Self‐competition theory of entrepreneurship
Elias Khalil (1997) at Monash University asks why is it that some entrepreneurs that have prior accomplishments continue to risk their capital again and again? Why don't they retire? One possibility is that these entrepreneurs are trying to be the best in the world or in a given territory or space. Another possibility is that they are striving just to be better than their former selves. Self-competition theory's main assumption is that individuals develop the desire to improve themselves, or rather, upon their former selves. Entrepreneurship can be viewed as behaviors that individuals use to better themselves. The theory also assumes that individuals keep track of their personal best and have the ability to compare themselves to their former bests. For example, one might try to obtain a return on investment that is double what a previous venture was able to provide. Or one might try to expand the scale of the venture to be larger than previous ventures, or to span more