Entrepreneur analysis Business & Marketing Essay Paper

Analyse a current entrepreneur who is a citizen from Japan. the entrepreneur must be the person who founded the business(es)(himself/herself or with the team), and currently still running/controlling the business(es) which was/were set up and is /are headquartered in Japan.
References (10-12 references required, among which at least 05 academic references needed; Harvard referencing style. All references used in the report MUST be in English)
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Description of task

Analyze a current entrepreneur who is a citizen from Japan. the entrepreneur must be the person who founded the business(es)(himself/herself or with the team), and currently still running/controlling the business(es) which was/were set up and is /are headquartered in Japan.

Report format with headings and sub-headings. Critical analyses and reflection on relevant entrepreneurship theories required, not just a simple presentation of the entrepreneur’s biography.

References (10-12 references required, among which at least 05 academic references needed; Harvard referencing style. All references used in the report MUST be in English)

Structure:

l  Introduction

l  Background of the entrepreneur

Discuss the background of the entrepreneur (i.e. history, development, family and socio-cultural background) to see what developed his/her entrepreneurial passion/propensity and contributed to this person’s entrepreneurial pathway/success (with reflection on/application of the relevant entrepreneurship theories).

l  Entrepreneurial traits/characteristics (Key Characteristics Cromie (2000) concludes there are (at least) seven characteristics distinguishing entrepreneurs or business owners from non-entrepreneurs.

• Need for achievement


• Locus of control


• Risk taking


• Creativity


• Autonomy


• Tolerance for ambiguity, and


• Self confidence

Discuss the characteristics/traits of the entrepreneur (with reflection on/application of the relevant entrepreneurship theories).

l  Opportunity recognition and idea development process

 Discuss the processes of opportunity recognition and idea development (with reflection on/application of the relevant entrepreneurship theories).

l  Competitive advantages （creativity + innovation = competitive advantages）

Discuss the type of business developed and the competitive advantage(s) of the business compared to competitors in the market (to be supported with relevant facts/figures/research where possible, with reflection on/application of relevant theories).

l  Recommendations

Discuss future suggestions for the entrepreneur including different types of businesses or avenues (e.g. franchising, mergers, expanding/selling their business etc) he/she may take.

Summary of the relevant entrepreneurship theories

1.

• Entrepreneurship is the process of people identifying new opportunities and converting them into marketable products or services

• At a macro-level, entrepreneurs create new business ventures, jobs and wealth, but they also force out of the marketplace the enterprises which failed to innovate

• Some key features distinguish Asia-Pacific entrepreneurship from European and American entrepreneurship

Defining entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship stems from the French word entreprenerd meaning ‘to undertake’ or ‘to take in one’s own hands’ • Entrepreneurship as a term was first used during the Industrial Revolution • It described the new phenomenon of the individual who formulated a venture idea, developed it, assembled resources and created a new business venture

Entrepreneurship is difficult to define because it is a multi-faceted phenomenon spanning a number of academic disciplines Defining entrepreneurship: ‘The process brought about by individuals of identifying new opportunities and converting them into marketable products or services’

The key elements of entrepreneurship

There are five generally agreed conditions that are necessary for entrepreneurship to occur:

1. an individual (the entrepreneur)

2. a market opportunity

3. adequate resources

4. a business organisation

5. a favourable environment

Cornerstone of the entrepreneurial process

• Perceives, pursues and exploits opportunities

• Four factors are considered to influence the way entrepreneurs perceive and pursue opportunities:

- Active search of opportunities

- Entrepreneurial alertness

- Prior knowledge

- Social networks

Opportunity

A situation where a new product, service or process can be introduced and sold at greater than its cost of production

Resources

Financial

• Physical

• Human

• Technological

• Social

• Organizational

Organization

Entrepreneurship can take place in diverse environments:

• New independent start-ups

• Corporate ventures

• Franchises

• Joint ventures

• Business acquisitions

Environment

•Community level

- Population density: number of organisations in an industry - Strength of the relationship between these organisations

• Societal level

- Cultural norms and values

- Government activities and policies

Common features of entrepreneurship in the Asia-Pacific region

Some key features distinguish Asia-Pacific entrepreneurship from European and American entrepreneurship:

• Presence of ethnic entrepreneurs such as ethnic Chinese and ethnic Indians

• Pyramid structures of Asian firms, which are mainly family-owned

• Key role played by the state in the development of entrepreneurship

Sociocultural features of ethnic Chinese

Western and Eastern entrepreneurs approach relationships differently • Asian companies cultivate relationships to identify investment opportunities.

• Vertical relationships are taught via Confucian concepts: benevolence , righteousness, and propriety or courtesy

• Horizontal relationships distinguish between in-group members or insiders and out-group members or outsiders

The pyramid structures of Asian family firms

• Proportion of family owned businesses are higher in Asia compared to Australia and New Zealand

• Legal structures are similar across the region

• A distinct feature of Asian companies is the use of a ‘pyramid’ structure

ENTREPRENEURIAL PROCESS FRAMEWORK SECTIONS

• Opportunity Identification --- Emergence of new market segments; New technology and development; Regulatory and social change ; Process requirements; Changing demographics; Tools: such as Lean-Startup; Design Thinking and Business; Model Canvas

• Concept development --- New technologies; New products/services; New processes ; New markets; New organizational structure/forms ; New sales and distribution channels

• Resource determination --- Business and management expertise; Technical expertise; Financing and venture capital; Supply chain facilitation; Production facilitation; Intellectual property

• Resource acquisition --- Debt, equity, leveraging; Cloudfunding; Outsourcing; Fixed assets and leasing; Permanent, contract and temporary labour; Joint ventures, partnerships, associations

• Implementation and management --- Implementation of business and marketing plans (entrepreneurial marketing plans, Maritz: 2010); Tactical plans; Monitoring performance; Expansion and development; Managing the growing business

• Venture harvesting --- Turnover/value; Employees; Assets and equity; Economic value added; Market share; Profitability; Non-for-profit-sustainability

Some reference

• Beugelsdijk, S. (2007). Entrepreneurial culture, regional innovativeness and economic growth. J Evol Econ.17:187–210


• Cromie S (2000) Assessing entrepreneurial inclinations: some approaches and empirical evidence. Eur J Work Organ Psychol 9(1):7–30


• Henderson R and Robertson M, (2000) "Who wants to be an entrepreneur? Young adult attitudes to entrepreneurship as a career", Career Development International, Vol. 5 Iss: 6, pp.279 – 287.

2.

• Two dominant views of the concept of ‘opportunity’ exist: the discovery perspective and creation perspective


• Two schools of thought exist on the entrepreneurial perspective in individuals: economists and behaviourists


• Individuals considering a career in entrepreneurship should consider four types of risk


• The social context is crucial in understanding the situations in which entrepreneurial opportunities will emerge and be pursued

The discovery perspective

• Successful entrepreneurs perceive opportunities which exist as a result of inefficiencies in the allocation of resources or competitive imperfections in a market or industry

• This perspective follows a causal approach to entrepreneurship

The creation perspective

• Opportunities are created by the actions, reactions and enactment of entrepreneurs, who proactively consider innovative ways of producing new products or services

• As new stakeholders become involved with the venture brings on board new means and new goals

The decision to exploit entrepreneurial opportunities

• The decision to exploit an opportunity depends upon the joint characteristics of the individual and the nature of the opportunity

• Opportunity cost: the cost of passing up one investment in favour of another

A number of techniques are available to assist decisions relating to pursuing opportunities:

- Risk- return analysis

- Real options

- Affordable loss

The profile of an entrepreneur

Two basic schools of thought shape the profile of the entrepreneur:

– economists who consider the entrepreneur as an agent who specialises in certain roles – behaviourists who concentrate on the creative and intuitive character

The roles of entrepreneur: an economic perspective

The status of the entrepreneur can be analysed in terms of labour division which explains this function based on certain roles:

– risk bearer

– arbitrageur

– innovator

– co-ordinator of scarce resources

The most common characteristics of entrepreneurs were identified in early studies on entrepreneurship

The roles of entrepreneur: a behaviourist approach

Only three of these characteristics have shown a high level of validity:

– the need for achievement

– the internal locus of control

– the risk-taking propensity

Entrepreneurs in a social context

Three features of a person’s social context are important to the perception of entrepreneurial opportunities and the decision to seize them:

– the stage of life

– position in social networks

– ethnicity

Stage of life and entrepreneurial behaviour

There is no general theory indicating the stage of life that is best for launching a business venture, but empirical research has shown that most entrepreneurs are:

• Male

• Post-secondary education

• Aged between 25-44

• Established career record

Ethnicity and entrepreneurship

Ethnic entrepreneurship can be a response to the lack of opportunities in the dominant culture

• In this case, entrepreneurship is very often triggered by a variety of ‘push factors’

• ‘Pull factors’ can also be important, such as the presence of entrepreneurs in the family as role models; high social status; availability of resources in the ethnic network

3.

• Creativity can be described as the production of new and useful ideas in any domain

• Creativity stems from creative thinking skills, knowledge and motivation

• Innovation is the successful implementation of creative ideas within an organisation

• The extent of innovation can be defined as disruptive or incremental

• The successive stages of creativity- innovationentrepreneurship are not necessarily linear

• The screening process to establish the feasibility of the opportunity must address the product feasibility (is it real?), the market feasibility (is it viable?), and the economic feasibility (is it worth it?)

Creativity

• Creativity is often associated with the arts

• In business, creativity can be defined as the production of new and useful ideas

• Ideas must fulfil a need in the marketplace and generate profit

• Successful, innovative companies do systematically encourage the development of ideas

The three components of creativity

• Creativity does not only consist of creative thinking, this is only one part of creativity

• Knowledge and motivation are two other important elements

Creative thinking is how people approach problems and solutions

• Depends strongly on the individuals personality, as well as how a person thinks or works

• People are more creative if they feel comfortable disagreeing with others

Expertise or knowledge encompasses everything a person knows and can do

• Knowledge can be acquired in different ways:

– through formal education

– practical experience

– or interaction with other people

Motivation determines what a person will actually do

• Two types of motivation exist:

– intrinsic motivation (motivation from inside, such as enjoyment of work)

– extrinsic motivation (motivation from outside, such as financial rewards)

Innovation is the successful implementation of creative ideas within an organisation

• Entrepreneurship can occur with little, if any, innovation

• Innovation is a multidimensional concept

Entrepreneur is the link between creative mind and business mind

• Creativity is a precursor of both innovation and entrepreneurship.

• Using imagination, an entrepreneur can put aside the practical norms.

• A creative and innovative mind has to have entrepreneurial skills to bring those creative ideas to life in a business setting.

• An entrepreneur provides the ‘science’ aspect about how to bring the artistic creativity to life.

Some reference

Shepherd, D.A., T.A. Williams and H. Patzelt (2015) ‘Thinking about entrepreneurial decision making: Review and research agenda’, Journal of Management, 41(1): 31-46.

This reading looks into how entrepreneurs assess opportunity in order to facilitate decision making. As this module focused on the commercialisation of entrepreneurial opportunities, this reading is helpful in understanding thinking about how entrepreneurs make decisions.

Klotz, A.C., K.M. Hmieleski, B.H. Bradley and L.W. Busenitz (2014) ‘New venture teams: A review of the literature and roadmap for future research’, Journal of Management, 40(1): 226-255.

This reading on new venture teams, which are important in assessing and commercialising entrepreneurial opportunities. New venture teams are an important component of the ability of entrepreneurs to make opportunities a reality.