Rjopes Research Journal in Organizational Psychology & Educational Studies 1(3) 145-148 Rjopes © Emerging Academy Resources (2012) (ISSN: 2276-8475) www.emergingresource.org 145 SELF ESTEEM AND ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION: BEHAVIORAL TRAITS FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP, BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT Adedeji J. Ogunleye Faculty of the Social Sciences Psychology Department University of Ado Ekiti, Nigeria. ___________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT This paper attempts to bring to bear the importance of an individual person’s traits (personality) in fostering business and economic growth and development. The objective is to ignite a focus on the need for education and trainings, enabling environment, gender equality and intellectual property rights as preconditions for psychological well being necessary for entrepreneurial behaviours, economic growth and development. The paper is thus divided into five (5) sections. Section one contain the introduction, section two explores the development of entrepreneurship while section three explores the roles of SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) in business and economic growth and development. Section four discusses the roles of achievement motivation and self esteem (called psychological well being in this paper) in entrepreneurship, business and economic growth and development while in section five, conclusions are drawn and recommendations made. . © Emerging Academy Resources KEYWORDS: Entrepreneurship, Personality Traits, Psychological Well-Being, Economic Growth _________________________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION Business and economic growth is synonymous with entrepreneurship. This is because, according to Schumpeter (1934), one ceases to be on entrepreneur when a business commences operation. But if it is a growth business, one continues to be an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are therefore, agents of change, growth and development since they involve themselves in accelerating the generation, dissemination and application of innovation ideas. They ensure the efficient use of resources and expand the scope of economic activities. An exact definition of entrepreneurship has been rather elusive as different scholars have defined the concept differently. This is largely because concepts and ownership structures keep changing in a dynamic environment. However, some authors have conceptualized entrepreneurship as the purposeful activity (including an integrated sequences of decisions) of an individual or group of associated individuals, undertaken to initiate, maintain, or aggrandize a profit oriented business for the production or distribution of economic goods and services. Caree and Thurik (1999 and 2003) suggests that entrepreneurship is one of the determinants of economic growth and development and therefore that entrepreneurship should be perceived as something desirable for economic reasons, rather than as a social good that should be maintained at economic cost. Business and economic growth and development of any nation is largely dependent on the effective and efficient co – ordination and management of both the human and material resources within the nation. Governments of nations are all concerned about the well – being of their citizens and as such, they make frantic efforts at stimulating self employment. The efforts are worth the while because of competitiveness in the global markets. A healthy competition in the global market will have a telling effect on the total economic growth of a nation as there is the likelihood of a higher per capital income resulting from increased gross domestic product. Increment in per capital income can only be realizable through the creation of values and innovativeness of the entrepreneur. Jean – Clause Ndungutse (1998) posit that the entrepreneur in any community is a primary mobilizer of resources and contributor to the development of the economy, a provider of employment for others, and a stabilizing factor in the society. An entrepreneur thus constitutes human capital and a contributor to human welfare. Human capital and welfare, according to Appleton and Teal (1998), incorporates income, education and health. And low investment in human capital will inadvertently impinge growth rate of income and output expansion. In recognition of this therefore, developing nations have in varying degrees attempted to stimulate the accumulation of human capital through public education expenditure as well as