any change in their enterprise.
They imitate only when it becomes perfectly clear that failure to do so would result in a loss of the relative position in the enterprise. They are lazy and shy and lack the will to adopt new methods of production.
4. Drone entrepreneur:
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Drone entrepreneurs are characterized by a refusal to adopt opportunities to make changes in production formula even at the cost of severely reduced returns relative to other like producers.
Such entrepreneurs may even suffer losses but they are not ready to make changes in their existing production methods. They struggle to exist, not to grow. This, they are3 laggards as they continue to operate in their traditional way and resist changes.