Abstract:

The purpose of this article is to reveal what kind of entrepreneurial profile Ahmet Midhat Efendi shows. For this purpose, Ahmet Midhat Efendi’s ideas about entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial characters in his novels and economic initiatives he carried out personally were evaluated. In order to understand the entrepreneurship of Ahmet Midhat Efendi, his personal qualities as well as the Ottoman economic structure and the transformation of this structure in the 19th century were taken into account. The study finds that Ahmet Midhat Efendi is not in accordance with both traditional and capitalist entrepreneurial typology, and that both typologies are separated in fundamental qualities. This is why it is discussed that the type of entrepreneur represented by Ahmet Midhat Efendi is defined as "environmental entrepreneur". Ahmet Midhat Efendi’s attitude in this Arafta is focused on the fact that, even if passively, a different search can be read as a subtle expression.

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Abstract:

This paper aims to discuss the entrepreneurial characteristics of Ahmet Midhat Efendi. We have three clues about the typology of Ahmet Midhat Efendi’s entrepreneurial character: His economic thought about entrepreneurship, the entrepreneurial characters in his novels and the economic initiatives he took. To fully understand Ahmet Midhat Efendi’s entrepreneurship, the Ottoman State’s economic structure as well as the transformation of this structure in 19th century need to be taken into consideration alongside with Ahmet Midhat Efendi’s personal characteristics. In the light of these factors, our findings suggest that Ahmet Midhat Efendi does not fit the typology of traditional and capitalist entrepreneurs and does not carry the corresponding features of these typologies. Therefore, we discuss that the entrepreneurship he represents should be defined as a “peripheral entrepreneurship”. Ahmet Midhat Efendi's attitude in this purgatory can be read as an implicit expression of a different quest, although in a passive way.