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RETAI ,

1973

THE AUTGMO.

0F SELECTED .MICHiGAN
AUTGMOBILE DEALER-S
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE '

ORlGiNS. GROWTH, AND 'OUTLGOK'
Thesis for the Degree" of Ph. D.
STOAKLEY WALTER ‘SWANSON

PROFILE OF

 

3. .. .

 

{H M LIBRARY

3 1293 10064 2317 Michigan State
University

 

This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

PROFILE OF THE AUTOMOTIVE RETAILER:
AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE ORIGINS,
GROWTH, AND OUTLOOK OF SELECTED
MICHIGAN AUTOMOBILE DEALERS

presented by

Stoakley Walter Swanson

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

Ph . D. d . Business
egree 1n

 

 

   
 

Major professor

A r11 20 1973
Date p '

 

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ABSTRACT

PROFILE OF THE AUTOMOTIVE RETAILER: AN EXPLORATORY
STUDY OF THE ORIGINS, GROWTH, AND OUTLOOK OF
SELECTED MICHIGAN AUTOMOBILE DEALERS

BY

Stoakley Walter Swanson

Purpose
It has been the purpose of this study to explore

the origins, interests, and outlook of a select number of
Michigan franchised domestic new car dealers; to learn
something about the conditions surrounding their initial
entry into automotive retailing, and their pattern of
professional development thereafter; and to examine the
manner in which they view their position today, and how
they now regard their original decision to become auto—

mobile dealers.

Frame of Reference

 

While there is little, if any, published infor—
mation available on the franchised domestic new car
dealer as a private person, there have been a number of
studies of similar intent to our own which have been
written about American small businessmen active in the
manufacturing sector of our economy. And these studies
have served both as a guide to us in planning our own

research, and as a means of enabling us to examine how

Stoakley W. Swanson

closely the experience of the franchised domestic new
car dealer has paralleled that which has been reported
in this earlier research about the manufacturing entre-

preneur.

Collection of Data

 

The data collected in this survey were obtained
from fifty-four of ninety-five franchised domestic new
car dealers located throughout the Lower Peninsula of
Michigan who were recommended to us by officers of both
the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association and the
Detroit Automobile Dealers Association. In each case
the dealers so named were represented by these officers
as being among the foremost of the automotive retailers
active in their respective communities. For the most
part, the background information obtained from our
fifty-four respondents was secured through the use Of a
mail questionnaire which was circulated in the summer
of 1970, but follow-up telephone calls also were used
to clarify discrepancies in the questionnaires returned,
and to solicit additional biographical data, whenever it

was needed.

Major Findings

On the whole, our respondents did appear to be
pleased with their original decision to become the heads
of active automobile agencies. A majority of them also

indicated that they had spent the greater part of their

Stoakley W. Swanson

occupational lifetimes in automotive retailing, having
discovered their interest in this field relatively early
in their careers. And, among the younger members of our
sample from major metropolitan areas, there also was a
high incidence reported of early specialization in sales,
with a typical chronology of agency employment consisting
of movement upward through the positions of new car sales-
man, new car sales manager, general sales manager, and
general manager, before a respondent from this portion of
our sample finally took the major step of launching out
as the head of his own automotive enterprise.

Of interest, perhaps, is the manner in which
these findings contrast with those of the earlier studies
concerning the manufacturing entrepreneur. For the most
part, that individual was characterized as having led a
rather unhappy and unstable childhood, as having undergone
some difficulty in finding himself in the world of work,
and in many instances, as having finally been drawn into
entrepreneurship as a result of simply having exhausted
all of his other alternatives (while in our study, none of
these observations was found to be typical for the great
majority of our respondents).

It has been the conclusion of this study that a
possible explanation for the differences between the two
types of individuals might lie in the nature of the fran-
chise relationship which exists in automotive retailing,

it seeming reasonable to suggest that a person with the

Stoakley W. Swanson

type of background depicted for the manufacturing entre-
preneur would not be very likely to seek out the kind of
subordinate role which the franchised domestic new car
dealer is frequently forced to endure within his industry,
or would be very representative of the type of person in
whom a major automobile manufacturer would be likely to

place its trust.

PROFILE OF THE AUTOMOTIVE RETAILER: AN EXPLORATORY
STUDY OF THE ORIGINS, GROWTH, AND OUTLOOK OF

SELECTED MICHIGAN AUTOMOBILE DEALERS

BY

Stoakley Walter Swanson

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Marketing and Transportation
Administration

1973

© Copyright by

STOAKLEY WALTER SWANSON

1973

ii

TO LOUISE SACHA

iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Without the assistance of certain key personnel in
the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association and the Detroit
Automobile Dealers Association, and also in the automotive
industry, this dissertation would not have been possible,
and I should like to express my appreciation to these indi-
viduals, and especially to Max Curtis, Lansing Ford dealer
and past-president of the Michigan Automobile Dealers Asso-
ciation.

At the same time, I also should like to express my
appreciation to Messrs. W. J. E. Crissy, Leonard Rall, and
Donald A. Taylor, who not only unselfishly consented to the
unenviable task of functioning as my dissertation guidance
committee, but who also have served as an important source
of pedagogical inspiration to me throughout the period that
I have been privileged to know them.

And finally, I should like to thank my father, as
well as my sister and her family, for their encouragement

and support of my doctoral endeavors.

iv

Chapter

1.

2.

3.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 0 O I O O C O O O O O O O O 0

Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Scope of Study . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Frame of Reference . . . . . . . . . . .
Significance of the Study . . . . . . . .
Limitations of the Study . . . . . . . .

The Organization of This Report . . . . .

REVIEW OF RELATED RESEARCH . . . . . . . .

Introductory Comment . . . . . . . . . .
The Enterprising Man . . . . . . . . . .
Corollaries to The Enterprising Man . . .
In Support of The Enterprising Man . . .

An Analysis of Small Business Originators
in Texas and Georgia . . . . . . . . .

Small Business Surveys in Michigan
and Ohio 0 I O O O O O O O O O O O O O

Entrepreneurs in the Greater Boston
Area 0 O I O O O O O O O I O O O O O O

Firm Growth in Kansas . . . . . . . . . .

Concluding Comment . . . . . . . . . . .

SURVEY DESIGN AND EXECUTION . . . . . . . .

Introductory Comment . . . . . . . . . .

Selection of Sample . . . . . . . . . . .

Page

28

42

Chapter

4.

5.

NOTES .

LIST OF

Appendix
A.
B.

C.

Construction of the Questionnaire . . .

Collection of the Data . . . . . . . .

Procedure for Editing, Coding, and
Preliminary Tabulation . . . . . . .

Provision for Processing of the Data .

Concluding Comment . . . . . . . . . .

RESULTS .

Introductory Comment . . . . . . . . .

The Dealer
The Dealer
The Dealer

Concluding

CONCLUSION

as a Developing Entrepreneur
as an Automotive Retailer .
as a Private Individual . .

Comment . . . . . . . . . .

Introductory Comment . . . . . . . . .

Possible Reasons for Differences . . .

Concerning Data Not Collected . . . . .

Concluding Comment . . . . . . . . . .

REFERENCES

CORRESPONDENCE USED IN DATA COLLECTION .

REPRINT OF QUESTIONNAIRE . . . . . . . .

MULTIPLE-CHOICE INVENTORY FOR AUTOMOBILE

DEALERS

vi

Page
48

53

57
59
59
61
61
62
77
85
90
91
91
91
95
99
101

104

106

116

147

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Purpose

Although the franchised new car dealer has been
with us now for almost as long as the automobile itself, he
remains, in some respects, at least, a relatively little-
known (and he might argue, little-appreciated) member of
our contemporary scene.

This is not to suggest that little or no attention
has been paid to the dimensions Of his role within our
nation's retail trade. That has been, and continues to be,
a matter of well-documented public record, and the figures
clearly have established the franchised new car dealer's
right to be classified among the colossi of retailing men.
For instance, in 1970 approximately 30,000 franchised new
car dealers are credited with having conducted 15.4% of
total retail sales throughout the United States, although
as a group they constituted only 2.8% of all of the retail
establishments in our country.1 Together, they were
either directly or indirectly responsible for delivering
nearly all of the 8,338,204 new cars delivered in the
United States during the twelve months of 1970,2 and are
estimated to have sold a slightly larger number of used
cars during this same period.3 In all, their dealerships
are said to have employed a total of nearly 740,000 people,

1

who received approximately $5.3 billion in compensation for
their services in the 1970 calendar year.4 Naturally, to
conduct business on this scale requires an appreciable
investment in physical plant and equipment, and, in fact,
the National Automobile Dealers Association reports that in
1970 America's franchised new car dealers are estimated to
have enjoyed a total net worth of about $5.5 billion.5

And so, as we have stated, it is not to the extent
of the role which he plays in our economy that we have
referred in suggesting that the franchised new car dealer
remains in some ways as little-known today as he was when
he first began in business some seventy years ago. That
aspect of his existence is readily identifiable, and leaves
little doubt as to his importance.

Nor would we wish to suggest that the franchised
new car dealer remains little-known in terms of his-
struggle for survival in the difficult spot in which he
finds himself as a consequence of having to serve two
demanding, and at times capricious, masters: the rich and
powerful automotive manufacturers, and the seemingly hard-
to-please and frequently fickle car-buying public. His
predicament in this situation also has become a matter of
considerable public interest, and has served as a source of
much governmental, academic, and popular inquiry.

What, then, does remain about this American small
businessman that has not yet become a matter of disclosure?

Simply stated, it is the man himself. That is to say, we

still know relatively little about the origins, interests,
and outlook of the private individual whose name often is
emblazoned across the front of his dealership. We know
little about the conditions surrounding his original entry
into automotive retailing, and about his pattern of devel-
opment within the business thereafter. And we know little
about the manner in which he views his position today, and
how he now regards his original decision to become a
franchised new car dealer.

Accordingly, it has been the purpose of our
research to examine these and other questions about the
franchised new car dealer in the light of the data which
we have been able to collect through the co-operation of a
select number of franchised new car dealers regarded by
dealer association officers as being among the most
prominent practitioners of automotive retailing within
their respective markets. And it is our hOpe that the
findings which we shall be reporting here at least will
prove helpful in suggesting something about the manner in
which the franchised new car dealers of our contemporary
scene came ultimately to occupy the important positions
within their respective business communities which they

presently enjoy.

Scope of Study

 

An eminent marketing consultant once assured the
author that in any project involving field research, the

two most important considerations are almost always time

and the budget. While there no doubt are those who might
wish to challenge this view, nevertheless, it was just such
prosaic considerations as these which motivated us early in
our research to limit the scope of our inquiry to the
geographical area contained within the Lower Peninsula of
the State of Michigan.

While at first glance this might seem a rather
small segment of the United States with which to concern
one's self, on further examination it can be seen that
within this territory a considerable volume of automotive
retailing activity takes place each year. For instance, in
1970 there were approximately 1,200 franchised new car
dealers active throughout all of Michigan,6 and together
they are said by year's end to have concluded over $2.4
billion in retail sales.7 They are said too to have
delivered approximately 479,244 new cars to ultimate owners
during this same period,8 and to have employed over 32,000

personnel in their dealership facilities.9

And they also
are said to have paid their employees an estimated total of
$265 million in wages and salaries for the work performed
for them in 1970.10
In all, these figures would appear to suggest that
Michigan must rank about fifth in the nation in terms of
its overall automotive retailing activity; and while the
focus of our study has been limited to the Lower Peninsula,

in view of the rather sparse pattern of settlement, and,

as of late, the reduced degree of economic vitality in

Michigan's Upper Peninsula, it seems fair to suggest that
much of the business to which we have been referring was
actually conducted within the area which we have canvassed.
More perplexing, perhaps, is the fact that
although there were about 1,200 franchised new car dealers
in Michigan in 1970, we attempted to survey only 96 of
them. Frankly, we were prompted to sample this modestly,
as we already have indicated above, by both time and cost
considerations. However, it also is appropriate to suggest
that we were willing to sacrifice breadth of coverage in
order to achieve a certain depth in the data collected, and
we felt that a limited (and needless to say, co—operative)
roster of survey participants would be better suited for
such a purpose. And, an approach of this character also
afforded us the opportunity to concentrate on just those
franchised new car dealers who, as we have stated, were
considered by dealer association personnel to exemplify the
best traditions of Michigan automotive retailing within the
various communities in which they worked and resided.
Ultimately, sixtyhsix of the ninety-six dealers
contacted took the one or more hours necessary to complete
our questionnaire, and it is to the returns obtained from
fifty-four of these sixty-six respondents that we shall be

making reference when presenting the results of our survey.

Frame of Reference

 

While there is little, if any, published

information obtainable on the franchised new car dealer as

.J-

 

1.

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"L

 

a private person, we are fortunate in having available a
number of studies of similar intent which have been written
about small businessmen active in the manufacturing sector
of the American economy. And in our own research these
studies have proved to be of value in two significant ways.
First, they have been useful in suggesting the strengths
and weaknesses of the various approaches used to elicit the
basic data analyzed and reported in these undertakings, and
thus, in helping us to be more effective in charting our
own investigatory course. And secondly, they have enabled
us to add an additional important dimension to our own
research: specifically, that of exploring how closely the
early developmental experience and pattern of professional
advancement of the manufacturing entrepreneur resembles
that of our own franchised new car dealer, whom we already
have found to be one of the more important elements in the
retailing sectOr of our economy. And it is, in fact,
within this frame of reference that we shall be presenting
many of the major findings of our own study later in this
report. In this way we hOpe to be able to indicate not
only what we have learned about the dealers in our sample,
but also to relate how closely their own experience as
retailers has paralleled what has been learned in the ear-
lier research concerning successful entrepreneurs from the

manufacturing sector.

Significance of the Study

 

Given the narrow scope of inquiry inherent in our

survey, it would be presumptuous to imply that this study
affords anything more than a mere suggestion of what might
be learned about greater numbers of franchised new car
«dealers in any research employing a more extensive sample
of respondents drawn from a broader geographical area. We
Ido submit, however, that it at least does accomplish that,
and, additionally, that it also has served the worthwhile
;purpose of putting to test in the area of automotive
retailing some of the generalizations which have been made
in previous research concerning the personal backgrounds

and values of selected manufacturing entrepreneurs.

Limitations of the Study

While we suspect that, for the most part, the
limitations of this study are of sufficient magnitude to
.be self-evident, nevertheless, we should feel remiss in
«our obligation to the reader if we failed at this point to
acknowledge the reservation with which our presentation of
results should be received.

In the first place, as we have mentioned, our
sample was a modest one, and it suffers from the further
Ihandicap of having been drawn from a limited geographical
area.convenient to our home base of activity. Furthermore,
.as we shall note again in Chapter 3, it also suffers from
the disadvantage of having been selected judgmentally by
tofficers of the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association
and the Detroit Automobile Dealers Association. Thus, no

claim for randomness is possible, and, accordingly, no

justification exists for generalization of results beyond
the dealers actually surveyed.

In addition, careful editing of all completed
self-administered questionnaires has suggested some of the
problems which can be encountered in attempting to use
such instruments to collect extensive biographical back-
ground information, especially when these questionnaires
are disseminated through the mail, and no interviewer is
present at the time a respondent completes his form to
answer any questions that he might have concerning various
aspects of it. As we shall see, a conscientious effort
was made by means of follow-up telephone calls to resolve
all discrepancies noted during the editing process, but
the reader still would do well to appreciate that some
response error inevitably must remain in the data which
will be presented concerning the dealers who co-operated
in our survey.

And finally, we should note that what we shall be
portraying here is nothing more than what we have been
able to learn about a group of successful franchised new
car dealers in Lower Michigan at a point in time, and that
the information which we shall provide is non-conclusive
in character, and intended only to describe what we have
been able to learn under the particular conditions that we

have specified.

The Organization of This Report

Having sought in this introduction to acquaint

the reader with the general objective of our research, and
with the parameters within which it was undertaken, we
shall seek next in Chapter 2 to familiarize him with some
of the results of the more applicable research which has
been completed up to this time in regard to the personal
characteristics and outlook of the manufacturing entre-
preneur. We shall do this in order to provide the back-
ground necessary to permit the comparison which we shall
subsequently make between these findings and our own.

In Chapter 3, we shall discuss in greater depth
a number of details concerning our survey design and
execution that we already have touched upon above, and at
the same time, we also shall develop a number of further
points relating to this aspect of our research.

In Chapter 4, we shall present the major results
of our study, and in Chapter 5, we shall offer our final
comments concerning what it is that we have done, as well
as what it is that we might have done, but did not, that

could have also proved worthwhile.

~-

~-

 

 

 

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Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED RESEARCH

Introductory Comment

 

While the subject of entrepreneurship has long
been of particular interest to economists and other social
commentators, actual attempts at empirical research to
identify those aspects of personal background and outlook
most common to individual entrepreneurial endeavor in the
United States have been both few in number and of fairly
recent origin. As a rule too these studies have dealt with
rather limited samples of small businessmen drawn, on the
whole, from rather restricted geographical areas. And,
for the most part, the entrepreneurs themselves have been
men who were functioning at the time they were interviewed
as the managers of small manufacturing concerns. But for
all such limitations, a number of these studies would seem
to be of merit, and worthy of consideration in terms of
suggesting what special conditions of franchised new car
dealer background and development should be of interest in
any effort to identify at least a few of the more personal
parameters of successful automotive entrepreneurship at

the retail level.

The Enterprising Man

Foremost, in our judgment, among these empirical

10

11

studies of 0.8. entrepreneurial background and behavior is
The Enterprising Man, by Orvis F. Collins and David G.
Moore. This work, published in 1964, is based upon depth
interviews and projective tests administered to the oper-
ating heads of one hundred and ten Michigan manufacturing
firms (of twenty or more employees in size) established
between 1945 and 1958. While there appears to have been
some attempt at stratification founded upon geographical
density of industrial activity, the sample design seems to
have been based primarily on the judgment of the authors,
who themselves make clear the point that for the purpose
of their study, "... when we use the term entrepreneur, we
shall mean the innovating entrepreneur who has developed
an ongoing business activity where none existed before."1
Professors Collins and Moore indicate that their
teams of trained interviewers were told "to interfere as
little as possible in the way the entrepreneur talked

about himself"2

and were directed primarily to seek infor-
mation in five basic areas of concern: the nature of the
respondent's entrepreneurial activity; his family
background; the financial, sales, and employment figures
for his firm; the patterns of organization within his
enterprise; and the entrepreneur's plans for the future.
They indicated too that in addition, forty of their entre-
preneurs also were subjected to TAT projective test eval—

uation, as a means of providing a psychological dimension

to their study.

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The portrait of the entrepreneur which has emerged
from this effort by Professors Collins and Moore is, as
the authors themselves admit, a far cry from the rather
romanticized image of the swashbuckling empire-builder who
appears so frequently in heroic tales of early American
development. Instead, he appears to be, in modern terms,
a somewhat "marginal man." In all probability, his
childhood was not a happy one, but rather, beset with
“dangerous and difficult crises." For many the major
calamity was poverty, and for those so unfortunate, one of
life's first priorities became the escape from this condi-
tion, and from the insecurity associated with it.

The authors also report a high incidence of
disruptions in normal child-parent relationships. And of
premature parental death, broken homes, and rejection of
the father by the destined-to-be entrepreneur. They see
in some of this an early indication of a later need to
escape from the dominance of all authority, and feel that
this suggests the possibility that the entrepreneur “...
cannot live within a framework of occupational behavior
set by others."3

Nor does the formal education of the entrepreneur
appear to have been an especially happy experience either.
Professors Collins and Moore indicate that a sizable
portion of their sample deserted high school before grad-
uation because of needs for financial independence and for

freedom from parental supervision. Of those who finished,

 

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many reported having viewed high school as the natural
completion point of their training, or in some cases, as a
necessary termination point forced upon them by economic
circumstances. Among those in the sample fortunate enough
to have attended college, one-half did not graduate, with
many of those who failed to do so disclosing that they had
voluntarily departed the campus in order to hasten their
entry into the world of work. On the basis of their
observations, the authors conclude that, "On balance, the
tendency for men to get off at an early age lay in no
small part in their own intrinsic restlessness, refusal to
accept routine, and dislike of adult figures in the world
of the student."4

But whatever the level of the formal educational
attainment of their informants, Professors Collins and
Moore discern in the subsequent experience of their group
a fairly consistent pattern of personal development which
they have creatively conceptualized as "The School for
Entrepreneurs." They see this pattern of experience as
being composed of as many as four phases: Drifting, Basic
Dealing, Protegeship A, and Protegeship B. Drifting is
described as a period of "diffuse restlessness," in which
the developing entrepreneur "... displays strong
indications he will never be able to stick to any line of

work."5

During this phase of his preparation, the entre-
preneur is taught "... never to get overly involved with

people, and he learns the arts of avoiding involvements

 

 

 

a

14

that he instinctively feels may hamper his present action
and overly restrict his future."6 Basic Dealing entails

the bringing together of ideas, people, and money in an
arrangement meant to be profitable to the entrepreneur, but
leading more often to failure and bankruptcy. This is not,
then, so much the exercise of actual entrepreneurship as it
is an abortive first attempt at performing some of the basic
functions of the true entrepreneur. Protegeship A implies

a frenetic period of learning from sponsors knowledgeable in
areas of business enterprise of interest to the developing
entrepreneur. This tutoring, while of vital importance to
the developing entrepreneur, nevertheless eventually ends
when he is compelled by his innate fear of superordinates

to dissolve the protege-sponsor relationship. Protegeship B
implies a similar period of learning, but one in which the
developing entrepreneur's fundamental characteristic-of
emotional revolt leads ultimately (as well as inevitably) to
a more dramatic and unpleasant parting of the ways.

If all this sounds arduous, you may rest assured
that Professors Collins and Moore see the last final plunge
into entrepreneurship itself as being no less severe. The
authors state that the art of entrepreneurship first begins
with an idea for going into business. But, they assert,
the actual process of creation is only likely to take place
thereafter if there is concurrent with the formulation of
this idea a realization on the part of the aspiring entre-

preneur that he can never meet the demands imposed upon him

15

by other people's organizations. This the authors describe
as "the period of role deterioration," a time of confusion
and distress from which the aspiring entrepreneur iron-
ically seeks his release through plunging into even deeper
insecurity by finally determining to give form and sub-
stance to his scheme for his own business enterprise.

The initial task of actual business formation is
depicted as "... that of gathering in and organizing
resources necessary to turn the projection into a line of

action."7

This is called "Setting Up the Firm." Should
the aspiring entrepreneur succeed in this, he next enters
the phase of "Getting through the Knothole," in which he
endures "a period of long hours, low monetary return, and
almost unbearable uncertainty." Emergence from the knot-
hole may be either accompanied or followed by a period of
consolidation, in which the entrepreneur seeks to solidify
his hold on his organization through the elimination of
unwanted business partners or other elements who might
somehow threaten his right to sole leadership. Appropri-
ately, this procedure is termed "Getting Rid of Partners."
A concluding task in this process becomes that of "ration—
alizing the system," the nomenclature given to a time in
which "... the entrepreneur must begin to disengage himself
from the minute problems of the firm, sever his bonds of
close emotional involvement with the present, and devote

increasing amounts of his time and energy to the overall

reorganization of the firm and to planning for its future

0A

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16

8 Failure to make this

in the immediate and long range."
adjustment is said to mean the possibility of early firm
stagnation or atrophy. It is said to be a time when out-
side consultants or specialists can be useful in helping
to deal with the problems at hand.

Professors Collins and Moore refer to the final
phase of firm creation as the point of "On Their Way at
Last." This is the period of the expansion, integration,
and internal structuring of the enterprise which the
entrepreneur somehow has managed at last to bring safely
into full-fledged existence.

Persons with a preference for statistical presen-
tations will find little with which to occupy themselves
should they peruse The Enterprising Man, for the authors'
portrayal of the entrepreneurial metamorphosis would seem
to have been drawn from the data in what would appear to
have been a highly impressionistic manner. Nevertheless,
the result is a captivating one, and as we now shall see,
enjoys the additional distinction of having served as a

point of departure for still further empirical research

in the area of contemporary entrepreneurship.

Corollaries to The Enterprising Man

 

Among those assisting Professors Collins and
Moore in their research for The Enterprising Man were two
graduate students at Michigan State University who subse-
quently used material gathered during the data collection

phase of that undertaking as a basis for their doctoral

1r

17

dissertations.

In The Entrepreneur and His Firm: The Relation-
ship Between Type of Man and Type of Company, Norman R.
Smith reports on his effort to examine the nature of the
relationship between types of entrepreneurs and the types
of firms they build. Dr. Smith also has defined the
entrepreneur as "the individual who is primarily respon-
sible for gathering together the necessary resources to
initiate a business,"9 and he has based his analysis on
data recorded in fifty-two of the depth interviews Of
entrepreneurial owner—managers performed in Michigan as
part of the field research for The Enterprising Man.

On the basis of the information provided in these
interviews, Dr. Smith has constructed a continuum of
entrepreneurial behavior which extends between idealized
conceptualizations of two polar representations of entre-
preneurial personality. On the one hand, Dr. Smith
presents the Craftsman-Entrepreneur, in some ways a rather
unappealing figure who exhibits narrowness in education
and training, a low level of social awareness and involve-
ment, and a limited or circumscribed time orientation. At
the other extreme Dr. Smith defines the Opportunistic-
Entrepreneur, a "more-with—it" soul who manifests greater
breadth in education and training; a greater sensitivity
to, and willingness to become involved with, his external
environment; and a greater capacity to sustain a logically

perceived future time perspective.

18

Employing an elementary three-point evaluation
system, Dr. Smith has judged each of his fifty-two inter—
viewees in terms of how closely certain facets of their
reported background and behavior appeared to fit either of
his constructed profiles for the Craftsman-Entrepreneur
and the Opportunistic-Entrepreneur, on the basis of a
final, cumulative score for each entrepreneur, he has
arrived at a distribution of his sample members along the
continuum which he has established between his Craftsman-
Entrepreneur and Opportunistic-Entrepreueur polar repre-
sentations. The result is a configuration in which the
Craftsman-Entrepreneur characteristic appears to be pre-
dominant in about two-third's of Dr. Smith's sample.

Dr. Smith's firm portrayal also is accomplished
by means of a continuum, in this case one which lies
between two idealized constructions of polar firm types.
On the one extreme, the author presents the Rigid Firm;
on the other, the Adaptive Firm. By again employing
an elementary three-point evaluation scheme, he has
sought to classify each of the organizations managed by
his interviewees on the basis of the strategic behavior
exhibited by these concerns within each of the following
major areas of firm operating characteristics: customer
mix, product mix, production methods, dispersed markets,
and concrete plans for change. And here too Dr. Smith
has employed a final, cumulative score for each firm as

the basis for assigning it to a position on his firm

l9

continuum. In this case, approximately two-third's of
the firms evaluated were found to be more characteristic
of the Rigid Firm representation.

Dr. Smith concludes this phase of his study by
simultaneously plotting his entrepreneur—type and firm-
type continua on a rectangular coordinate system. The
result would seem to suggest that the owner-managers in
his sample who tended toward the Craftsman-Entrepreneur
profile also tended to lead concerns which were inclined
toward Rigid Firm characteristics, while owner-managers
who tended toward the Opportunistic-Entrepreneur profile
were more likely to direct companies which were basically
Adaptive in character. And, notes the author, sales
growth (which sometimes had to be estimated on the basis
of only limited data) of the Adaptive Firms in the sample
appeared to be dramatically greater than that of the
Rigid Firms for essentially comparable periods of company
initiation, maintenance, and aggrandizement.

Dr. Smith terms his research an exploratory
study, and quotes another authority to the effect that in
such efforts, "... the major emphasis is on discovery of

10 By taking this position, he no

ideas and insights."
doubt mitigates much of the concern that might otherwise
exist with regard to the somewhat subjective character of
both his entrepreneur—type and firm—type classification

procedures.

"Some Characteristics of Selected Entrepreneurs,"

 

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20

by John L. Komives, represents a similar attempt to use
data obtained during the field work for The Enterprising
Man to relate firm organizational characteristics to the
personal characteristics of firm founders. Dr. Komives
has limited his study to depth interviews of the initi-
ators of forty Michigan concerns located in the Detroit,
Lansing, and Benton Harbor metropolitan areas. He does
not specify whether or not these forty entrepreneurs (the
term being defined as "that person who has developed an

on-going business firm where none existed before"1

1) are
part of the original sample in the Collins-Moore survey,
or were interviewed in addition to that group.

Using insights gained from his interviews, as well
as his knowledge of the subject of management, Dr. Komives
has devised a corporate continuum based upon internal
administrative organization patterns which vary from least
bureaucratic ("bureaucratic" being used here positively to
denote rationality and order) to most bureaucratic, and he
indicates that he has been able to position his companies
along this continuum by using a six-point rating scale to
judge a firm's division of labor rational, hierarchy of
authority, system of rules regarding the rights and duties
of job incumbents, procedural systems for dealing with
situations, the character of interpersonal relations, and
selection and promotion criteria. He also indicates that

through an analysis of the educational and occupational

attainments of the firm founders in his sample, and of the

 

 

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same attainments of the fathers of these founders, he has
been able to distinguish clearly between entrepreneurs of
predominantly blue-collar experience and outlook and
entrepreneurs of predominantly white-collar experience and
outlook.

Dr. Komives asserts that further analysis of his
data has shown that blue-collar founders were more likely
to be operating firms with the fewest signs of a bureau-
cratic administrative organization structure; and white-
collar founders, firms which tended to exhibit evidence of
just such an internal design.

This, Dr. Komives suggests, may be attributable
to the white-collar entrepreneur's being better equipped by
background and experience to contend with the emphasis on
internal and external relationships which lies at the heart
of the bureaucratic process.

Dr. Komives also employs the expression "craftsman
entrepreneur," in this instance to refer to the men in his
sample of predominantly blue-collar background. And, his
description of these individuals closely resembles the
Craftsman-Entrepreneur advanced by Dr. Smith. There would
appear also to be some similarities between Dr. Smith's
Opportunistic-Entrepreneurs and the men of predominantly
white-collar background whom Dr. Komives designates as
"organization entrepreneurs." But one of the differences
between the two studies is that Dr. Komives has not been

quite so graphic as his colleague in describing the precise

 

 

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22

sequence of steps which he has taken to assign individual
entrepreneurs and firms to his classification continua, and
then to accomplish his confirmation of the relationship
between the two.

Nevertheless, the conclusions of Dr. Komives'
research would seem to be logical within the limits claimed

for them.

In Support of The Enterprising Man

 

Still another doctoral dissertation to have derived
its initial inspiration from Professors Collins and Moore's
The Enterprising Man is a thesis entitled "A Comparison of
the Origins and Orientations of True Entrepreneurs, Other
Owners, and Business Hierarchs." This study was prepared
by Neil G. Soslow, who was acquainted with the authors of
The Enterprising Man during the time that he was a graduate
student atMichigan State University.

Dr. Soslow describes the purpose of his research
as being to expand the body of knowledge concerning
entrepreneurship by: "(1) extending the entrepreneurial
studies of Orvis F. Collins and David G. Moore through the
verification of some of their results in another context,
using different research techniques; and (2) directly
comparing the 'true entrepreneur' with the 'other owner'
and the 'business hierarch' in the industrial sector of our

economy."12

By "other owner" he means an individual who
purchases or inherits an existing business, and he depicts

the "business hierarch" as a person who seeks success in

23

the occupational job structure of an existing organization.

The "different research technique" to which the
author refers consisted of a mail questionnaire posted to
959 recipients in Rochester, New York, during the months of
March and April, 1965. Out of the 780 questionnaires sent
to business owners, 209 ultimately were returned in useable
form. Of the remaining 179 questionnaires directed to
business hierarchs (all of whom were reported to be members
of the Rochester Engineering Society), 94 were returned in
a condition suitable for analysis.

The following are the specific hypotheses posed by
Professors Collins and Moore which Dr. Soslow has sought to
test through use of his mail questionnaire survey design:

1. True entrepreneurs have a greater tendency than other
groups to be either foreign-born or to have been born
geographically near their present residence.

2. True entrepreneurs tend to come from a lower socioeconomic
background as measured by fathers' education and fathers'
occupations.

3. True entrepreneurs tend to have had an unhappy childhood
which was manifest by economic hardship, broken homes, and
strained parental relations.

4. True entrepreneurs have a tendency to be less well-educated
than our other respondents and to view formal education in

rather pragmatic terms.

5. Those entrepreneurs having had military experience tend
to have demonstrated less service mobility than the other

groups.

6. True entrepreneurs tend to have experienced greater inter—
firm movement during their occupational careers than the
other groups.

7. True entrepreneurs have a tendency to work more sporadic-
ally and find work more fatiguing and less enjoyable than
the other groups.

24

8. True entrepreneurslgend to be more authoritarian than the
other respondents.

In recounting the outcome of his investigation,

Dr. Soslow reports that there was indeed a higher incidence
of foreign-borne among his true entrepreneurs, and that
this group also appeared to be more "home grown" than did
business hierarchs. He also indicates a significantly more
humble socioeconomic and educational background for his
true entrepreneurs, and he notes a more pronounced rate of
job change among the members of this constituency. But

Dr. Soslow hws not been able to illustrate any significant
difference between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs in
terms of military rank mobility and reported recollections
of childhood experience. Nor has he been able to establish
that his true entrepreneurs were significantly more author-
itarian than other business owners.

On the basis of his research results, Dr. Soslow
states generally that, "... it is evident that the typical
entrepreneur lacks the social background, the economic
background, and the education necessary to be a successful

I I 14
executive working for someone else."

An Analysis of Small Business Originators in Texas and

Georgia

Just as The Enterprising Man was made possible in
part by a grant from the Small Business Administration, so
too was a study entitled Characteristics of Small Business
Founders in Texas and Georgia, which was published under

the program supervision of Professor Lewis B. Davis by the

25

Bureau of Business Research at the University of Georgia.

Professor Davis indicates that his Texas sample
was drawn from the 1956 edition of the Dun & Bradstreet
Reference Book, and was comprised of 1,059 successful firm
founders who had established their businesses in the Lone
Star State at some point during the years from 1947 to 1956.
Similarly, he states that the Georgia sample was compiled
from a listing of the 1958 edition of the Reference Book,
and that a sequential sampling technique was used to develop
an overall roster of 4,817 successful firm founders who had
initiated their operations in Georgia during the period from
1949 to May, 1958, and that from this number 521 personal
interviews were obtained, with an additional 21 interviews
being conducted with Georgia founders who had started their
firms in 1959 and 1960.

While Professor Davis does not dwell much upon the
operational details of how his data actually were collected,
it would seem that most of the information compiled for his
report was obtained in the personal interviews with the firm
founders who co-Operated in his two surveys, and that the
interviews themselves were carried out by graduating seniors
in marketing at Texas A&M and the University of Georgia.
And, it also would appear that these seniors worked from a
standard questionnaire which they completed at the time of
the interviews.

Professor Davis reports that one of the first ques-

tions asked of his subjects was, "... what they thought were

26

the basic differences between people who go into business

for themselves and those who always work for someone else."15
He reports that, "Well over 90 per cent of the founders
considered themselves a group apart, motivated to aggressive
action by stronger ambitions and desires for independence
than is to be found in the ordinary employee,"16 and he adds
that, "Only 5 per cent of them believed that their ability
as such accounted for that difference."17

The professor also discloses that in both Texas and
Georgia the proportion of firm founders in his sample who
were married exceeded the proportion found in the general
adult population, and that all but a small percentage of
those who had married also had fathered children. He notes
in addition that the founders themselves had come from good-
sized families, and in many instances, from agricultural
backgrounds (which, of course, could be due at least in part
to the character of the two states in which all of the data
were collected).

Professor Davis further reports that over one-half
of the members of his two samples were energetic sports
enthusiasts, and that they were likely to participate more
actively in community activities than are members of the
general population--a tendency which the author attributes
to the belief "that membership in such organizations bene-
fits business."18

In analyzing the educational backgrounds of the

firm founders in his two samples, Professor Davis observes

27

that departures from the educational system appear to have
peaked at the time of high school graduation, and he notes
an admission of regret on the part of nearly one-fifth of
his combined samples that they had not received more formal
education.

In attempting to determine whether any relationship
existed between the level of education of the members of his
two samples and the size of the operation which they were
conducting at the time of his investigation, Professor Davis
found that:

There appeared to be little correlation between level of
education and size of business, when comparison is made of the
small and medium-sized companies. In the case of the consider-
ably larger-than-average and more complex type of company, how-
ever, there is a direct correlation between level of education
of the founder and the size of his business.

Another finding of interest was that more than one-
half of the parents of the founders were self-employed, and
that:

Almost identical proportions (half) of both Texas and
Georgia founders believed that their parents had, by their
encouragement of independence and self-r35iance, influ-
enced them to undertake self-employment.

Among the other findings reported by Professor Davis
were that 40 per cent of the founders in his two samples had
owned an enterprise previous to the one which they now were
directing; that many of these same founders appeared to have
been somewhat indifferent to taking a scientific approach to
the establishment of their present operation; and finally,

that while the expansion of their business was considered to

be important by a sizable majority of these men, there still

28

seems to have been little in the way of planning being done

in order to achieve this objective.

Small Business Surveys in Michigan and Ohio

 

At about the same time that work was proceeding on
most of the studies noted above, yet another survey was
being conducted by personnel at the University of Michigan.
The result of this undertaking has been reported since in
Management Factors Contributing to the Success or Failure
of New Small Manufacturers, a publication co-authored by
Professor William M. Hoad, a director of the survey, and
Peter Rosko, a member of the project's field staff.

As may be deduced from the title of this report,
this was not, strictly speaking, so much an examination of
small manufacturing entrepreneurship as it was an attempt
to note “why some new manufacturers in Michigan succeeded

while others failed."21

But in endeavoring to answer this
basic question, the authors nevertheless have been forced
to include in their investigation some effort to evaluate
aspects of managerial background and experience which do
closely resemble the consideration afforded to these same
factors in the entrepreneurial studies which we have thus
far considered.

Contacted in this project were ninety-five small
manufacturers who initiated their businesses in Michigan
in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1960. The authors

report that each of these manufacturers was subjected to

at-length personal interviews on at least two occasions

29

during the period 1960-1963. They further state that addi-
tional data also were solicited from time-to-time by mail,
telephone, and supplementary personal calls made subsequent
to the initial at-length interviews, until information had
been obtained on all of the following points:

1. How and why the owner-manager picked this particular
business, this locality, this site.

2. Age of owner-manager at start of this business, num-
ber and history of his previous independent business
undertakings.

3. Training (academic or other formal) and experience
in business; extent, duration, level, and kind of
training and experience received in this industry.

4. Amount of initial capital; how determined (budgets,
break-even analysis, etc.); how raised (equity or
credit, by type, source, and cost); initial balance
sheet.

5. Amount and quality of research, formal or informal,
preceding initiation of the venture; areas of
research or investigation; advice sought (profes-
sional and informal).

6. Legal organization and, more importantly, internal
organization structure; extent of advance plan—
ning, establishment of policies; recruitment and
training.

7. Marketing program, including organizationé manpower,
promotion, pricing, and market analysis.

Professor Hoad and Mr. Rosko note that by the end
of the three-year field survey period, thirty-seven of the
enterprises in their sample were judged to be successful;
thirty-three clearly had failed; twenty-two were marginally
successful; and three were dormant. They indicate that the
most important single characteristic of outright failure

23

was "inability to find a profitable market," a weakness

which they attribute to a lack of marketing initiative (and

30

perhaps marketing familiarity and experience as well) on the
part of the owner-manager. They state that their conclusion
accords with the vieWpoint that, "... hundreds can produce a
good product for every one who can sell it."24

For the owner-managers of the successful firms, both
education and industry-related experience were found to be
helpful, and whenever a combination of the two was present,
success was achieved in 69 per cent of the cases. (On the
other hand, in instances where both education and experience
were lacking, failure was reported over 50 per cent of the
time.) Technical skill, good managerial ability, and owner—
ship of related businesses also were cited as sources of
executive success, and so were realistic plans for growth, a
capacity for hard work, and a willingness to use outside
consultants.

The results of an Ohio survey of similar intent have
been reported in Small Business Success: Operating and
Executive Characteristics. Dr. Kenneth Lawyer served as the
project director of this undertaking, which was conducted by
the Bureau of Business Research staff at Western Reserve
University at what also was about the same period of time as
the other investigations which we have been considering.

In all, the operating heads of 110 successful Ohio
metalworking plants were contacted by Dr. Lawyer and his
group. Personal interviews of several hours duration each
were employed, along with telephone call-backs for clari-

fication of uncertainties, to solicit points of information

31

concerning small metalworking plants which might directly
or indirectly contribute to a development of the following:

1. A background of apparently tested business policies
and practices for firms in this size group.

2. The executive traits and habits that appear to char-
acterize the management of those companies.

3. A comparison of the operating methods of these firms
with those of larger organizations.

4. Materials for effective training courses and semigars
for managements of small metalworking companies.

Of special interest to us here are the conclusions
reached with reference to the leadership characteristics
of 50 of the 110 chief executives who comprised the final
survey sample. Together this small group constituted a
survey subsample who, in addition to participating in all
of the regular survey routines, also submitted both to
special interviews with an industrial psychologist, and
to the completing of a Responsibility, Authority, and
Delegating Rating Scale, as well as an Executive Position
Description Questionnaire. At the same time, each of
these fifty men consented to naming two or more management
subordinates reporting directly to him who could be (and
subsequently were) prevailed upon to complete the same RAD
Rating Scale, as well as an Attitude Survey Form and a
Supervisory Behavior Check List.

On the basis of an analysis of the data provided
by this procedure, Dr. Lawyer and his associates have con-
cluded the following about the chief executives in their

survey subsample:

hush

32

. They attempt to avoid confining themselves to one
area of their business.

. They feel they have delegated substantial authority
to their subordinates, a view not shared by their
subordinates, or by project personnel.

. They uniformly consider business control, concern
with markets and products, exercise of broad power
and authority, and short- and long-range planning
to be relatively important.

. In terms of their jobs, they vary most in the extent
of their direct responsibility for human, community,
and social affairs.

. They perceive the providing of staff service, super-
vision of work, and demands for personal conformity
to be relatively unimportant in their own jobs, and
in their firms.

. They are seen as being basically friendly, open, and
supportive in their relations with subordinates.

. They appear to be highly oriented toward achievement,
to desire autonomy, and to possess a strong drive to
complete work in progress.26
Please note, though, that these conclusions are with
regard to all of the chief executives in the fifty-man
subsample, without reference as to which of these men were,

in fact, "true entrepreneurs," as the term has been defined

in most of the studies noted above.

Entrepreneurship in the Greater Boston Area

 

In recent years there has been a surge of what might
be termed "technological entrepreneurship" in the suburbs of
university- and think-tank—rich Boston, the result in many
instances of a desire to capitalize on the commercial appli-
cations of insights and ideas gained from government and
privately sponsored research being conducted at local insti-

tutions of erudition. And the specifics of this phenomenon

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in turn have become the subject of interest to a number of
master's candidates at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, including two students whose dissertations we
shall consider here.

The first of these, called "Entrepreneurial Success
Factors," was completed by S. William Linko in 1966. In
this dissertation, Mr. Linko has undertaken to examine the
relationship between enterprise success and each one of the
following: management's sensitivity to customer needs, its
position with regard to corporate organizational activities,
its attitudes and policies concerning the generation of new
products, and its own private reserve of talent, experience,
and capital.

Surveyed were the heads of eighteen small technical
enterprises located within a twenty-five mile radius of
Boston. All of the firms in the sample are characterized
as being full-time operations begun in 1960 or thereafter,
with initial capital of less than $20,000 per founder. In
addition, all are termed to be profit-making ventures.

Mr. Linko indicates that he acquired his data from
the heads of these firms through personal interviews, but
that he took with him to these interviews a forty-two item
questionnaire which, for the most part, was then completed
in his presence. The author adds that this questionnaire
was designed to elicit from each interviewee insight into
his firm's management behavior (in the four major areas of

concern just noted) during the firm's first two years of

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existence.

On the basis of an evaluation Of the data obtained
from his questionnaires, Mr. Linko concludes that, "The
ability of an enterprise to extract information from its
customers and to properly interpret such information is

27 He further deduces that firm

vital to its performance."
success is more likely to be realized when an enterprise's
management approaches its internal operating tasks with a
sense of balanced administrative effort, and with a keen
awareness of the importance of cost. In the matter of new
product development, Mr. Linko reports that the ability to
perceive customer needs is probably the one quality which
contributes most to the assurance that any new products
which are brought to market will prove relevant to those
for whom they are intended. And finally, the author notes
that his data suggest that while lack of company capacity
can limit growth for a short period of time, an awareness
of such an inadequacy by a firm's founders at least opens
the possibility of their initiating action to rectify the
deficiencies in facilities or personnel.

In the conclusion of his study, Mr. Linko has made
an effort to relate the extent of firm quality in all four
of the major management areas deemed pertinent by him to
firm success with sales growth achieved during the period
of his investigation. He states that strength in all four
areas does correlate to a degree with a superior record of

sales growth.

35

The other M.I.T. master's thesis of note is a work by
Harry Schrage entitled "The R&D Entrepreneur: Personality
and Profitability." As this title might lead one to suspect,
Mr. Schrage also is interested in relating entrepreneurial
characteristics to firm success. In this instance, he has
designed a survey intended to test the hypothesis that, "The
R&D company President can only be successful to the extent
that he veridically perceives his environment."28 This is
because that honest quality of perception is, in the View of
the author, imperative if the R&D entrepreneur is to make
the proper corrections in his firm's course as he guides it
along in what is, under even the best of circumstances, a
trial-and-error fashion.

To test this major hypothesis, Mr. Schrage contacted
the president-founders of twenty-six R&D companies, of ten
or fewer years existence in business, situated within fifty
miles of Boston. He received promises of co—operation from
twenty-two of these individuals, and ultimately was able to
use the information provided by twenty of them.

Mr. Schrage reports that each entrepreneur was asked
to provide certain financial data about his firm. In addi-
tion, he was questioned as to the accuracy of his perception
concerning his firm's image, status, or posture (as appro-
priate) with regard to each of the following: stockholders
or directors, banks, credit agencies, internal accounting

controls, competitors, suppliers, customers, immediate sub-

ordinates, other employees, recent quits, and prevailing

36

wage and salary conditions. Mr. Schrage indicates that he
accomplished this evaluation through the use of a four-point
rating scale, and that in this manner he was able to compile
for each of his entrepreneurs a veridical perception profile
which then could be used for purposes of comparison with the
record of profitability achieved by that entrepreneur.

Mr. Schrage also reports that a simultaneous effort
was made to measure both the latent and manifest needs for
achievement of his R&D president-founder sample through the
administration of the McClelland Thematic Apperception Test
and an eleven-item question series, respectively. (It would
appear that the latter fell short of its objective, for the
author confesses that the manifest need for achievement data
obtained from it were so unspectacular that he was dissuaded
from including these measurements in his final statistical
computations.) At the same time, the members of his sample
also were requested to complete an adaptation of the Alpert
& Haber Achievement Anxiety Test, so that an analysis might
be made of the role played by anxiety in the job performance
of these technical entrepreneurs.

Mr. Schrage asserts that even with the solicitation
of all of this information, each interview nevertheless was
completed within a period of two hours.

Mr. Schrage's comparison of each R&D entrepreneur's
veridical perception profile with his company's record of
profitability disclosed significant relationships in only

two of the eleven areas examined: customers and employees.

37

But all the same, this still has provided the author with a
basis for concluding that, "The profitable R&D entrepreneur
perceives his customers and employees more veridically than
the unprofitable one."29

Mr. Schrage also reports that he has been able to
demonstrate that high achievement motivation relates to
high profits or losses, and that low achievement motivation
correspondingly relates to low gains or losses. And he
notes that he has been able to establish that self-reported
achievement anxiety is positively associated with veridical
perception and firm profitability.

In the concluding section of his thesis, the author
relates that all of his interviewees were college graduates
(six with Ph.D.'s), and that "practically every respondent"
claimed he had entered his R&D field, "... because in it he
found something important and challenging - a means-of put-

ting his talents to use."30

Firm Growth in Kansas

 

A final study which attempts to relate firm growth
to the characteristics of chief executives is a doctoral
thesis entitled "Relationship of Executive Characteristics
and Growth Factors of Kansas Farm Equipment Manufacturers,"
by Raymond J. Coleman.

Dr. Coleman selected as his population of interest
thirty of thirty-nine agricultural equipment manufacturers
located within the state boundaries of Kansas. He reports

that all of these organizations employed twenty or more

38

persons during the year 1965, and that for each company he
constructed a composite growth profile for the years 1961-
1965, with this profile denoting the changes in firm sales,
equity, total investment, and number of employees which
occurred during this period.

On the basis of the information provided by this
profile, Dr. Coleman has designated fifteen concerns from
his population as "high growth" firms; and the remaining
fifteen, as "low growth" firms. He states that an evalu-
ation of the organizational characteristics of the firms
in each of these two categories has demonstrated that the
high growth firms tended to be of more recent origin, to
undertake more frequent and basic changes in technology,
to maintain more comprehensive programs for budgeting and
sales forecasting, and to pursue more aggressive and
effective programs for new product planning and develop-
ment. He also recounts that frequency of changes in
organizational structure, form of corporate organization,
and degree of willingness to utilize outside sources of
information did not appear to differ markedly among his
high growth and low growth firms.

To obtain the disclosures required to compile the
individual firm growth profiles, and to permit the study
of corporate organizational characteristics just mentioned,
Dr. Coleman used a number of special questions distributed
throughout a questionnaire completed during the course of

personal interviews held with the chief executives of the

39

firms in his population. Also included as a part of this
questionnaire were many items designed to elicit data on the
opinions and personal characteristics of these chief execu-
tives. And, in his report the author states that these same
managers also were asked to complete Form A of the Sixteen
Personality Factor Questionnaire, so that some feel might be
had for the psychological dimensions of their personalities.

Dr. Coleman indicates that the personal traits of
chief executives which appear to be associated with high
firm growth were: more frequent membership in trade associ-
ations, and of attendance at meetings of these associations,
and fewer years of affiliation with present firms. The
author interprets these factors to be indications of greater
personal vitality, and of a search for improved methods and
ideas. At the same time, he reports that respondent age,
education, and attendance at management development confer-
enCes did not appear to differ measurably among the leaders
of the high growth and low growth firms in his population.

Dr. Coleman also concludes that he could find little
difference in the opinions expressed by the chief executives
of his high growth and low growth firms with regard to such
subjects as: competition, products, problems of change, and
patterns of management. On the other hand, he states that
the chief executives of high growth firms were significantly
more expressive on the importance of firm growth.

Dr. Coleman's analysis of the results obtained from

Form A of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire has

40

caused him to conclude that the chief executives of his high
growth firms were better communicators, more open-minded and
receptive to new ideas, and more supportive of participation
by subordinates than the chief executives of his low growth
firms. In addition, the author perceives these managers to
be better controlled, more socially informed, and more self-
disciplined than their counterparts in the low growth firms.
And he also believes these men to be more nearly akin in the
personality variables measured by Form A of the Sixteen
Personality Factor Questionnaire to their farm customers, as
an occupational group.

Finally, Dr. Coleman comments that while there were
these differences observed between the chief executives of
high growth and low growth firms, both groups of these
managers scored high in intelligence and tough-mindedness
when compared to the population mean for all persons in the
United States.

Regretably, Dr. Coleman has made no apparent effort
in this study to distinguish between those chief executives
who were founder-entrepreneurs and those who were simply
the current managers of their firms, for a differentiation
of this character could only have enhanced the relevancy of

this effort to our own research.

Concluding Comment

 

These, then, have been some of the results of a few
of the first efforts in this country to examine empirically

the personal attributes and experience of entrepreneurs from

41

the realm of small manufacturing management, and in certain
cases, to relate some of their individual traits and manage-
ment philosophies to the effectiveness with which these men
have been able to manage their firms' operations. We again
note that these surveys all are of relatively recent origin,
and (as we warned initially) that they frequently have been
limited in their scope. In certain instances as well the
methodologies used may have left something to be desired,
and in some cases it probably is fair to conclude that the
project findings have been somewhat less than overwhelming
in their impact. But surely it would be appropriate to
suggest that at the very least, each of these exploratory
efforts has contributed something to our understanding of
contemporary entrepreneurship. And, of course, as we have
said earlier, they soon shall serve the additional purpose
of helping us to interpret more effectively the results of

our own research.

on

..L

 
 

p\.. u

 

Chapter 3

SURVEY DESIGN AND EXECUTION.

Introductory Comment

While we already have made mention in Chapter 1 of
the rather limited scope of our own research, there never-
theless are a few additional details concerning the design
and execution of our survey which we should like to review
here, before proceeding with a presentation of our results.

We shall begin with a further consideration of our sample.

Selection of Sample

 

Our sample, as we have indicated, was based upon
the judgment of dealer association executives as to who
among their memberships were representative of the best
traditions of automotive retailing within their respective
markets. The two associations co-operating in this effort
were the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association and the
Detroit Automobile Dealers Association. Each was asked to
provide a roster of about fifty dealer nominees who, in
its judgment, were men of both high integrity and superior
proficiency within the field of automobile dealership man-
agement. They also were asked to limit their choices to
individuals who either had founded their own dealerships,
or who, upon attaining ownership of an existing dealership,
had effected substantial changes in both the operations

42

43

and the fortunes of their respective establishments subse—
quent to their assumption of control (in order to provide
some comparability with the criterion of "self-made men"
noted in a number of the studies on entrepreneurship which
we have cited in Chapter 2). In the case of the Michigan
Automobile Dealers Association, it was suggested further
that all of the dealers nominated be from Michigan's Lower
Peninsula (for the reasons suggested earlier in Chapter 1).

In response to our request, the Michigan Automobile
Dealers Association provided a roster of fifty-one dealers,
of whom thirty-six were selected from cities and towns of
various sizes throughout Michigan's outstate Lower Penin-
sula; and fifteen, from Metropolitan Detroit. The Detroit
Automobile Dealers Association nominated fifty-two dealers,
of whom fifty-one were from Metropolitan Detroit; and one,
from Ann Arbor. Of those dealers from Detroit, seven were
named by both associations.

As stated in Chapter 1, sixty-six of these dealers
determined to participate in our survey, and the completed
questionnaires of fifty-four of these dealers ultimately
were utilized in the tabulation of our results. Of these,
twenty-three were obtained from dealers in the outstate
area; and thirty-one, from dealers in Metropolitan Detroit.

Of the twelve questionnaires which were returned
but not used in the study, seven were rejected because they
had been submitted to us by men who had assumed control of

dealerships previously operated by relatives, and five were

44

rejected because they had been submitted by men who had
indicated that they had taken control of their dealerships
at a time when they were already well-run enterprises.

Represented in this final selection of fifty-four
dealers were affiliates of each of the four principal U.S.
automobile manufacturers, with fifty-two per cent of the
group representing General Motors franchises; thirty-one
per cent, Ford Motor Company franchises; thirteen per cent,
Chrysler-Plymouth Corporation franchises; and a final four
per cent, American Motors Corporation franchises (with one
of the latter being a dealer who also was affiliated with
General Motors).

Interestingly, a review of the distribution of the
major domestic automobile manufacturer franchise affili-
ations for the combined membership rosters of the Michigan
Automobile Dealers Association and the Detroit Automobile
Dealers Association, as of mid-year 1970 (and, in the case
of the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association, omitting
those members from Michigan's Upper Peninsula and also the
Detroit metropolitan area), has disclosed a quite similar
pattern of representation. However, we also must admit
that our final sample of fifty-four dealers used in this
study would seem to have somewhat "over-represented" both
General Motors and Ford dealerships, at the expense of
Chrysler-Plymouth (which, by our calculation, constituted
approximately nineteen per cent of the combined Michigan

Automobile Dealers Association-Detroit Automobile Dealers

45

Association membership roster of franchised domestic new car
dealers for mid-year 1970, as we have defined it).

As might be anticipated, within the General Motors
portion of our final sample of fifty-four, Chevrolet dealers
were predominant, while at the same time, Ford dealers also
were predominant within the Ford Motors Company contingent.
And, together these two groups comprise twenty-four of our
fifty-four dealers, with the remaining thirty dealers being
fairly evenly distributed throughout the various exclusive-
and multiple-franchise options which exist within the dealer
networks of the major domestic automobile manufacturers
(including the other franchise availabilities of both Ford
and General Motors).

From this it would seem reasonable to suggest that
for whatever reason, when both Michigan Automobile Dealers
Association and Detroit Automobile Dealers Association,
personnel were requested to nominate from their respective
memberships those domestic franchised new car dealers who,
in their judgment, represented the best examples of contem-
porary Michigan automotive retailing success and business
acumen, they tended to think quite frequently of those men
who sell either Chevrolets or Fords.

In terms of annual new car sales volumes, our final
sample of fifty-four dealers was found to vary from men who
sold fewer than 100 units during the calendar year 1969 to
one dealer who sold over 4,800 units within this same time

period (the latter, needless to say, being headquartered in

46

Detroit).

While in this instance too a fairly elaborate effort
was made to compare the distribution of calendar year 1969
new car and truck sales volumes within our final sample of
fifty-four dealers with that of the distribution recorded
for the combined mid-year 1969 Michigan Automobile Dealers
Association-Detroit Automobile Dealers Association member-
ship roster (as defined above), may we simply say here that
in the case of both the outstate and Metropolitan Detroit
segments of our final sample of fifty-four, we have found
ourselves to be confronted by a healthy incidence of men who
direct medium-to-large-scale operations within their respec-
tive markets. And as a consequence, we do appear to have
missed including in our survey a certain number (but by no
means all) of the smaller operators within both the outstate
and the Metropolitan Detroit portions of our final sample of
fifty-four. However, we submit that it would seem reasonable
to suppose that dealer association personnel familiar with
the Michigan automotive retailing scene would tend to equate
dealer "success" with a fairly high level of annual new car
and truck sales, among other things. And to us, at least,
there would appear to be a certain amount of logic in their
having done so.

A check with automobile manufacturer field sales
personnel familiar with the Detroit retail automotive market
disclosed that while a number of the Detroit dealers in our

final sample of fifty-four were situated in suburban areas,

47

they all could be considered as competitive throughout the
entire Metropolitan Detroit area; and hence, no effort was
made to examine their incidence by central city, suburban,
or exurban setting.

A comparison of the distribution of the outstate
portion of our final sample of fifty-four dealers by size
of city in which located (based upon the final report of
the 1970 Census of Population) with that recorded for the
combined mid-year 1969 Michigan Automobile Dealers Asso—
ciation-Detroit Automobile Dealers Association membership
roster (with the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association
Upper Peninsula and Detroit membership exclusions stated
earlier) disclosed, as might be anticipated, a favoring
within that part of our final sample of dealers from the
relatively larger centers of population (i.e., cities of
10,000 inhabitants or more) within the outstate region of
Michigan's Lower Peninsula.

Thus, we might say in summary that the franchised
domestic new car dealers in our final sample of fifty—four
admittedly did tend, for the most part, to represent the
more popular automotive franchises, to own dealerships that
were located in what are most likely to be the more dynamic
automotive retail markets within Michigan's Lower Peninsula,
and to have achieved calendar year 1969 new car and truck
sales volumes which would seem to say that their operations
probably should be considered among the more active within

their respective markets. But at the same time, we should

48

note as well that there also were present within our final
sample exceptions to each of these generalizations, so that
one might be justified in suggesting that a certain element
of diversity also was to be found within the ranks of that
select group of fifty-four Michigan automotive retailing men

with whom we are to be concerned.

Construction of the Questionnaire

The questionnaire employed to collect the background
information compiled for our study consisted, in its final
form, of two major parts. The first was a self-administered
inventory constructed almost entirely of multiple-choice
items. Accordingly, this part was entitled "Multiple-Choice
Inventory for Automobile Dealers," and it was organized into
seven subsections, each of which dealt with some particular
aspect of the individual background, personal viewpoint, or
professional experience of the dealer completing it.

The multiple-choice items in each of the subsections
were, for the most part, derived from questionnaires used in
earlier studies of entrepreneurs or corporate business exec-
utives with which we were familiar. And, although in almost
every case we accomplished a number of modifications in each
item before adopting it for our own study, and although the
overall organization, as well as the sequence of inquiry, in
that portion of our questionnaire were essentially our own,
nevertheless, we took the action of obtaining permission to
use the material which we had utilized here from each of the

authors or publishers who held the basic copyrights to the

49

previously published questionnaires which had served as the
sources of inspiration for our own effort.

Initially, there were 184 items in this first part
of our questionnaire, of which 181 were multiple-choice in
character, and 3, questions in which the dealer was asked to
rank his choice of answers.

The decision to go almost exclusively with multiple-
choice questions was based upon a desire to meet two crucial
criteria: first, to make the completion of the inventory as
quick and as effortless as possible, and second, to provide,
insofar as was feasible, for a uniformity of responses which
would result in a minimum of difficulty and/or confusion for
ourselves at the time of the editing and coding of our data.

But even with this decision to proceed with the one
basic category of question format in order to accomplish our
twofold objective, we still finally came to the conclusion
that 184 items of what were at some points a rather personal
nature were a bit too many to ask of anyone, and especially
of a busy automobile dealer. And so, in our final revision,
we eliminated twenty-two of some of both the more benign and
the more impertinent of these items before determining that
this portion of our questionnaire was ready for publication.

The second part of our questionnaire also was self-
administered, and was designed to elicit a complete record
of each respondent's work history from the inception of his
first full-time job up through his current occupation as a

franchised domestic new car dealer. As a consequence, this

50

portion was entitled "Career Development Profile," and in
addition to the section which was devoted to developing the
"Chronology of Occupational Activity," there also was a
section for "General Commentary," in which each dealer was
asked to respond to two open-ended questions: what some of
the more important considerations were that had caused him
to become an automobile dealer, and, if he had to do it all
over again, would he still elect to become an automobile
dealer?

During the first euphoric phases of the designing
of our questionnaire, there were in addition a third and
fourth portions (both of which also were self-administered)
which we anticipated including in our survey. The third
part was entitled "Executive Opinion Questionnaire," and it
was comprised of the following four short-form measures of
social-psychological attitude or outlook: (l) Selznick and
Steinberg's 1966 "Ideological Agreement with Goldwater,"
(2) Opinion Research Corporation's 1960 "Attitude Toward
Government," (3) Form and Rytina's 1969 "Beliefs about the
Distribution of Power," and (4) Survey Research Center's
1969 "Thrust in People" inventories. As set out in our part
three, however, none of these four units was identified by
its proper title, for as one can see, in each instance the
mere name of the inventory by itself probably would have
been sufficient to suggest to the respondent, at the very
least, the approximate character of its intent.

But even without their proper titles, these short-

51

form measures of social-psychological attitude or outlook
still appeared on second glance to be somewhat menacing,
and hence, inimical to the spirit of trust which we hoped
to inspire throughout our sample. And so we reluctantly
decided to delete part three from our questionnaire. (And,
since in accordance with this decision no effort was sub-
sequently made to secure permission from the appropriate
parties to actually use any of the four inventories which
we have listed, it perhaps would be expedient as well for
us to emphasize here that merely because we have indicated
that at one point we had intended to employ these measures
in our own research, it by no means necessarily follows
that in every instance we would have been granted the right
to do so.)

Our similarly discarded part four was entitled
"Corporate Performance Index," and was, for the most part,
an original effort. It was designed to secure from each of
the dealers in our sample his estimation of the quality of
performance of each of the five largest corporations in the
United States with reference to their general management,
technical capability, marketing acumen, product quality and
performance, employee relations, dealer relations, civic-
mindedness, and profitability. Since three of the five
largest corporations in the United States at the time were
General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler (as ranked by Fortune in
its issue of May 15, 1969), it does not require a good deal

of imagination to determine that what we intended here,

52

basically, was to note how a dealer affiliated with any one
of these three automobile manufacturers would evaluate his
company in comparison with the other two. Indeed, this
motive seemed so manifest, even to us, and the concomitant
danger of insulting the intelligence of the members of our
sample so great, that once again we reached the decision to
abort.

Typing of the final drafts of the first and second
parts of our questionnaire was accomplished on a computer-
fed IBM MT/ST IV typewriter system, which provided a rather
professional-looking, variable-spaced, variable-typefaced,
carbon-ribbon rendition of all of the basic body copy, with
major column headings and cover titles being added later by
Photo Typositer process. Since there was some concern that
not every respondent might wish to take the time necessary
to complete the chronology of occupational experience (as
indeed did prove to be the case), it was decided that part
one should be reproduced separately from part two, and this
was, in fact, the procedure which we followed. To distin-
guish the two parts from one another, part one was printed
on light-yellow stock; and part two, on an eye-ease green.

In the case of both part one and part two, final
reproduction was by photo-offset process on ll"x17" stock,
with two pages of copy being printed on each side of each
ll"x17" sheet. The six sheets constituting the first part
of the questionnaire, the multiple-choice inventory, were

then single-folded to form a twenty-four page, 8%"xll"

53

booklet, which was then in turn saddle-stitched with three
conventional wire staples. The lone 11"x17" sheet which
comprised the second part of our questionnaire, the career
development profile, was merely single-folded to provide a
simple, four-page, 8%"x11" companion piece to the multiple-
choice inventory.

In Appendix B the reader will find reproductions
of both of these booklets, as they were disseminated to our
sample, except that in this instance they have been printed
on 100% cotton fiber, white typing paper, in order to comply
with Michigan State University dissertation binding require-

ments.

Collection of the Data

 

As we already have noted, our two-part questionnaire
was designed to be self-administered. We chose this format
in order to leave open the possibility of utilizing the U.S.
Mail as a means of collecting our data. Automobile dealers
tend to be somewhat busy people, or at least so we are told,
and we feared that any attempt to contact our sample through
the medium of personal interviews would prove difficult of
accomplishment - both in terms of arranging for the actual
interview dates, and of being able to maintain the undivided
attention of each dealer for the duration of the interview,
once on the premises.

The fact that Dr. Soslow had been able to use a mail
survey successfully in carrying out his own research in the

Rochester, New York, area, gave us confidence that we might

54

be able to do as well employing this same approach. And, as
it turned out, our opinion on this was shared by the persons
with whom we were in contact both at the Michigan Automobile
Dealers Association, and at the Detroit Automobile Dealers
Association.

And so it was that we experienced little difficulty
in finally settling on the choice of using the U.S. Mail as
the best means of reaching our sample.

Because our dealer sample was not a large one, and
also because a great amount of careful effort had gone into
the designing of our questionnaire, we determined that we
would not permit ourselves the luxury of pretesting it with
any of the individuals in our sample before contacting the
remainder of them. Instead, we took the two parts of the
questionnaire to the prominent Lansing-area Ford dealer who
was then president of the Michigan Automobile Dealers Asso-
ciation, to that organization's executive secretary, and to
a high-level marketing executive at the Ford Motor Company
for their consideration and review. A number of revisions
were then made in accordance with these three gentlemen's
recommendations prior to the printing of both part one and
part two of the questionnaire in the manner described above.

As we shall note again shortly, in spite of these
precautions, we discovered subsequently during the editing
phase of our research that a number of imperfections did
remain in our questionnaire, but whether all of these short-

comings would have become self-evident on the basis of the

55

returns gathered in a limited pretest of it remains, in our
opinion, at least, open to some question.

The final printed version of our questionnaire was
mailed to the ninety-six dealers in our sample on the 16th
and 17th of June, 1970, and arrived several days following a
previously initiated advance postcard informing each dealer
that his co-operation soon would be solicited in our survey.
With each questionnaire was a letter of transmittal presented
on Michigan State University Department of Marketing letter—
head, and signed by the chairman of that department. This
letter requested the dealer's participation in our research,
and offered to answer any questions which he might have con-
cerning it. A second letter, on Michigan Automobile Dealer
Association letterhead, also was included, and it contained
a similar appeal for co-operation from the president of that
organization. Also furnished were a return postcard with
which the dealer could request that a summary of the survey
results be sent to him, should he desire this information,
and a stamped, 8"x12" mailing envelope in which the dealer
could place his completed questionnaire for its return trip
to East Lansing.

Two follow-up letters subsequently were sent to each
non-responding dealer approximately two and four weeks after
the initial mailing of the questionnaire, and enclosed with
each of these letters was a return postcard which the dealer
could use to ask for a replacement for his questionnaire, in

the event that he had lost or misplaced his original. (Six

56

of our dealers did, in fact, return these postcard requests
to us, and of these, three ultimately completed and returned
the replacement questionnaires which we had sent them.)

In order to promote a sense of affinity, and of the
exclusivity of our sample, each of these communications was
individually typewritten - in the case of the postcards, by
hand, and in the case of the letters, automatically by means
of Singer Flexowriter (with addresses and salutations being
added by hand). Similarly, all of the letters of transmittal
were individually signed by their respective contributors,
and individual signatures also were provided for each of the
two follow-up letters (which were signed by the author in
his capacity as "survey director").

Interestingly (considering the time required to fill
it out), we received our first completed questionnaire back
in the mail on June 19th, only two days after our initial
posting, and between then and June 30th, the date on which
we dispatched the first of our two follow-up letters to each
non-responding dealer, we received another thirty-three
completed questionnaires. Between June 30th and July 20th,
the date on which we mailed the second (and last) of our two
follow-up letters, we were sent an additional twenty-nine
completions for our survey, and by July 29th we had received
the last three out of the total of sixty-six questionnaires
submitted to us by those dealers electing to participate in
our research.

In addition, we received a total of fifty-nine

57

postcard requests for a summary of our survey results (of
which fifty-seven originated from dealers who also completed
and returned their questionnaires, and two, from dealers who
had not), suggesting what would appear to have been a rela-
tively high degree of interest in our program.

Copies of all of the correspondence to which we have
been referring may be found at the conclusion of this study,
in Appendix A.

Procedure for Editing, Coding_and Preliminary
Tabulation

 

While an initial examination of the questionnaires
returned to us disclosed a high degree of proficiency in the
completions, nevertheless, as we indicated above, there were
some slight imperfections in our questionnaire which caused
occasional difficulty, and in addition, there also were a
number of inevitable discrepancies, errors, and omissions to
be found in many of our returns. And so, in view of the
small size of our sample, we decided that it might be best
if we were to place a number of follow-up telephone calls to
our respondents in order to eliminate as many of these
unsatisfactory completions as possible.

We made the first of our calls on November 2, 1970,
and the last, on June 28, 1971. In all, we contacted forty—
three of the fifty-four dealers whose replies were employed
in our study, and placed a total of over eighty calls in
order to complete this correction process. We also corres-

ponded with one additional dealer by mail while he was on

58

vacation in Florida during the month of March, 1971.

Quite frankly, this phase of our research proved to
be a somewhat trying experience for us all, and we would be
remiss if we failed to note the rather remarkable spirit of
co-operation which we encountered in our respondents when
phoning them for what was often rather personal information
about themselves and their families.

Coding took place after our preliminary tabulation,
which was accomplished by hand. In this manner we were able
to organize our coding not in terms of the distribution of
answers that we might have anticipated, but rather, in terms
of the distribution of answers that we actually experienced.
Special coding sheets were then prepared for each one of the
fifty-four multiple-choice inventories used in our survey,
and the data ultimately were transferred from these coding
sheets to standard eighty-column IBM cards (with four cards
being employed to portray the information derived from each
inventory).

Because of the generally open-ended character of the
second part of our questionnaire, the "Career Development
Profile," and the uniquely individual answers which were at
times contained within those chronologies returned to us, no
attempt was made to formally code and machine tabulate the
information disclosed by this portion of our questionnaire.
Instead, we simply reviewed each profile as it was received,
and recorded by hand the essentials of the chronologies and

career-choice observations as they were characterized to us.

59

And, since we were working with a relatively limited number
of profiles, the task of doing this, and of summarizing the
results, really proved to be no more demanding of our time
and energy than the more mechanized technique which we used
for our admittedly more comprehensive multiple-choice inven-

tory.

Provision for Processing of the Data

In addition to simple machine tabulation, processing
of the data derived from the first part of our questionnaire
consisted of the creating of a series of 529 two-dimensional
contingency tables, comprised of cross-tabulations of some
142 variables. All of this was brought about on a Michigan
State University CDC 6500 computer, using standard programs
developed for such purposes by M.S.U.'s Computer Institute
for Social Science Research.

This processing of our data was accomplished during
the summer of 1971, and was, as one can see, a relatively
modest effort, statistically speaking, in keeping with the
basic purpose of our research, the judgmental nature of our
sample design, the limited number of dealers in our final
sample, and the quality of information at our disposal (the

latter consisting, for the most part, of nominal data).

Concluding Comment
While more certainly could be said concerning this
aspect of our research, it is our hope that what we already

have disclosed has been sufficient not only to indicate the

60

basic methodology which we employed in our survey, but also
to demonstrate as well what we suggested earlier are some
of the more obvious limitations of our study, so that these
limitations may be kept in mind when reviewing the results
of our effort.

And it is to a consideration of those results that

we now must turn.

Chapter 4

RESULTS

Introductory Comment

 

In Chapter 1 we observed that it was our intent in
this study to learn something about the "early origins, in-
terests, and outlook" of the franchised domestic new car
dealers in our sample, as well as about "the conditions sur—
rounding their original entry into automotive retailing, and
about their pattern of development within the business there-
after." In addition, we also indicated that it would be our
further intent to explore "how closely the early develop-
mental experiences and pattern of professional advancement of
the manufacturing entrepreneur resembles that of the fran-
chised (domestic) new car dealer." And it is to this task
that we now shall proceed.

Our approach will be as follows: first, we shall
examine the similarities and differences that we have found
to exist between the experiences of the dealers in our final
sample and that reported for the manufacturing entrepreneurs
considered in the studies which we have reviewed in Chapter 2.
Next, we shall explore what the franchised domestic new car
dealers in our final sample have had to say about their pres-
ent roles in the automobile industry, and how they now feel
about their original decision to become automotive retailers.

61

62

And finally, we shall reveal what we have learned about the
men in our sample as private individuals - about their per-
sonal life styles, philosophies, and points-of—view.

Here, then, in the order that we have just defined,
is what we have ascertained about the fifty-four franchised
domestic new car dealers who together have comprised our final

sample.

The Dealer as a Developing Entrgpreneur

In order to facilitate the kind of comparison which
we wish to make here, we have taken the liberty of briefly
summarizing some of the more basic findings of the studies
of the manufacturing entrepreneur covered in our review of
related entrepreneurial research, as presented in Chapter 2.
As the reader will recall, these studies would appear to have
suggested that the manufacturing entrepreneurs in their
samples have evidenced: .

° An unhappy childhood, characterized by poverty, insecurity,
and a high incidence of early parental death, broken homes,
and rejection of the father.

' An unhappy experience with formal education, characterized
by restlessness, desertion from high school or college, and
resentment of academic authority figures.

° An early job history of drifting from one line of work to
another, followed by periods of personal business failure,
subsequent instruction from sponsors in areas of business
interest, and a final, ultimately fruitful, plunging into
the formation of one's own enterprise.

And, in addition, the reader no doubt will also
recall these other commonly reported feelings:

' A tendency for entrepreneurs of predominantly "blue—collar"
backgrounds to display a lower level of attainment or

63

proficiency in education, training, and social awareness and
involvement than entrepreneurs of white-collar backgrounds,
and to operate their businesses with less demonstration of
adaptability to new techniques of internal management, and
to changing conditions in the external marketplace.

° A seemingly greater incidence of firm success being noted in
the case of those small businessmen whose education and early
work experience were most closely related to the character of
their final entrepreneurial effort; who were possessed of
good administrative ability and a capacity for hard work, and
who displayed a concern with using these assets to achieve a
sound record of firm profitability and growth; who exhibited
the greatest personal vitality, cosmopolitanism, and alert
receptivity to new ideas; and who most consistently manifest
the keenest and most astute appreciation of customer needs,
and of the marketing initiatives necessary to best meet those
needs.

While it would be nice to be able to report that in
every instance our own final sample of fifty-four franchised
domestic new car dealers has in fact evidenced the same kind
of experience or background, unfortunately such has not
proved to be the case. For example, most of the dealers in—
cluded in our final sample would not appear to have undergone
the same type of adverse childhood portrayed for the manu-
facturing entrepreneur. In fact, over eighty per cent of our
dealers specified living with both of their natural parents
throughout most of their early years, and only twenty-two per
cent suggested that they had come from households that were
economically depressed. At the same time, nearly eighty per
cent of our final sample characterized their childhood days
as being either "very happy" or "quite happy most of the
time," while no one bespoke of a childhood that was unhappy

in all respects. Along the same line, almost one-half of our

final sample of fifty-four franchised domestic new car dealers

64

indicated that during the period of their childhood, their
families had lived longest in a residential section of town
which was of at least average quality, while another thirty-
five per cent stated that their families had resided, for the
most part, in either good or exclusive neighborhoods.

On the whole, neither do the members of our final
sample seem to have been subjected to a particularly unusual
or unstable course of childhood development. Over one-half
of them stated that they had lived in the same city for all
of their first eighteen years of life, and an additional
eighteen per cent dislosed that they had moved to another
city on only one occasion during this period. Seventy per
cent of them also indicated that they had attended church at
least three-to-four times per month, and all but two per cent
of our final sample reported getting along harmoniously with
people their own age or older throughout their teenage years.

At the same time, by the age of thirteen, practically
eighty per cent of our final sample had learned to swim, and
by the age of nineteen, almost two-thirds of our dealers have
indicated that they already had purchased their first car.

In other words, the picture we would appear to have
here is one of a fairly conventional youth, characterized,
for the most part, by relatively normal patterns of middle-
class background and experience (the main exception to this
perhaps being the rather high incidence of early first car
ownership, suggesting what might not only have been a reason-

ably secure financial position at the onset of adulthood, but

65

what could also have been a strong manifestation of an early
interest in matters pertaining to automobiles as well).

Neither have the members of our final sample provided
much in the way of evidence suggesting that they were usually
"out-of—sorts" with either of their parents during their
childhood years. Indeed, fifty-six per cent of them have
stated that their mothers and fathers were the kind of parents
"that they would have wanted their own children to have"; and
another thirty-three per cent, that while in some ways they
believed that they had been better parents to their own chil—
dren than their parents had been to them, overall they never-
theless felt that their own mothers and fathers had performed
well as parents. At the same time, only seven per cent of our
final sample criticized their fathers for having taken too
little interest in their children, while a majority suggested
that, for the most part, their fathers were either easy:going
or about average in their strictness or moral outlook. As
for the mothers of the dealers in our final sample, the feel-
ing expressed towards them appears to have been one of even
greater warmth and appreciation, with fully eighty per cent
of this group recalling their mothers as "a person whose
primary concern was always the care and well-being of her
family."

In keeping with this general impression of good will
toward their parents, fifty-two per cent of our sample also
indicated that they had enjoyed plenty of freedom throughout

their childhood, and an additional five per cent even stated

66

that they had been permitted to more-or-less run free. An-
other thirty per cent portrayed a childhood which alternated
between periods of freedom and periods of greater parental
supervision, while only seven per cent complained of constant
supervision, and resulting conflicts with their parents.

At the same time, sixty-nine per cent of our final
sample reported being rewarded or praised by their mothers
and fathers for commendable behavior as a child, and sixty—
three per cent asserted that during their late teens they
either rarely or never experienced disagreements or arguments
with their parents. Nearly sixty per cent also revealed that
their parents had taken an interest in their career aspir—
ations, and had helped them to plan what they had wanted to
do.

Thus, we can see that here too the experience of the
fifty-four franchised domestic new car dealers in our final
sample would not appear to have very closely paralleled that
reported for the manufacturing entrepreneur in the studies to
which we have made reference in Chapter 2.

In regard to their formal education, the members of
our final sample would appear, for the most part, to look
back favorably upon this phase of their early development.
Indeed, forty-eight per cent of our group stated that their
schooling has proved to be very helpful to them in life,
while another forty-six per cent indicated that it has been
”helpful for the most part," and only six per cent asserted

that ”while it was interesting at the time, it has not

67

proved to be very helpufl since."

As concerns the amount of formal schooling which the
fifty-four members of our final sample completed, twenty-six
per cent have indicated that they are college graduates,
another thirty-three per cent have stated that they at least
have attended college, and an additional eighteen per cent
have reported that they are high school graduates. In addi-
tion, fifteen per cent of our final sample (of whom most were
from the outstate area, and from the ranks of the more senior
members of our body of respondents) have recorded that their
formal schooling terminated at some point prior to high school
graduation, while another four per cent have claimed post-
graduate study short of their master's, and a final four per
cent, the attainment of a professional degree (with all of the
dealers from these two latter groups being from the Metro-
politan Detroit area).

Our sample members' recollections of their former
teachers also appear to be basically favorable, with fifty
per cent of our final sample having disclosed that they had
admired either many or virtually all of their old mentors,
another forty-four per cent testifying that they had admired
at least some of them, and only six per cent alleging that
they had admired either a very few or none of their former
instructors.

As for the matter of early desertion from high school
or college, sixty—five per cent of those attending high

school have averred that the thought of quitting that

68

institution hadnever even occurred to them, while an addi-
tional twenty-one per cent admitted to having entertained
such thoughts rarely or only on occasion. Thus, the possi-
bility of such desertion at that point in their academic
careers seems to have been a major factor in the thoughts of
only a small part of our final sample - namely, the twelve
per cent who did quit high school, and another two per cent
who completed their high school programs, but who neverthe-
less acknowledged having frequently contemplated quitting
their studies while in the process of earning their diplomas.
And, of those attending college, at least one-half did go on
to receive their bachelor's degrees.

Other indications of overall favorability toward their
formal education may be found in the high percentage of
re8pondents who felt that the work they had done in school as
children had received adequate recognition from their teach-
ers. Forty-eight per cent of our final sample felt that they
had almost always received such recognition, and another
twenty per cent stated that such usually had been the case.
An additional twenty-two per cent felt that their work had
received adequate recognition in a moderate way, and only ten
per cent complained of what they felt was something less than
adequate attention.

As pertains to conflict with academic authority fig-
ures during their formal schooling, the franchised domestic
new car dealers in our final sample have provided little evi-

dence of such problems in the information supplied to us. In

69

fact, fifty-two per cent of those attending high school have
specified that they do not recall ever having experienced
direct and open conflict with their teachers during their
high school years, and the remaining fortyfeight per cent
have disclosed that they did so only on occasion.

And as for possible conflict with family authority
figures during these same years, here too we have been
supplied with little evidence of difficulty. For instance,
thirty-five per cent of those attending high school have
characterized their parents as having been quite lenient
toward them throughout their high school years, and another
forty per cent have stated that their parents were no more
or less restrictive of their independence than were the par—
ents of their friends. An additional twenty-five per cent
did admit to their parents having been "rather restrictive,"
but interestingly, no one accused their parents of "having
ruled with a heavy hand.“

At the same time, neither do the great majority of
these same dealers appear to have experienced much conflict
with their parents over matters relating to their academic
performance. In fact, twenty-three per cent of them report-
ed that their parents were generally pleased with their high
school grades; an additional thirty-four per cent stated
that their parents were generally satisfied with their work,
although still feeling that they probably could have done
better; while still another twenty-three per cent indicated

that their parents did not complain about their grades so

70

long as they had done their best. Of the remaining twelve
per cent of those attending high school, six per cent
disclosed that their parents had taken no interest in their
academic performance whatsoever, and only the remaining six
per cent confessed to having had parents who were displeased
with their level of academic achievement.

In the case of conflict over grades, however, perhaps
at least part of the reason for no great problem having been
reported here could be due to the fact that an appreciable
number of the dealers in our final sample were never really
in any kind of serious academic difficulty. For example, of
those attending high school, forty-four per cent reported
receiving above-average-to-distinctly-above-average grades,
and another forty-eight per cent, grades of at least average
quality. And of those attending college, only three per cent
indicated being in the lower twenty—five per cent of their
respective classes, with sixty-five per cent disclosing that
they stood within the middle fifty per cent of their respec-
tive classes, and a final thirty-two per cent testifying that
they had ranked in the top twenty-five per cent of their
particular groups.

Thus, in this instance too the picture would seem to
be one of a somewhat different pattern of experience than
that which has been reported for the manufacturing entre-
preneur. But in one respect, at least, there would seem to
be something of a similarity between the franchised domestic

new car dealers of our final sample and the manufacturing

71

entrepreneurs considered in the studies which we have dis-
cussed in Chapter 2, and that is in terms of what they both
feel should be the principal benefit of one's educational
experience. For like many of the manufacturing entrepreneurs
depicted in the related research reviewed in Chapter 2, the
majority of the dealers in our final sample would appear to
believe that for the most part, education should have the
practical value of preparing a person to lead an active and
productive professional life. And thus it is that when asked
what they felt was the most important thing a young person
should derive from attending college today, fifty per cent

of our final sample replied that training for a profession
was the most important objective, while only twenty-six per
cent opted for general cultural knowledge, and an additional
twenty-four per cent, for either personal maturity or social
polish., And thus it is too that fifty-seven per cent of
those dealers attending college named business administration
as the subject which they enjoyed most as undergraduates, and
another sixteen and nineteen per cent chose engineering and
science and mathematics, respectively (with only eight per
cent citing the less demonstratably "vocational" humanities
and social sciences as their favorite subject areas). And,
even at the high school level this same preference for the
so-called "practical" curriculum can be seen in the major
subject area concentrations elected by the members of our
final sample, with forty-two per cent of those of our dealers

who attended high school undertaking most of their work in

72

commerce or business administration, another ten per cent in
trade or industrial arts, and four per cent in agriculture
(with the remaining forty-four per cent undergoing the college
preparatory course work necessary to qualify them for further
education at the university level).

But aside from this latter point, as was found to be
the case with childhood experience, so too in the area of
education we would seem to be confronted by a lack of basic
similarity between the development and outlook of the fran-
chised domestic new car dealers in our final sample and the
manufacturing entrepreneurs considered in the earlier studies
which we have cited. 2

As for the matter of early job experience, to an
extent we shall be examining more of the specifics of this
aspect of the backgrounds of the fifty-four franchised domes-
tic new car dealers in our final sample in that portion of
this chapter devoted to the new car dealer as an automotive
retailer. But at this point it prObably would still be use-
ful for us to consider just a few of those particulars from
our dealers' early work history that will enable us to deter-
mine whether or not these gentlemen underwent the same pat-
tern of job hopping and early failure that has been depicted
for the manufacturing entrepreneur.

In one important respect, our dealers would seem to
resemble their entrepreneurial counterparts in the manufac-
turing sector, and that is with regard to the early age at

which they first began working regularly at some job for

73

money. In fact, fifty-two per cent of our final sample
indicated that they already had taken this initial step by
the time of their fourteenth birthday. Another nine per cent
had done so by their fifteenth year, and another sixteen per
cent by their sixteenth year, and an additional four per cent
by their seventeenth year (with the remaining twenty-one per
cent dislosing first-job experience by their eighteenth year
or later). And at the same time, fifty-two per cent of our
dealers reported that they had attained these first-time jobs
purely as a result of their own job-seeking efforts, while
thirty-two per cent of those attending high school stated in
addition that their jobs during their high school years had
constituted the form of extracurricular activity from which
they had derived the greatest satisfaction.

But beyond this, any similarity with the manufactur-
ing entrepreneur would appear to cease, with only thirty-five
per cent of the members of our final sample indicating that
they had held a number of different jobs throughout their
working lifetimes before finally becoming franchised domestic
new car dealers. Of the remaining sixty-five per cent,
forty-one per cent disclosed having held a number of differ—
ent jobs, but mostly within the automotive retailing career
field; and twenty-four per cent, having held only a few jobs
within this same area. At the same time, fully eighty-nine
per cent of our respondents have asserted that they have
never been out of work for one month or more at a time,

seventy-two per cent have recounted that they have never been

74

employed in any state other than the one in which they first
began working, and eighty-five per cent have noted that they
are, in fact, working today in the same state in which they
were reared (with fifty per cent actually living in the same
city in which they were brought up as children).

Insofar as the effect of "blue-collar"/"white—collar"
background on management practices and performances is con-
cerned (as generalized for the manufacturing entrepreneur at
the beginning of this chapter, based on the studies reviewed
in Chapter 2), there really has not been much that we could
do within the context of our research to make comparisons
within our own final sample of fifty-four franchised domes-
tic new car dealers. In the first place, we compiled virtu—
ally no information on the Operating practices and the state
of economic vitality of any of the dealerships owned by the
men in our final sample, and in fact, in soliciting our deal-
ers, we deliberately avoided all mention of such subjects in
order to minimize their reluctance to participate in our
survey, and thus to maximize our rate of response from them.
And in the second place, because of the rather limited vari-
ety of previous jobs held by our dealers prior to the time
that they first entered automotive retailing (about which we
already have made some mention, and shall discuss further
shortly), we were not really confronted in our returns by
many instances of clear-cut dichotomies between dealers who
had begun their working lifetimes as "blue-collar" workers

and those who had begun as "white-collar" types.

75

And for similar reasons, neither has there been much
that we could do to correlate such factors as dealer educa-
tion, administrative ability, personal vitality, cosmo-
politanism, and customer sensitivity to dealership success.
Again, because in the first place we did not compile any
business data for the dealerships that were owned and oper—
ated by the members of our final sample, and thus have been
left with no real means of operationally defining what we
might mean by "dealership success," and of classifying these
dealerships in some manner consistent with this definition.
And then too, even if we had compiled such data, and were in
a position to carry out such a classification, there still
would remain the very real argument that dealership "success"
can result from many other variables besides the mere
personality and background factors of the men who head them.
(Indeed, as our dealers themselves would seem to feel, for a
number of them made note of how important such external fac—
tors as size of market, dealership location, and popularity
of their car lines had been in determining the success of
their own operations.) And finally, there also is the point
that the dealer association personnel who nominated the
dealers solicited for our sample had in each instance been
encouraged to select from their membership rosters those of
their dealer members whom they felt represented the best tra—
ditions of automotive retailing within their respective mar-
kets. With a criterion such as this, it seems reasonable to

suppose that most of the dealers so chosen would, in fact, be

76

managing dealerships which would more than likely satisfy any
standard for "success" that we might have set, thus leaving
us with little basis for making comparisons among the dealers
and dealerships within this group.

And so it would seem fair to suggest that we now are
at the point where we can do little more to make comparisons
between the early background and developmental experience of
the franchised domestic new car dealers in our final sample
and those of the manufacturing entrepreneurs from the studies
which we considered in Chapter 2. While our experience here
would appear to have been one of encountering far more dif-
ferences than similarities, it would seem reasonable to sup-
pose that these discrepancies could well be the result, more
than anything else, of the rather simple underlying differ—
ences in personal make-up that one might expect to exist
between the type of entrepreneur who, in most cases, origi—
nates his own first enterprise largely as an act of individual
judgment and initiative, as is commonly found in the manu—
facturing sector, and the type of entrepreneur who must first
win the approval of a large and powerful manufacturer before
he can proceed further with his dream of owning and operating
his own business concern, as is the case with the entrepre-
neur that one finds in automotive retailing. In any event,
this possibility would seem to us, at least, to be of suffi-
cient worth to consider further when we conclude our thoughts

on our research in Chapter 5.

77

The Dealer as an Automotive Retailer

For all of the criticism that is frequently being
leveled at the automotive retailer, and for all of the pres-
sure to which he apparently is being subjected, both economic
and otherwise, the fifty-four franchised domestic new car
dealers in our final sample would appear, by-and-large, to
be relatively pleased by their decision to become the heads
of active automobile agencies. In fact, only four of these
dealers stated categorically that if they had it to do over
again, they definitely would not elect to become an automo-
tive retailer, while the great majority of those who would
repeat their experience spoke enthusiastically of the chal-
lenge afforded by their jobs, the satisfaction which came
from being the heads of their own enterprises, and the oppor-
tunity that still exists, in spite of the intense competi-
tiveness of their business, to realize a substantial income
from their efforts.

For most too there is apparently the thrill of simply
being in the automotive industry. As we noted earlier, many
of our dealers had already discovered their interest in cars
while still in their teens, and especially notable among the
younger members of our final sample is the early point in
their woking lives at which they first formally entered the
automotive career field (in contrast to some of the older
members of our final sample, who were largely from the rural
outstate area, and who comprised a sizable portion of that

one-third of our respondents who "knocked-about" a bit in

78

other work areas before finally entering the automobile
business at some point prior to WOrld War II).

Of further interest among the younger, metropolitan
dealers in our final sample is the frequency with which they
first began their automotive retailing careers as new car
salesmen. From that point forward it was generally a case
of eventually moving on to the jobs of new car/truck sales
manager, general sales manager, and finally general manager,
before ultimately taking that final step of assuming the
risks of striking out on one's own as an automobile dealer.
A less frequent path of development for metropolitan dealers
(with most being located in Detroit) was that of first work-
ing in, and then operating, an independent used car lot (or
lots) before joining a dealership at the department manager
level, and then eventually following the same path of devel-
opment taken by the dealer-to—be whose previous work had been
primarily in new car sales. And within this same group of
dealers we also found several individuals who had first
worked for an automotive manufacturer (most commonly in
field sales), and who had then gone out to operate dealer—
ships of their own, as well as several sons of dealers who
had worked for a time in various job positions (both in
and out of sales) within their family agencies before go-
ing off to head agencies of their own.

All of this, of course, being in contrast to the
experience of many of the older, rural outstate members of

our final sample, who, as we have noted, did tend more to

79

exhibit the pattern of early drifting said to be character-
istic of the manufacturing entrepreneur, and whose entry
into automotive retailing, when it did come, usually
occurred somewhat dramatically in the form of a direct
assumption of an automotive franchise, and the subsequent
originating of one's own agency from scratch (with the
majority of these dealership foundings coming, as we have
stated, in the period prior to World War II).

As dealers, the majority of the members of our final
sample of fifty-four have reported that they work reasonably
hard at their jobs, to the point, at times, of having to
neglect their families. But unlike many of their executive
counterparts in large corporations, most of them have re-
sisted the temptation to claim outrageously long work weeks,
with only twenty-two per cent professing work weeks of sixty
hours or more. At the same time, only eleven per cent of
our final sample have indicated that they frequently take
their work home with them, and only four per cent have
reported that they find their job to be exhausting most of
the time.

In evaluating the dynamics of their industry, and of
their own individual dealerships, thirty-eight per cent of
our sample stated that they felt the automobile industry to
be somewhat more dynamic than other major U.S. manufacturing
industries, and fifty per cent, much more so (with the others,
of course, finding it to be about as dynamic, or less so),

while thirty-three per cent of those dealers included in our

80

analysis felt their own dealerships to be somewhat more
active than the other automotive agencies in their trading
area, and forty-three per cent, that their agencies were
much more active (with the remaining twenty-four per cent
suggesting that their agencies were only about as active as
their competition, or even somewhat less so).

When asked their feeling on the importance of their
dealerships increasing their share of local markets for new
car sales throughout the next five years, sixty-five per
cent of our outstate dealers testified that they regarded
this as being very important, while only twenty-six per cent
of our Metropolitan Detroit dealers felt the same way about
their respective competitive situations.

Not surprising, in view of many of their individual
backgrounds, forty-six per cent of our final sample indicated
that out of all the various areas of dealership operation,
the one that they were most familiar with was that of new
car sales. Another nine per cent claimed greatest famil-
iarity with either truck or used vehicle sales, making the
total proportion of our final sample of franchised domestic
new car dealers alleging greatest familiarity with some
aspect of sales to be fifty-five per cent. Another thirty-
seven per cent of our sample indicated that their greatest
area of familiarity with agency operations was now business
management, with the remaining eight per cent naming either
service management or leasing.

When asked to name the single most important source

81

of satisfaction to them as automobile dealers, thirty per
cent of our final sample cited the feeling of independence
which they derived from managing their own enterprise,
another twenty per cent mentioned the challenge which they
experienced in trying to devise more efficient ways of
operating their business, and a final twenty-four per cent
pointed to the economic rewards and financial security
which they obtained from being in their line of work.

Along similar lines, when asked to name the single
most important source of dissatisfaction to them as automo—
bile dealers, fifty-four per cent of our final sample com-
plained about the difficulty of maintaining a level of profit
commensurate with the extent of effort and capital involved
in their dealerships, an additional seventeen per cent
decried the many risks that were involved in operating an
automobile agency, and the remaining members of our sample
lamented about such factors as time pressures, factory de-
mands and policies, and the general public's apparent in-
ability to appreciate the trials and tribulations of being
an automobile dealer.

As for which of certain factors were most important
in influencing the dealers in our final sample to elect to
become the operating heads of automobile agencies, the
evidence supplied by the members of our sample would seem
to suggest that like the manufacturing entrepreneur, many
of our respondents were motivated to assume the risks of

becoming a dealer in order to satisfy a basic desire to be

. .
~. Np
’ My

SI.

FL

82

independent. The promise of a good financial return would
also appear to have played an important part in their deci-
sion, as would a natural interest in cars, and a determina—
tion to capitalize on related job experience. Of less
importance, apparently, were such considerations as urging
by others, a need for responsibility, and for professional
status, and the chance to assume control of an established
dealership.

A short time ago we were concerned with what factors
might be considered as indicative of dealer success. When
asked to address this same issue, the fifty-four franchised
domestic new car dealers in our final sample appeared to feel
that dealership profitability, reputation for service, and
renown as a good place to work were all important considera-
tions, along with the dealer himself being viewed as an hon—
est, sincere, and hard-working member of his local business
community. Of less importance, in our sample members' view,
were a dealer's participation in community service activi—
ties, and the assuring of the survival of the dealership it—
self.

In terms of those factors which the dealers in our
final sample felt were most critical in determining the suc-
cess of an individual as an automotive retailer, experience
and general intelligence were each cited by thirty per cent
of our respondents as being the most important of the vari—
ables listed in our questionnaire, while another twenty—

seven per cent thought that interest in their work was the

83

most critical consideration (with the remainder of the group
electing such other factors as personality and training).

While no one in our final sample named formal educa-
tion as being the most important factor in determining an
individual's success as a dealer, fifty-two per cent of our
respondents did indicate that their job required some form
of business training beyond high school; another eleven per
cent, at least some college; and an additional twenty-two
per cent, actual completion of a four-year college program.
Surprisingly, the remaining fifteen per cent seemed to feel
that high school training or less would be sufficient, pro-
vided the individual concerned "had the necessary natural
ability."

As for the personal qualities which our dealers felt
to be the most necessary for the advancement of their own
dealership personnel, sixty-two per cent of our respondents
specified willingness to accept responsibility as being the
foremost factor, while another thirteen per cent each named
aggressiveness and ability to get along with others. An ad-
ditional ten per cent of our final sample cited either good
moral character or good intellectual capacity, while one
dealer wrote that he felt self-motivation was the most impor-
tant requisite.

We thought that it might be interesting to determine
whether the members of our final sample preferred a basically
intuitive or an essentially analytical approach to managing

their respective operations. The result was a strong

84

expression of preference for the intuitive approach, with
seventy per cent of our respondents indicating that while
they were not averse to using data, they often preferred

"to rely as much, or more, on their own intuitive 'feel' for
a given situation," and only thirty per cent stated that they
usually "tried to proceed on the basis of a thorough and dis-
passionate analysis of the data available to them," with no
significant difference being discernible here between Metro—
politan Detroit and outstate operators, high- and low-volume
dealers, and the relatively young and the relatively old.

We also thought it might be interesting to observe
what proportion of our final sample liked to innovate in
their work methods, and found that in this case fifty-two
per cent of our dealers preferred to try new approaches to
their work, while forty-eight per cent “normally preferred
to keep things running smoothly.“

In concluding that portion of our Multiple-Choice
Inventory for Automobile Dealers devoted to examining their
“Business Life and Outlook," we thought that it might be
useful to once again test the degree of our dealers' satis—
faction with their roles as automotive retailers by asking
them what they would most prefer that their sons did for a
living. In keeping with our other findings on this issue,
fifty-seven per cent of our final sample indicated that they
should like their sons to become automobile dealers, and an—
other four per cent expressed the hope that their sons would

become active in some phase of the automotive industry.

85

Among the remaining members of our final sample, most pre-
ferred that their sons enter into one of the professions, or
expressed the view that they wished their sons to do whatever
it was that would bring them the greatest happiness.

And thus it is that we might suppose that one could
say we are closing this portion of our review of our survey
results on much the same note that we began it - by observing
that in spite of all of the many risks and frustrations that
can go with being an automobile dealer, the great majority
of the members of our final sample nevertheless would appear
to be well pleased with their choice Of vocation, and with

the satisfaction which it affords.

The Dealer as a Private Individual

Since personal background data (of which this section
of Chapter 4 is largely comprised) does have a tendency to
become tedious, it is not our intention here to dwell unduly
upon this aspect of our research, other than to discuss our
results in sufficient detail to establish that, for the most
part, the fifty-four franchised domestic new car dealers in
our final sample do certainly appear to be numbered among
the more stable and well-established members of their respec—
tive communities.

For example, all of our dealers are family men, with
ninety-one per cent of them having been married but one time.
Most were wed between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-five,
to women of approximately the same age and socioeconomic

background. Typically, they have two-to-three children, for

86

whom they either have provided, or hope to provide, a
college education.

In addition, our dealers would appear to be in
good health, and to lead fairly active social and recre-
ational lives. For instance, the great majority of them
have indicated that they have never been ill during their
adult years for a period of one month or more, and over
one-half of them now manage to engage in some form of
physical exercise on the average of at least one-to—four
hours per week, with sports apparently providing most of
the bases for this exercise.

At the same time, over seventy per cent of our
dealers have reported going out in the evening and/or
meeting socially with friends their own age or older at
least once or twice each week, and have indicated that
most of the time they prefer to meet with their friends
at either their own or their friends' homes.

When queried about their activity in formal or-
ganizations, fifty-four per cent of our sample mentioned
being active in athletic, social, or recreational clubs,
and forty-three per cent in business and professional
organizations. At the same time, thirty-one per cent
indicated being affiliated with service organizations
such as Rotary or Kiwanis, and fifteen per cent with such
fraternal societies as Elks or the Masons.

In spite of the rather low importance attached by

our respondents to participation in community service

87

activities as an element of dealer success (as noted ear-
lier), over seventy per cent of these gentlemen nevertheless
indicated being active in such work at some point during

the twelve months previous to the time they completed our
questionnaire. On the basis of the information supplied by
them, religious and charitable organizations would appear to
have been the major recipients of their effort, with govern-
ment programs and local citizens' action and youth groups
also proving popular as beneficiaries of their concern.

Over seventy per cent of our final sample of fifty-
four franchised domestic new car dealers also noted that
they had served on active duty with one of our military
services, with thirty-eight per cent of these veterans indi—
cating that they had completed their service as commissioned
officers.

In terms of political party preference, forty-seven
per cent of our final sample have disclosed that they con-
sider themselves to be Republicans; an additional forty-nine
per cent, to be Independents; and only four per cent, to be
Democrats. But in the Presidential campaigns of 1960, 1964,
and 1968, it would appear that most of the Independents
voted with the Republicans, for the Democratic candidates in
these campaigns never won more than thirty-two per cent of
the votes of our dealer respondents.

As pertains to other matters of personal preference
or philosophical outlook, over eighty per cent of the dealers

in our final sample believe that differences in ambition,

88

application, and persistence are the factors which are most
likely to explain why some people are more apt to succeed
than others with the same degree of skill or training, as
opposed to such factors as differences in intelligence,
education, and experience, or in family background, social
status, and personal contacts. At the same time, fifty-five
per cent of our respondents felt that luck was at least
somewhat important in contributing to a person's financial
success, and another twenty-six per cent thought that it was
either important, or very important (with only the remaining
nineteen per cent asserting that it was either not very
important, or not important at all).

In their face-to—face encounters with their fellow
man, the great preponderance of the dealers in our final
sample have depicted themselves as being rather ordinary and
unassuming folk. For the most part, they do not consider
themselves to rank "at the top" as conversationalists, and
they have indicated that they are not overly inclined to
regale others with jokes. However, like the good salesmen
that many of them have been (and probably still are), they
do feel that they usually are able to form an accurate first
impression of the people they meet, and they have further
suggested that those with whom they associate do typically
seem to feel that they are the kind of people to whom one
can confide one's problems.

When asked their opinion of a man who tries difficult

things, but who does not always succeed at them, fifty-five

89

per cent of the members of our final sample indicated that
they admired such a person for his persistence; and another
thirty-nine per cent, for his initiative, with only six per
cent expressing some form of disapproval toward such an
individual. And, in a somewhat similar vein, ninety-two per
cent of our final sample also asserted that they believed
that there was either some or much good in everyone.

In looking to the future, only ten per cent of our
final sample of fifty-four franchised domestic new car deal-
ers admitted that they were looking forward to retirement,
with everyone else electing to express a feeling of something
less than total rapture for this event. And yet a surprising
fifty-six per cent of our respondents indicated that they
expect to have already gone into retirement by the time of
their sixty-fifth birthday.

At whatever point retirement does finally occur for
them, twenty-nine per cent of our dealers expect to devote
the greater portion of their energies to sporting activities,
an additional twenty-two per cent to extensive travel, and
another twenty-two per cent to striking out along new, but
less hectic paths of business endeavor (with the remaining
seventeen per cent of our final sample indicating that their
preference will probably be for such activities as engaging
in hobbies, performing unpaid volunteer work, or "just taking
it easy").

And so, as we have said earlier, the overall picture

presented by this portion of our research results would seem

90

to be one of a rather straightforward and conventional life
style, lived in the manner that one might well expect of men
who are substantial and accredited members of their respec—

tive small business communities.

Concluding Comment

 

Of perhaps greatest interest in this review of the
results of our research is the extent to which we have failed
to establish a similarity in the pattern of the early back-
ground and professional development of the fifty-four fran-
chised domestic new car dealers in our final sample and those
of the manufacturing entrepreneurs examined in the studies
considered earlier in Chapter 2. And of still further
interest might well be the issue of not so much what we have
learned, but rather, of what we might have learned, had we
conducted our research a bit differently.

I For those wishing to pursue these considerations, we
now offer Chapter 5, in which these and related matters will

receive the greater part of our attention.

Chapter 5

CONCLUSION

Introductory Comment

While we recognize that it is almost traditional at
this point in studies of this character to reaffirm in some
detail the major findings of one's research, we must confess
that we ourselves are frequently bored by such reiteration,
and so instead what we propose to do here is simply to close
quietly with a consideration of the two issues which we have
just noted at the conclusion of Chapter 4: namely, the ques-
tion of why our own final sample of fifty—four franchised
domestic new car dealers appeared to share so few things in
common with the manufacturing entrepreneurs from the studies
cited in Chapter 2, at least insofar as their early back-
ground, educational experience, professional development, and
personal outlook are concerned, and then the matter of what
it is that we have not learned, and might have, as a result

of our research, and why.

Possible Reasons for Differences

 

As concerns the first of these two basic issues which
we shall be considering in this, the conclusion of our re-
port, perhaps one of the simplest explanations which we might
offer for the differences that we have observed between the
early background and development of the members of our dealer

91

92

sample and the manufacturing entrepreneurs described in the
research which we considered in Chapter 2 is merely that
because we elected to employ a self-administered mail ques—
tionnaire as our data collection instrument, we somehow
failed to learn of many childhood experiences and events
that could have been elicited in personal interviews, such
as those which were conducted in a number of the studies
that we have examined pertaining to the manufacturing entre-
preneur. That such a possibility exists is not to be
denied, and frankly, we do have some evidence of occasional
selectivity having been exercised in what a small number of
our respondents cared to record about their individual work
chronologies in the Career Development Profile portion of
our questionnaire. And if we did indeed fail to collect
such information, then there is always the possibility that
it would have demonstrated more in the way of dealer simi-
larity with the manufacturing entrepreneur.

But for all of this, we still are inclined to doubt
that there was a story here that we somehow failed to un-
cover, based primarily, we suppose, on the fact that we did
conduct extensive follow-up telephone interviews with the
majority of our dealer respondents, and on many occasions
were forced to ask for data that we considered to be rather
personal in character, and might well have declined to relate
about ourselves, had someone called us for such information.
Nevertheless, at no time were we refused the facts which we

requested, and the feeling that we had in talking with our

93

dealers was that they were about as candid and straight-
forward a group as we could have hoped for. And so we say
again that we seriously doubt this first possibility.

A second possibility that exists is one which is
closely related to the first. That is to say, because we
did elect to employ a self—administered mail questionnaire
as our data collection instrument, we presented our dealers
with a format which simply was not compatible with relating
tales of childhood woe and hostility towards all things
adult and institutional, even in those instances where we
provided our respondents with clear-cut opportunities to
elect such responses. Once again, this too seems a reason—
able possibility, but in reviewing our data, we were struck
time and time again by the fact that our dealers had resisted
the opportunity to appear in any way heroic by such acts as
claiming to work exceptionally long hours, to never taking
vacations or time off for recreation, or to having somehow
to be possessed of remarkable qualities of physical stamina
and personal character in order to survive the rigors of be-
ing an automobile dealer. Indeed, such are the kinds of re-
sults that one can easily read about in the studies of large
corporate executives which were so popular a decade or so
ago. Instead, our dealers chose almost without exception to
stress that they were rather ordinary men involved in a
business beset with more than its fair share of risks and
problems, but in which they nevertheless took an extraordi-

nary interest and pride. And if they did indeed choose in

94

these instances to be honest with us, why should we suppose
that in the case of childhood experience and development
they did not also elect to be honest with us as well? In
other words, in this instance too we rather doubt that we
were misled by having been provided with answers which were
not true reflections of the actual early experience of our
respondents.

A third and final possibility for explaining the
differences which we have noted is the one that for us, at
least, holds the greatest appeal, and that is that these
discrepancies can be explained in terms of the basic dif—
ferences which exist in the fundamental character of the
positions being sought and fulfilled by the franchised do—
mestic new car dealer and the manufacturing entrepreneur.
The latter, in seeking his success through the founding of
his own enterprise, in most cases seeks as well the complete
independence which being in sole command can provide.
Indeed, as Professors Collins and Moore have noted, it is
often this very need for independence which is paramount in
motivating him "to take the plunge" into full-fledged entre-
preneurship in the first place.

But the would-be franchised domestic new car dealer,
on the other hand, can achieve his dream of success only
through the concurrence of the automobile manufacturer which
grants him its franchise; and while we have seen that the
need for independence is important to him as well, neverthe-

less he realizes that even after he has received his

95

franchise, he still must serve at the pleasure of the eco-
nomic dreadnaught which made his entry into the dealer ranks
possible. Does it really seem plausible to suppose that a
man from a troubled childhood, possessed of a dismal record
of academic maladjustment and an early employment history of
job instability, and characterized by a high need for per-
sonal autonomy, will be the kind of individual to seek out
such a franchise relationship, or be representative of the
sort of person in whom the manufacturer is likely to place
its trust? Somehow we doubt it. Instead, we should expect
that automotive franchises would more likely be sought by,
and granted to, precisely the type of mature, stable, and
experienced individual whom we have described in Chapter 4,
and hence, our preference for this last of the three possi—
bilities which we have advanced for explaining the differ—
ences that we have observed between the franchised domestic
new car dealers in our final sample and the manufacturing

entrepreneur.

Concerning Data Not Collected

Actually, in Chapter 4 we already have considered
one category of information which we might have considered
in our research, but did not, and that is the area which
pertains to the effect of the dealer's personal background,
educational and early vocational experience, and managerial
philosophy or viewpoint on the success of his dealership
enterprise. As the reader will recall, we were deterred

from seeking to determine this because we wished to avoid

96

antagonizing our potential respondents by asking for dealer-
ship operating data that they might not wish to provide (and
which nevertheless would be needed in order to make deter-
minations as to a given dealership's accomplishments, or
lack thereof), and also because the very manner in which we
set about soliciting our sample (i.e., by asking officers of
the two Michigan automobile dealer associations to nominate
just those dealers who, in their judgment, represented only
the best traditions of automotive retailing within their re-
spective marketplaces) seemed to us to make it unlikely that
we would find much difference between the level of success
among comparable dealerships of the respondents in our
sample, even if we had the agency performance data required
for this, and sought to do so. Quite frankly, there was
still another reason why we did not undertake to make
comparisons of this character, and that was because of our
having heard of in-house studies involving both high— and
low-performance dealers which have been conducted in the past
by the automotive manufacturers, and which apparently enjoyed
little success in pinpointing significant differences in
background, experience, and management philosophy between
those dealers who were felt to be operating well—run auto-
mobile agencies and those who were not.

But while we did not elect to investigate this
aspect of the automotive retailer, and doubt that we would
have learned much had we attempted to do so, nevertheless we

should like to point out that it is an approach that still

97

can be taken by anyone interested in conducting his own
research in this area, and who is willing to develop a
matched-sample of "effective" and "ineffective" dealers,

and to undertake the challenge of not only soliciting the
personal background information that we have collected, but
the necessary operating data of all the agencies involved in
the survey as well.

While throughout this study we have been talking
about dealers who both own and operate their own dealerships,
there are also autombile agencies to be found in many of
our large metropolitan areas which are owned by the major
automotive manufacturers, and are operated by men whom they
have appointed as managers. Since such individuals do not
fall within the scope of being considered entrepreneurs, as
we have found the term to be defined by most of the authors
whose works on entrepreneurship we have considered in Chap—
ter 2, and since these factory-appointed managers are not,
to the best of our knowledge, numerous, we made no effort to
include such persons in our sample, and to draw comparisons
between the data supplied by them, and by those entrepreneur-
ially-inspired automotive retailers who were considered in
our study. But, of course, this too could be done by anyone
wishing to undertake further research in this area, and it
seems plausible to suggest that the results of such a study
could well be of interest.

But perhaps what is of most concern to us is that

with regard to the men we did consider, we somehow failed to

98

discern exactly why it was that each, at a given moment in
time, suddenly decided to strike out as the head of his own
dealership. As we have noted in Chapter 4, there were a good
number of men in our sample who made this move from the
position of general sales manager or general manager of some-
one else's agency. While it is true that a few of these
individuals were prompted to take the action of setting out
on their own because of encouragement by the dealers for
whom they were then working, and/or because they had learned
of an opportunity to acquire control of an existing agency
on terms that they considered too good to ignore, there still
remains the question of why they and the other dealers in our
final sample who left from positions of general sales manager
or general manager felt impelled to take that last, final
step into automotive retailing entrepreneurship, while other
men occupying these same dealership positions at the same
point in time, and perhaps with the same encouragement, and/or
knowledge of outside opportunities, did not elect to do so.
Had we employed personal interviews as our principal
basis for collecting our data, it seems likely to us that we
might at least have been able to do a better job of explor-
ing the dynamics of the decision process which was involved
in the movements of the men in that portion of our final
sample who did leave relatively secure and well-paid dealer-
ship positions to assume the risks and uncertainties of
owning and operating their own agencies. And this is, quite

frankly, information that we Should like to have had. But

99

how we could have gone about the simultenaous study of
dealership general sales managers and general managers who
were the contemporaries of the dealers in our final sample

at the time these latter men left the same job positions to
strike out on their own we frankly do not know. In other
words, while this would seem to us to provide a rather inter-
esting basis for research in the area of automotive retailing
entrepreneurship, the difficulties involved in developing an
appropriate matched-sample for such a study would appear to
us, at least, to be formidable.

Well, while there are obviously other omissions in
the data we have collected which we might examine here, it
would seem to us that we already have considered the ones
which we feel to be most significant. And thus it now only
remains for us to end this report with a final concluding

comment.

Concluding Comment

One has only to conduct a study of this character to
appreciate how very important it is to have respondents who
are willing to co-operate fully in whatever is required to
carry out their role in one's research. We have indeed been
fortunate to have enjoyed that kind of co-operation from
each of the fifty-four franchised domestic new car dealers
who together have comprised the final sample examined in
this report, and we can well appreciate how it is that offi-
cials of both the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association and

the Detroit Automobile Dealers Association were prompted to

100

recommend these men to us, on the basis of our request for
the names of association members who were, in their judg-
ment, to be considered among the best in Michigan automotive
retailing. We have found their story to be an intriguing
one, and should like to believe that it has helped to
provide a worthwhile insight into yet another fascinating

aspect of American entrepreneurship.

NOTES

NOTES

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION

lNational Automobile Dealers Association, The Franchised
New Car and Truck Story (1971 ed.; Washington: National
Automobile Dealers Association, 1971). p. 29.

2Automotive News, Automotive News 1971 Almanac (35th ed.,

Detroit: Slocum Publishing Company, 1971), p. 22.
National Automobile Dealers Association, op. cit., p. 11.
Ibid., p. 38, p. 36.

Ibid., p. 11.

Ibid.’ p. 300

\lChU'lubU

Ibid., p. 34.

8Automotive News, op. cit., p. 22.

9National Automobile Dealers Association, op. cit., p. 38.

10Ibid., p. 36.

Chapter 2 REVIEW OF RELATED RESEARCH

1Orvis F. Collins and David G. Moore, The Enterprising

Man, MSU Business Studies (East Lansing: Bureau
of Business and Economic Research, Michigan State
Ibid., p. 23.
Ibid., p. 67.
Ibid., p. 98.

Ibid., p. 104.

O‘UlobUJN

Ibid., p. 129.

7Ibid., p. 163.

81bid., p. 195.

101

102

9Norman R. Smith, The Entrepreneur and His Firm: The

Relationship Between Type of Man and Type of Company,
Occasional Paper (East Lansing: Bureau of Business
and Economic Research, Michigan State University,
1967), p. 2.

loIbid., p. 6.
llJohn L. Komives, "Some Characteristics of Selected
Entrepreneurs" (unpublished Doctor's dissertation,
Michigan State University, 1965), p. 8. .
12Neil G. Soslow, "A Comparison of the Origins and
Orientations of True Entrepreneurs, Other Owners,
and Business Hierarchs" (unpublished Doctor's
dissertation, Michigan State University, 1966),
p. 2.

lBIbido’ pp. 8-90

14Ibid., p. 159.

15Lewis E. Davis, Characteristics of Small Business
Founders in Texas and Georgia (Athens: Bureau of
Business Research, University of Georgia, 1963),
p. 41.

16Ibid., p. 41.

17Ibid., p. 41.

lBIbid., p. 50.

19Ibid., p. 79.

20Ibid., p. 75.

21William M. Hoad and Peter Rosko, Management Factors
Contributing to the Success or Failure of New Small
Manufacturers, Michigan Business Reports, No. 44
(Ann Arbor: Bureau of Business Research, University
of Michigan, 1964), p. v.

22Ibid., p. v.

231bid., p. 8.

24Ibid., p. 9.
25Kenneth Lawyer, Small Business Success: Operating
and Executive Characteristics (Cleveland: Bureau

of Business Research, Western Reserve University,
1963), pp. 3-40

103

26This is not a direct quote, but rather, a synopsis

of conclusions developed throughout pages 151-156
of Dr. Lawyer's study.
27S. William Linko, "Entrepreneurial Success Factors"
(unpublished Master's dissertation, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 1966), p. 46.
28Harry Schrage, ”The R&D Entrepreneur: Personality
and Profitability" (unpublished Master's dis-
sertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
1965), p. 2.

29Ibid., p. 44.

30Ibid., p. 49.

LIST OF REFERENCES

LIST OF REFERENCES

Automotive News 1971 Almanac. 35th ed.

Automotive News.
Detroit: Slocum Publishing Company, 1971.
"Relationship of Executive

Coleman, Raymond J.
Characteristics and Growth Factors of Kansas Farm
Equipment Manufacturers." Unpublished Doctor's

dissertation, University of Arkansas, 1967.
The Enterprising

Collins, Orvis F., and David G. Moore.
East Lansing: Bureau

Man. MSU Business Studies.
of Business and Economic Research, Michigan State

University, 1964.
Davis, Lewis E. Characteristics of Small Business

Founders in Texas and Georgia. Athens: Bureau of

Business Research, University of Georgia, 1963.
Management Factors

Hoad, William M., and Peter Rosko.
Contributing to the Success or Failure of New Small
Manufacturers. Michigan Business Reports, No. 44.
Ann Arbor: Bureau of Business Research, University
of Michigan, 1964.

"Some Characteristics of Selected

Komives, John L.
Unpublished Doctor's dissertation,

Entrepreneurs."
Michigan State University, 1965.
Kenneth. Small Business Success: Operating and

Bureau of

Lawyer,
Executive Characteristics. Cleveland:
Business Research, Western Reserve University, 1963.

Linko, S. William. "Entrepreneurial Success Factors."
Unpublished Master's dissertation, Massachusetts

Institute of Technology, 1966.
The Franchised

National Automobile Dealers Association.
1971 ed. Washington:

New Car and Truck Story.
National Automobile Dealers Association, 1971.

Schrage, Harry. "The R&D Entrepreneur: Personality and
Profitability." Unpublished Master's dissertation,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1965.

104

tn

105

Smith, Normal R. The Entrepreneur and His Firm: The
Relationship Between Type of Man and Type of Com—
pany. Occasional Paper. East Lansing: Bureau
of Business and Economic Research, Michigan State
University, 1967.

Soslow, Neil G. "A Comparison of the Origins and
Orientations of True Entrepreneurs, Other Owners,
and Business Hierarchs." Unpublished Doctor's
dissertation, Michigan State University, 1966.

General References

 

The Gallagher Sales Executives' Report. Sales Executive
Personal Job Analysis. New York: The Gallagher Sales
Executives' Report, Inc., 1969.

Guzzardi, Walter, Jr. The Young Executives: How and
Why Successful Managers Get Ahead. A Mentor Executive
Library Book. New York: The New American Library,
1966.

McClaine, Richard E. "Factors in Executive Promotion and
Demotion: An Empirical Study." Unpublished Doctor's
dissertation, Ohio State University, 1968.

Morgan, James, Ismail A. Sirageldin, and Nancy Baerwaldt.
Productive Americans: A Study of How Individuals
Contribute to Economic Progress. Survey Research
Monograph, No. 43. Ann Arbor: Institute for Social
Research, University of Michigan, 1966.

Sayigh, Yusif A. Entrepreneurs of Lebanon: The Role
of the Business Leader in a Developing Economy.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1962.

Appendix A

CORRESPONDENCE USED IN DATA COLLECTION

Appendix A

CORRESPONDENCE USED IN DATA COLLECTION

Contained in this appendix are reproductions of all
of the correspondence employed in our survey to solicit the
co-operation of the franchised domestic new car dealers
recommended by officers of the Michigan Automobile Dealers
Association and the Detroit Automobile Dealers Association.
Included are an advanced postcard notice of our survey, two
letters of transmittal utilized in the initial mailing of
our questionnaire, a return postcard request for our survey
results, two follow—up letters urging that questionnaires
not yet submitted be completed and mailed back to us, a
return postcard request for a replacement questionnaire,
and finally, a letter of transmittal which was attached to

those few questionnaires actually sent out as replacements.

106

107

 

 

Dear Mr. OOOOOOOOOOO:

You are one of a select number of automobile
dealers whom we are asking to participate in
a special survey.

Within the next few days you will be sent a
questionnaire from Michigan State University.
It should be easy to complete, and we assure
you that your answers will be of great value
to our study.

I hope that we may count on your cooperation.

S. W. Swanson
Survey Director

 

(POSTCARD)

 

108

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY EAST LANSING - MICHIGAN 43323

 

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
DEPAITKBNT OF MARKETING AND TRANSPORTATION ADMINISTRATION ° EPPLEY CENTER

June 17, 1970

Dear Mr. . ....... ...:

Certainly no one is in a better position than yourself to

appreciate the many trials and tribulations which confront
the aspiring automobile dealer--both in reaching his goal

of becoming an important member of the business community,
and in thereafter surviving as a dealer in today's highly

competitive and frequently unpredictable automotive retail
market. But have you noticed what little appreciation the
public apparently has of this-—of everything that has been
entailed in the experience of you and men like yourself as
you have sought first to achieve, and then to perform, the
significant role which you now play in our economy?

We have, and we should like to do our bit to remedy this.
What we propose is a study of the personal backgrounds,
career development, and outlook of a small, select group
of Michigan automobile dealers. Specifically, we should
like to determine what some of the factors were in your
early experience that ultimately enabled you to shoulder
the considerable responsibility of owning and operating
your own automotive enterprise. We also should like to
know how you view your job today, and how you feel about
some of the major aspects of our society at the present
time. And lastly, without being too personal, we should
like to learn a little about how you utilize some of the
time which you spend outside of your business, when you
are free from the many demands of your work.

By providing us with this information, you will be aiding
us in our effort to determine just what some of the human
variables are that go into the making of the contemporary
automobile dealer and successful small businessman. And
you can do so with our assurance that any testimony which
you provide will in no way be identified with you.

109

Thank you much for taking time to consider our invitation
to participate in what we do believe should prove to be a
most interesting and worthwhile effort. And one which we
hope will assist others to appreciate better just what it
takes in terms of personal effort and sacrifice to become
an automobile dealer. We sincerely hope you will wish to
join us in this task, and that at some point in the next
several days you will spend the time required to complete
and mail your questionnaire.

Sincerely,

Donald A. Taylor
Chairman
Department of Marketing

P.S. Should you wish to receive a summary of our survey
results, simply sign the enclosed postcard and return it
to us (being careful to keep it separate from your ques-
tionnaire).

For answers to any questions you might have in regard to
the survey itself, please feel free to call Mr. Stoakley
Swanson, the project's director, at: (517) 355-2240.

cm L. "All?
Executive Vice President

CHUCK AMEN
Corr CW

CHARLES IARRETI’
Port Huron

WAR! “SON
Stanton
JRRRY IIELIIRLD
Detroit

C. C. CARDIN. SR.
Honirtee

NERO CHARNOCK
Doorborn

IUD CLASSON
Adrien

DALI DIOR
Fremont

NERMAN DIWMAR
Potorkov

10M OREISIACN
Detroit

CHILVON DRYsoAL!
DetroR

NRRI ESTES
Ann Arbor

ILMRR PEIL
Hakeem:

RIC! rowm
Charlotte

VIOOR E. GEORGE
Flint

HARVEY GREENE
Livonia

ROIRR! ORERNINO
Aline

JACK HUTCNINSON
but! Oak

NAIF? KELEL
Dom!

RAUL KRRNRN
tthooo

STAN WEN
m0”

CUR"! "ML
Iron River

JRRRY MY
Ito-roe

DAN WALD
Clerc

LADD MAY
Tour Cb.

DICK WALD
NM
WARREN MITCHELL
Ht. Clement

macaw
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Feudal:

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Catalina

DON RUTI'LR
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JOHN IARRRR
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IIIIIDII

. 10M PLOWMAN
IO Contention Chairman - Flint

 

.110

TELEPHONE 351-7800 0 1500 KENDALE BLVD. ° P. 0. BOX 208, EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN 48823

Dear OOOOIOCOOOOOOOO:

I am writing to you personally to urge your participation
in a study of a small number of Lower Michigan automobile
dealers now being inaugurated under the supervision of
Mr. Stoakley Swanson, who is affiliated with the Graduate
School of Business at Michigan State University. This
study will endeavor to develop a better insight into just
who automobile dealers are, and why they chose ultimately
to become automobile dealers. It is being undertaken as
an instance of impartial, academic research, and as such,
promises to be free of any preconceived viewpoint.

The questionnaire upon which Mr. Swanson's analysis will
be based is an extensive one, and may require as much as
one or more hours of your time to complete. This is a
lot to ask of you, I realize; however, I believe that by
taking that much time to fulfill your role in this study,
you not only will be making a very vital contribution to
the successful completion of Mr. Swanson's research, but
to the enhancement of our profession as well.

In closing, let me again note that you are one of only a
few select Michigan dealers whom we have recommended to

Mr. Swanson for his survey. It is essential, therefore,
that you participate in this undertaking if you possibly
can do so, for your cooperation is needed if Mr. Swanson
is to complete his work successfully.

Sincerely,
Max Curtis
Presrdent
MAX CURTIS HAROLD LAIYAK NORM MEROLLIS
Prert'dent o Lansing Chairman Group IV - Ontonaaon Executive Committee - Brut Detroit
R. DALE BERGER GENE HAMILTON ROY EGLINGTON
Ist Vice President - Grand Rapids Chairman Group V - “’arrr-n Ererutt’t'c Committee - Ann Arbor
M. MONYE WRAY PHIL GORDON REED DIAPER
2nd Vice President - Bay City Secretary-Treasurer - Lansing NADA Director ' Saginaw
KENNETH KRUM AL MIKULICH CHARLES DALGLEISH
Chairman Group I ' Vickrhurg Au't. Secretory-Tremurrr - Lansing NADA Director - Detroit
JOHN SCHULTZ HAROLD PHIL? ROLAND RINKE

Chairman Group II - Alpena Asr't Secretary-Truman - Lansing DADA President ' Warren

M...- - LIAAHO- pug-I -0 In All! IAMQI 0A.!

111

 

 

Dear Mr. Swanson:

Please do send me a summary of your survey
results once your research has been completed.

Sincerely,

 

(POSTCARD)

 

112

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY EAST more - MICHIGAN 43323

 

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
DEPARTKENT OF MARKETING AND TRANSPORTATION ADMINISTRATION - EPPLEY CENTER

June 30, 1970

Dear Mr. ...........:

A short time ago we mailed you two questionnaires
inquiring about various aspects of your career as
an automotive retailer. Should you already have
filled out and returned these forms, we thank you
for the very substantial help that you have given
us.

But if you have not yet taken the time to tend to
this matter, we urge you to do so just as soon as
possible, for your cooperation is essential if we
are to be effective in this survey.

Sincerely,

S. W. Swanson
Survey Director

P.S. Should you need a new set of questionnaires,
simply sign the enclosed postcard and drop it in
the mail to us.

113

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY EAST LANSING . MICHIGAN 48323

 

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING AND TRANSPORTATION ADMINISTRATION - EPPLEY CENTER

July 20, 1970

Returns from our survey of Michigan automobile dealers
are now being processed, and a preliminary analysis of
the data suggests the likelihood of a most interesting
and worthwhile report. Nevertheless, more returns are
still needed; and since we have kept replies anonymous,
it has been necessary to contact both those of you who
have already responded to our earlier appeal and those
of you who have not.

If you are one of the former, we thank you once again
for being of such great help. If you are not, please
rest assured that we shall still be delighted to hear
from you, and to send you a new set of questionnaires,
should you be in need of replacements. Just mail the
enclosed postcard back to me, and I shall ensure that
your request receives our immediate attention.

Here is hoping that we may soon be hearing from those
of you who have not yet had time to be in touch with
us, and that you will gain much personal satisfaction
from the important contribution you will be making to
our project, and to your own profession.

Sincerely,

S. W. Swanson
Survey Director

114

 

 

Dear Mr . Swanson :
Do send me another set of questionnaires,

and I'll return them to you just as soon as
I've had time to fill them out.

Sincerely,

 

(POSTCARD)

 

115

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY EAST LANSING - MICHIGAN 48823

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING AND TRANSPORTATION ADMINISTRATION ° EPPLEY CENTER

July 3, 1970

Dear Mr. ...OOOOOOOO:

Here is the additional set of questionnaires that you
requested. We are grateful to you for taking time to
help us with our research.

Sincerely,

S. W. Swanson

Appendix B

REPRINT OF QUESTIONNAIRE

Appendix B

REPRINT OF QUESTIONNAIRE

Reprinted in this appendix are the Multiple-Choice
Inventory for Automobile Dealers and the Career Development
Profile which together constituted the questionnaire sent
to each of the Michigan franchised domestic new car dealers
whose participation was sought in our survey. As was noted
in Chapter 2 of this report, while the original edition of
our Inventory was printed on light-yellow stock, and the
Profile, on eye-ease green, nevertheless, the versions of
these two forms which are represented here have been repro-
duced instead on 100% cotton fiber, white typing paper, in
order to comply with Michigan State University dissertation

binding requirements.

116

117

Questionnaire Acknowledgments

The author wishes to express his appreciation for permission
to adapt and employ in his own Multiple-Choice Inventory
for Automobile Dealers and Career Development Profile items

which earlier appeared in questionnaires reproduced in:

"A Comparison of the Origins and Orientations of True Entre-
preneurs, Other Owners, and Business Hierarchs," by Neil G.
Soslow. Unpublished Doctor's dissertation, Michigan State
University, 1966. Items adapted for use with the permission
of Dr. Soslow.

Entrepreneurs of Lebanon: The Role of the Business Leader
in a Developing Economy, by Yusif A. Sayigh. Copyright,
1962, by the President and Fellows of Harvard University.
Items adapted for use with the permission of Harvard
University Press.

"Factors in Executive Promotion and Demotion: An Empirical
Study," by Richard E. McClaine. Unpublished Doctor's
dissertation, Ohio State University. Copyright, 1961, by
Richard Earl McClaine. Items adapted for use with the per-
mission of Dr. McClaine.

Productive Americans: A Study of How Individuals Contribute
to Economic Progress, by James Morgan, Ismail A. Sirageldin,
and Nancy Baerwaldt. Copyright, 1966, by The University of
Michigan. Items adapted for use with the permission of the
Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan.

“Relationship of Executive Characteristics and Growth Fac-
tors of Kansas Farm Equipment Manufacturers,“ by Richard J.
Coleman. Unpublished Doctor's dissertation, University of
Arkansas, 1967. Items adapted for use with the permission
of Dr. Coleman.

Sales Executive Personal Job Analysis, by The Gallagher
Sales Executives' Report, Inc. Copyright, 1969, by The
Gallagher Sales Executives' Report, Inc. Items adapted
for use with the permission of The Gallagher Sales
Executives' Report, Inc.

118

The Young Executives: How and Why Successful Managers Get
Ahead, by Walter Guzzardi, Jr. Copyright, 1964, 1965, by
Time Inc. Items adapted for use with the permission of
The New American Library, Inc.

MULTIPLE-CHOICE INVENTORY

FOR AUTOMOBILE DEALERS

(Self-Administered)

CONFIDENTIAL

(Please do not sign your name
to any part of the inventory.)

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING INVENTORY

All but three of the inquiries recorded below may be answered by
placing an “X” beside the response which you think affords the best
reply to the question at hand (in certain instances. more than one
response may be permitted, with this fact being noted in the wording
of the questions themselves). The three exceptions ask instead that
you rank in order of significance as many of the responses as you
determine are relevant to the questions posed.

There are no inappropriate answers to any of the questions in this
survey. For this reason, you should feel free to choose any response
which you believe does the best job of depicting the answer most
suitable for you. For this same reason. you should try to avoid
spending too much time on any single item since the first answer that
you select will very often be the one which comes closest to
representing the position that you wish to take.

In order to provide the basis for a complete portrayal of the
contemporary automobile dealer. we have found it necessary to ask
you for background information that you may view as being
personal. Rest assured that your answers will be regarded as
confidential, and that any report made of the results of this survey
will present the data in summary form only. In short. there will be
no way in which your individual comments can be identified. or
traced back to you.

We appreciate your taking time to complete this inventory for us.

)UT YOUR BUSINESS LIFE AND OUTLOOK . . .

What is the single most important source of satisfaction
to you in your role as an automobile dealer?

A. The feeling of independence which I derive from
managing my own enterprise

B. The sense of satisfaction that I receive from doing
the kinds of things I do

C. The challenge which I experience in trying to devise
more efficient ways of operating my business

D. The economic rewards and financial security that I
obtain from being in my line of work

E. Other: ___

 

 

(please specify)

What is the single most important source of
dissatisfaction to you in your role as an automobile
dealer?

A. The many risks which I must run in order to compete
in the automobile business successfully

B. The hectic routines and lack of time for reflection
which seem to characterize my typical working day

C. The difficulty in maintaining a level of profit
commensurate with the extent of my managerial
effort, and of the capital which I have invested in my
dealership

D. The many demands which are made of me by all of
the different “publics” with whom I come in contact

E. Other:

 

 

(please specify)

Please indicate which one of the following best applies
to your own particular situation.

A. I work hard, but I also make certain that I have time
remaining for my family—even though this may
conflict with the demands of my business

B. I work hard, but I make certain too that I have at
least some time remaining for my family-and I
cannot see that this interferes that much with the
demands of my business

C. I work hard—to the point, even. of not always having
enough time to spend with my family

D. I have no family

Which one of the following best describes yourjob?

A. It’s exhausting

B. It’s tiring most of the time

C. It’s sometimes tiring

D. It’s rarely tiring

E. It’s not at all tiring

In which one of the following do you feel that an
automobile dealer should normally take the greatest
personal interest?

A. Sales strategy

B. Customer credit policy

C. Customer cultivation and retention

D. Management development and motivation

E. Operations planning

F. Financial analysis and control

C. Community and public relations

With which one of the following areas of dealership
operations are you most familiar?

A. New car sales

B. Truck sales

Used vehicle management ’

. Parts management

Service management

Leasing

Dealership accounting

.Iornrnoo

Business management

Which is normally more important to you: to keep
operations in your dealership running smoothly, or to
enjoy an opportunity to try new approaches to your
work?

A. I normally prefer to keep things running smoothly

B. Within reason, I usually prefer a chance to try new
approaches to my work

In making business decisions, which one of the following
is more typical of your technique?

A. I usually try to proceed on the basis of a thorough
and dispassionate analysis of the empirical data
available to me

B. While I am not averse to using data. I often prefer to
rely as much, or more. on my own intuitive “feel"
for a given situation

Please rank in order of significance as many of the
following as you think are indicative of automobile
dealer success. (let 1 = most important, 2 = second most
important, and so on.)

A. Dealership regarded as a fine place of employment.
with top-rate compensation. training. and
development programs

B. A large volume of dealership sales

C. Solid record of dealer participation in community
servrce activities

D. A suitable level of dealership profit

E. Dealership renown for excellence of service

F. Survival of dealership assured

G. Dealer viewed as honest, sincere. and hard—working

member of local business group

Which one of the following do you feel to be most
important in determining whether or not a given
individual will be successful as an automobile dealer?

A. General intelligence

B. Interest

Personality

. Formal education

Training (other than academic)

Experience

armor?

. Other:

 

(please specify)
On the average, about how much formal education
would you say that your job requires?

A. Less than high school. provided the man has the
necessary native ability

B. Some high school, at least

C. Some form of business training beyond high school,
but not necessarily at a college

D. Some college
Ii. Completion of a four-year college program

‘vanced or professional college degree

14.

In regard to your own dealership personnel, which one
of the following do you believe to be the personal
quality most necessary for advancement?

. Good moral character

Good intellectual capacity

Pleasing personality

. Aggressiveness

Willingness to accept responsibility

Ability to get along with others

ornrncosw>

. Other:

 

(please specify)

Please number in order of importance as many of the
following as influenced your original choice to become
an automobile dealer. (Let 1 = most important. 2= r
second in importance, and so on.)
A. A natural interest in cars

B. Urging by others

C. A desire to be independent

D

.The chance to assume control of an established
dealership

ET}

The promise of a good financial return
F. A need for responsibility, and for professional status

G.A determination to
experience

capitalize on related job

H. Other:

 

 

(please specify)
If you were to choose afresh a new career. would you
again elect to become an automobile dealer?
A. Yes. I would
B. No. I would not
C. I am not certain
On the average. about how many hours do you work at
your job each week?
A. Less than 20 hours

B. 20 - 34 hours

"2

. 35 — 40 hours
. 4| - 48 hours

49 - 59 hours

71:10

60 hours or more

Do you ever work at your job while at home?

A. Yes, frequently and hard

B. Yes, frequently but not too intensively

C. Yes, from tirne-to-time

D. Yes, but only on very rare occasions

E. No. never

Overall, which one of the following best describes your
normal work behavior?

A. I work best on a regular schedule

B. I work best under pressure

C. I work best when I am in the mood to do so

Which one of the following best describes the
circumstances under which you first obtained possession
of your present dealership?

A. .I started my dealership from scratch

B. I inherited (was given) my dealership from (by) a
relative or friend

C. I purchased my dealership from a relative at a time
when it was already a well-run operation

D. I bought my dealership from a non-relative at a time
when it was already a well-run operation

E. I purchased my dealership from a relative and then
reorganized the operation after assuming control

F. I bought my dealership from a non-relative and then
reorganized the operation after assuming control

C. Other:

 

 

(please specify)
How did you raise the capital for your original
investment in your dealership? (Indicate one or more.)
A. From my own existing resources
By borrowing from relatives
By borrowing from other private individuals

. By borrowing from financial institutions

{”0090

Through funds
manufacturer

provided by the automobile

3""

Through sale of subscription stock

C. Other:

 

 

(please specify)

H. I inherited (was given) my dealership from (by) a
relative or friend

If some or all of your original capital investment in your
dealership came from your own personal resources, what
was the origin of these resources? (Indicate one or
more.)

A. Profits or earnings from other work

. Gift of money from parents or other living relatives
. Money inherited from parents or other relatives

. Sale of self-acquired property

mums:

. Sale of property acquired as gift from parents or
other living relatives

F. Sale of property inherited from parents or other
relatives

C. Other:

 

 

(please specify)

H. None of my original capital came from my own
personal resources

I. I inherited (was given) my dealership from (by) a
relative or friend

Do you feel it feasible for any automobile agency to
have as its head a man who does not control a portion of
its capital?

A. Yes, I do

B. No, I do not

C. I am not certain

Compared to other major U.S. manufacturing industries,
do you consider the automobile industry to be more or
less dynamic?

A. Much less dynamic

Somewhat less dynamic

About the same

Somewhat more dynamic

F1953!”

Much more dynamic

Compared to other automobile agencies in your area,
how does your dealership compare as to implementation
of new operating procedures or selling strategies during
the past five years?

A. Much less active

Somewhat less active

About the same

Somewhat more active

$179.09”

Much more active

24.

36.

What is your own feeling about the importance of your
dealership’s increasing its share of local market for new
car sales throughout the next five years?

A. I regard this as being very important

B. I regard this as being important: but no more so than
the attaining of other dealership objectives which I
have in mind

C. I do not consider this to be as vital as the realization
of other important dealership goals

D. Our present dealership position is such that I do not
believe this to be important at all

E. Our local competitive situation being what it is. I
doubt there is really much we could do to improve
our share of new car sales throughout the next few
years, however much that we might wish to do so

Please rank in order of significance as many of the
following as you think are important in determining
what the size and capacity of a new automobile
dealership should be. (Let I = most important, 2 =
second in importance, and so on.)

A. Availability of capital
B. Size of local automobile market

C. Obtainability of skilled
administrative personnel

sales. service. and

D. Extent of prime land area open for dealership
development
E. Popularity of make of car to be represented

F. Recommendation of manufacturer as to what seems
best for local situation

G. Capacity of manufacturer’s area sales representative
to render sound guidance and support

H. Limit of a dealer’s ability to manage a given scale of

agency operations

I. Other:

 

 

(please specify)

If you were to decide to enlarge or modernize your own
existing automobile agency. which of the following
would you prefer as your source of expansion capital?
(Indicate one or more.)

A. Retained earnings of dealership

. Personal savings

C. Present partners or shareholders

D. New partners or shareholders

E. Manufacturer’s development funds

F. Loans from banks

G. Loans from others

2‘).

What is your impression of the manner in which
managerial and executive promotions are won in the.
divisional and corporate headquarters of the automobile
manufacturer with whom you are affiliated?

A. Advancement there is a real cut-throat struggle

B. It is a highly competitive process, to the point.’
perhaps. of being detrimental to the best interests of
both the company and its dealers

C. It is a highly competitive process, but I can see no
evidence that it is in any way detrimental to the best
interests of the company and its dealers

D.I really do not see it as being all that

competitive—stories to that effect are. I suspect.
greatly exaggerated

In your view. do promotions in the field sales
organization of the automobile division whose cars you
sell normally go to the men who best deserve them?

A. Almost always

B. More frequently than not

A

‘. Sometimes

D. Rarely

E. Almost never

Which one of the following would you most prefer that
your son (or heir) did for a living? (Please answer even it
he is now settled into some line of work, or ifyou have
no son or heir for whom the question seems
appropriate.)

A. I should like him to be an automobile dealer

B. I should like to see him work for one of the big three
automobile companies

C. I should like to see him work for one of the many
other corporations in the automotive industry

D. I should like him to go into business for himself in an
area related to the automotive industry

E. I should like him to work for one of the major U.S.
corporations, but not in the automotive industry

F. I should like him to go into business for himself in
some area unrelated to the automotive industry

G. I should like him to enter into one of the professions

H.I should like him to enter into some form or

government service
I. I should like him to teach

I. Other:

 

(please specify)

 

CONCERNING YOUR OUTSIDE ACTIVITIES . . .

I.

I.)

How many evenings each week do you usually go out for
your personal enjoyment?

A. Less than one evening each week
B. One '
C. Two
D. Three

E. Four or more

How often do you get together socially with friends?

A. Once or twice each week

B. Once or twice each month

C. A few times each year

D. I almost never spend time socially with friends

How well do you like to be with other people in a social
setting?

A. I enjoy being with other people, and rarely like to be
alone

B. I enjoy being with other people at times, but at other
times I prefer to engage in individual activities

C. I usually enjoy being with other people; however, I
prefer to be by myself most of the time

D. I prefer individual activities, and only occasionally
enjoy being with other people

Which of these social groups do you prefer?

A. People younger than myself

B. People of the same age as myself

C. People older than myself

D. Groups of mixed ages

E. No preference

Where do you and your friends most often get together?
A. At my home

B. At a friend’s home

C. At a private club

D

. At a theater, restaurant, night club, or other public
place

E. Other:

 

 

(please specify)

As a conversationalist at social affairs, how do you rank?
A. At the top

B. Above average

C. Average

D. Below average

In which cf the following groups of organizations have
you been most active?

A. Athletic. social, and recreational clubs (golf, tennis,
bowling, bridge. photography, etc.)

B. Fraternal and ethical societies (Elks, Masons, Knights
of Columbus, etc.)

C. Service organizations (Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, etc.)
D. Business and professional organizations (National
Automobile Dealers Association, Sales and Marketing

Executives-International, American Marketing
Association, etc.)

Altogether, to how many of these various organizations
do you presently belong? (Include any group which
meets regularly and has a definite membership.)

A. None

B. One

C. Two or three

D. Four to six

E. Seven or more

Please indicate if, during the past twelve months, you
have performed volunteer work of significance for any
of the following:

A. Religious or charitable organizations

B. Youth groups

C. Cultural groups in support of the creative or
performing arts

D. Local citizens’ action groups, or
municipal, state, or federal government

programs of

E. Other:

 

 

(please specify)

F. The demands of my business preclude such volunteer
work

G. I prefer not to do volunteer work

10.

12.

If you did perform volunteer work during the past
twelve months, how much of your time, altogether, did
this require?
A. 40 hours or less
B. 41 - 120 hours
C. _121 - 240 hours
D. 241 hours or more
B. I did no volunteer work
To which one of the following do you look forward
most in your leisure time activities?
A. A chance to rest and relax
. A chance to putter around

B
C. A chance to be with other people
D

. A chance to be outdoors, or to be in other ways
active

E. A chance to be alone with my thoughts

In' what recreational activities do you take part?
(Indicate as many as you feel are applicable.)

A. Active sports or other athletic endeavors

B. Games or nonathletic events

C. Hobbies

D. Spectator sports

E. I do not take part in any hobbies, games, or sports
Which one of the following do you enjoy most about
these recreational activities?

A. The challenge which they afford me

B. The opportunity which they provide for socializing
with my friends

C. The excitement which I feel while pursuing them

D. The relaxation which I experience while engaged in
them

E. The outlet which they afford for being creative

F. They keep me :busy, and thus help to occupy my
leisuretirne

G. Ido not take part in any hobbies, games, or sports

How important is it to you to keep improving your I
performance in your recreational activities?

A. Very important
Important
Somewhat important
. Not very important
Not at all important

I am active only as a spectator

ornrnoosw

. I do not take part in any hobbies, games, or sports

When did you last take a vacation?
. 6 months ago or more recently

. 7 - 12 months ago

A

B

C. 2 - 3 years ago

D. 4 - 5 years ago
E. 6 years ago or longer
F

. I do not take vacations

How many weeks of vacation did you take at that time?
. Less than one used:

One

Two

. Three

Four

Five or more

Dresses.

. I do not take vacations

How do you normally prefer to spend your vacations?

A. Out in the countryside, camping, hunting, skiing. or
just sightseeing

B. Near the water, swimming, fishing, and boating

C. At well known resorts, or on foreign tours and ocean
cruises

D. At home in the garden, or working with other
hobbies

E. Other:

 

(please specify)

F. I do not take vacations

Do you usually prefer to take several short vacations
each year, or one long one?

A. I usually prefer several short vacations

B. As a rule, I prefer one long vacation

C. I do not take vacations

About how many books, unrelated to your business,
have you read during the past twelve months?

A. None

B. One

C. Two to three

D. Four to six

E. Seven or more

A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR EARLY JOB EXPERIENCE . . .

I.

As you recall, at what age did you first start working
regularly on a job for money (not including work
performed for your family within the household)?

A. When I was fourteen years of age or younger

B. When I was fifteen years of age

C. When I was sixteen years of age

D. When I was seventeen years of age

E. When I was eighteen years of age or older

Through what means did you secure your first formal
career job?

A. Through an interview at college

B. Through an employment agency

C. Through the influence of an employee of the
company by whom I was hired

D. As a result of my own job campaign

E. Other:

 

 

(please specify)

At what level

experience?

did you’begin your formal work

A. Farm worker

UnskiIIed or semiskilled worker
Skilled worker

. Clerical, sales, or service employee
Lower ranks of management
Middle ranks of management

. Top management

FOWF’TUCW

Craftsman

I. Self-employed businessman

J. Semiprofessional or skilled technical employee
K. Professional

L. Other:

 

(please specify)

Throughout your formal work experience, have you held
a number of different kinds of jobs, or have you mostly
worked within one given career field?

A. I have held a number of different kinds of jobs

B. I have held a number of different jobs. but mostly
within one given career field

C. For the most part, I have held a fewjobs within one
given career field

During your first years of employment, which one of the
following was most frequently of greatest importance to
you whenever you changed employers?

A. There was no real opportunity for promotion in my
old job, and I saw a chance to move ahead faster
somewhere else

B. I moved because I could obtain more money by
doing so, as well as a more promising future

C. The situation from which I departed had become
untenable, and I felt that I ought to make a change

D. I felt that my new job would prove more challenging,
and that it would better utilize my skills

E. I felt that I had several strikes against me in my old
job, and I wanted a fresh start

F. This really does not apply to my own case, due to
extended self-employment, or to the fact that I did
not shift employers during my first years of
employment

Since your first regular job, how many times have you
been out of work for one month or more at one time?

A. Never

B. Once

C. Twice

D. Three times

E. Four or more times

Since you first began working, in how many different
states or countries have you resided? (Please exclude any
periods of military service.)

. Just the one in which I started

Two

Three

. Four

Five

writings»

Six or more

With reference to the city in which you spent most of

your childhood, where do you work today?
A. I work in the same city in which I was brought up
B. I work in the same state in which I was brought up

C. I work in another state, but I am still within 200
miles of the city in which I was brought up

D. I work in another state, at a distance of more than
200 miles from the city in which I was brought up

WITH REFERENCE TO YOUR FORMAL EDUCATION . . .

I.

How much formal schooling did you complete?
. O - 5 grades

6 - 8 grades

Some high school

. High school graduate

Some college

mmcosw>

College graduate

p

Post graduate study

II. Master’s degree

Post master‘s study
.I. Doctorate

K. Professional degree (M.D., D.D.S., LL.B.. etc.)

 

When you were a child, did you feel that you received
adequate recognition from your teachers for your work
in school?

A. Almost always

Usually, but not always

Yes, in a moderate way

. Sometimes, but not usually

macaw

Almost never

While you were in junior high school, from which one of
the following areas of activity did you derive the greatest
satisfaction?

A. Baseball, football, basketball, swimming

Fishing, hunting, hiking, camping

Reading, handicrafts, stamp collecting

. Constructing or dismantling things

@0990

Other:

 

(please specify)
F. I did not attend junior high school

During your teens, within which one of these major
subject areas did you concentrate your studies while in
school?

A. Agriculture

B. Trade or industrial arts

C. Business or commerce

D. Academic or college preparatory

E. Fine arts or music

F. I did not attend school during my teenage years

How many times did you change school before you were
sixteen years of age, other than by graduation?

A. Never
B. Once or twice
C. Three to five times

D. Six or more times

How difficult was high school work for you?
A. Quite easy
Fairly easy
Sometimes easy, sometimes difficult
. Fairly difficult

Quite difficult

rare-DOW

I did not attend high school

In high school, where did you rank scholastically among
your classmates?

. Distinctly above average
Above average

Average

. Slightly below average

Distinctly below average

mwcow>

I did not attend high school

While you were in high school, from which one of the
following areas of activity did you derive the greatest
satisfaction?

A. Participating in, or attending, organized high school
sporting events

B. Socializing with friends—dancing, dating, etc.

C. Participating in organized school activities, such as
band, dramatics, student government

D. Achieving academic success and recognition

E. Working part-time after school to gain experience,
and to help defray personal expenses

F. I did not attend high school

How often did the thought of quitting high school occur
to you?

A. Frequently

B. Occasionally

"3

. Seldom
. Rarely
Never

1 did quit high school

0:11.515

. I did not attend high school

How did your high school teachers generally regard you?
A. As able to accomplish things with ease

B. As a hard worker

C. As having a highly developed interest in certain
courses

D. As being uninterested in schoolrsubjects

E. I did not attend high school

How often did you experience direct and open conflict
with your high school teachers?

A. Frequently

B. Occasionally

C. Never

D. I did not attend high school

How did your parents feel about the grades which you
received in high school?

A. They were pleased with my grades

B. They were satisfied, but still felt that I probably
could do better

C. They did not complain about my grades so long as
they felt that I had done my best

D. They did not care about my grades so long as I
passed

E. They were displeased with my grades

F. They paid virtually no attention to my grades

G. I did not attend high school

How much independence do you feel your parents
allowed you while you were in high school?

A. They ruled with a very heavy hand

B. They were rather restrictive

C. They were no more or no less restrictive than the
parents of most of my friends

D. They were quite lenient
E. They allowed me almost complete freedom
F. I did not attend high school

What kind of
undergraduate?

college did you attend as an

. An Ivy League school (or its equivalent)
A men’s private liberal arts school

A co-ed, private liberal arts school

. A major state university or college

A major city university or college

A technical college

A teachers’ college or normal school

memoow>

Other:

 

(please specify)

I. I did not attend college

Which one of the following most closely represents the
enrollment at your undergraduate college at the time
you were a student there?

. Less than 500 students

500 to 999 students

1,000 to 1,499 students

. 1,500 to 4,900 students

5,000 to 9,999 students

10,000 students or more

ornrncosw>

. I did not attend college

What was your scholastic standing as a college
undergraduate student?

A. Upper 10% of my class

B. Upper 25% of my class

C. Middle 50% of my class

D. Lower 25% of my class

B. I did not attend college

While you were an undergraduate in college, how many
close friends did you make among your fellow students?
. No close personal friends

One close friend

. Two close friends

. Three close friends

. Four or more close friends

115100993’

. I did not attend college

In which one of the following were you most successful
as an undergraduate student in college?

A. Academic studies

B. Athletics

C. Fraternity, club, or other campus activities

D. Activities off campus

E. I did not attend college

22.

Which one of these areas of undergraduate study did you
enjoy most while a student in college?

A. Creative and performing arts
Humanities and social sciences
Languages

. Sciences and mathematics
Engineering

Business administration

OWWUCF’

. Other:

 

(please specify)
H. I did not attend college
Which one of the following do you feel is the most
important thing that a person should derive from
attending college today? (Please answer this even if you
yourself did not attend college.)
A. Training for a profession
B. General cultural knowledge
C. Personal maturity

D. Social polish
E. Other:

 

(please specify)
To what extent did you pay your own way in school?
(Indicate one or more.)

A. I paid most or all of my expenses while in high
school

B. I paid most or all of my expenses while in college or
trade school

C. I paid part of my expenses while in high school

D. I paid part of my expenses while in college or trade
school

E. I never worked much while I was going to school

F. I quit school before [was old enough to work

What was your general impression of the teachers under
whom you studied throughout the course of your formal
education?

A. I admired virtually all of them

I admired many of them

I admired some of them

I admired very few of them

W90!”

1 really did not admire any of them

Which one of the following best describes your current
feeling toward the formal education which you received?

A.
B.

It has proved to be very helpful in life

It has proved to be helpful for the most part

. It was interesting at the time, but it has not proved

to be very helpful since

. It was not very interesting at the time. and it has not

proved to be very helpful since

. It was a way to mark time until something better

came along

CONCERNING YOUR PARENTS, AND YOUR EARLY
CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCE . . .

Where did your father live during most of the time he
was growing up?

A.

New England States (Me., Vt., N.H., Mass, Conn.,
R.I.)

Middle Atlantic States (N.Y., Pa., NJ.)

South Atlantic States (W.Va.. Md., D.C.. Del., Va.,
NC, SC, Ga., Fla.)

. East North Central States (Wis., Mich., 111., Ind.,

Ohio)
East South Central States (Ky., Tcnn., Miss., Ala.)

West North Central States (N.Dak., S.Dak., Minn.,
Nebr., Iowa, Kans., Mo.)

. West South Central States (Tex., Okla, Ark., Ia.)

H. Mountain States (Idaho, Mont., Wyo.. Nev., Utah.

Hr

act-7s

Colo., Ariz., N.Mex.)
Pacific Coast States (Wash, Ore, Calif.)

Alaska or Hawaii

. Overseas U.S. possession

In an English-speaking foreign country

. In a non-English-speaking foreign country

In what size community did your father live throughout
most of his childhood?

A.
B.

In a big metropolitan center or one of its suburbs

In a city of 100,000 to 500,000 population

. In a city of 50.000 to 99,999 population

. In a city of l5,000 to 49,999 population

In a town of 2,500 to 14,999 population

In a rural area. or in a village of less than 2.500
population

Where did your mother live during most of the time she
was growing up?

A.

H

E???

New England States (M6,, Vt., N.H., Mass, Conn.,
R.I.)

Middle Atlantic States (N.Y., Pa., NJ.)

South Atlantic States (W.Va., Md., D.C., Del., Va.,
NC, SC, 03., Fla.)

. East North Central States (Wis, Mich., lll., lnd.,

Ohio)
East South Central States (Ky., Tenn.. Miss., Ala.)

West North Central States (N.Dak., S.Dak., Minn.,
Nebr., Iowa. Kans., Mo.)

. West South Central States (Tex., Okla., Ark., La.)

. Mountain States (Idaho, Mont., Wyo., Nev., Utah,

Colo., Ariz., N.Mex.)
Pacilic Coast States (Wash, Ore., Calif.)

Alaska or Hawaii

. Overseas U.S. possession

In an English-speaking foreign country

. In a non-English-speaking foreign country

In what size community did your mother live throughout
most of her childhood?

A.
B.
C.
I).

In a big metropolitan center or one ot its suburbs
In a city of l00,000 to 500,000 pOpulation
In a city of 50,000 to 99,999 population

In a city of 15,000 to 49,999 population

. In a town of 2,500 to 14,999 population

In a rural area, or in a village of less than 2,500
population

How much formal schooling did your father complete?

:07:

r— com»

. 0 - 5 grades

6 - 8 grades

Some high school

. High school graduate

Some college

College graduate

. Post graduate study

. Master’s degree

Post master’s study

J. Doctorate

How much formal schooling did your mother complete?
. 0- 5 grades
. 6 - 8 grades
. Some high school

A

B

C

D. High school graduate
E. Some college

F. College graduate

G. Post graduate study
H. Master’s degree

I. Post master’s study

J. Doctorate

K. Professional degree (M.D., D.D.S., LL.B.. etc.)

What was your father’s major occupation at the time of

his peak earning power?

A. Manual worker (such as construction worker.
machine operator, farm laborer, etc.)

B. Clerical (such as stock clerk, sales clerk, office
worker, etc.)

C. Semiprofessional or skilled technical (such as

draftsman, lab technician, electrician, etc.)

. Field sales (other than manager)

.mU

Lower ranks of management

"U

Middle ranks of management

. Top management

2120

. Small business proprietor or farm operator

_
O

Owner of a medium-to-large business
.I. Government or military
K. Professional, typically requiring a bachelor‘s or

master’s degree (such as teacher, engineer,
accountant, etc.)

L. Professional, typically requiring a PILD. or advanced
professional degree (such as doctor, lawyer,
professor, etc.)

M. Other: _ ____

 

 

(please specify)

o.

In general, how satisfied was your father with the
organization(s) for which he worked?

A. He was always very satisfied

B. He was satisfied most of the time
C. He was satisfied some of the time
D. He was frequently dissatisfied

E. My father was self-employed

F. Other: ____ __

 

 

(please specify)
How would you describe your mother and father as
parents?

A. They were the kind of parents that l have wanted my
children to have

B. For the most part, they were good parents, but there
are still ways in which I feel that I have been a better
parent than they

('. They were too permissive, and did not require thatl
do many of the things I should have done

D. They were too strict, and demanded too much of
their children

E. I hope I have been a better parent to my own
children than my parents were to me

How active were your parents in community affairs?

A. They were very active

B. They were moderately active

C. They were active on special occasions

D. They were seldom active

E. They were almost never active

Which one of the following was most characteristic of

your father while you were growing up?

A. He was a strict person, with strong moral convictions

B. He was a strict person, but not highly moralistic

C. He was average in strictness and moral outlook

D. He was easygoing, and flexible in his outlook

t

. He did not take much interest in his children. or in
their personal development

F. I really do not know, for my father passed amt
while I was still very young

Which one of the following was most characteristic of
your mother while you were growing up?

A. She was a rather formal sort of person

B. She was well~meaning, but overly possessive so far as
I myself was concerned

C. She was a person whose primary concern was always
the care and well-being of her family

D. She was a person whose outside interests seemed to
conflict at times with her interest in her family

E. She was somewhat moody and unpredictable

F. I really do not know for my mother passed away
while I was still very young

Who was your mother’s favorite child?

A. My brother

B. My sister

C. I was

D. My mother was impartial

E. I was an only child

F. My mother passed away while her children were all
very young

Did your parents live together all of the time that you

were growing up?

A. Yes

B. No, because they separated

C. No, because they were divorced

D. No, because one passed away

E. No, because they both passed away

During most of your childhood, with whom did you

reside?

A. With both of my parents

With my mother

With my father

. With relatives

With foster parents or non-relatives

WWUOF’

In a children’s home or institution

16.

As you recall, which one of the following describes best
the kind of upbringing which you received?

A. I was more-or—less permitted to run free

B. I enjoyed plenty of freedom, but my parents were
still very much interested in what I was doing

C. I enjoyed complete freedom at times, but at other
times I was restricted in my actions by the desires of
my parents ,

D. My parents watched everything I did, but at least
they tried to be fair about it

E. My parents’ constant supervision was a source of

concern to me, and at times it resulted in conflict
between us

For commendable behavior as a child. how were you
usually rewarded?

A. l was praised

B. I was given some kind of present

C. I was allowed a special privilege

D. I received no special recognition

E. Other:

 

(please specify)
During your late teens how often did you get into
disagreements or arguments with your parents?
A. Never
B. Rarely
C. Sometimes
D. Often
E. Practically every day
How did your parents feel about the subject of your
career?

A. They had very strong feelings and outlined what they
wanted me to do

B. They were interested and helped me to plan what I
wanted to do

C. They were interested, but they really did not
appreciate what it was I wanted to do

D. They displayed little or no interest in my career
aspirations

E. They actively opposed my doing what I wanted to do

Where did you live during most of the time you were
growing up?

A. New England States (Me., Vt., N.H., Mass, Conn.,
R.l.)

B. Middle Atlantic States (N.Y., Pa., NJ.)

C. South Atlantic States (W.Va., Md., D.C., Del., Va.,
NC, SC, Ga., Fla.)

D. East North Central States (Wis, Mich, lll., Ind.,
Ohio)

E. East South Central States (Ky., Tenn.. Miss., Ala.)

F. West North Central States (N.Dak., S.Dak., Minn.,
Nebr., Iowa, Kans, Mo.)

C. West South Central States (Tex., Okla, Ark., Ia.)

H. Mountain States (Idaho, Mont., Wyo., Nev., Utah,
Colo., Ariz., N.Mex.)

Pacific Coast States (Wash, Ore., Calif.)

H

Alaska or Hawaii
. Overseas U.S. possession

In an English-speaking foreign country

35‘7“

. In a non-English-speaking foreign country

In what size community did you live throughout most of

yourchddhood?

Ina big metropolitan center or one of its suburbs
In a city of 100,000 to 500,000 population

In a city of 50,000 to 99,999 population

In a city of 15,000 to 49,999 population

In a town of 2,500 to 14,999 population

rnrnposre

In a rural area or in a village of less than 2,500
population

In all, how many times did your family move from one
city to another during the first eighteen years of your
life?

A. Not at all

B. Once

C. Two to three times

Four to five times

rec:

Six to nine times

'T'l

. Ten or more times

How many brothers and sisters did you have?
A. One

B. Two

C. Three

. Four

Five

Taro

Six or more

(i. I was an only child
How many of your brothers and sisters were older than
you?

A. One

B. Two

C. Three

I). Four

Ii. Five

F. Six or more

G. I was the oldest child

H. I was an only child

Looking back on the days spent in your lamii;.- .
childhood home, how happy were you?

A. Very happy

B. Quite happy most of the. time

C. Neither very happy nor very unhappy

D. A little on the unhappy side

E. Very unhappy

Which one of the following statements best describes the
economic circumstances of your childhood?

A. We were impoverished most of the time

B. We were poor, but we managed somehow

C. We fluctuated between
comfortable

being poor and heir;

D. We lived comfortably most of the time

E. We were well-to-do

In what section of town did your family live longest
while you were growing up?

A. We lived in one of the most exclusive sections
B. We lived in a good section, but not the best
C. We lived in an average section

D. We lived in one of the poorer sections

E. We lived in a rural area

During your childhood, how often did you attend
church?

. Every Sunday

At least three times each month

Once or twice monthly

. On special occasions, such as Easter

Rarely

7997005373’

Never

As a youngster, how often were you a leader in group
activities?

A. Almost always

B. Frequently
C. Occasionally
D. Never
E

. As a rule, I tried to avoid membership in groups

How old were you when you first learned to swim?
A. Under ten

B. Ten to thirteen

C. Fourteen to sixteen

D. Seventeen or over

E. Inever learned to swim

As a teenager, with which one of the following age
groups did you get along best?

A. People younger than yourself

B. People slightly younger than yourself

C. People your own age

D. People slightly older than yourself

E. People considerably older than yourself

32.

At what age did you own your first automobile?
A. Sixteen or younger

B. Seventeen to nineteen

C. Twenty to twenty-four

D. Twenty-five to twenty-nine

E. Thirty or over

ON A FEW RANDOM ASPECTS OF PERSONAL OUTLOOK. . .

1.

Sometimes two people appear to possess about the same
amounts of skill and training, but one is still more
successful than the other. In your opinion, which one of
the following best accounts for this?

A. Differences in imagination, enterprise, and ingenuity
Differences in ambition, application, and persistence

Differences in intelligence, education, and experience

. Differences in personality, presence, and poise

F1009"

Differences in family background. social status. and
personal contacts

What do you think of a man who tries difficult things.
but who doesn’t always succeed at them?

A. I admire such a man for his initiative

B. I admire such a man for his persistence

C. I feel that such a man is to be more pitied than
admired

D. I disapprove of such a mart

In your opinion, of what value is luck in contributing to
a person’s financial success?

A. It is very important

It is important

It is somewhat important

It is not very important

£71.00?”

It is not at all important

Some people say that most new products are just a

means of motivating people to spend more money, while

other people suggest that they are usually improvements

over the products which they supplant. How do you

feel?

A. I believe that most new products are improvements

B. I feel that some new products are improvements, but
that others are merely a means of motivating people
to spend more money

C. I believe that most new products are merely a means
of motivating people to spend more money

Would you say that you are inclined to try new products
when they first come out, or that you are more likely to
wait until others have tried them first?

A. As a rule, I like to try new products when they have
first come out

B. It depends on the product

C. For the most part, I prefer to wait until others have
tried new products first

How often do you tell jokes?

A. Frequently

B. Occasionally

C. Rarely

D. Almost never

How often do you find that your first impression of a

person is the right one?

A. Almost always

Often

Occasionally

. Rarely

moose

Almost never

From your experience with people, which one of the
following most nearly describes your feelings about
people?

A. There is much good in everyone

B. There is some good in almost everyone

C. People are about as good as they feel they have to be

D. A surprising number of people are both thoughtless
and unreliable

E. Most people are basically self-centered and mean

How often do people tell you their troubles?
A. Virtually never

B. Not very often

C. About as often as they confide in others

D. Quite often; a lot of people seem to want to tell me
their troubles

E. Frequently; almost everyone I know seems to cone
to me with his troubles

Which one of the following best describes

willingness to bear a risk?

\‘tll‘lf

A. I hardly ever hear a risk
B. I sometimes bear a risk
C. I often hear a risk

I). I am a gambler at heart

E. I do not bear risks

IN CONCLUSION, SOME BASIC FACTS ABOUT YOURSELF.
YOUR FAMILY, AND YOUR HOME . . .

What is your present age?
Under 25 years of age
25 - 34 years of age
35 - 44 years of age
. 45 — 54 years of age
55 - ()4 years of age

65 - 74 years of age

omrncosv?

. 75 years of age or older

What is your present marital status?
A. Never married

Married

Rernarried. following divorce

. Remarried. following widower status

moose

Widowcr

F. Separated or divorced

How old were you when you first married?
A. Less than 18 years of age

18 - 20 years of age

21 - 25 years of age

26 - 29 years of age

30 years of age or older

799.05“

Never married

How many children have you?
. None
One

Two

A

B.

C.

D. Three
E. Four
F. Five

G. Six or more

Other than your wife and children, do you have any
other relatives or in-laws presently living with you in
your household?

A. No

B. Yes, one

C. Yes, two or more

D. Never married

If you were ever a member of the armed forces, please
indicate for how long a period of time you served on
active duty.

A. Less than one year

One or two years

Three or four years

. Five years or more

FIDO?“

Never served on active duty

If you have served on active duty with the military, what
was your status with regard to rank during this period?
(Please exclude any subsequent promotions received
while a member of the national guard or the reserve.)

A. Served entire period as an enlisted man

B. Entered as an enlisted man, and released as a
non-commissioned or a warrant officer

C. Entered as an enlisted man, and released as a
commissioned officer

D. Served entire period as a non-commissioned or a
warrant officer

E. Entered as a non-commissioned or a warrant officer.
and released as a commissioned officer

F. Served entire period as a commissioned officer

G. Never served on active duty

In recent years, what has been your general state of
health?

A. Excellent

B. Good

C. Fair

D. Poor

E. Sometimes good, and sometimes not-so-good

Please indicate the number of times during your
adulthood that you have experienced an illness which
has incapacitated you for a period of one month or
longer.

A. Never

B. Once

C. Twice

D. Three times

E. Four times

F. Five times or more

How many hours each week of physical exercise have
you averaged during the past twelve months?

A. None

B. Less than one hour each week

One or two hours

. Three or four hours

moo

Five or six hours

7”

Seven hours or more

11.

I3.

14.

In what kind of physical exercise do you engage the
most?

A. Calisthenics
B. Walking
C. Jogging
D. Sports
E. Other:

 

(please specify)
About how many out-of-state trips have you taken
during the past twelve months?
A. None
B. One or two
C. Three or four
D. Five or six

E. More than 6 (please indicate):

 

What has been the reason for the majority of these
out-of-state trips?

A. Pleasure

Family visits

Military duty

. Business transactions

Professional or trade association meetings

Management development conferences or seminars

ammonia

. Other:

 

 

(please specify)
H. I have not taken any out-of—state trips during the past
twelve months
At what age do you expect to retire?
. 54 years of age or younger

. 55 - 59 years of age

. 62 - 64 years of age

A
B
C. 60 - 61 years of age
D
E. 65 - 69 years of age
F

. 70 years of age or older

15.

16.

Which one of the following best describes your feeling
towards the prospect of your retirement?

A. I am looking forward to my retirement

B. There are some aspects of retirement to which I am
looking forward, and others to which I am not

C. Like everything else in life, I hope to take my
retirement in stride

D. Frankly, I am not looking forward to my retirement
E. I have not yet thought about the prospect of my

retirement

Which one of the following best describes the kind of
activity in which you would like most to engage once
you have retired?

A. Striking out along new, but less hectic, paths of
business endeavor

B. Entering into active politics

C. Performing unpaid community or volunteer work
D. Traveling extensively

E

.Pursuing my favorite sporting activities-golfing.
tennis, hunting, fishing. etc.

7”

Engaging in hobbies and puttering around the house
(1. Just “taking it easy"

H. Other:

(please specify)

 

Generally speaking, which one of the following best
describes your present political posture?

A. I consider myself to be a Republican

B. I consider myself to be an Independent, but on most
issues I lean toward the Republicans

C. I consider myself to be an Independent. with leanings
toward neither of the two major U.S. political parties

D. I consider myself to be an Independent. but on most
issues I lean toward the Democrats

E. I consider myself to be a Democrat

F. Other:

 

 

(please specify)

G. I am not a U.S. citizen

Have you ever performed volunteer service on behalf of
a political party? (Indicate one or more.)

A. I have worked on behalf of a politcal party at the
local level

B. I have worked on behalf of a political party at the
state level

C. I have worked on behalf of a political party at the
national level

D. I have never performed volunteer service on behalf of
a political party

For whom did you vote in the U.S. Presidential Election

of 1960?

A. John F. Kennedy

B. Richard M. Nixon

C. Other:

 

(please specify)
D. I did not vote in this election
For whom did you vote in the U.S. Presidential Election
ofl964?
A. Barry M. Goldwater
B. Lyndon B. Johnson
C. Other:

 

(please specify)
D. I did not vote in this election
For whom did you vote in the U.S. Presidential Election
of 1968?
A. Hubert H. Humphrey
B. Richard M. Nixon
C. George C. Wallace
D. Other:

 

(please specify)

E. I did not vote in this election

Ix)
IN)

As of this time, for which one of the following possible
U.S. Presidential candidates would you like most to vote
in 1972?

A. Birch E. Bayh

B. Mark Hatfield

Hubert H. Humphrey

. Edward M. Kennedy

John V. Lindsay

Eugene J. McCarthy

. George S. McGovern

IOTFCO

. Edward S. Muskie

_
u

Richard M. Nixon

Lu

. Charles H. Percy
. Ronald Reagan
Nelson A. Rockefeller

. George C. Wallace

zzg-z:

. Other:

 

(please specify)

0. I am not a U.S. citizen

What is your wife's present age?
A. Under 25 years of age

B. 25 - 34 years of age

35 - 44 years of age

. 45 - 54 years of age

55 - 64 years of age

65 - 74 years of age

. 75 years of age or older

zommuo

. I am a widower

I. l have never married

How old was your wife when she married you?
Less than 18 years of age

18 - 20 years of age

21 - 25 years of age

26 - 29 years of age

30 years of age or older

TUF’IPOF’?

l have never married

Where did your wife live during most of the time she was
growing up?

A.

New England States (Me., Vt., N.H., Mass, Conn.,
R.I.)

. Middle Atlantic States (N.Y., Pa., NJ.)

South Atlantic States (W.Va., Md., D.C., Del., Va.,
NC, SC, Ga., Fla.)

. East North Central States (Wis, Mich, 111., Ind.,

Ohio)
East South Central States (Ky., Tenn., Miss., Ala.)

West North Central States (N.Dak., S.Dak., Minn.,
Nebr., Iowa, Kans., Mo.)

G. West South Central States (Tex., Okla., Ark., La.)

H. Mountain States (Idaho, Mont., Wyo., Nev., Utah.

51

221—7?

Colo., Ariz., N.Mex.)
Pacific Coast States (Wash, Ore., Calif.)

. Alaska or Hawaii

. Overseas U.S. possession

In an English-speaking foreign country

. In a non-English-speaking foreign country

. I have never married

In what size community did your wife live throughout
most of her childhood?

mmoow>

. In a big metropolitan center or one of its suburbs

In a city of 100,000 to 500,000 population

In a city of 50,000 to 99,999 population

. In a city of 15,000 to 49,999 population

In a town of 2,500 to 14,999 population

In a rural area, or in a village of less than 2,500
population

I have never married

27.

What was the major occupation of your wife’s father at
the time of his peak earning power?

A.

:ornrno

Manual worker (such as construction worker.
machine operator, farm laborer, etc.)

Clerical (such as stock clerk, sales clerk, office
worker, etc.)

Semiprofessional or skilled technical (such as
draftsman, lab technician, electrician. etc.)

. Field sales (other than manager)

Lower ranks of management

Middle ranks of management

. Top management

. Small business proprietor or farm owner

Owner of a medium-to—large business

. Government or military

Professional, typically requiring a bachelor's or
master’s degree (such as teacher, engineer.
accountant, etc.)

Professional, typically requiring a Ph.D. or advanced
professional degree (such as doctor, lawyer.
professor, etc.)

. Other: .._

(please spec—ify)

. I have never married

How many brothers and sisters did your wife have?

:ornrnposw?

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six or more

She was an only child

I have never married

 

._‘____._..——

How much formal schooling did your wife complete?

Inn-r:—

A
B
C
D.
E
F
G
H

. 0 - 5 grades
. 6 - 8 grades
. Some high school

High school graduate

. Some college
. College graduate
. Post graduate study

. Master’s degree

Post master’s study

Doctorate

. Professional degree (M.D., D.D.S., LL.B., etc.)

L. I have never married

Which one of the following statements best describes the
economic circumstances of your wife’s childhood?

A.
B.

Her family was impoverished most of the time

Her family was poor, but they managed somehow

. Her family fluctuated between being poor and being

comfortable

. Her family lived comfortably most of the time

E. Her family was well-to—do

l have never married

In what section of town did your wife’s family live
longest while she was growing up?

A. They lived in one of the most exclusive sections

B.
C.

They lived in a good section, but not the best

They lived in an average section

D. They lived in one of the poorer sections

Ii.

F .

They lived in a rural area

I have never married

34.

Are any of your children currently attending college?

A.
B.

. No,

. No,

. Other:

Yes, and one or more should receive a degree
Yes, but I doubt that any will receive a degree

because my college-age children are not
interested in attending college at the present time

. No, because I do not feel that college is a necessary

part of my children’s education

because my college-age children are not

academically of college caliber

F. No, because my children are not now of college age

 

(please specify)

. I have no children

Have any of your children ever attended college prior to
the present time?

A

B.

. Other:

Yes, and one or more received a degree

Yes. but none received a degree

. No, because my children were not interested in

attending college at the time they were eligible to do
so

.No, because I did not feel that college was a

necessary part of my children’s education

. No, because my children were not really qualified for

college at the time they became of college age

No, because all of my children are now of college
age or younger

 

(please specify)

. l have no children

Do you have any children whom you hope will attend
college when they are old enough to do so?

A.
B.

. Other:

Yes, and I want one or more to obtain a degree

Yes, but I really do not care whether or not any
obtains a degree

. Yes, but I doubt that any will wish to attend college

when old enough to do so

.Yes, but I doubt that any of my children are

academically of college caliber

. No, because I do not believe that college is a

necessary part of my children‘s education

. No. because all of my children are now of college age

or older

 

(please specify)

. I have no children

35.

36.

37.

38.

Which one of the following has been most important to
you in choosing a home for your family?

A. Pleasantness of surroundings

B. Convenience to work, recreation, and shopping
facilities

C. Neighbors of similar background and outlook
D. Quality of local schools

E. Cost alternatives of housing available in a given
market

F. Other:

 

 

(please specify)

About how long have you lived at your present address?
A. 1 year or less

B. 2 - 5 years

C. 6 - 10 years

D. 11 -19years

E. 20 years or longer

‘Do you think there is a possibility that you might

someday move from your present family dwelling to
some other place?

A. Yes, I do
B. No, I do not

C. I’m really not certain

If you do anticipate moving from your present family
dwelling at some point in the future, when might you
estimate that move to take place?

A. Within the next few months

B. Within the next one to two years

C. In three to four years

D. In five years’ time or longer

E. After our children are grown and have left the
household

F. At this point, my family and I do not anticipate
moving from our present residence

39.

40.

41.

Whatever your intentions, should you eventually move
away from your present family dwelling, for which one
of the following reasons might you be most likely to
make this move?

A. Such a move would probably be involuntary. as a
result of factors beyond our control

B. We are somewhat dissatisfied with our present
residence, and could use something more appropriate
to our needs

C. Our present location is somewhat less than ideal. and
could be improved upon

D. Both our present residence and its location could
stand improvement, and together these two factors
do provide an incentive to move

E. We’d really like to live in another section of the
country, and we may well move there ifand when
the opportunity to do so arises

F. We are renting our present facility, and should like
ultimately to move to a place of our own

C. Other:

 

(please specify)

How important is it to you to live near your parents?
. Very important

Important

Somewhat important

. Not very important

Not at all important

WWUCW>

One or both of my parents now live within my oun
household

G. Both of my parents are deceased

Once your children have become ofage. do you feel thn
they should be able to continue to count on you for
financial support, should they be in need?

A. Yes, I do

B. At times, perhaps, depending on the nature of the
need

C. Only in an emergency. or in the event of some orher
unfortunate development

D. No, I do not

E. I have no children

Please return this inventory to:

Mr. S. W. Swanson
PO. Box 1298
East Lansing, Michigan 48823

CAREER DEVELOPMENT PROFILE

(Self-Administered)

CONFIDENTIAL

(Please do not sign your name
to any part of this profile.)

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING PROFILE

This form is divided into two major parts. Part One, “General
Commentary,” consists of one broad question relating to the
circumstances surrounding your initial decision to become an
automobile dealer, and one brief question which deals with how
you regard that decision today. Part Two, “Chronology of
Occupational Activity,” consists of a format for recording a little
about each of the full-time jobs which you have filled since you
became self-supporting. In completing this section of the profile,
please begin with your current occupation as an automobile
dealer, and then proceed back through time in chronological
order to what you consider to be the first real job in your adult
work experience. Be certain to include any periods of
self-employment, and to identify clearly each of these periods as
such.

Please note that it will not be necessary here for you to indicate
any of your former employers by name. Nor should you feel any
need to disclose information which might in some way suggest
your own personal identity.

While we have attempted to provide ample room for you to
record the information which we have requested, do not hesitate
to supplement this form with additional sheets of paper, should
this be required.

Thank you for taking the time necessary to complete this profile
for us.

PART ONE

General Commentary

1. Please use the space below to record what some of the
most important factors were that caused you to become
a new car dealer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. If you had it to do all over again, would you still elect to

become a new car dealer?

 

 

 

 

 

Ill.

3. Location of firm (city & state):

. Approximate number of employees:

. Reason(s) for leaving:

PART TWO

Chronology of Occupational Activity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Dates of employment (mo/yr): From To Present IV.
2. Nature of firm’s business: Franchised automobile
ggency — sale and serVice of new and used motor
vehicles
3. Location of firm (city & state):
4. Approximate number of employees:
5. Your job title & brief description of your work:
6. Reason(s) for leaving: Not Applicable — This is my
current occupation
1. Dates of employment (mo/yr): From TL V
2. Nature of firm’s business:
3. Location of firm (city & state):
4. Approximate number of employees:
5. Yourjob title & brief description of your work: _—
6. Reason(s) for leaving:
1. Dates of employment (mo/yr): From To VI.
2. Nature of firm’s business:

 

 

 

 

 

. Your job title & brief description ofyour work: _—

 

 

A

 

 

l.
2.

Id

. Location of firm (city & state):
. Approximate number of employees:
. Your job title & brief description of your work:

. Reason(s) for leaving:

. Dates of employment (mo/yr): From

. Nature of firm’s business:
. Location of firm (city & state):

. Approximate number ofemployees:

. Reason(s) for leaving:

. Dates of employment (mo/yr): From

. Nature of firm’s business:

. Location of firm (city & state):

. Approximate number of employees:

. Reason(s) for leaving:

Dates of employment (mo/yr): From To

Nature of firm’s business:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

. Your job title & brief description of your work: _—

 

 

 

 

 

To

 

 

 

 

 

. Yourjob title & brief description ofyour work: _—

 

 

L

 

 

VII.

VIII.

IX.

1.

Ix)

to

. Dates of employment (mo/yr): From

. Nature of firm’s business:

. Location of firm (city & state):

. Approximate number of employees:

 

 

 

 

 

 

. Yourjob title & brief description of your work: _—

 

 

. Reason(s) for leaving:

 

 

 

 

. Nature of firm’s business:

. Location of firm (city & state):

. Approximate number ofemployees:

. Reason(s) for leaving:

. Dates of employment (mo/yr): From

. Nature of firm’s business:

. Location of firm (city & state):

. Approximate number of employees:

. Reason(s) for leaving:

Dates ofemployment (mo/yr): From

 

 

 

 

 

 

. Your job title & brief description of your work: __

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

. Yourjob title & brief description of your work: __

 

 

 

 

 

XI.

IQ

. Dates ofemployment (mo/yr): From

. Nature of firm’s business:

. Location of firm (city & state):

. Approximate number ofemployees:

. Reason(s) for leaving:

. Nature of firm’s business:

. Reason(s) for leaving: _

 

 

 

 

 

 

. Your job title & brief description of your work: _fi

 

 

 

 

 

. Dates ofemployment (mo/yr): From __ To__

 

 

 

. Location of firm (city & state): _-
. Approximate number of employees: __ __

. Yourjob title & brief description ofyour work: _.

 

 

 

 

 

Please return this profile to:

Mr. S. W. Swanson
PO. Box 1298
East Lansing, Michigan 48823

Appendix C

MULTIPLE-CHOICE INVENTORY FOR AUTOMOBILE DEALERS

Appendix C

MULTIPLE-CHOICE INVENTORY FOR AUTOMOBILE DEALERS

Presented in this appendix are the answers to the
questions which are to be found in the Multiple-Choice
Inventory for Automobile Dealers secured from each of the
fifty-four Michigan franchised domestic new car dealers
who together comprised the final sample considered in this
survey. The questions are listed in the same order as
they appear in the Multiple-Choice Inventory, while each
of the responses, unless otherwise noted, is expressed as

a per cent of the entire sample.

147

148

ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS LIFE AND OUTLOOK . . .

1. WHAT IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT SOURCE
OF SATISFACTION TO YOU IN YOUR ROLE AS AN
AUTOMOBILE DEALER?

A. The feeling of independence which I derive
from managing my own enterprise

B. The sense of satisfaction that I receive
from doing the kinds of things I do

C. The challenge which I experience in trying
to devise more efficient ways of operating
my business

D. The economic rewards and financial security
that I obtain from being in my line of work

B. Other (please specify):

2. WHAT IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT SOURCE OF
DISSATISFACTION TO YOU IN YOUR ROLE AS AN
AUTOMOBILE DEALER?

The many risks which I must run in order
to compete in the automobile business
successfully

The hectic routines and lack of time for
reflection which seem to characterize my
typical working day

The difficulty in maintaining a level of
profit commensurate with the extent of
my managerial effort, and of the capital
which I have invested in my dealership

The many demands which are made of me by
all of the different "publics" with whom
I come in contact

Other (please specify):

Customer complaints (1 dealer)
Jealousy of others (1 dealer)
Factory fleet & leasing
programs (1 dealer)
Public's lack of regard
for dealers (1 dealer)
No dissatisfaction (1 dealer)

3O

26

20

24

17

54

ll

149

3. PLEASE INDICATE WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING BEST
APPLIES TO YOUR OWN PARTICULAR SITUATION.

A. I work hard, but I also make certain that
I have time remaining for my family--even
though this may conflict with the demands
of my business

B. I work hard, but I make certain too that
I have at least some time remaining for
my family--and I cannot see that this
interferes that much with the demands of
my business

C. I work hard--to the point, even, of not
always having enough time to spend with
my family

D. I have no family

4. WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING BEST DESCRIBES YOUR

JOB?

A. It's exhausting

B. It's tiring most of the time
C. It's sometimes tiring

D. It's rarely tiring

E. It's not at all tiring

5. IN WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING DO YOU FEEL THAT
AN AUTOMOBILE DEALER SHOULD NORMALLY TAKE THE
GREATEST PERSONAL INTEREST?

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.

Sales strategy

Customer credit policy

Customer cultivation and retention
Management development and motivation
Operations planning

Financial analysis and control

Community and public relations

19

42

39

52
26
ll

20
57

ll

150

6. WITH WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING AREAS OF DEALER-
SHIP OPERATIONS ARE YOU MOST FAMILIAR?

A. New car sales

B. Truck sales

C. Used vehicle management
D. Parts management

E. Service management

F. Leasing

G. Dealership accounting

H. Business management

7. WHICH IS NORMALLY MORE IMPORTANT TO YOU: TO KEEP
OPERATIONS IN YOUR DEALERSHIP RUNNING SMOOTHLY,
OR TO ENJOY AN OPPORTUNITY TO TRY NEW APPROACHES
TO YOUR WORK?

A. I normally prefer to keep things running
smoothly

B. Within reason, I usually prefer a chance
to try new approaches to my work

8. IN MAKING BUSINESS DECISIONS, WHICH ONE OF THE
FOLLOWING IS MORE TYPICAL OF YOUR TECHNIQUE?

A. I usually try to proceed on the basis of
a thorough and dispassionate analysis of
the empirical data available to me

B. While I am not averse to using data, I
often prefer to rely as much, or more,
on my own intuitive "feel" for a given
situation

46

37

48

52

30

70

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152

10. WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING DO YOU FEEL TO BE
MOST IMPORTANT IN DETERMINING WHETHER OR NOT
A GIVEN INDIVIDUAL WILL BE SUCCESSFUL AS AN
AUTOMOBILE DEALER?

A. General intelligence

B. Interest

C. Personality

D. Formal education

E. Training (other than academic)
F. Experience

G. Other (please specify):

Versatility (1 dealer)
Dealership location is
more important than
any one of the above

(1 dealer)

11. ON THE AVERAGE, ABOUT HOW MUCH FORMAL EDUCATION
WOULD YOU SAY THAT YOUR JOB REQUIRES?

E.
F.

Less than high school, provided the man
has the necessary native ability

Some high school, at least

Some form of business training beyond
high school, but not necessarily at a
college

Some college
Completion of a four-year college program

Advanced or professional college degree

30
27

52

11
22

153

12. IN REGARD TO YOUR OWN DEALERSHIP PERSONNEL, WHICH
ONE OF THE FOLLOWING DO YOU BELIEVE TO BE THE
PERSONAL QUALITY MOST NECESSARY FOR ADVANCEMENT?

A.
B.
C.

E.
F.

Good moral character
Good intellectual capacity
Pleasing personality
Aggressiveness
Willingness to accept responsibility
Ability to get along with others
Other (please specify):
Self—Starter (1 dealer)

13
62
13

154

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155

14. IF YOU WERE TO CHOOSE AFRESH A NEW CAREER, WOULD
YOU AGAIN ELECT TO BECOME AN AUTOMOBILE DEALER?

A. Yes, I would
B. No, I would not

C. I am not certain

15. ON THE AVERAGE, ABOUT HOW MANY HOURS DO YOU WORK
AT YOUR JOB EACH WEEK?

A. Less than 20 hours

B. 20 - 34 hours
C. 35 - 40 hours
D. 41 - 48 hours
B. 49 - 59 hours

F. 60 hours or more

16. DO YOU EVER WORK AT YOUR JOB WHILE AT HOME?

A. Yes, frequently and hard

B. Yes, frequently but not
too intensively

C. Yes, from time-to-time

D. Yes, but only on very
rare occasions

E. No, never

17. OVERALL, WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING BEST
DESCRIBES YOUR NORMAL WORK BEHAVIOR?

A. I work best on a regular schedule
B. I work best under pressure

C. I work best when I am in the mood
to do so

74

17

15
48
22

11

50
26

13

37
30
33

156

18. WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING BEST DESCRIBES THE
CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH YOU FIRST OBTAINED
POSSESSION OF YOUR PRESENT DEALERSHIP?

A.
B.

I started my dealership from scratch

I inherited (or was given) my dealership
from (by) a relative or friend

I purchased my dealership from a relative
at a time when it was already a well-run
operation

I bought my dealership from a non-relative
at a time when it was already a well-run
operation

I purchased my dealership from a relative
and then reorganized the operation after
assuming control

I bought my dealership from a non-relative
and then reorganized the operation after
assuming control

Other (please specify):

19. HOW DID YOU RAISE THE CAPITAL FOR YOUR ORIGINAL
INVESTMENT IN YOUR DEALERSHIP? (INDICATE ONE

OR MORE.)

B.
C.

From my own existing resources
By borrowing from relatives

By borrowing from other private
individuals

By borrowing from financial
institutions

Through funds provided by the
automobile manufacturer

Through sale of subscription stock
Other (please specify):

I inherited (was given) my dealership
from (by) a relative or friend

(MULTIPLE ANSWERS)

31

69

87
13
19

37

33

157

20. IF SOME OR ALL OF YOUR ORIGINAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT
IN YOUR DEALERSHIP CAME FROM YOUR OWN PERSONAL
RESOURCES, WHAT WAS THE ORIGIN OF THESE RESOURCES?
(INDICATE ONE OR MORE.)

D.
E.

21. DO YOU FEEL

Profits or earnings from other work

Gift of money from parents or other
living relatives

Money inherited from parents or other
relatives

Sale of self-acquired property

Sale of property acquired as gift from
parents or other living relatives

Sale of property inherited from parents
or other relatives

Other (please specify):

None of my original capital came from
my own personal resources

I inherited (was given) my dealership
from (by) a relative or friend

(MULTIPLE ANSWERS)

IT FEASIBLE FOR ANY AUTOMOBILE

AGENCY TO HAVE AS ITS HEAD A MAN WHO DOES
NOT CONTROL A PORTION OF ITS CAPITAL?

A. Yes, I do
B. No, I do not

C. I am not certain

63

26

13

13
80

158

22. COMPARED TO OTHER MAJOR U.S. MANUFACTURING
INDUSTRIES, DO YOU CONSIDER THE AUTOMOBILE
INDUSTRY TO BE MORE OR LESS DYNAMIC?

B.
C.

E.

Much less dynamic
Somewhat less dynamic
About the same
Somewhat more dynamic

Much more dynamic

23. COMPARED TO OTHER AUTOMOBILE AGENCIES IN YOUR
AREA, HOW DOES YOUR DEALERSHIP COMPARE AS TO
IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW OPERATING PROCEDURES OR
SELLING STRATEGIES DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS?

Much less active
Somewhat less active
About the same
Somewhat more active

Much more active

38
50

22
33
43

24.

159

WHAT IS YOUR OWN FEELING ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE
OF YOUR DEALERSHIP'S INCREASING ITS SHARE OF
LOCAL MARKET FOR NEW CAR SALES THROUGHOUT THE
NEXT FIVE YEARS?

I regard this as being very important
I regard this as being important, but

no more so than the attaining of other

dealership objectives which I have in
mind
I do not consider this to be as vital

as the realization of other important
dealership goals

Our present dealership position is
such that I do not believe this to
be important at all

Our local competitive situation being
what it is, I doubt there is really
much we could do to improve our share
of new car sales throughout the next
few years, however much that we might
wish to do so

48
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27.

161

IF YOU WERE TO DECIDE TO ENLARGE OR MODERNIZE
YOUR OWN EXISTING AUTOMOBILE AGENCY, WHICH OF
THE FOLLOWING WOULD YOU PREFER AS YOUR SOURCE
OF EXPANSION CAPITAL? (INDICATE ONE OR MORE.)

A. Retained earnings of dealership
B. Personal savings

C. Present partners or shareholders
D. New partners or shareholders

E. Manufacturer's development funds
F. Loans from banks

G. Loans from others

(MULTIPLE ANSWERS)

WHAT IS YOUR IMPRESSION OF THE MANNER IN WHICH
MANAGERIAL AND EXECUTIVE PROMOTIONS ARE WON IN
THE DIVISIONAL AND CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS OF
THE AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURER WITH WHOM YOU ARE
AFFILIATED?

Advancement there is a real cut-throat
struggle

It is a highly competitive process, to the
point, perhaps, of being detrimental to
the best interests of both the company and
its dealers

It is a highly competitive process, but I
can see no evidence that it is in any way
detrimental to the best interests of the
company and its dealers

I really do not see it as being all that
competitive--stories to that effect are,
I suspect, greatly exaggerated

67
11

15
61

13

24

57

28.

162

IN YOUR VIEW, DO PROMOTIONS IN THE FIELD SALES
ORGANIZATION OF THE AUTOMOBILE DIVISION WHOSE
CARS YOU SELL NORMALLY GO TO THE MEN WHO BEST
DESERVE THEM?

A. Almost always

B. More frequently than not
C. Sometimes

D. Rarely

E. Almost never

22
56
20

29.

163

WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING WOULD YOU MOST
PREFER THAT YOUR SON (OR HEIR) DID FOR A
LIVING? (PLEASE ANSWER EVEN IF HE IS NOW
SETTLED INTO SOME LINE OF WORK, OR IF YOU
HAVE NO SON OR HEIR FOR WHOM THE QUESTION
SEEMS APPROPRIATE.)

I should like him to be an automobile
dealer

I should like to see him work for one
of the big three automobile companies

I should like to see him work for one
of the many other corporations in the
automotive industry

I should like him to go into business
for himself in an area related to the
automotive industry

I should like him to work for one of
the major U.S. corporations, but not
in the automotive industry

I should like him to go into business
for himself in some area unrelated to
the automotive industry

I should like him to enter into one
of the professions

I should like him to enter into some
form of government service

I should like him to teach
Other (please specify):

Any aspect of general business
or sales (1 dealer)

Any independent business in
which he has an interest
(1 dealer)

Corporate enterprise, but not
necessarily major (1 dealer)

Son should decide for himself
(5 dealers)

57

15

164

CONCERNING YOUR OUTSIDE ACTIVITIES . .

1. HOW MANY EVENINGS EACH WEEK DO YOU USUALLY GO OUT FOR

YOUR PERSONAL ENJOYMENT?

A. Less than one

B. One
C. Two
D. Three

E. Four or more

evening each week

2. HOW OFTEN DO YOU GET TOGETHER SOCIALLY WITH FRIENDS?

A. Once or twice each week
B. Once or twice each month

C. A few times each year

D. I almost never spend time socially with friends

3. HOW WELL DO YOU LIKE TO BE WITH OTHER PEOPLE IN A

SOCIAL SETTING?

A. I enjoy being with other people, and rarely

like to be alone

B. I enjoy being with other people at times,
but at other times I prefer to engage in

individual activities

C. I usually enjoy being with other people;
however, I prefer to be by myself most of

the time

D. I prefer individual activities, and only
occasionally enjoy being with other people

19
35
37

68
26

31

63

165

4. WHICH OF THESE SOCIAL GROUPS DO YOU PREFER:

A. People younger than myself

B. People of the same age as myself
C. People older than myself

D. Groups of mixed ages

E. No preference

5. WHERE DO YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS MOST OFTEN GET TOGETHER?

A. At my home
B. At a friend's home
C. At a private club

D. At a theater, restaurant, night club, or other
public place

E. Other (please specify):

Golf course (1 dealer)
Boating (2 dealers)

(MULTIPLE ANSWERS)

6. AS A CONVERSATIONALIST AT SOCIAL AFFAIRS, HOW DO YOU
RANK?

A. At the top
B. Above average
C. Average

D. Below average

35
45
13

46
33
28
43

39
53

166

7. IN WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING GROUPS OF ORGANIZATIONS
HAVE YOU BEEN MOST ACTIVE?

A. Athletic, social, and recreational clubs (golf,
tennis, bowling, bridge, photography, etc.)

B. Fraternal and ethical societies (Elks, Masons,
Knights of Columbus, etc.)

C. Service organizations (Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions,
etc.)

D. Business and professional organizations
(National Automobile Dealers Association, Sales
and Marketing Executives-International, American
Marketing Association, etc.)

(MULTIPLE ANSWERS)

8. ALTOGETHER, TO HOW MANY OF THESE VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS
DO YOU PRESENTLY BELONG? (INCLUDE ANY GROUP WHICH
MEETS REGULARLY AND HAS A DEFINITE MEMBERSHIP.)

A. None

B. One

C. Two or three
D. Four to six

E. Seven or more

54

15

31

43

46
3O
17

167

9. PLEASE INDICATE IF, DURING THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS, YOU
HAVE PERFORMED VOLUNTEER WORK OF SIGNIFICANCE FOR ANY
OF THE FOLLOWING: '

G.

Religious or charitable organizations
Youth groups

Cultural groups in support of the creative or
performing arts

Local citizens' action groups, or programs of
municipal, state, or federal government

Other (please specify):

Fraternal and service
groups (1 dealer)
Hospital trusteeship

(1 dealer)

The demands of my business preclude such
volunteer work

I prefer not to do volunteer work

(MULTIPLE ANSWERS)

10. IF YOU DID PERFORM VOLUNTEER WORK DURING THE PAST
TWELVE MONTHS, HOW MUCH OF YOUR TIME, ALTOGETHER,
DID THIS REQUIRE?

A. 40 hours or less
B. 41 - 120 hours
C. 121 - 240 hours
D. 241 hours or more

B. I did no volunteer work

54
22

33

11

42
26
11

17

168

11. TO WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING DO YOU LOOK FORWARD
MOST IN YOUR LEISURE TIME ACTIVITIES?

A. A chance to rest and relax
B. A chance to putter around
C. A chance to be with other people

D. A chance to be outdoors, or to be in other
ways active

E. A chance to be alone with my thoughts

12. IN WHAT RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES DO YOU TAKE PART?
(INDICATE AS MANY As YOU FEEL ARE APPLICABLE.)

A. Active sports or other athletic endeavors
B. Games or nonathletic events

C. Hobbies

D. Spectator sports

E. I do not take part in any hobbies, games, or
sports

(MULTIPLE ANSWERS)

13. WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT
THESE RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES?

The challenge which they afford me

The opportunity which they provide for
socializing with my friends

The excitement which I feel while pursuing them

The relaxation which I experience while engaged
in them

The outlet which they afford for being creative

They keep me busy, and thus help to occupy my
leisure time

I do not take part in any hobbies, games, or
sports

13

72

72
17
19
43

13
20

52

169

14. HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO YOU TO KEEP IMPROVING YOUR
PERFORMANCE IN YOUR RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES?

A. Very important
B. Important

C. Somewhat important

D. Not very important

E. Not at all important

F. I am active only as a spectator

G. I do not take part in any hobbies,
games, or sports

15. WHEN DID YOU LAST TAKE A VACATION?

6 months ago or more recently
7 - 12 months ago

2 - 3 years ago

4 - 5 years ago

6 years ago or longer

I do not take vacations

16. HOW MANY WEEKS OF VACATION DID YOU TAKE AT THAT

TIME?

Less than 1 week

Four
Five or more

I do not take vacations

15
28
4O
15

74
17

15
35
31

O‘O‘x)

170

17. HOW DO YOU NORMALLY PREFER TO SPEND YOUR VACATION?

A. Out in the countryside, camping, hunting, 13
skiing, or just sightseeing

B. Near the water, swimming, fishing, and 33
boating
C. At well known resorts, or on foreign 37

tours and ocean cruises

D. At home in the garden, or working with 2
other hobbies

B. Other (please specify): 15

Playing golf (3 dealers)
Attending conventions
(2 dealers)
Travel combined with
business (1 dealer)
Taking short weekend trips
(1 dealer)
Calling upon relatives
(1 dealer)

F. I do not take vacations -

18. DO YOU USUALLY PREFER TO TAKE SEVERAL SHORT VACATIONS
EACH YEAR, OR ONE LONG ONE? ‘

A. I usually prefer several short vacations 89
B. As a rule, I prefer one long vacation 11

C. I do not take vacations -

19. ABOUT HOW MANY BOOKS, UNRELATED TO YOUR BUSINESS,
HAVE YOU READ DURING THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS?

A. ane 24
B. One 12
C. Two to three 26
D. Four to six 19

E. Seven or more 19

171

A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR EARLY JOB EXPERIENCE . . .

1. AS YOU RECALL, AT WHAT AGE DID YOU FIRST START
WORKING REGULARLY ON A JOB FOR MONEY (NOT
INCLUDING WORK PERFORMED FOR YOUR FAMILY WITHIN

THE HOUSEHOLD)

A. When
B. When
C. When
D. When
B. When

?

HHHHH

was

was

was

was

was

fourteen years of age or younger
fifteen years of age

sixteen years of age

seventeen years of age

eighteen years of age or older

2. THROUGH WHAT MEANS DID YOU SECURE YOUR FIRST
FORMAL CAREER JOB?

Through an interview at college

Through an employment agency

Through the influence of an employee
of the company by whom I was hired

As a result of my own job campaign

Other (please specify):

WOrked in family business

(5 dealers)

Recommended by a friend

(2 dealers)

High school co-op program

(1 dealer)

52

16

19

33

52
15

172

3. AT WHAT LEVEL DID YOU BEGIN YOUR FORMAL WORK
EXPERIENCE? ’

A. Farm worker

B. Unskilled or semiskilled worker

C. Skilled worker

D. Clerical, sales, or service employee
E. Lower ranks of management

F. Middle ranks of management

G. Top management

H. Craftsman

I. Self-employed businessman

J. Semiprofessional or skilled technical
employee

K. Professional

L. Other (please specify):

4. THROUGHOUT YOUR FORMAL WORK EXPERIENCE, HAVE YOU
HELD A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF JOBS, OR HAVE
YOU MOSTLY WORKED WITHIN ONE GIVEN CAREER FIELD?

A.

I have held a number of different kinds of
jobs

I have held a number of different jobs, but
mostly within one given career field

For the most part, I have held a few jobs
within one given career field

24

52

N

IbNN

35

41

24

173

5. DURING YOUR FIRST YEARS OF EMPLOYMENT, WHICH ONE
OF THE FOLLOWING WAS MOST FREQUENTLY OF GREATEST
IMPORTANCE TO YOU WHENEVER YOU CHANGED EMPLOYERS?

There was no real opportunity for promotion
in my old job, and I saw a chance to move
ahead faster somewhere else

I moved because I could obtain more money
by doing so, as well as a more promising
future

The situation from which I departed had
become untenable, and I felt that I ought
to make a change

I felt that my new job would prove more
challenging, and that it would better
utilize my skills

I felt that I had several strikes against
me in my old job, and I wanted a fresh
start

This really does not apply to my own case,
due to extended self—employment, or to the
fact that I did not shift employers during
my first years of employment

6. SINCE YOUR FIRST REGULAR JOB, HOW MANY TIMES
HAVE YOU BEEN OUT OF WORK FOR ONE MONTH OR
MORE AT ONE TIME?

A. Never
B. Once
C. Twice

D. Three times

E. Four or more times

22

37

22

89

174

7. SINCE YOU FIRST BEGAN WORKING, IN HOW MANY
DIFFERENT STATES OR COUNTRIES HAVE YOU
RESIDED? (PLEASE EXCLUDE ANY PERIODS OF

MILITARY SERVICE .)

B.
C.
D.

F.

Just the one in which I started
Two

Three

Four

Five

Six or more

8. WITH REFERENCE TO THE CITY IN WHICH YOU
SPENT MOST OF YOUR CHILDHOOD, WHERE DO

YOU WORK TODAY?

A. I work in the same city in which I was
brought up

B. I work in the same state in which I was
brought up

C. I work in another state, but I am still
within 200 miles of the city in which I
was brought up

D. I work in another state, at a distance
of more than 200 miles from the city
in which I was brought up

72
19

50

35

13

175

WITH REFERENCE TO YOUR FORMAL EDUCATION . . .

1. HOW MUCH FORMAL SCHOOLING DID YOU COMPLETE?

A. 0 - 5 grades

B. 6 - 8 grades

C. Some high school

D. High school graduate
E. Some college

F. College graduate

G. Post graduate study
H. Master's degree

I. Post master's study
J. Doctorate

K. Professional degree (M.D., D.D.S., LL.B., etc.)

2. WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD, DID YOU FEEL THAT YOU RECEIVED
ADEQUATE RECOGNITION FROM YOUR TEACHERS FOR YOUR WORK
IN SCHOOL?

A. Almost always

B. Usually, but not always

C. Yes, in a moderate way

D. Sometimes, but not usually

E. Almost never

11
18
33
26

48
20
22

176

3. WHILE YOU WERE IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL, FROM WHICH ONE
OF THE FOLLOWING AREAS OF ACTIVITY DID YOU DERIVE THE
GREATEST SATISFACTION?

A. Baseball, football, basketball, swimming
B. Fishing, hunting, hiking, camping

C. Reading, handicrafts, stamp collecting
D. Constructing or dismantling things

B. Other (please specify):

Theater (1 dealer)

WOrking (1 dealer)

No outside interests
(1 dealer)

G. I did not attend junior high school

4. DURING YOUR TEENS, WITHIN WHICH ONE OF THESE MAJOR
SUBJECT AREAS DID YOU CONCENTRATE YOUR STUDIES WHILE
IN SCHOOL?

A. Agriculture

B. Trade or industrial arts

C. Business or commerce

D. Academic or college preparatory
E. Fine arts or music

F. I did not attend school during
my teen-age years

5. HOW MANY TIMES DID YOU CHANGE SCHOOL BEFORE YOU WERE
SIXTEEN YEARS OF AGE, OTHER THAN BY GRADUATION?

A. Never
B. Once or twice
C. Three to five times

D. Six or more times

68

18

41
42

35
41
15

177

6. HOW DIFFICULT WAS HIGH SCHOOL WORK FOR YOU?

A. Quite easy

B. Fairly easy

C. Sometimes easy, sometimes difficult
D. Fairly difficult

E. Quite difficult

F. I did not attend high school

7. IN HIGH SCHOOL, WHERE DID YOU RANK SCHOLASTICALLY
AMONG YOUR CLASSMATES?

A. Distinctly above average
B. Above average

C. Average

D. Slightly below average
E. Distinctly below average

F. I did not attend high school

8. WHILE YOU WERE IN HIGH SCHOOL, FROM WHICH ONE OF
THE FOLLOWING AREAS OF ACTIVITY DID YOU DERIVE THE
GREATEST SATISFACTION?

Participating in, or attending, organized high
school sporting events

Socializing with friends--dancing, dating, etc.

Participating in organized school activities,
such as band, dramatics, student government

Achieving academic success and recognition

WOrking part-time after school to gain
experience, and to help defray personal
expenses

I did not attend high school

26
24
41

33
46

41

11
11

31

178

9. HOW OFTEN DID THE THOUGHT OF QUITTING HIGH SCHOOL
OCCUR TO YOU?

A. Frequently

B. Occasionally

C. Seldom

D. Rarely

E. Naver

F. I did quit high school

G. I did not attend high school

10. HOW DID YOUR HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS GENERALLY
REGARD YOU?

A. As able to accomplish things with ease
B. As a hard worker

C. As having a highly developed interest in
certain courses

D. As being uninterested in school subjects

E. I did not attend high school

11. HOW OFTEN DID YOU EXPERIENCE DIRECT AND OPEN
CONFLICT WITH YOUR HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS?

A. Frequently
B. Occasionally
C. Never

D. I did not attend high school

14
63
11

31
26
31

46
50

179

12. HOW DID YOUR PARENTS FEEL ABOUT THE GRADES
WHICH YOU RECEIVED IN HIGH SCHOOL?

They were pleased with my grades

They were satisfied, but still felt that
I probably could do better

They did not complain about my grades so
long as they felt that I had done my best

They did not care about my grades so long
as I passed

They were displeased with my grades

They paid virtually no attention to my
grades

I did not attend high school

13. HOW MUCH INDEPENDENCE DO YOU FEEL YOUR PARENTS '
ALLOWED YOU WHILE YOU WERE IN HIGH SCHOOL?

They ruled with a very heavy hand
They were rather restrictive

They were no more or no less restrictive
than the parents of most of my friends

They were quite lenient
They allowed me almost complete freedom
I did not attend high school

22
33

22

24
39

24

.180

14. WHAT KIND OF COLLEGE DID YOU ATTEND AS AN
UNDERGRADUATE?

A. An Ivy League school (or its equivalent)

B. A men's private liberal arts school
C. A co-ed, private liberal arts school
D. A major state university or college
E. A major city university or college
F. A technical college

G. A teachers' college or normal school

H. Other (please specify):
Business college (5 dealers)

I. I did not attend college

15. WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING MOST CLOSELY REPRESENTS
THE ENROLLMENT AT YOUR UNDERGRADUATE COLLEGE AT THE
TIME YOU WERE A STUDENT THERE?

A. Less than 500 students
B. 500 to 999 studentS'

C. 1,000 to 1,499 students
D. 1,500 to 4,900 students
E. 5,000 to 9,999 students
F. 10,000 students or more

G. I did not attend college

16. WHAT WAS YOUR SCHOLASTIC STANDING AS A COLLEGE
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT?

A. Upper 10% of my class

B. Upper 25% of my class

C. Middle 50% of my class
D. Lower 25% of my class

E. I did not attend college

15
18

31

11

13
11
19
31

19
44

31

181

17. WHILE YOU WERE AN UNDERGRADUATE IN COLLEGE, HOW
MANY CLOSE FRIENDS DID YOU MAKE AMONG YOUR FELLOW
STUDENTS?

A. No close personal friends
B. One close friend

C. Two close friends

D. Three close friends

E. Four or more close friends

F. I did not attend college

18. IN WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING WERE YOU MOST
SUCCESSFUL AS AN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT IN

COLLEGE?

E.

Academic studies

Athletics

Fraternity, club, or other campus activities
Activities off campus 2

I did not attend college

19. WHICH ONE OF THESE AREAS OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDY
DID YOU ENJOY MOST WHILE A STUDENT IN COLLEGE?

A. Creative and performing arts
B. Humanities and social sciences
C. Languages

D. Sciences and mathematics

E. Engineering

F. Business administration

G. Other (please specify):

H. I did not attend college

16

37
31

30
15

15
31

13
11
39

31

182

20. WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING DO YOU FEEL IS THE MOST
IMPORTANT THING THAT A PERSON SHOULD DERIVE FROM
ATTENDING COLLEGE TODAY? (PLEASE ANSWER THIS EVEN
IF YOU YOURSELF DID NOT ATTEND COLLEGE.)

A. Training for_a profession
B. General cultural knowledge
C. Personal maturity

D. Social polish

B. Other (please specify)

21. TO WHAT EXTENT DID YOU PAY YOUR OWN WAY IN
SCHOOL? (INDICATE ONE OR MORE.)

I paid most or all of my expenses
while in high school

I paid most or all of my expenses
while in college or trade school

I paid part of my expenses while
in high school

I paid part of my expenses while
in college or trade school

I never worked much while I was
going to school

I quit school before I was old
enough to work

(MULTIPLE ANSWERS)

22. WHAT WAS YOUR GENERAL IMPRESSION OF THE TEACHERS
UNDER WHOM YOU STUDIED THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF
YOUR FORMAL EDUCATION?

HHHHH

admired virtually all of them
admired many of them

admired some of them

admired very few of them

really did not admire any of them

50
26
22

31

31

15

22

13

43
44

183

23. WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING BEST DESCRIBES YOUR
CURRENT FEELING TOWARD THE FORMAL EDUCATION
WHICH YOU RECEIVED?

It has proved to be very helpful
in life

It has proved to be helpful for
the most part

It was interesting at the time,
but it has not proved to be very
helpful since

It was not very interesting at the
time, and it has not proved to be
very helpful since

It was a way to mark time until
something better came along

48

46

184

CONCERNING YOUR PARENTS, AND YOUR EARLY CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCE .

1. WHERE DID YOUR FATHER LIVE DURING MOST OF THE TIME
HE WAS GROWING UP?

New England States (Me., Vt., N.H., Mass.,
Conn., R.I.)

Middle Atlantic States (N.Y., Pa., N.J.)

South Atlantic States (W.Va., Md., D.C.,
Del., Va., N.C., S.C., Ga., Fla.)

East NOrth Central States (Wis., Mich.,
111., Ind., Ohio)

East South Central States (Ky., Tenn.,
Miss., Ala.)

west North Central States (N.Dak., S.Dak.,
Minn., Nebr., Iowa, Kans., Mo.)

west South Central States (Tex., Okla.,
Ark., La.)

Mountain States (Idaho, Mont., Wyo., Nev.,
Utah, Colo., Ariz., N.Mex.)

Pacific Coast States (wash., Ore., Calif.)
Alaska or Hawaii

Overseas U.S. possession

In an English-speaking foreign country

In a non-English-speaking foreign country

2. IN WHAT SIZE COMMUNITY DID YOUR FATHER LIVE THROUGHOUT
MOST OF HIS CHILDHOOD?

In a big metropolitan center or one of its
suburbs

In a city of 100,000 to 500,000 population
In a city of 50,000 to 99,999 population
In a city of 15,000 to 49,999 population
In a town of 2,500 to 14,999 population
In a rural area, or in a village of less

than 2,500 population

13

59

11

22

11

15
35

185

3. WHERE DID YOUR MOTHER LIVE DURING MOST OF THE TIME
SHE WAS GROWING UP?

New England States (Me., Vt., N.H., Mass.,
Conn., R.I.)

Middle Atlantic States (N.Y., Pa., N.J.)

South Atlantic States (W.Va., Md., D.C.,
Del., Va., N.C., S.C., Ga., Fla.)

East North Central States (Wis., Mich.,
111., Ind., Ohio)

East South Central States (Ky., Tenn.,
Miss., Ala.)

west North Central States (N.Dak., S.Dak.,
Minn., Nebr., Iowa, Kans., Mo.)

West South Central States (Tex., Okla.,
Mk0, Ila.)

Mountain States (Idaho, Mont., wyo., Nev.,
Utah, Colo., Ariz., N.Mex.)

Pacific Coast states (wash., Ore., Calif.)
Alaska or Hawaii

Overseas U.S. possession

In an English-speaking foreign country

In a non-English-speaking foreign country

4. IN WHAT SIZE COMMUNITY DID YOUR MOTHER LIVE THROUGHOUT
MOST OF HER CHILDHOOD?

B.
C.
D.
E.
F.

In a big metropolitan center or one of its
suburbs

In a city of 100,000 to 500,000 population

In a city of 50,000 to 99,999 population
In a city of 15,000 to 49,999 population
In a town of 2,500 to 14,999 population

In a rural area, or in a village of less

than 2,500 population

11

63

17

17
41

5 0 HOW

6. HOW

186

MUCH FORMAL SCHOOLING DID YOUR FATHER COMPLETE?

0 - 5 grades

6 - 8 grades

Some high school
High school graduate
Some college

College graduate
Post graduate study
Master's degree

Post master's study
Doctorate

Professional degree (M.D., D.D.S., LL.B., etc.)

MUCH FORMAL SCHOOLING DID YOUR MOTHER COMPLETE?

O - 5 grades

6 - 8 grades

Some high school
High school graduate
Some college

College graduate
Post graduate study
Master's degree

Post master's study
Doctorate
Professional degree (M.D., D.D.S., LL.B., etc.)

14
39
15
13
15

29
22
30

187

7. WHAT WAS YOUR FATHER'S MAJOR OCCUPATION AT THE
TIME OF HIS PEAK EARNING POWER?

A. Manual worker (such as construction worker, 26
machine operator, farm laborer, etc.)

B. Clerical (such as stock clerk, sales clerk, 4
office worker, etc.)

C. Semiprofessional or skilled technical (such 7
as draftsman, lab technician, electrician,
etc.)

D. Field sales (other than manager) 4

E. Lower ranks of management 4

F. Middle ranks of management 6

G. Top management 7

H. Small business proprietor or farm operator 26

I. Owner of a medium-to-large business 10

J. Government or military 6

K. Professional, typically requiring a bachelor's -
or master's degree (such as teacher, engineer,
accountant, etc.)

L. Professional, typically requiring a Ph.D. or -
advanced professional degree (such as doctor,
lawyer, professor, etc.)

M. Other (please specify): —

8. IN GENERAL, HOW SATISFIED WAS YOUR FATHER WITH
THE ORGANIZATION(S) FOR WHICH HE WORKED?
A. He was always very satisfied 6
B. He was satisfied most of the time 40
C. He was satisfied some of the time
D. He was frequently dissatisfied 6
B. My father was self-employed 37
F. Other (please specify): 4

Unknown, father deceased
(2 dealers)

.188

9. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MOTHER AND FATHER

AS PARENTS?

They were the kind of parents that
I have wanted my children to have

For the most part, they were good
parents, but there are still ways
in which I feel that I have been

a better parent than they

They were too permissive, and did
not require that I do many of the
things I should have done

They were too strict, and demanded
too much of their children

I hope I have been a better parent
to my own children than my parents
were to me

10. HOW ACTIVE WERE YOUR PARENTS IN COMMUNITY AFFAIRS?

They were very active

They were moderately active

They were active on special occasions

They were seldom active

They were almost never active

33

30
19
24
20

189

11. WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING WAS MOST CHARACTERISTIC
OF YOUR FATHER WHILE YOU WERE GROWING UP?

He was a strict person, with strong moral
convictions

He was a strict person, but not highly
moralistic

He was average in strictness and moral outlook
He was easygoing, and flexible in his outlook

He did not take much interest in his children,
or in their personal development

I really do not know, for my father passed
away while I was still very young

12. WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING WAS MOST CHARACTERISTIC
OF YOUR MOTHER WHILE YOU WERE GROWING UP?

She was a rather formal sort of person

She was well-meaning, but overly possessive
so far as I myself was concerned

She was a person whose primary concern was
always the care and well-being of her family

She was a person whose outside interests seemed
to conflict at times with her interest in her
family

She was somewhat moody and unpredictable

I really do not know, for my mother passed
away while I was still very young

35

23
26

80

13.

14.

15.

190

WHO WAS YOUR MOTHER'S FAVORITE CHILD?

B.
C.
D.
E.
F.

DID YOUR PARENTS LIVE TOGETHER

My brother

My sister

I was

My mother was impartial

I was an only child

My mother passed away While her children were
all very young

THAT YOU WERE GROWING UP?

A. Yes
B. No,
C. No,
D. NO,
E. No,

because
because
because

because

DURING MOST OF YOUR CHILDHOOD,

RESIDE?

ALL OF THE TIME

they separated
they were divorced
one passed away,

they both passed away

WITH WHOM DID YOU

With both of my parents

With my mother
With my father

With relatives

With foster parents or non-relatives

In a children's home or institution

15
59

81

Iowa-In.

83

bbfl

191

16. AS YOU RECALL, WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING DESCRIBES
BEST THE KIND OF UPBRINGING WHICH YOU RECEIVED?

A.
B.

I was more-or-less permitted to run free

I enjoyed plenty of freedom, but my parents
were still very much interested in what I
was doing

I enjoyed complete freedom at times, but at
other times I was restricted in my actions
by the desires of my parents

My parents watched everything I did, but at
least they tried to be fair about it

My parents' constant supervision was a source
of concern to me, and at times it resulted in
conflict between us

17. FOR COMMENDABLE BEHAVIOR AS A CHILD, HOW WERE YOU
USUALLY REWARDED?

A. I was praised

B. I was given some kind of present
C. I was allowed a special privilege
D. I received no special recognition

E. Other (please specify):

18. DURING YOUR LATE TEENS HOW OFTEN DID YOU GET INTO
DISAGREEMENTS OR ARGUMENTS WITH YOUR PARENTS?

A. Never

B. Rarely

C. Sometimes

D. Often

E. Practically every day

52

30

13

61

31

56
33

192

19. HOW DID YOUR PARENTS FEEL ABOUT THE SUBJECT OF YOUR

CAREER?

A. They had very strong feelings and outlined what
they wanted me to do '

8. They were interested and helped me to plan what
I wanted to do

C. They were interested, but they really did not
appreciate what it was I wanted to do

D. They displayed little or no interest in my
career aspirations

E. They actively opposed my doing what I wanted
to do

20. WHERE DID YOU LIVE DURING MOST OF THE TIME YOU WERE

GROWING UP?

A. New England States (Me., Vt., N.H., Mass.,
conno' R.I.)

B. Middle Atlantic States (N.Y., Pa., N.J.)

C. South Atlantic States (W.Va., Md., D.C.,
Del., vac, N.C., S.C., Ga., Fla.)

D. East North Central States (Wis., Mich.,
Ill., Ind., Ohio)

E. East South Central States (Ky., Tenn.,
Miss., Ala.)

F. West North Central States (N.Dak., S.Dak.,
Minn., Nebr., Iowa, Kans., Mo.)

G. West South Central States (Tex., Okla.,
Ark., La.)

H. Mountain States (Idaho, Mont., Wyo., Nev.,
Utah, Colo., Ariz., N.Mex.)

I. Pacific Coast States (wash., Ore., Calif.)

J. Alaska or Hawaii

K. Overseas U.S. possession

L. In an English-speaking foreign country

M. In a non-English-speaking foreign country

59

18

17

83

193

21. IN WHAT SIZE COMMUNITY DID YOU LIVE THROUGHOUT MOST
OF YOUR CHILDHOOD?

A. In a big metropolitan center or one of its
suburbs

B. In a city of 100,000 to 500,000 population
C. In a city of 50,000 to 99,999 population
D. In a city of 15,000 to 49,999 population
E. In a town of 2,500 to 14,999 population

F. In a rural area, or in a village of less
than 2,500 population

22. IN ALL, HOW MANY TIMES DID YOUR FAMILY MOVE FROM
ONE CITY TO ANOTHER DURING THE FIRST EIGHTEEN
YEARS OF YOUR LIFE?

A. Not at all

B. Once

C. TWO to three times
D. Four to five times
E. Six to nine times

F. Ten or more times

23. HOW MANY BROTHERS AND SISTERS DID YOU HAVE?

A. One
B. TWO
C. Three
D. Four
E. Five

F. Six or more

G. I was an only child

43

17
18

55
18
17

18
20
15
22

17

194

24. HOW MANY OF YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS WERE OLDER

THAN YOU?

A. One
B. TWO
C. Three
D. Four
E. Five

F. Six or more
G. I was the oldest child

H. I was an only child

25. LOOKING BACK ON THE DAYS SPENT IN YOUR FAMILY OR
CHILDHOOD HOME, HOW HAPPY WERE YOU?

A. very happy

B. Quite happy most of the time

C. Neither very happy nor very unhappy
D. A little on the unhappy side

E. Very unhappy

26. WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS BEST DESCRIBES
THE ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES OF YOUR CHILDHOOD?

we were impoverished most of the time
We were poor, but we managed somehow

we fluctuated between being poor and being
comfortable

we lived comfortably most of the time

we were well-to-do

28
13
13

28

33
46
15

22
31

41

27.

28.

29.

195

IN WHAT SECTION OF TOWN DID YOUR FAMILY LIVE LONGEST
WHILE YOU WERE GROWING UP?

A. we lived in one of the most exclusive sections
B. we lived in a good section, but not the best
C. We lived in an average section

D. we lived in one of the poorer sections

E. we lived in a rural area

DURING YOUR CHILDHOOD, HOW OFTEN DID YOU ATTEND CHURCH?

A. Every Sunday

B. At least three times each month

C. Once or twice monthly

D. On special occasions, such as Easter
E. Rarely

F . Never

AS A YOUNGSTER, HOW OFTEN WERE YOU A LEADER IN GROUP
ACTIVITIES?

A. Almost always
B. Frequently

C. Occasionally
D. Never

E. As a rule, I tried to avoid membership in groups

29
48

11

57
13
19

46
3O
11

196

30. HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU FIRST LEARNED TO SWIM?

A. Under ten

B. Ten to thirteen

C. Fourteen to sixteen
D. Seventeen or over

E. I never learned to swim

31. AS A TEENAGER, WITH WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING
AGE GROUPS DID YOU GET ALONG BEST?

A. People younger than yourself

B. People slightly younger than yourself
C. People your own age

D. People slightly older than yourself

E. People considerably older than yourself

32. AT WHAT AGE DID YOU OWN YOUR FIRST AUTOMOBILE?

A. Sixteen or younger

B. Seventeen to nineteen

C. Twenty to twenty-four

D. Twenty-five to twenty-nine

E. Thirty or over

197

ON A FEW DIVERSE MATTERS OF PERSONAL OUTLOOK . . .

1. SOMETIMES TWO PEOPLE APPEAR T0 POSSESS ABOUT THE
SAME AMOUNTS OF SKILL AND TRAINING, BUT ONE IS
STILL MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN THE OTHER. IN YOUR
OPINION, WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING BEST ACCOUNTS

FOR THIS?

A. Differences
ingenuity

B. Differences
persistence

C. Differences
experience

D. Differences
poise

E. Differences
status , and

in imagination, enterprise, and

in ambition, application, and

in intelligence, education, and

in personality, presence, and

in family background, social
personal contacts

2. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF A MAN WHO TRIES DIFFICULT
THINGS, BUT WHO DOESN'T ALWAYS SUCCEED AT THEM?

A. I admire such a man for his initiative

B. I admire such a man for his persistence

C. I feel that such a man is to be more pitied
than admired

D. I disapprove of such a man

3. IN YOUR OPINION, OF WHAT VALUE IS LUCK IN
CONTRIBUTING TO A PERSON'S FINANCIAL SUCCESS?

A. It is
B. It is
C. It is
D. It is

E. It is

very important
important

somewhat important
not very important
not at all important

82

39
55

11
15
55
13

6.

198

SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT MOST NEW PRODUCTS ARE JUST
A MEANS OF MOTIVATING PEOPLE TO SPEND MORE MONEY,
WHILE OTHER PEOPLE SUGGEST THAT THEY ARE USUALLY
IMPROVEMENTS OVER THE PRODUCTS WHICH THEY
SUPPLANT. HOW DO YOU FEEL?

A. I believe that most new products are improve-
ments

B. I feel that some new products are improvements,
but that others are merely a means of motivating
people to spend more money

C. I believe that most new products are merely a
means of motivating people to spend more money

WOULD YOU SAY THAT YOU ARE INCLINED TO TRY NEW

PRODUCTS WHEN THEY FIRST COME OUT, OR THAT YOU

ARE MORE LIKELY TO WAIT UNTIL OTHERS HAVE TRIED
THEM FIRST?

A. As a rule, I like to try new products when
they have first come out

B. It depends on the product

C. For the most part, I prefer to wait until
others have tried new products first

HOW OFTEN DO YOU TELL JOKES?

A. Frequently
B. Occasionally
C. Rarely

D. Almost never

52

48

13

7O
17

13
63
24

7. HOW OFTEN

199

DO YOU FIND THAT YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION

OF A PERSON IS THE RIGHT ONE?

A. Almost always
B. Often

C. Occasionally
D. Rarely

E. Almost never

8. FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH PEOPLE, WHICH ONE OF
THE FOLLOWING MOST NEARLY DESCRIBES YOUR FEELINGS
ABOUT PEOPLE?

A. There is much good in everyone

9. HOW OFTEN

B. There is some good in almost everyone

C. People are about as good as they feel

they have to be

D. A surprising number of people are both

thoughtless and unreliable

E. Most people are basically self—centered

and mean

DO PEOPLE TELL YOU THEIR TROUBLES?

Virtually never
Not very often
About as often as they confide in others

Quite often; a lot of people seem to want
to tell me their troubles

Frequently; almost everyone I know seems
to come to me with his troubles

20
58
22

24
68

41
44

200

10. WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING BEST DESCRIBES YOUR
WILLINGNESS TO BEAR A RISK?

I hardly ever bear a risk
I sometimes bear a risk

I often bear a risk

I am a gambler at heart

I do not bear risks

29
56
13

201

IN CONCLUSION, A FEW BASIC FACTS ABOUT YOURSELF, YOUR

FAMILY, AND YOUR HOME . . .

1. What is your present age?

A. Under 25 years of age

B. 25 - 34 years
C. 35 - 44 years
D. 45 - 54 years
E. 55 - 64 years
F. 65 - 74 years

G. 75 years of age or older

2. WHAT IS YOUR PRESENT MARITAL STATUS?

A. Never married

B. Married

C. Remarried, following divorce

D. Remarried, following widower status

E. Widower

F. Separated or divorced

3. HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU FIRST MARRIED?

A. Less than 18 years of age

Be 18 '-
Co 21 -
D. 26 -

E. 30 years of age or older

F. Never married

of
of
of
of
of

age
age
age
age

age

20 years of age
25 years of age

29 years of age

31
43
17

18
59
17

1202

4. HOW MANY CHILDREN HAVE YOU?

A. None
B. One
C. TWO
D. Three
E. Four
F. Five

G. Six or more

5. OTHER THAN YOUR WIFE AND CHILDREN, DO YOU HAVE
ANY OTHER RELATIVES OR IN-LAWS PRESENTLY LIVING
WITH YOU IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD?

A. No
B. Yes, one
C. Yes, two or more

D. Never married

6. IF YOU WERE EVER A MEMBER OF THE ARMED FORCES,
PLEASE INDICATE FOR HOW LONG A PERIOD OF TIME
YOU SERVED ON ACTIVE DUTY.

A. Less than 1 year
B. One or two years
C. Three or four years
D. Five years or more

E. Never served on active duty

30
26
11

11

96

28
40

28

203

7. IF YOU HAVE SERVED ON ACTIVE DUTY WITH THE

MILITARY,

WHAT WAS YOUR STATUS WITH REGARD TO

RANK DURING THIS PERIOD? (PLEASE EXCLUDE ANY
SUBSEQUENT PROMOTIONS RECEIVED WHILE A MEMBER
OF THE NATIONAL GUARD OR THE RESERVE.)

Served entire period as an enlisted man

Entered as an enlisted man, and released as
a non-commissioned or a warrant officer

Entered as an enlisted man, and released as
a commissioned officer

Served entire period as a non-commissioned
or a warrant officer

Entered as a non-commissioned or a warrant
officer, and released as a commissioned
officer

Served entire period as a commissioned
officer

Never served on active duty

8. IN RECENT YEARS, WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR GENERAL

STATE OF

HEALTH?

Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor

Sometimes good, and sometimes not-so-good

25
17

17

28

59
37

204

9. PLEASE INDICATE THE NUMBER OF TIMES DURING
YOUR ADULTHOOD THAT YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED AN
ILLNESS WHICH HAS INCAPACITATED YOU FOR A
PERIOD OF ONE MONTH OR LONGER.

A. Never
B. Once
C. Twice

D. Three times
E. Four times

F. Five times or more

10. HOW MANY HOURS EACH WEEK OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE
HAVE YOU AVERAGED DURING THE PAST TWELVE
MONTHS?

A. NOne

B. Less than one hour each week
C. One or two hours

D. Three or four hours

E. Five or six hours

F. Seven hours or more

79
13

33
24
20
17

1205

11. IN WHAT KIND OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE DO YOU ENGAGE

THE MOST?

Calisthenics

walking

Jogging

Sports

Other (please specify):

WOrk around home and
yard (5 dealers)
Farm work (1 dealer)
Bicycling (1 dealer)
Exercycle (1 dealer)
No forms of exercise

(1 dealer)

(MULTIPLE ANSWERS)

12. ABOUT HOW MANY OUT-OF-STATE TRIPS HAVE YOU TAKEN
DURING THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS?

B.
C.
D.

NOne

l or 2

3 or 4

5 or 6

Other (please specify):

eight (1 dealer)
ten (1 dealer)
fifteen (1 dealer)

24
33

72
15

35
39
16

13.

14.

206

WHAT HAS BEEN THE REASON FOR THE MAJORITY OF
THESE OUT-OF-STATE TRIPS?

A. Pleasure

B. Family visits

C. Military duty

D. Business transactions

E. Professional or trade association meetings

F. Management development conferences of
seminars

G. Other (please specify):

H. I have not taken any out-of—state trips
during the past twelve months

(MULTIPLE ANSWERS)

AT WHAT AGE DO YOU EXPECT TO RETIRE?

A. 54 years of age or younger
B. 55 - 59 years of age
C. 60 - 61 years of age
D. 62 - 64 years of age
E. 65 - 69 years of age

F. 70 years of age or older

72

20
28

11
19

17
22
22

2(Y7

15. WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING BEST DESCRIBES YOUR
FEELING TOWARDS THE PROSPECT OF YOUR RETIREMENT?

I am looking forward to my retirement

There are some aspects of retirement to
which I am looking forward; and others,
to which I am not

Like everything else in life, I hope to
take my retirement in stride

Frankly, I am not looking forward to my
retirement

I have not yet thought about the prospect
of my retirement

16. WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING BEST DESCRIBES THE
KIND OF ACTIVITY IN WHICH YOU WOULD LIKE MOST
TO ENGAGE ONCE YOU HAVE RETIRED?

Striking out along new, but less hectic,
paths of business endeavor

Entering into active politics

Performing unpaid community or volunteer
work

Traveling extensively

Pursuing my favorite sporting activities--
golfing, tennis, hunting, fishing, etc.

Engaging in hobbies and puttering around
the house

Just "taking it easy”
Other (please specify):

Semi-active in dealership
(2 dealers)

10
18

31

10

31

22

22
39

208

17. GENERALLY SPEAKING, WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING
BEST DESCRIBES YOUR PRESENT POLITICAL POSTURE?

I consider myself to be a Republican

I consider myself to be an Independent,
but on most issues I lean toward the
Republicans

I consider myself to be an Independent,
with leanings toward neither of the two
major U.S. political parties

I consider myself to be an Independent,
but on most issues I lean toward the
Democrats

I consider myself to be a Democrat
Other (please specify):

I am not a U.S. citizen

NUMBER ANSWERING: 53

.18. HAVE YOU EVER PERFORMED VOLUNTEER SERVICE ON
BEHALF OF A POLITICAL PARTY? (INDICATE ONE

OR MORE.)

A.

I have worked on behalf of a political
party at the local level

I have worked on behalf of a political
party at the state level

I have worked on behalf of a political
party at the national level

I have never performed volunteer service
on behalf of a political party

(MULTIPLE ANSWERS)

47
34

28

ll

67

.209

19. FOR WHOM DID YOU VOTE IN THE U.S. PRESIDENTIAL

ELECTION OF 1960?

John F. Kennedy
Richard M. Nixon
Other (please specify):

I did not vote in this election

NUMBER ANSWERING: 53

20. FOR WHOM DID YOU VOTE IN THE U.S. PRESIDENTIAL

ELECTION OF 1964?

Barry M. Goldwater
Lyndon B. Johnson
Other (please specify):

I did not vote in this election

NUMBER ANSWERING: 53

21. FOR WHOM DID YOU VOTE IN THE U.S. PRESIDENTIAL

ELECTION OF 1968?

E.

Hubert H. Humphrey
Richard M. Nixon
George C. Wallace
Other (please specify):

I did not vote in this election

26
74

66
32

15
81

210

22. AS OF THIS TIME, FOR WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING
POSSIBLE U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES WOULD YOU

LIKE MOST TO VOTE IN 1972?

Richard . J . Daley

Mark Hatfield

Hubert H. Humphrey

Edward M. Kennedy

John V. Lindsay

Eugene J. McCarthy

George S. McGovern

Edward S. Muskie

Richard M. Nixon

Charles H. Percy

Ronald Reagan

Nelson A. Rockefeller

George C. wallace

Other (please specify):
Undecided (2 dealers)

I am not a U.S. citizen

NUMBER ANSWERING: 53

23. WHAT IS YOUR WIFE'S PRESENT AGE?

Under 25 years of age

25 - 34 years of age

35 - 44 years of age

45 - 54 years of age

55 - 64 years of age

65 - 74 years of age

75 years of age or older
I am a widower

I have never married

hNNh

oo

56

comm

48
34

211

24. HOW OLD WAS YOUR WIFE WHEN SHE MARRIED YOU?

A. Less than 18 years of age
B. 18 - 20 years of age
C. 21 - 25 years of age
D. 26 - 29 years of age
E. 30 years of age or older

F. I have never married

25. WHERE DID YOUR WIFE LIVE DURING MOST OF THE
TIME SHE WAS GROWING UP?

New England States (Me., Vt., N.H., Mass.,
Conn., R.I.)

Middle Atlantic States (N.Y., Pa., N.J.)

South Atlantic States (W.Va., Md., D.C.,
1381., vac, N.C., S.C., Ga., Fla.)

East NOrth Central States (Wis., Mich.,
Ill., Ind., Ohio) '

East South Central States (Ky., Tenn.,
Miss., Ala.)

West North Central States (N.Dak., S.Dak.,
Minn., Nebr., Iowa, Kans., Mo.)

west South Central States (Tex., Okla.,
Ark., La.)

Mountain States (Idaho, Mont., wyo., Nev.,
Utah, Colo., Ariz., N.Mex.)

Pacific Coast States (wash., Ore., Calif.)
Alaska or Hawaii

Overseas U.S. possession

In an English-speaking foreign country

In a non-English-speaking foreign country

I have never married

31
55

84

212

26. IN WHAT SIZE COMMUNITY DID YOUR WIFE LIVE
THROUGHOUT MOST OF HER CHILDHOOD?

In a big metropolitan center or one
of its suburbs

In a city of 100,000 to 500,000
population

In a city of 50,000 to 99,999
population

In a city of 15,000 to 49,999
population

In a town of 2,500 to 14,999
population

In a rural area, or in a village of
less than 2,500 population

I have never married

39

15

11

11

11

13

213

27. WHAT WAS THE MAJOR OCCUPATION OF YOUR WIFE'S
FATHER AT THE TIME OF HIS PEAK EARNING POWER?

Manual worker (such as construction worker,
machine operator, farm laborer, etc.)

Clerical (such as stock clerk, sales clerk,
office worker, etc.)

Semiprofessional or skilled technical (such
as draftsman, lab technician, electrician,
etc.)

Field sales (other than manager)

Lower ranks of management

Middle ranks of management

Top management

Small business proprietor or farm owner
Owner of a medium-to-large business
Government or military

Professional, typically requiring a bachelor's
or master's degree (such as teacher, engineer,
accountant, etc.)

Professional, typically requiring a Ph.D. or
advanced professional degree (such as doctor,
lawyer, professor, etc.)

Other (please specify):

Minister (2 dealers)
Unknown, father deceased
(1 dealer)

I have never married

24

11

\OKONO‘

14

\l

214

28. HOW MANY BROTHERS AND SISTERS DID YOUR WIFE
HAVE?
A. One
B. Two
C. Three
D. Four
E. Five
F. Six or more
G. She was an only child
H. I have never married
29. HOW MUCH FORMAL SCHOOLING DID YOUR WIFE COMPLETE?

0 — 5 grades

6 - 8 grades

Some high school
High school graduate
Some college

College graduate
Post graduate study
Master's degree
Post master's study
Doctorate
Professional degree (M.D., D.D.S., LL.B., etc.)

I have never married

28
20
22

11
11

35
34
20

215

30. WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS BEST DESCRIBES
THE ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES OF YOUR WIFE'S CHILDHOOD?

A. Her family was impoverished most of the time
B. Her family was poor, but they managed somehow

C. Her family fluctuated between being poor and
being comfortable

D. Her family lived comfortably most of the time
E. Her family was well-to-do

F. I have never married

31. IN WHAT SECTION OF TOWN DID YOUR WIFE'S FAMILY
LIVE LONGEST WHILE SHE WAS GROWING UP?

A. They lived in one of the most exclusive
sections

B. They lived in a good section, but not
the best

C. They lived in an average section
D. They lived in one of the poorer sections
E. They lived in a rural area

F. I have never married

13
22

54
11

11

33

43

216

32. ARE ANY OF YOUR CHILDREN CURRENTLY ATTENDING

COLLEGE?
A. Yes, and one or more should receive a 35
degree
B. Yes, but I doubt that any will receive 4
a degree
C. No, because my college-age children are 6

not interested in attending college at
the present time

D. No, because I do not feel that college -
is a necessary part of my children's
education

E. No, because my college-age children are -
not academically of college caliber

F. No, because my children are not now of 51
college age

G. Other (please specify): -

H. I have no children 4

33. HAVE ANY OF YOUR CHILDREN EVER ATTENDED COLLEGE
PRIOR TO THE PRESENT TIME? '

A. Yes, and one or more received a degree 37
B. Yes, but none received a degree 13
C. No, because my children were not interested 2

in attending college at the time they were
eligible to do so

D. No, because I did not feel that college was -
a necessary part of my children's education

E. No, because my children were not really -
qualified for college at the time they
became of college age

F. No, because all of my children are now of 44
college age or younger

G. Other (please specify): -

H. I have no children 4

   

217

34. DO YOU HAVE ANY CHILDREN WHOM YOU HOPE WILL ATTEND
COLLEGE WHEN THEY ARE OLD ENOUGH TO DO SO?

Yes, and I want one or more to obtain a degree

Yes, but I really do not care whether or not
any obtains a degree

Yes, but I doubt that any will wish to attend
college when old enough to do so

Yes, but I doubt that any of my children are
academically of college caliber

No, because I do not believe that college is
a necessary part of my children's education

No, because all of my children are now of
college age or older

Other (please specify):

I have no children

35. WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING HAS BEEN MOST IMPORTANT
TO YOU IN CHOOSING A HOME FOR YOUR FAMILY?

Pleasantness of surroundings

Convenience to work, recreation, and shopping
facilities

Neighbors of similar background and outlook
Quality of local schools

Cost alternatives of housing available in a
given market

Other (please specify):

59

28

55
17

17

36.

37.

38.

218

ABOUT HOW LONG HAVE YOU LIVED AT YOUR PRESENT
ADDRESS?

A. 1 year or less
B. 2 - 5 years

C. 6 - 10 years
D. 11 - 19 years

E. 20 years or longer

DO YOU THINK THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT YOU MIGHT
SOMEDAY MOVE FROM YOUR PRESENT FAMILY DWELLING TO
SOME OTHER PLACE?

A. Yes, I do
B. No, I do not

C. I'm really not certain

IF YOU DO ANTICIPATE MOVING FROM YOUR PRESENT
FAMILY DWELLING AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE,
WHEN MIGHT YOU ESTIMATE THAT MOVE TO TAKE PLACE?

A. Within the next few months

B. Within the next one—to-two years
C. In three-to-four years

D. In five years' time or longer

B. After our children are grown and have
left the household

F. At this point, my family and I do not
anticipate moving from our present
residence

24
26
31
17

46
30
24

11

15
18

48

39.

40.

219

WHATEVER YOUR INTENTIONS, SHOULD YOU EVENTUALLY
MOVE AWAY FROM YOUR PRESENT FAMILY DWELLING, FOR
WHICH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING REASONS MIGHT YOU BE
MOST LIKELY TO MAKE THIS MOVE?

Such a move would probably be involuntary,
as a result of factors beyond our control

we are somewhat dissatisfied with our
present residence, and could use something
more appropriate to our needs

Our present location is somewhat less than
ideal, and could be improved upon

Both our present residence and its location
could stand improvement, and together these
two factors do provide incentive to move

We'd really like to live in another section
of the country, and we may well move there
if and when the opportunity to do so arises

we are renting our present facility, and
should like ultimately to move to a place
of our own

Other (please specify):

Changing family needs (8 dealers)

Cost of home upkeep (1 dealer)

Deterioration in the quality of
our neighborhood (1 dealer)

Desire to live on or near the
water (1 dealer)

Desire to live on boat (1 dealer)

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO YOU TO LIVE NEAR
YOUR PARENTS?

A. Very important

B. Important

C. Somewhat important
D. Not very important
E. Not at all important

F. One or both of my parents now
live within my own household

G. Both of my parents are deceased

41

13

20

22

26
19
20

31

41.

220

ONCE YOUR CHILDREN HAVE BECOME OF AGE,

DO YOU FEEL THAT THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO
CONTINUE TO COUNT ON YOU FOR FINANCIAL

SUPPORT, SHOULD THEY BE IN NEED?

A. Yes, I do

B. At times, perhaps, depending on
the nature of the need

C. Only in an emergency, or in the
event of some other unfortunate
development

D. No, I do not
E. I have no children

11
65

18

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