Investigating the Needs for Achievement, Risk Taking and Tolerance for Ambiguity toward Entrepreneurial Passion among Single Mother Entrepreneur in Malaysia

Over the years, a stigma arises along with the term ‘single mother’ which signaled an under privilege circumstances of single mother whom had to endure life and upbringing of children without the true breadwinner of the family. Some of these single mothers venture into entrepreneurship with a hope to change their lives, but only some ended up with a success stories in their entrepreneurial ventures. The present study is intended to explore the inspirational and motivational dimensions of successful single mother entrepreneur that would help sustaining the interest of single mother into entrepreneurship. This will later be propose as an entrepreneurial inspiration concept for single mothers in Malaysia. Taken from various literatures on human motivation and psychological needs, McClelland's needs theory as well as Cardon's Entrepreneurial Passion theory have been adopted as a measure of this study. The findings were supported by a research survey, using cluster sampling technique carried out in six states in Malaysia (representing East, West, North and South of Peninsular Malaysia together with Sabah or Sarawak representing East Malaysia). The results of the empirical test had given some support on how to provide a foundation from which appropriate measures can be taken to initiates and improve the development of single mother's entrepreneurial activities in Malaysia.