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“The best way to predict
the future is to create
it.”- Peter Drucker
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The Next Big Thing!
Amit Singh Post Graduation Programme(PGP) Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad [email protected] 8758978192
© Amit Singh
Amit Singh, IIM A
Contents
Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 2
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 3
Can Entrepreneurship be defined? ............................................................................................ 3
Entrepreneurship-Innovation-Creativity ................................................................................... 3
Disruptive innovation and Entrepreneurship ............................................................................ 6
Different forms of Entrepreneurship ......................................................................................... 6
Intrapreneurship ........................................................................................................................ 7
Social Entrepreneurship ............................................................................................................. 8
Corporate Social Entrepreneurship: A New Paradigm .............................................................. 9
Importance of Entrepreneurship in today’s world .................................................................. 10
Present status of entrepreneurship in India ............................................................................ 11
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 12
References ............................................................................................................................... 14
Amit Singh, IIM A
Abstract
Entrepreneurship is difficult to define as its meaning keep evolving with time. Few
decades back, it was meant to be a small business venture which has now changed to
startup companies which can make big. But the basic values and attributes which define
the spirit of entrepreneurship remain unchanged. The entrepreneurs are characterized
by self-belief, passion, hard work, perseverance, determination and flexibility. In
order to survive, an entrepreneur must continually innovate. Innovation and
Entrepreneurship are tightly intertwined. Entrepreneurship happens when there is a
marriage among innovation, creativity and risk taking ability. Disruptive innovation has
lately caught the fancy of world and is much talked about after the success of products
like smart phones, WhatsApp and social media. Creativity helps in finding new
innovative solutions to the old/new problems while the spirit of entrepreneurship helps
in crafting that solution into a sustainable business proposition. Many of us have a
perception that entrepreneurship means starting your own venture. Though it is
partially correct but it is not just limited to that. Entrepreneurship is a spirit that
defines a person. It is value system inside a person which makes him/her do
entrepreneurial activities. There are evolving concept of Intrapreneurship, Social
entrepreneurship, Corporate Social Entrepreneurship and Social Intrapreneurship. The
importance of entrepreneurship in this interconnected and dependent world cannot be
more emphasized. Earlier an innovation happened in some part of world would require
decade to get transfer to rest of the world. But now it is not the case. Because of
information technology revolution, fruits of innovation can be shared with just a click of
mouse around the world. This has created a lasting impact not only on individual but
also on society. Converting youth from job seekers to job creators can be regarded as
the most fundamental change it has brought in our society. At present, the Indian
entrepreneurship scene is fast developing. Entry barriers for new entrepreneurs
have reduced to insignificant level. Capital and mentorship is readily available. The
incubation centres across the country have become the core around which other factors
of entrepreneurship revolve. Entrepreneurship is the next big thing!
Amit Singh, IIM A
“The happiest time in an man’s life is when he is in red hot pursuit of a dollar with a
reasonable prospect of overtaking it” – Henry Wheelar Shaw
Introduction
There have been numerous attempts in the past to describe what entrepreneurship is
and how it affects our economy and society at large. A number of studies exist which
focus on the individual characteristics and personality traits of entrepreneurs largely
within the context of small businesses. Over the past decade, the success of internet and
technology firms like Google, Facebook, Yahoo and now Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal
etc. have changed the whole meaning of entrepreneurship. Now entrepreneurship is
just not limited to small businesses, rather it is fastest way to become big in the market.
Can Entrepreneurship be defined?
“The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an
opportunity”- Peter F.Drucker, Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Practice and Principles.
The study of entrepreneurship is an unfolding journey which is progressively
elaborative. The more information we acquire, the more we learn about the
entrepreneur. But even as we learn more we left with an unclear picture of what makes
up this dynamic individual who creates national economics. This is not to say that there
are no workable definitions.
There are numerous authors who have tried to define entrepreneurship in their own
way by understanding the psychological and sociological underpinning that an
entrepreneur has. The core of entrepreneurship, both individual and corporate, is
this pursuit of opportunity. Entrepreneurs more or less differ among themselves but
successful entrepreneurs are characterized by self-belief, passion, hard work,
perseverance, determination and flexibility. Entrepreneurship embrace an
incremental innovation process which eventually triggers an entrepreneurial event.
Entrepreneurship-Innovation-Creativity
One other way of looking entrepreneurship is to recognize that entrepreneurship is
enabled by (a) the current or potential existence of something new (an innovation) (b)
Amit Singh, IIM A
which may have been developed by new ways of looking at old problems (creativity)
(c) or the lessened capability of prior process or solutions to respond effectively to new
solution parameters brought on by new or emerging external conditions
(environmental change). The role played by change, innovation and creativity is
critical to understand entrepreneurship.
It is widely accepted that at the heart of any successful business is a great idea.
Some seem so simple we wonder why nobody thought of them before. Others are so
revolutionary that we wonder how anybody could’ve thought of them at all. In business
language, a successful idea takes the form of a business model. Idea generation is a
part of creativity. Creativity is defined as creation of a new idea by the art of
imagination.
Source: www.brandadventure.co.uk
Amit Singh, IIM A
A creative mind can come up with new or improved ideas which when innovated
may lead to public use. This innovated use when exploited commercially giving
the fruit of innovation which drives the business lead to an entrepreneurship
venture. An individual who leads and manages this entrepreneurial process is
called an entrepreneur.
He is a person who is oriented towards the future that has a vision and develops ideas,
tries to predict events and changes and use them in an adequate manner, is able to
recognize the opportunity that others have not noticed or have not given importance to.
Economists emphasize entrepreneur’s role as an innovator who markets his
innovation. This fact is repeatedly held true in the history. Had Edison not marketed
his innovative electric bulb well enough, stature of Edison would have been limited to
just a scientist not as a successful businessman. We all know how one innovative
product that time lead to whole line of innovation leading to today’s digital backbone-
semiconductor transistor!
In order to survive, an entrepreneur must continually innovate. Innovation and
Entrepreneurship are tightly intertwined. Peter F.Drucker defines innovation as “a
specific tool of entrepreneurs, the means by which they use changes as favourable
opportunity for some other business or service activity, so entrepreneurs must create
something new, something different, they must change or transform value”. Thus the
most task of the entrepreneur is to create value in the market.
Amit Singh, IIM A
Disruptive innovation and Entrepreneurship
Whatsup came and destroyed the SMS services; Smartphones came and destroyed the
market of features phones. Such innovations are called disruptive innovations which
disrupt the existing way of doing things. As per Clayton M. Christensen, a disruptive
innovation is an innovation that helps create a new market and value network, and
eventually disrupts an existing market and value network (over a few years or decades),
displacing an earlier technology.
With the digital technology encompasses every sphere of our life, the time taken by
disruptive innovation to show impact has considerably decreased. Now a product
which might be just unknown few years before can completely change the landscape in
one-two years. Hence disruptive innovation has become a major weapon in the
entrepreneur’s armoury. Entrepreneur can now become billionaires in two-five year
time with the help of a disruptive innovation idea. This was not possible earlier where
entrepreneur was a synonym with small businesses. But this is no longer valid where
one idea can really change the world.
Different forms of Entrepreneurship
There is huge misconception about the word- Entrepreneurship in the world around
us. Many of us have a perception that entrepreneurship means starting your own
venture. Though it is partially correct but it is not just limited to that.
Entrepreneurship is a spirit that defines a person. It is value system inside a
Amit Singh, IIM A
person which makes him/her do entrepreneurial activities. It is hard to believe that
a person can be an entrepreneur even when he is working in a company. Let us see
different form of same entrepreneurial spirit.
Intrapreneurship
Intrapreneurship is the act of behaving like an entrepreneur while working within a
large organization (Wikipedia). It refers to employee initiatives in organizations to
undertake something new, without being formally asked. Intrapreneurship applies the
'start-up' style of management (characterized by flexibility, innovation, and risk taking)
to a secure and stable firm. This usually lead to fast tracking the product development
(by circumventing the bureaucracy) so that advantage of a new opportunity can be
taken. Thus, Intrapreneurs are Inside Entrepreneurs who follow the goal of the
organization.
Source: thelawofmotion.net
In today’s dynamic world where changes are so fast that a large organization may not
able to detect the change in time leading to existential crisis have made this concept
very attractive to the corporations. It is a win-win situation for both- employees and
employers. Employees are given a channel to vent their entrepreneurial spirit by using
the corporation’s resources without been held accountable in case of a failure.
Employers in turn get most innovative and disruptive products through this process as
well as the spill over effects are tremendous over the organization culture. Most apt
example would be Google which allow employees to use 20% of their time to their ideas
using Google resources. This policy actually led to fantastic products like AdSense,
Google news and Gmail for Google which it aggregate in a portal called as “Google lab”.
At Lockheed Martin, Intrapreneurs developed a number of famous aircraft designs and
at 3M, they came up with Post-It Notes. Similarly at LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and
Amit Singh, IIM A
many other organizations, Intrapreneurs are responsible for a lot of product innovation
around the world today. Smart companies want employees to become an Intrapreneur
because it fuels business growth by innovation and allows them to gain a competitive
advantage in their industry. It also allows companies to engage employees meaningfully
and reduce the attrition rate.
Social Entrepreneurship Social Entrepreneurship is not about philanthropy and notions of corporate social
responsibility. It is all about the belief that it is possible to make a sustainable difference
through market driven solutions. It is about the passion social entrepreneur share
towards bringing a sustainable social change, using a market based model that does not
bypass the poor; instead treats them as valuable customers and consumers and not an
object of their bounty. They follow ‘best practices’ to bring about ‘next practices’ and
have vision to change not the rules of the game but the game itself.
Entrepreneurship is all about creation of economic value through new organization
or new coordination that relies on established accounting and market based measures
of performance. Social Entrepreneurship is built in the theoretical foundations of
commercial entrepreneurship that focus on creation of economic value through
‘innovation’. It offers market based solutions to social problems thus creating sound
businesses that address C K Prahlad’s “Bottom of the Pyramid” society. Financial
performance is only one of the parameters to assess the contribution of a social
enterprise, unlike commercial enterprise. Social benefit is the key. Social
entrepreneurship empowers people economically and thus socially and in turn,
politically. Profit beyond self is the hall mark of the social entrepreneurship. One of
Amit Singh, IIM A
the most quoted and celebrated example of this is “Grameen Bank” of Bangladesh
created by the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Mohd. Yunus.
In the words of Prof M.Yunus, social entrepreneurship is defined as “ as a for profit,
socially relevant, innovative and sustainable economic entity that offers innovative
solutions to the problems faced by people at the BoP, through provisions of goods and
services at an affordable price to them. It brings goods and services within the reach,
usability and affordability of the people who otherwise would find it difficult to access and
afford. It creates economic as well as social value double bottom line), besides
environmental value that brings sustainability to the effort”.
This paradigm does not talk of double bottom line but triple: earned profits,
accruing social benefits and environmental sustainability.
Corporate Social Entrepreneurship: A New Paradigm
Currently a number of large corporate houses are seeking to create more robust forms
of strategic alliances that support some cause and also improves their bottom lines.
Recent examples include ITC e-choupal and HUL Shakti project where companies
supply chain is integrated into a social cause leading to a Change. These types of
initiatives are known as Corporate Social Entrepreneurship (CSE).
Source: http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu
CSE is to create social value that in turn creates business value. The concept of CSE
is defined as the process of extending the firm’s domain of competence and
corresponding opportunity set through innovative leveraging of resources, both within
and outside its direct control, aimed at simultaneously creation of economic and social
value. The CSE process takes companies beyond the traditional patterns of charity,
giving into more robust forms of corporate citizenship. Therefore it is more of business
Amit Singh, IIM A
strategy that helps all the participants in the process gain, the corporation, the partners,
and the consumers. It has to be understood that CSE is different from Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR is an activity performed by corporates to give back
the society in philanthropic way which may or may be aligned with firm’s strategic
vision. While CSE has firm’s vision build into it and performed to create value for all
stakeholders.
Importance of Entrepreneurship in today’s world
World around us is changing very fast. This is age of transformation where old problems
need new solutions. Young Entrepreneurs are at center of this transformation.
Entrepreneurship is not just a business model. It is much more than that. It is the way of
living which encompasses the thinking of risk taking, which is innovative and creating
jobs rather than seeking jobs. Its importance in interconnected and dependent world
cannot be more emphasized. Earlier an innovation happened in some part of world
would require decade to get transfer to rest of the world. But now it is not the case.
Because of information technology revolution, fruits of innovation can be shared with
just a click of mouse around the world. This has created a lasting impact not only on
individual but also on society. Now society is much more acceptable to
entrepreneurs than it was few decade back.
Source: doortobusiness.blogspot.com
The spirit of entrepreneurship not only creates economic benefits but also lead to more
job creation. Young graduates become job creators rather than job seekers. Industrial
revolution in the western world had changed the people live and do business. Think of
an entrepreneurship revolution across the world which will change the people live,
Amit Singh, IIM A
think and do business much more rapid pace than industrial revolution. It will
transform our world.
Present status of entrepreneurship in India
Entrepreneurship is the next big thing. We have already seen first wave of
entrepreneurship from Silicon Valley in US. The success of firms like Microsoft, Google,
Facebook, Amazon, WhatsApp, Uber Cabs and many other small and big startups have
changed the way we live and do business. In India, first wave of modern
entrepreneurship came with the success of firms like Infosys, HCL, Wipro, Patni etc
which rode over the Information Technology boom. The second wave of the startups
drove over the e-commerce and increase internet penetration wave like Flipkart,
Snapdeal, Myntra, Quikr, Just dial etc. Now is the time for third wave of
entrepreneurship which would ride over mobile, tablets and cloud.
Source: www.dutiee.com
At present, the Indian entrepreneurship scene is fast developing. Entry barrier for new
entrepreneurs have reduced to insignificant level. Capital and mentorship is readily
available. The government policies are in place to encourage entrepreneurship. The
incubation centres across the country have become the core around which other factors
of entrepreneurship revolve. The institution based incubation centres like in IIMs and
IITs, the corporate based incubation like Microsoft Ventures, Google Entrepreneur and
privately run incubation centres like startup village, 99springboard, Tlabs, GSF etc have
revolutionize the way startups are nurtured in India.
Amit Singh, IIM A
Source: aboutraisingchickens101.com
These incubators have provided a structured way of engagement with startups and
provided a comprehensible framework where small startups and entrepreneurs can be
nurtured to become big. Entrepreneurships have now become a possible career options
for the youth and society is now more receptive of them seeing the recent success of
Flipkart, Snapdeal etc.
Conclusion
Entrepreneurship happens when there is a marriage among innovation, creativity and
risk taking ability. It not only benefits the individuals but also the society as a whole by
creating more jobs, using resources judiciously and increasing productivity.
Entrepreneurship is not just a career options but it is way of thinking.
Entrepreneurship in India is on the verge of explosive growth. Angel investors, venture
capital, media, startup clubs, service providers, mentors and training companies are
going to grow. And one important cog in the wheel is the incubator – the place where
startups are born and nurtured. When a baby is born, he/she is kept in the incubator for
first few hours and maybe days – this gives them a chance to adjust to outside
environment, and grow stronger before they face the outside world! In a similar way, a
startup is incubated in Incubation Center, which gives them a chance to bring their
business in shape, before they reach out to the world.
I believe the entrepreneurship ecosystem in India is fast maturing and would be engine
for growth in coming decade. This is only a start and if properly nurtured by our
government, society and finally by us, it would drive India to be truly next global super
power.
Amit Singh, IIM A
References
Kuratko D.F, Rao T.V.(2014) Entrepreneurship, A south Asian Perspective, Cengage
Learning
http://www.asiaentrepreneurshipjournal.com/AJESIII2Okpara.pdf
Drucker P.F. (1985) Innovation and Entrepreneurship, London: Pan Books Ltd.
Drucker P.F. (2002) Management Challenges for the 21st Century. London: Butter
Worth Heinemann
Chakravorti B. (2004) ‘The New Rules for Bringing Innovations to Markets”.
HarvardBusiness Review, March