An Empirical Study of Success Factors in Transforming Accounting and Engineering Professionals into Entrepreneurs in the SME Sector, Sri Lanka

This paper examines the success factors in transforming Accounting and Engineering Professionals into entrepreneurs in the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector in Sri Lanka. Employing a qualitative research approach methodology, twelve semi-structured interviews and three focus group discussions were conducted with entrepreneurs who have successfully become entrepreneurs in the SME sector. The findings of the study clearly indicate that personal success factors such as risk taking, need for achievement, internal locus of control, professional confidence, passion, need for recognition, need to serve society and opportunity seeking help Engineers and Accountants to emerge as entrepreneurs. It is further influenced by environmental success factors such as family background, perceived government policies, social networks and entrepreneurial culture. Moreover, it reveals that entrepreneurial engineers tend to start ventures in the field of technology whereas entrepreneurial accountants belong to various types of disciplines. The paper concludes with a discussion on the practical implications of the findings for Engineers, Accountants and national policy makers.