Rural and remote SMEs innovative behaviour, is it in the genes or location? An examination of entrepreneurial traits and characteristics

Rural SMEs have often been associated with superior performance and also offering some resilience to negative economic trends. Literature has often cited a number of potential reasons for such behaviour. A focus of opinion centring on the idea, that a developed innovative psyche, along with a set of entrepreneurial characteristics, rather than one single trait may hold the answer. This paper aims to examine the characteristics/traits approach of entrepreneurial values, debating the areas of opportunity spotting, risk taking, charisma, creativity and vision, as these are often cited as key areas of entrepreneurial value. Further testing of these areas was carried out against 25 rural and remote rural SMEs to see if the sample exhibits the same or enhanced values of entrepreneurial awareness depending upon geographical location, therefore it could be established that their level of innovative ability had changed. A differentiation score could then be identified against levels of innovative activity taken from the initial survey to the one taken for this research project