case study related to entrepreneurship

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Entrepreneurship Case Studies

Fieldfresh foods.

Mukesh Pandey, K Sudhir, Raman Ahuja, and Deepali Tewari Customer/Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Operations

By 2010, the FieldFresh team had been able to create an efficient supply chain for baby corn across Punjab and Maharashtra at all levels. But success brought with it the expectation of growth. Should FieldFresh grow opportunistically into different foreign markets as retailers and wholesalers demanded different products for their respective markets? Should FieldFresh continue to focus on baby corn, whose supply chain-market linkages it had perfected, or should the company expand the range of products it would supply? Should FieldFresh continue to maintain its primary export focus, or shift relative emphasis to the growing domestic market?

DonorsChoose.org

Anna Blanding, Jennifer Stredler, Kim Su, Ivy Washington, Sharon Oster, Jaan Elias and Andrea R. Nagy

Customer/Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Operations, Social Enterprise

After an auspicious start, Charles Best (Yale College ’98) and DonorsChoose.org set their sights on growing beyond New York City. Supported by a $14 million grant from Silicon Valley executives in 2005, DonorsChoose.org scaled up its organization and began a step-by-step expansion into various locales.  By 2009, the organization had made great strides toward completing its expansion. However, observers wondered whether DonorsChoose.org could reach its goal of providing $100 million per year in gifts to classrooms and whether it would have an impact on the fundamental inequities within the educational system.

James Baron and Jaan Elias

Employee/HR, Entrepreneurship, Ethics & Religion

AgBiome co-founders, Scott Uknes and Eric Ward,  were admirers of self-managed organizations and commitment culture, approaches to organizational structure and process that encouraged openness and collaboration. Accordingly, they built AgBiome to operate without supervisory relationships, job titles, formal performance evaluations, and individual performance bonuses. Instead, AgBiome relied on a committee structure that encouraged people with the greatest expertise to make decisions on matters within their ambit.  By 2017, AgBiome employed 80 people and was projecting further expansion. But observers wondered, could a company, which worked on the basis of commitment and without a hierarchy, scale?

The Alibaba Group

Yi guo,yao jing, charles liu, michelle wang, jaan elias, and zhiwu chen.

Competitor/Strategy, Entrepreneurship, Investor/Finance, Law & Contracts

By July of 2011, Yun “Jack” Ma had achieved his goal of creating one of the world’s leading e-commerce companies. Ma founded the Alibaba Group and took advantage of growing internet usage in China to launch the leading B2B, C2C and B2C sites in the country and capture a huge market. Despite his success, Ma had a troubled relationship with Yahoo!, the largest investor in the Alibaba Group. Ma’s decision in January of 2011 to transfer Alipay (the Alibaba Group’s online payment unit) from the Alibaba Group to a company under his personal control was just making matters worse.

What is Next? Search Fund Entrepreneurs Reflect on Life After Exit

A.j. wasserstein.

Entrepreneurship, Investor/Finance, Leadership & Teamwork

During his time at the Yale School of Management, Matt Dittrich (Yale SOM ‘18) became interested in how recent MBA students gathered search funds, structured small acquisitions, propelled themselves into being a CEO, and then participated in a liquidity event only a few years after acquisition and graduation.  He appreciated the case studies about entrepreneurs facing acquisition, strategy, and financing issues.  But what did entrepreneurs do after their exits?  At the urging of his teacher, A.J. Wasserstein, he interviewed former search fund entrepreneurs who had experienced an exit to learn what exactly they chose to do, and why. Overcome by curiosity, Dittrich was excited to begin his informational interviews (summaries included here). 

Advanced Leadership 2016

Jaan elias, james quinn and james baron.

Employee/HR, Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Design, Leadership & Teamwork, Social Enterprise

Biographies of the following seven leaders are provided:

• Rodney O’Neal, Delphi,
• Neal Keny-Guyer, Mercy Corps,
• David Cote, Honeywell,
• Linda Mason, Bright Horizons,
• General Stanley McChrystal, United States Military,
• Donna Dubinsky, Numenta, and (7) Laszlo Bock, Google. 

Mike Erwin: An Accidental Social Entrepreneur

A. j. wasserstein.

Mike Erwin, a decorated army veteran from West Point, never envisioned himself as a social entrepreneur or activist. Yet in 2012, he found himself the CEO of an organization with 15,000 members and 34 chapters reaching from Syracuse, NY to Houston, TX. Though Erwin was proud of his organization’s growth and had excelled in leadership positions, he questioned whether he was the right person to scale Team Red, White and Blue. Would someone else with more experience be more appropriate? If he indeed moved on, how could he ensure the organization would continue to thrive amid a change in leadership and potential restructuring?

Searching for a Search Fund Structure: A Student Takes a Tour of Various Options

Employee/HR, Entrepreneurship

Before entering the Yale School of Management, James Guba (SOM’18) had thought about becoming an entrepreneur. He did not have a specific idea to build a business around, but he did aspire to take charge of an organization and grow it. At Yale, Guba discovered an entrepreneurial niche called “search funds” that would allow him to acquire and lead a company that he had not built from scratch. Inspired, Guba met with search fund entrepreneurs to learn about their different paths to building their funds.

Kalil Diaz: A DR-based search firm considers its first acquisition

Customer/Marketing, Entrepreneurship

After nearly two years of searching, Kalil Diaz (SOM '14) wondered if he had finally found the company for which he had been looking. The decision he was facing would have a big impact on his investors as well as his own life. He was somewhat confident he could access funds from his current investors to purchase the company despite several investors being slow in their response to commit. However, Diaz still wondered if making the investment was the right move. How would he transition from the search to being CEO and running a company? Would the acquisition provide suitable financial returns for his investors and himself?

Clorox, Inc

Elise rindfleisch and allison mitkowski.

Customer/Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Sustainability

In October 2007, Clorox announced that it would buy Burt’s Bees for $925 million – more than five times Burt’s Bees’ annual sales. Clorox’s move caught many in the industry by surprise - Burt’s Bees had a folksy image and natural appeal for customers. Could such a brand find a home within a company best known for a toxic cleanser? Would Clorox’s push into “green” cleaners satisfy Burt’s Bees’ faithful customers? Had Clorox paid too much for its acquisition? Or, were there potential synergies that justified the purchase? What was the future of this market?

Project Masiluleke: Texting and Testing to Fight HIV/AIDS in South Africa

Rodrigo canales, jean rosenthal, jaan elias, and william drenttel.

Entrepreneurship, Healthcare, Innovation & Design, Social Enterprise

The traditional Zulu greeting, "Sawubona," literally translates as "I see you." The major challenge faced by Project Masiluleke could be captured in this local greeting – could Project M see the lives of the individuals they hoped to help? Could they find ways to understand each other and the individuals threatened by HIV/AIDS well enough to design effective solutions to a major health crisis? PopTech, frog design, and the Praekelt Foundation joined with iTeach, an HIV/AIDS and TB prevention and treatment program, to look for new approaches to address South Africa's health issues. Access to this case has been made freely available to the public.

Project Samaan

Rodrigo canales, jean rosenthal, jaan elias, ashley pandya and samuel sturm.

Entrepreneurship, Healthcare, Innovation & Design, Social Enterprise, State & Society, Sustainability

In a unique partnership, governments, designers, architects, academics, and NGOs had come together to create new sanitation solutions for India's urban slums. Specifically, the group set about tackling one of the developing world's leading problems – open defecation in crowded urban settings. But by fall 2013, not a single community toilet had been approved. What had gone wrong? And what could this experience teach others about an overall solution to the problem?

San Miguel: Expanding the Amaranth Market

Jaan elias, mario alan gonzález hernández, carlos gil garcía, rodrigo canales, and kaveh khoshnood.

Competitor/Strategy, Customer/Marketing, Employee/HR, Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Design, Leadership & Teamwork, Operations, Social Enterprise

San Miguel, a small Amaranth processing company in Huixcazdhá, Mexico, was started as a development project to sustainably employ local residents.  Despite the plant’s rural location and unschooled workforce, the company pioneered the processing of amaranth into a number of unique products. Though the company yielded a small but steady profit, the plant was operating at only 20 percent of capacity and the organization lacked a coherent marketing strategy. What new markets could the company target and what communications strategy should it employ?

Haiti Mangoes

Andrea nagy smith and douglas rae.

Entrepreneurship, Operations, Social Enterprise, State & Society

JMB S.A. had been in the mango processing business since 1998, and CEO Jean-Maurice Buteau had built up a profitable business that exported around 2,000 tons of mangoes per year.  The January 2010 earthquake devastated Haiti, but JMB appeared to survive intact, and the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF) was eager to move forward. In spring 2010 SEDF proceeded with a $1.3 million loan and a $1 million equity investment in JMB. But by spring 2012, after pouring $2.55 million into JMB, SEDF realized that it had to make a decision: invest another $2 million and reorganize the company under new management; sell the company, or shut down JMB S.A. altogether.

Allison Mitkowski, Alexandra Barton-Sweeney, Tony Sheldon, Arthur Janik, and Jaan Elias

Customer/Marketing, Innovation & Design, Social Enterprise, State & Society, Sustainability

In 2009, SELCO was considering its plans for how the company might expand. The company decided to institutionalize its design process by building an innovation center. SELCO also added products that provided energy solutions beyond solar. Some within the company were hoping the company would go “deeper” and look at designing solutions for even poorer members of the Indian population. Others were hoping that the company would go “wider” and expand beyond its current geographical areas in Karnataka and Gujarat. Whatever its direction, the strategic choices the company made at this point in its evolution would be crucial to determining its continued success.

360 State Street: Real Options

Andrea nagy smith and mathew spiegel.

Asset Management, Investor/Finance, Metrics & Data, Sourcing/Managing Funds

In 2010 developer Bruce Becker completed 360 State Street, a major new construction project in downtown New Haven. The building was a 32-story high-rise with 500 apartments, a parking garage, and a grocery store on the street level. In the summer of 2013, Becker had a number of alternatives to consider in regards to the open lot adjacent to his recent construction. He also had no obligation to build. He could bide his time. But Becker also worried about losing out on rents should he wait too long. Under what set of circumstances and at what time would it be most advantageous to proceed?

Achievement First

Fawzia ahmed, jaan elias, and sharon oster.

Social Enterprise, State & Society

On the edges of a warehouse district in New Haven, Connecticut, an intrepid group of educational pioneers were turning conventional theory on its head. Amistad Academy, a charter school founded by two Yale Law School graduates, was not only getting students on par with their grade levels in reading and math, but was pushing them to perform as well as the best suburban school districts too.  Five years after opening Amistad, McCurry and Toll opened an additional school in New Haven and four schools in Brooklyn, New York – all of which showed the same promise as Amistad. They dubbed their network of schools Achievement First (AF), and garnered national attention and funding from “venture philanthropists” interested in educational reform. However, in the summer of 2006, AF was facing critical questions about its future direction.

Ravi Dhar and Andrea Nagy Smith

Competitor/Strategy, Customer/Marketing, Investor/Finance, Operations

At the time of its IPO filing, Groupon held the lead among group buying sites, a 52-percent market share of revenue generated, according to the group-buying site aggregator Yipit. But many questions remained about its future. Would Groupon’s labor-intensive business model prove profitable? Would customers and merchants be loyal to Groupon? Would other companies take its business? In summer 2011 it was far from sure that the young company could maintain its lead.

Carry Trade ETF

K. geert rouwenhorst, jean w. rosenthal, and jaan elias.

Innovation & Design, Investor/Finance, Macroeconomics, Sourcing/Managing Funds

In 2006 Deutsche Bank (DB) brought a new product to market – an exchange traded fund (ETF) based on the carry trade, a strategy of buying and selling currency futures. The offering received the William F. Sharpe Indexing Achievement Award for “Most Innovative Index Fund or ETF” at the 2006 Sharpe Awards. These awards are presented annually by IndexUniverse.com and Information Management Network for innovative advances in the indexing industry. The carry trade ETF shared the award with another DB/PowerShares offering, a Commodity Index Tracking Fund. Jim Wiandt, publisher of IndexUniverse.com, said, "These innovators are shaping the course of the index industry, creating new tools and providing new insights for the benefit of all investors." What was it that made this financial innovation successful?

Governors Island

Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Design, Social Enterprise, State & Society

The political players had changed since President Clinton and Senator Moynihan’s helicopter ride. Clinton was no longer President, his wife had taken Moynihan’s seat in the Senate and Michael Bloomberg had replaced Rudolph Giuliani as New York’s Mayor. What remained the same was that the city, state, and federal government had yet to reach a deal. The question of what to do with Governors Island and who should do it remained very much open. Indeed, there were those within the new Bush administration and the Congress who believed in scrapping Clinton and Moynihan’s deal and selling the island to the highest bidder be that the local government or a private developer.

Ant Financial: Flourishing Farmer Loans at MYbank

Jingyue xu, jean rosenthal, k. sudhir, hua song, xia zhang, yuanfang song, xiaoxi liu, and jaan elias.

Competitor/Strategy, Customer/Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Design, Investor/Finance, Leadership & Teamwork, Operations, State & Society

In 2015, Ant Financial’s MYbank (an offshoot of Jack Ma’s Alibaba company) was looking to extend services to rural areas in China through its Flourishing Farmer Loan program. MYbank relied on the internet to communicate with loan applicants and judge their credit worthiness. Initial tests of the program had proved promising, but could MYbank operate the program at scale? Would its big data and technical analysis provide an accurate measure of credit risk for loans to small customers? Could MYbank rely on its new credit-scoring system to reduce operating costs to make the program sustainable?

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Berkeley Haas Case Series

The Berkeley Haas Case Series is a collection of business case studies created by UC Berkeley faculty

Entrepreneurship

Connect-in-Place: Startup Disrupts Socializing and Learning During COVID-19

Two UC Berkeley students forced into online classes during COVID-19 realized - due to their volunteer experiences championing educational equality - that younger students (K-12) could suffer social isolation and reduced learning opportunities. So, the undergrads brainstormed how to tackle new educational and emotional challenges pre-college students faced due to pandemic restrictions.

Medinas Health: Building a Medical Equipment Marketplace

This case centers on the startup Medinas Health, a technology company based in Berkeley, California that aimed to increase the efficiency of the medical equipment market in the U.S. Chloe Alpert, Medinas Health’s CEO, envisioned a more sustainable healthcare industry and aimed to reduce waste and improve the financial bottom-line of hospitals.

Niantic Labs and the Professional Entrepreneur in the Silicon Valley: Google, Pokémon Go, and Beyond

This case series focuses on the entrepreneurial career of John Hanke, a 1996 MBA graduate of the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley and a professional entrepreneur.

International Data Spaces: A Collaborative Organizational Moonshot

Led by ThyssenKrupp CTO Reinhold Achatz, IDSA is an organization that seeks to set, diffuse, and implement a dominant global B2B data standard.

Maire Tecnimont: The Creation of NextChem

Maire Tecnimont is an international leader in the engineering and construction of industrial plants.

Goodbaby: How a Chinese Underdog Became a World Leader Through Open Innovation

Goodbaby is an industry-leading manufacturer of juvenile products. Under a variety of brand names, nearly a third of the strollers in the world are designed and manufactured by Goodbaby.

Barça Innovation Hub: Getting the Ball Rolling on Innovation

This case study follows the Spanish football club, FC Barcelona, as it starts to innovate and create an organizational structure for open innovation.

Enel X: Driving Digital Transformation in the Energy Sector

Enel is one of the world’s largest electric utilities, based in Italy but operating in dozens of countries around the world. This case discusses the process of establishing a new subsidiary company inside Enel to lead the company towards digital transformation in eMobility.

Bosch: Scaling Large Company Innovation for Strategic Advantage

This case focuses on the Innovation Performance Management (IPM) methodology as a new approach whereby established and global companies, like Bosch, can use innovation to support strategic goals.

Amyris, Inc: Make good. No compromise.

Amyris has grown from a Silicon Valley startup to a global publicly-traded company who genetically programs yeast into chemicals used by more than 250 million consumers in over 2,000 brands. The company's path has included entering markets with new production solutions, learning how to lower risk through business partnerships, and expanding from B2B to B2C.

Innovation, Co-Creation, and Design Thinking: How Salesforce's Ignite Team Accelerates Enterprise Digital Transformation

From its inception, Salesforce, the cloud computing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) company, took a radically different approach to selling enterprise software than competitors such as Oracle and SAP.

Sproutel: How Design Roadmapping Helped Improve Children's Health & Guide a Growing Company

This case aims to introduce students to the 'design roadmapping' process that connects customer and user experience design with product and technology roadmapping to create an integrated plan for future growth and development.

Innovating Innovation @tk

This case shows how ThyssenKrupp (tk) has altered its innovation process in recent years. CEO Heinrich Hiesinger has brought in a former colleague from Siemens, Reinhold Achatz, to lead a transformation of the R&D function at the company.

Disruption in Detroit: Ford, Silicon Valley, and Beyond

This case focuses on the Ford Motor Company in Spring 2016 and how its then-CEO, Mark Fields, and his senior management team should best respond to several emerging disruptive technologies that will ultimately force the automaker to modify its current business model.

The Berkeley-Haas Case Series is a collection of business case studies written by Haas faculty. Our culture and vision at the Haas School of Business naturally offer distinctive qualities to the Series, filling a gap in existing case offerings by drawing upon lessons from UC Berkeley's rich history and prime location in the San Francisco Bay Area. We seek to publish cases that challenge conventional assumptions about business, science, culture, and politics.

Siemens Healthineers: A Digital Journey

Maersk: Driving Culture Change at a Century-Old Company to Achieve Measurable Results

Flourish Fi: Empowering Positive Money Habits

Just Climate: A New Investment Model?

Roche Pakistan

A new collection of business case studies from Berkeley Haas

The aim of the Berkeley Haas Case Series is to incite business innovation by clarifying disruptive trends and questioning the status quo.

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Columbia University Libraries

Entrepreneurship: case studies.

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What are Case Studies?

Entrepreneurship cases, journals of case studies.

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Case studies are usually short articles describing real-world business examples that illustrate a particular problem or principle in detail. There are many cases available online for free or for a fee, and you can also search the library catalogue and selected databases below.

Looking for something specific?

Search C  LIO for entrepreneurship case studies, enter Entrepreneurship--Case studies in the search field and select "Subject" from the dropdown menu.

Search Business Source Complete for a company or topic and select "Case study" under "Document type."

• Columbia Caseworks :  A selection of Columbia Entrepreneurship Cases
• Case Centre :  A distributor of over 50,000 cases on a variety of business topics including entrepreneurship produced by various institutions. Some electronic and some paper cases are free and others are sold for a fee, with free teaching materials.
• Harvard Business School Cases :  Educators can register for free access to cases and teaching materials; others are charged a fee. Narrow topic to "Entrepreneurship" to see relevant cases. Note: Some older Harvard Cases are available via Business Source Complete
• MIT Sloan School of Management :   Entrepreneurship cases are available for free, including teaching notes. Educators are asked to register.
• Business Case Journal
• IBIMA Business Review
• International Journal of Case Studies in Management
• International journal of Global Management Studies
• International Journal of Management Cases
• Journal of Case Studies
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• Journal of Marketing Research and Case Studies
• << Previous: Ideas & Pitches
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• Last Updated: Feb 14, 2024 12:15 PM
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Entrepreneurship

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How Cofounders Can Prevent Their Relationship from Derailing

• April 11, 2022

VC Larry Cheng on What Makes a Great Entrepreneur

• Anthony K. Tjan
• December 07, 2009

The Strategic Power of Saying No

• Susan Bishop
• From the November–December 1999 Issue

Why Start-Ups Replace Early Employees (and How to Keep Your Job)

• N. Taylor Thompson
• September 18, 2014

Enabling the Natural Act of Entrepreneurship

• Daniel Isenberg
• April 10, 2013

Truth About Private Equity Performance

• Oliver Gottschalg
• Ludovic Phalippou
• From the December 2007 Issue

The Innovative Mindset Your Company Can’t Afford to Lose

• Simone Bhan Ahuja
• October 13, 2015

Research: How Cloud Computing Changed Venture Capital

• Michael Ewens
• Ramana Nanda
• Matthew Rhodes-Kropf
• October 25, 2018

Discipline of Innovation (HBR Classic)

• Peter F. Drucker
• From the August 2002 Issue

A Script for Entrepreneurial Success

• November 18, 2009

Secure Your Plan with the Right Team

• Heide Abelli
• June 22, 2015

Finding Entrepreneurs Before They’ve Founded Anything

• Walter Frick
• September 19, 2014

LinkedIn Co-Founder Reid Hoffman on Innovating for an Uncertain Future

• January 07, 2022

Can a Volunteer-Staffed Company Scale? (HBR Case Study)

• Robert I. Sutton
• May 01, 2014

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

• Rita Gunther McGrath
• April 14, 2008

When You Pitch an Idea, Gestures Matter More Than Words

• Joep Cornelissen
• Nicole Torres
• From the May–June 2019 Issue

In Singapore, a Failure to Fail

• Scott D. Anthony
• March 24, 2011

Do Algorithms Make Better — and Fairer — Investments Than Angel Investors?

• Torben Antretter
• Charlotta Siren
• Dietmar Grichnik
• Malin Malmstrom
• Joakim Wincent
• November 02, 2020

In Entrepreneurial Pitches, Stage Presence Is Everything

• Chia-Jung Tsay
• Juan Martinez
• From the September–October 2021 Issue

A Chinese Approach to Management

• Thomas M. Hout
• David Michael
• From the September 2014 Issue

The Birth of Tencent Music Entertainment

• Winnie Qian Peng
• Martin A. Miszerak
• February 10, 2022

PixSense: Go-to-Market Strategy

• Naeem Zafar
• August 01, 2012

Alchemy of Innovation at TSL Jewellery Ltd. Adding Value to Gold-Transforming a Traditional Business

• September 28, 2016
• Robert Siegel
• Sara Rosenthal
• September 25, 2015

EarthEnable (A)

• Laura Hattendorf
• Peter Seibert
• February 21, 2018

Intel 64 Fund

• G. Felda Hardymon
• May 10, 2000

Managing a Public Image: Kevin Knight

• Robin J. Ely
• Ingrid Vargas
• December 13, 2004

Mkhiwa Trust: Contextualizing a Couple's Servant Leadership

• Caren Scheepers
• Abdullah Verachia
• Natalie Van der Veen
• Mologadi Kekana
• April 17, 2020

HBR's 10 Must Reads 2019 (Hudson Exclusive Edition)

• Harvard Business Review
• Joan C. Williams
• Thomas H. Davenport
• Michael E. Porter
• Marco Iansiti
• November 16, 2018

MoviePass: The "Get Big Fast" Strategy

• Benjamin C. Esty
• Daniel Fisher
• March 21, 2019

Omada Health: Riding the Clinical and Regulatory Waves

• Robert F. Higgins
• November 18, 2015

Jaga: Managing Creativity and Open Innovation (B)

• Wim Vanhaverbeke
• August 23, 2018
• David E. Bell
• Mary Shelman
• December 21, 2011

Hong Kong Broadband Network: An Integrated Approach to Talent Management

• Shlomo Ben-Hur
• November 29, 2016

VITAS: Innovative Hospice Care

• Roger Hallowell
• Tonicia Hampton
• October 10, 1999

The Bronx Community Foundation

• Brian Trelstad
• October 12, 2020

Gobi Partners and DMG

• Josh Lerner
• January 28, 2010

The MU Chip

• Andrew Isaacs
• October 20, 2002

Campusutra: A Fusion of Opportunities for Growth

• Chandrasekaran Nagarajan
• Indira Ananth
• Sathya Saminadan R S
• January 22, 2024

Pre-Start Analysis: A Framework for Thinking About Business Ventures

• Howard H. Stevenson
• John R. Van Slyke
• September 16, 1985

The Birth of Tencent Music Entertainment, Teaching Note

D-bamboo home and garden shop, teaching note.

• Barney G. Pacheco
• December 16, 2010

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Entrepreneurship Librarian

Case studies are usually short articles describing real-world business examples that illustrate a particular problem or principle in detail. There are many cases available online for free or for a fee, and you can also search the library catalogue and selected databases below.

Looking for something specific?

To use UTL Library Search to find books of entrepreneurship case studies, enter "Entrepreneurship case studies" in the search field and select "Subject" from the "Any field" dropdown menu.

Or search these databases to find individual cases in digital format (articles):

• Business Source Premier This link opens in a new window Search for a company or topic and select "Case study" under "Document type."
• CBCA Reference & Current Events This link opens in a new window Enter "entrepreneurship" or another topic of choice in the text field and check "Business case" under "Document type."

Entrepreneurship Cases

• Arthur Andersen Case Studies in Business Ethics Ninety case studies from1987-94 produced by the Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business in cooperation with 525 institutions including University of Toronto. Free.
• The Asian Business Case Centre - Nanyang Technical University A collection of cases in Chinese and English focusing on Asian management and business experience. Searchable by topic or company. Free.
• BCIC Business Case Library (archived link) Cases focused on IT, energy, and tech companies in British Columbia. Produced by BC Innovation Council. Free.
• Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute Cases on 13 Canadian companies including Ferrero, Lassonde, Maple Leaf Foods and PepsiCo Canada, produced by the CAPI and sponsored by Export Development Canada. Free.
• Case Centre - Free Cases A distributor of over 50,000 cases on a variety of business topics including entrepreneurship produced by various institutions. Some electronic and paper cases are free and others are sold for a fee, with free teaching materials.
• CasePlace - Aspen Institute (archived link) Over 800 entrepreneurship cases focusing on "social, environmental and ethical issues in business." Archived link.
• Harvard Business School Cases - Entrepreneurship Cases on e.g. Google Glass and Andreessen Horowitz from Harvard Business Publishing. Educators can register for free access to cases and teaching materials; others are charged a fee. Note: Some older Harvard cases are available via Business Source Premier.
• Ivey Publishing - Entrepreneurship Cases Over 2,800 entrepreneurship cases out of the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario. Teaching notes also available. Paywall.
• MIT Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship Via the Case Center. Legatum Center case studies illuminate the thought processes of entrepreneurs, the challenges they face, and the solutions they devise as they develop their businesses. These cases are available without charge to help teachers, students, and aspiring entrepreneurs.
• MIT Sloan School of Management Entrepreneurship cases available for free, includes teaching notes. Educators are asked to register.
• National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science Science cases written by science faculty primarily from the U.S. and Canada, produced by the University at Buffalo. Free.
• Rotman Gender and the Economy Case studies The Institute for Gender and the Economy (GATE) at the Rotman School of Management promotes an understanding of gender inequalities and how they can be remedied – by people of all genders – in the world of business and, more broadly, in the economy. Case studies can be filtered using tags including for entrepreneurship, and include high-profile Canadian founder cases.
• Stanford Graduate School of Business - Case Studies Select "Entrepreneurship" under "Narrow your results>Additional topics."
• The Times 100 Case Studies UK cases produced by the Times, searchable by topic, company, industry, or edition. Free.

Journals of Case Studies

• Business Case Journal
• IBIMA Business Review
• International Journal of Case Studies in Management
• Journal of Case Research in Business and Economics
• Journal of Case Studies
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A Systems View Across Time and Space

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• Published: 11 July 2017

Community-based entrepreneurship: evidences from a retail case study

• Sazzad Parwez 1  

Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship volume  6 , Article number:  14 ( 2017 ) Cite this article

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Community-based entrepreneurship is considered to be an important instrument for the realization of potential among marginal and deprived communities isolated from the mainstream economy and is important in bringing social upliftment. Cultural values, shared resources, linkages, and mutual trust work for the community, nurtured through close personal relations for the functioning of economic activities. Entrepreneurial activities creating local public goods for a community have a comparative advantage over the absolute market-oriented activities. This paper tries to follow a case study method to analyze the community-based entrepreneurship in a marginal community (Muslim). Many self-employed Muslim workers and small businesses in urban centers in a non-Islamic society indicate that they bound to have a great propensity for entrepreneurship compared to the indigenous population. The government needs to introduce a policy with implicative measures for financial and technical support to these entrepreneurial activities.

To alleviate poverty, development agencies and multinational organizations have been greatly involved in interventions in the developing world for many decades. It has been observed that the most widely adopted approaches have often been paternalistic, even if unintentionally, while ignoring the strength of local institutions (Davis 1993 ). Most of the poverty alleviation programs have degenerated into “charity” rather than building the local and durable self-reliance (Burkey, 1993 ). It is evident that the real effect of developmental interventions has been compromising in respect to community development and eventually contributes to the creation of real poverty rather than alleviation (Cornwall 1998 ; Crewe, and Harrison 1998 ; Sachs 1992 ).

A major issue in developmental activities is that projects are generally conceived and implemented by agencies rather than by community members. This has often led to a lack of ownership on the part of the local population and beneficiaries. It is exemplified by the fact that once the finances of a project dry out, the interest of the local population also recedes. Identification of this trend has forced several international and domestic agencies to conceive and implement projects with enhanced local participation (Brinkerhoff 1996 ; World Bank 1996 ).

To enhance collective development, it has been identified that focus should be on the creation of sustainable economic activities rather than welfare projects (Parwez 2016b ). It has been commonly acknowledged that enterprise development can be a crucial element in the process of economic development [Drucker 1995 ; Schumpeter ( 1934 ) 1983 ]. Numerous initiatives that have been taken and executed aimed at promoting entrepreneurship development to improve the socio-economic condition. It is discouraging to observe the general lack of success of the entrepreneurial venture as very few examples are there to be replicated.

These failures suggest that there are many gaps in our understanding of entrepreneurial processes. A recent research and theory on transitional economies, together with growing interest in micro-credits, has an effect on community issues as principal elements of entrepreneurial activity among underprivileged people (Bates 1997 ; Cornwall 1998 ; Anderson, and Jack 2002 ; Parwez 2015 ). Further, values of the western world emphasize continuation of the conventional view of entrepreneurship (Peterson 1988 ), and efforts to encourage entrepreneurship in developing countries have been shaped by a western outlook. But societies differ substantially in the degree to which they incorporate elements of entrepreneurship (Hofstede 1980 ).

Generally, developing or poor countries suffer from adverse determinants in the context of entrepreneurial activities. In the case of India, these determining factors are more in number and pronounced. India being the materially disadvantaged economy is characterized by hierarchical social systems based on ethnicity, caste, gender, religion, economic and social status, and other factors; limited or non-existent welfare systems; subsidies eliminated as part of debt reduction programs; and a high level of unemployment. These features can be a stimulant to prospective entrepreneurs, though such entrepreneurs face characteristics uncertainty and risks due to political, social, and economic instability and lack of access to capital and institutional support (Leff 1979 ; Parwez 2016c ).

This study tries to examine a community-based entrepreneurship through a case study approach with an implicit research question on how it can lead to livelihood development and eventual empowerment of the community at large. This paper is comprised of a conceptual and empirical analysis, with the application of a case study method in a community-based retail chain for furthering of the concept, with the application of a case study method in a community-based retail chain with an aim of understanding the concept further.

Concerning the type of research applied in this form of study, a qualitative research approach is evidently dominant. New insights might be gained by applying a quantitative research approach more frequently. Although this study emphasis on qualitative research for the formulation of key concepts and operationalization; another important requirement is the availability of a requisite data, and it is rather problematic in general for the formulation of key concepts and operationalization, a second requirement is the availability of a requisite data, and this is still rather problematic in general. Expectedly, this study is based on primary data on the case. In addition, inquiries suffer from a uniformity of methods, and a case study design reigns.

This study follows a single-case design. The study has taken Friendly Mart as a case study to understand community-based entrepreneurship; events and activities are limited to a single occurrence. However, the drawback of a single-case design is its inability to provide a generalizing conclusion. To overcome this limitation, triangulation technique has been applied to confirm the validity of the process. By replicating the case through pattern-matching, a technique linking several pieces of information from the same case to some theoretical proposition has helped to raise the level of confidence in the robustness of the method.

The examination of the data is most often conducted within the context of its use (Yin 1984 ), that is, within the situation in which the activity takes place. To explore the strategies the reader uses, observing the subject within her environment provides great depth which isolates a phenomenon from its context, focusing on a limited number of variables. Second, variations in terms of intrinsic, instrumental, and collective approaches to case studies allow qualitative analyses of the data. Application of a case study relied on qualitative data which give descriptive accounts of the behavior of an individual, group, and enterprise. The detailed qualitative accounts not only are generally applicable to case studies to explore or describe the data in the real-life environment but also help to explain the complexities of real-life situations which may not be captured through experimental or survey-based data or research. A case study can give access to not only the numerical information concerning the strategies used but also the reasons for the strategy use, and how the strategies are used in relation to other strategies.

Community-based entrepreneurship

People, in general, are faced with issues related to poverty, illiteracy, lack of skills, poor health care systems, etc. These are problems that cannot be tackled individually but can be better solved through group efforts. There is a need to organize the poor and marginalized to come together for solving individual or collective problems (Yunus 2008 ). Community-based entrepreneurship is now seen as a viable alternative for development processes.

A general model of a community-based entrepreneurship is the same across the region. It is led by an individual or a group, economically homogenous in nature. It has been recognized as an effective tool for capacity building of the marginalized section (Rao 2003 ). Several empirical pieces of evidence suggest that it does enhance the qualitative equality economic cultural spheres (McKiernan 2002 ; De, and Sarker 2010 ; Parwez 2014 ). The basic directive principles of community-based entrepreneurship are group approach, mutual trust, and motivation towards economic activities encouraged by institutional support. Suresh et al. ( 2003 ) summaries several factors associated with community-based entrepreneurship: functions like operations, internal problems, effective leadership, and support towards establishing a business venture.

Minniti and Bygrave ( 1999 ) argue that individuals’ decisions towards entrepreneurship is influenced by “three simultaneous elements: (1) subjective initial endowment is personal, (2) institutional and economic circumstances of economy are community specific, and (3) the existing level of entrepreneurial activity in that community is perceived by the individual.” The nature of these determinants suggests prevailing interventions some way or other addressing the issue or not. Bygrave and Minniti ( 2000 ) imply that determinant variation in entrepreneurship led processes from region to region, even with similar economic conditions. They conclude that there are threshold effects of entrepreneurship, and policy interventions that do not raise equilibrium in a community will not be successful.

The community-based entrepreneurship has evolved due to the efforts of committed individuals to promote self-employment. There is banking and non-banking, and national and international developmental agencies have also played a significant part in creating resources for these forms of activities. During the early 2000s, policy makers and agencies realized that it can be an effective developmental instrument.

The community-based entrepreneurial venture is facing problems in every step from societal barriers to the market. This form of entrepreneurship takes place among the marginalized group because of socio-economic constraints. Studies have shown that they can lift themselves from the morass of poverty and stagnation through entrepreneurial activities based on collective action (Suresh, and Saravan 2013 ).

The formation of a homogenous group with the purpose of furthering entrepreneurial activities is the challenge, directly or indirectly in the process of the empowerment (Asia and the Pacific Division, IFAD 2006 ). Further concentration can be towards the economic well-being, providing an opportunity for participation in the function of community-led economic activities (Kannabiran 2005 ).

The community-based entrepreneurship has given way to mobilization and empowerment of the poor, who can now manage their own well-being and be benefited from economic activities. The expansion of entrepreneurial activities is an important tactic for the overall strategy of economic development (Jonathan 2010 ). Community-based entrepreneurship is fairly simple; management is sustainable and their investment is on intensive entrepreneurial processes. The purpose is limited by unsatisfactory institutional support from finance to technical assistance and affects ability to fulfil basic requirement of entrepreneurial activities.

There is a certain limitation in institutional support programs; entrepreneurial activities create a possibility of safety or guaranty with respect to fulfilling their ambition. The support system is mainly concentrated to the bank network in India that too in limited extent (Satyasai 2003 ); hence, expecting a miraculous result without correcting the imbalances in the outreach is a mere illusion (Satyasai 2008 ). It is the need of the hour to formulate policies focusing on organizing people in a participative manner to be part of entrepreneurial activities rather than solely concentrating on unsustainable welfare schemes (World Bank 2003 ).

It is possible that several societal features of the poor or marginalized communities may serve as a barrier; entrepreneurship can take place in socially and culturally diverse settings (Dana 1995 ; Holt 1997 ). Economic crises and the adverse situation can also be a catalyst for entrepreneurial activity (Harper 1991 ). In challenging situations, there exists an array of reasons and only a few alternatives for an entrepreneur (Parwez 2014 ). The most compelling among these reasons is survival and the consequent need to recognize opportunities that will lead to desirable outcomes (Yusuf, and Schindehutte 2000 ).

A determining factor for enterprise development in these societies depends on the prevailing characteristics of the community. This characteristic leads to further understanding of entitlements of individual members in relation to the standing and legitimate requirements of the community itself (Peterson 1988 ). The more community-oriented a society is the more members will be entitled to certain societal benefits, including the satisfaction of needs connected with survival, such as basic income, healthcare, and safety.

It is essential to recognize, if that community orientation is inconsistent (Peterson 1988 ) then entrepreneurial accomplishment may not only be compatible with diverse social arrangements but may also benefit from the integration of specific cultural values and norms (Basu and Altinay 2002 ). Evidence suggest that a possibility of cultural identity may function as a tool for entrepreneurial activity. It appears that entrepreneurial activity can flourish in a diverse and dynamic societal and cultural environment. In many communities, especially in developing countries, a variety of combinations simultaneously creates space for a different economic logic to take place. Local public goods are mainly created by the community-led entrepreneurship rather than by the market public or private intervention (Parwez 2016a ; Hayami 1997 ). This is because the community relationship prevents free riders.

Measuring the condition at a methodological level (case study) with respect to community-led entrepreneurship is a new form of entrepreneurial behavior (Dees and Ba le Anderson 2006 ; Dorado 2006 ; Short et al. 2009 ). Existing literature confirms that these are the early years of this concept. There are a good number of articles on community-based entrepreneurship both conceptual and empirical which are written in the last two decades; although, the absolute and relative number of empirical studies remains limited. It has been observed that agreement on the definitive concept is lacking; it is worth paying considerable attention to the explication of the concept with further research orientation.

Community-oriented enterprise: a Friendly Mart case study

Community-based enterprises use business to improve the life of a community in general. They are different from private enterprises; their business activity is undertaken as a means of achieving the benefit for the community, not for private gain. The key characteristic of community-based enterprises is that assets belong or dedicated to the community. It ensures that the enterprise is accountable to the community and that the profits or a surplus created are to be reinvested or distributed for the benefit of the community. However, for the sustainability of the enterprise, it needs to be profitable while serving the community.

Entrepreneurs such as Nazeer Khan of Friendly Mart and Ali Holdar’s Qamar Restaurant are the perfect example of how a community-driven business can be successful while creating public goods for the community at large. Both these business enterprises belong to Chilea community. A business enterprise, supported by the community with community-oriented required support system, have potential to generate jobs, scale up, earn a profit, and return the benefit to the community beyond those directly employed personnel. They run an enterprise as a worker-owned cooperative or a member-based association, as much of the human resource belongs to the Chilea community. There is a role for community-based social enterprises to help strengthen local economies.

Entrepreneurs such as Nazeer Khan and Ali Holdar are the reflection of a new form of a livelihood process as for the entrepreneur’s minority community. Their success has been an inspiration to others. Generally, a large part of the minority population in India is stagnated to low-cost and low-paying jobs. Only when there is a scope that wealth generated can be used locally to improve the socio-economic condition of some or more in the community. Community-based social enterprises are unique as they organize business activities around the community in quest of providing direct benefit. They provide purposeful employment and cash income to the marginalized community members and add value as it stops cash to leak out to the non-community member. Supplying products for local consumption to the community to spin off more community enterprises leads to the development of economic decision-makers and actively engages citizens to the positive direction. Community enterprises involve stakeholders across the community; to the certain extent, the Chilea community has been successfully achieving by being brave and adventurous and by enterprising to set up an enterprise which is the reflection of change. But community-based enterprises are rare, mainly due to the low level of success and being confined to the only marginal community.

The above arguments are well supported by existing literature. In the last few decades, academics, politicians, and civil analysts have cited the falling level of community involvement, an issue for concern; community involvement has been fundamental to the process of development. Fyfe ( 2009 ) says that community engagement is the most important approach to addressing demographically and geographically emphasized programs. While many argue that engagement initiatives among communities are difficult to estimate empirically, some studies also reveal reviews of major regeneration development, demonstrating the importance of community engagement. It has been argued that despite the acceptance of community engagement, evidence does not support the prevalence of such engagement, which met mixed results. Furthermore, the critical analysis suggests that community engagement creates a sense of responsibilities for communities in terms of taking care of their surroundings (Lawson, and Kearns 2010 ). The literature around “community participation” is discussed in depth; the notion is that it is difficult to define in most accepted ways. The term is understood and spelt differently by numerous bodies as well as individual scholars, with some conflicting ideologies (Morris 2006 ). The benefits of community participation in a society are very extensive; some would say it is very comprehensive. Following decades of professional or state-led interventions, to be seen, the community has been an important knowledge resource, if captured, will lead to enhanced and responsible services. This aspect is based upon the simple base that the community knows best about their own problems, thus allowing policy makers to act according to that (Rydin, and Pennington 2000 ; Maguire, and Truscott 2006 ).

It has been observed that minority-owned firms hire minorities in high proportions. An unusual co-ethnic recruitment process by an ethnic minority’s enterprises accompanied by new jobs leads to an increase of employment among minorities themselves. Co-ethnic employment processes stimulate self-employment, work flexibility, and furthering of socio-economic benefits within the community. Entrepreneurship provides an opportunity and an alternative to unemployment. In the current situation in a developing nation like India, entrepreneurship could be the right foot forward in tackling the evils of poverty.

Recent times, minority entrepreneurship has emerged as a contemporary area of interest among social scientist due to obvious reasons. There are both social and economic reasons that make minority’s entrepreneurship important, considering unemployment and lack of formal education among minorities. Minority businesses are the essential part of the development of any society; personal initiative is encouraged and there is equal opportunity for citizens (Alvord et al. 2004 ). Considerable increases in minority-oriented business ownership can be an engine of economic growth, helping a good number of people. Minority business enterprises can make the economy stronger, facilitates community building and information flow, and enhances relationships.

A notion of social entrepreneurship is the comparatively new initiatives that employ entrepreneurial capacity to resolve existing social troubles (Shaw and Robinson 2010 ). However, most writing in social entrepreneurship has tended to center on a prominent social entrepreneur’s experiences, personal distinctiveness, leadership, and success factors (Alvord et al. 2004 ). There is inadequate literature about social entrepreneur’s activities in terms of actions and outcomes. Most social entrepreneurship studies are not based on clear theoretical underpinnings (Mair and Martí 2006 ). Therefore, generalizability inhibits the existing social entrepreneurship studies, and we cannot develop consistent theorization of social entrepreneurship. Consequently, we contend that social entrepreneurship is more than individual characteristics; it is about their actions, and impact on society that should be studied using the clear theoretical framework. Social entrepreneurship is mainly viewed in literature as a social change which remotes social values and improves the well-being of people involved in the process of enterprising (Mair 2005 ).

Relevant for a case here, namely, Friendly Mart as a social enterprise in search of opportunities and devising ways to use capital eliminates constraints for a section of society. In a fragmented polity of a state like Gujarat, where social divisions of religion exist as an obvious limitation, overcoming and providing communal economic empowerment across geographical and class barrier in Chilea community (a Muslim sect), by sharing profit with the community, is deprived by existing political economy of the state.

The classical concept of broad-based development beyond the pockets of “upper classes” dates to the publications of Marx’s volumes which elaborately deal “with classes.” Socialist view of class doctrine fails to capture a secluded religious community’s hopelessness. Even a socialist redistribution policy may not reach out to a religious minority group; policy biases towards minorities for empowerment could be helpful. In such market, imperfections of the non-Pareto efficiency of political economy in a community-oriented franchisee-based model of entrepreneurship seem to portray an innovative option and the possible path to inclusive development (Parwez 2016b ).

Setting up of Friendly Mart

Nazeer Jafri is a cousin of Pir Syed Jafri (sect head of the Chilea community) from North Gujarat, who runs a network of approximately 100 restaurants in and around Ahmedabad along with restaurants in the highway of Ahmedabad to Mumbai. These restaurants are owned in a trusteeship form, having investment from several partners.

In 2002, when he was associated with the Grey Worldwide, he had an opportunity to visit Big Bazaar, located in the same building and was inspired by the ongoing activities; people were moving around and lifting things, putting it in the trolley and taking it to counter. He found the experience empowering for customers, different from the retail shops in Ahmedabad, and the people were shopping with smiling faces, enjoying the experience, and was also amazed by the grandeur of the mall. It led him to explore the idea of retail business further, also motivated by a subconscious desire to help the community. The belief that if any entrepreneur is ready to work hard, one can compete with big brands and can create one’s own space in the market also took him further.

The restaurant was a business that could have been easier to start with due to the nature of his family background, but the restaurant business was cluttered in Gujarat; the restaurant business would be a run of the mill, not motivating enough. His ambition was to open a retail shop and grow it as a chain across the region. Retail sounded as a promising business as the market seems to be in a highly row (close to 4% organized retailing in India). It led to early discussions on the idea with peers for setting up a retail shop.

Nazeer discussed his ideas with Ali Bhai, with the proposal to set up a retail shop, who in turn told him to think big, maybe a supermarket. Additionally, he also advised Nazeer to communicate about the business plan in a social circle for investment. Otherwise, a loan from the banks can always be availed. Nazeer had Rs. 5 lakhs at his disposal from savings and could get Rs. 5 lakhs from close relatives to start the venture. But there was need of Rs. 40 Lakhs for setting up a supermarket of 700–1000 ft 2 area, which requires 20–25 lakhs for construction. After a meaningful discussion with his friends and family, he was flooded with offers for investment and, in fact, said no to some prospective investors.

The next major challenge was to identify the right location for setting up the shop; the following factors were crucial for the decision on the location: it should be in the neighborhood, the absence of an organized retailing, real estate should be reasonable, and the future developmental prospects of the area. Based on these considerations, the location of Vishala Circle (Ahmedabad) was zeroed-in for the first shop of Friendly Mart venture.

Other factors were comprised of the proximity to Vishala Restaurant, the mass number of households, the education level in the area, and the circulation of English and Gujarati newspapers. But the question whether locals will be able to appreciate retailing remained, targeting a customer base that is preferably from the middle and upper-middle class in a predominantly Muslim neighborhood.

Locations such as Navrangpura, Khanpur, and Sarkhej were also considered for the purpose. The second best choice was Navrangpura, as it is a hub of the city and cosmopolitan culture; but it was already the hub to several organized retail shops, return on investment is far stretched, and real estate price was too high; and so, they decided against it.

Adani Super Market and others mushroomed all over Ahmedabad, so Nazeer saw opportunity in the old city. The third best choice was Khanpur, as it was the main area in the old city, which possesses a cosmopolitan area, an English medium school (Mount Carmel), clubs, hotels, a college (Bhavans), and a riverfront beautification project but the absence of an organized retail shop in the area; however, there was an issue of civil disturbances and the congested environment of that area. And, it was a cramped area so the real estate price was high and future development of the area was saturated.

The options that were left were Sarkhej or Vishala in Ahmedabad. As far as Sarkhej was concerned, the proximity of the area was the major issue, the household profile was not up-market, and locals may prefer the Kirana store to a supermarket. In the end, Vishala was chosen for the start of the venture. The major determining factors were as follows: relatively cheaper real estate prices, new residential schemes were being built, in the vicinity of the Vishala Restaurant, and the area emerged out of Juhapura (a Muslim Ghetto); so, future development prospects were bright. There was no organized retail outlet in the area, and people needed to be educated. The most threatening factor of the area was that Juhapura did not have the positive image among suppliers.

Because of the post communal riots (2001), Muslims from Navrangpura, Paldi, were moving to Juhapura in the sense of security, as lives were lost elsewhere in the city. The spot for the shop in Vishala circle was a vantage point as people returning from Paldi or Ashram Road or even from the industrial area of Narol could come and shop. The place was close to densely populated middle and upper-middle class Muslim community dwellings.

In hindsight, the success of the Friendly Mart in Vishala circle could be attributed to the ability of a young Muslim entrepreneur to understand the need of the people of a convenience store in the vicinity. Nazeer could easily enter the social spaces of the Juhapura and Sarkhej inmates due to the services offered in store, and his cultural status which ultimately yielded him success. Friendly Mart was gradually able to move into the personal spaces of customers and could create customer loyalty.

Vishala Circle has situated approximately 12 km from Ahmedabad airport and has been named after the theme restaurant Vishala Village, which provides traditional Gujarati cuisine in a village ambience. It is a major landmark in this part of the city. Vishala Circle offered a lot of promise, as the area was developing rapidly, and new residential schemes and various commercial complexes like Ellicon Tower and Sunrise Complex were coming up with good connectivity by roads.

Meanwhile, the following findings emerged from a dipstick survey by Nazeer: (i) Out of the 588 households in and around, 399 households were a ready customer base. (ii) The target business was to the tune of Rs. 30, 63,522. (iii) The potential business was worth Rs. 45, 14,664. This survey was conducted to find the household size, average monthly expenditure, purchase practices, and consumer behavior towards organized retailing. Nazeer contacted the builder of Ellicon Towers; there were six shops and ten floors owned by a close friend of Aljibhai, with enough parking spaces in a grand neighborhood. He decided to purchase two shops with a total of 700 ft 2 , which was manageable in his budget in the complex.

Now, there was a need for a brand name, to create shop patronage. The brand name needed to be unique should be able to “connect” with the customers. To capture it, the brand was named as “Friendly Mart” with a baseline of “the friendly supermarket.” The positioning needed to be long-lasting and unique, which depends on the customer’s expectations and services offered. Due to the location of the store, it was a matter of access as people used to go to Vijay and Paldi; this was needed to be branded as the ideal neighborhood store. So, the positioning theme “SABSE KHAAS, GHAR KE PAAS” came to the table.

There was a need to create awareness of the shop, establish confidence among the suppliers, and build a friendly image among customers. To achieve it, he got guidance from a friend regarding the software to be used for computers, equipment to be bought, the layout of the interior in store, etc.

The store was to launch, and he employed a young man Anwar, who possessed experience in the field and lived nearby which provided him with the access to distributors. A week before the launch, orders were made to the distributors. He did commit some mistakes in the ordering process but it was a learning experience. The promotion started 10 days before the launch, he advertised through signage and the auto rickshaw with a loudspeaker, and inserts were distributed along with news sheets distributed in nearby colonies. On the launch day (12 February 2004) prominent people were invited, and he made a sale of Rs. 50,000/less on day one.

Expansion into rural franchises

A visit to Mundra Institute of Communication, Ahmedabad, gave him (Nazeer Khan) the idea of leveraging the business with a franchising structure across Gujarat. Expending in the locality where his credibility was in place made more business sense; it meant expanding into the north and central Gujarat, which possesses a sizeable population of the Chilea community. He discussed the idea with Sabir and Shabbir (managers of Ahmedabad Store) and assigned them to work on it, who later discuss the franchise model with the interested people in the village (north and central Gujarat). Two entrepreneur brothers Mehndi and Mahmud both farmers owning some land in Ilol volunteered to start off a franchise in April 2007.

The framework developed as the franchise would first register his company as a firm under the Companies Act. Technical and other support systems will be provided to them based on monthly fees on agreed terms and conditions. The benefit for the franchise was that if there were some issues to come up then later then the shop could become independent but need not be closed. The new shop at Ilol was registered as Friendly Mart Smart Shop Ilol. If there was an issue between the two parties Friendly Mart could move out of the agreement, and the franchise shall become Smart Shop Ilol.

The Friendly Mart Smart Shop in Talaav (Ilol) which was situated near a pond in the village and Pahaadiya (Ilol) was one and a half kilometers from Talaav on a slight elevation near a Kirana (convenience) store called Sahyog Kirana. Few store owners were keen to open a franchise seeing a good response to a smart shop but lack enough space, so, it may not pass muster as a Friendly Mart franchise. At time, the idea of a Saral store would be ideal to convert small Kirana stores into more organized shop, material organized in a systematic way, and sold across the counter. Thus, Friendly Mart Saral Sahyog Kirana Store came into being in October 2007. Then, a whole sequence of setting up stores in the villages’ one after the other started.

Distinctive features of Friendly Mart’s business model

Friendly Mart aimed to be the best in the locality in terms of perception and services offered; a convenience store which caters to the daily needs of people situated near, so, the target audience was the residents of the area. But now Friendly Mart has slowly spread its wings in different regions of Gujarat. Their franchises are operating in certain villages of Sabarkantha, and they wish to cover many more villages in the state.

In the organized retail industry, particularly the food retail, sales highly depend on the convenience of the customer. Evident by stories of big grocery stores like Subhiksha and Reliance Fresh, there is a wrong assumption that price is the deciding factor for any organized retail to be successful. In the Indian context, the housewife still bargains with the roadside vendor for her daily vegetables. The glamor of an organized retail has not made her change her purchasing habit of vegetables and fruits. Perhaps that is the reason many roadside vegetable vendors are in business near organized retail houses. A store which is conveniently located has much better chances of being successful than a store depending on promotional schemes, and convenience rules over pricing.

There are many product categories and brands which have been added and removed from the store over the last 5 years. He had launched a section called 20–20, every product was worth Rs. 20/less. Initially, he got a good response, but slowly, consumers turned away as the quality was a major issue, and the section was removed as it was hurting the Friendly Mart brand image.

He also tried a ready-made dress material section and a section for imitation jewelry, soon realized that huge space is required for these additional products with proper range and that having them in place is useless. It also created confusion among the clientele as Friendly Mart was perceived as a food and grocery convenience store and not a lifestyle store. Considering the continuous demand of sections on plastic products and crockery at Friendly Mart, these sections were later added. The customers received well both the sections; it also enhanced the image of the store.

Initially, when he launched Friendly Mart, his first purchase was based on speculation, conventional wisdom, and gut feel. There was no scientific way of understanding the right inventory mix and inventory size; an experience of running the store led to the realization of requisite inventory for the store.

Friendly Mart is the only organized retailer in Sarkhej-Juhapura road. This unique situation has many advantages and has a flip-side too. The distributors of products tend to have fixed their route and scheduling, which is once in a week or fortnight. As Friendly Mart is the new store, on the list of priority destination for distributors they fall downward; if for a certain reason they are out of stock of a brand, they must wait longer and may not get the emergency visit in between due to the low bargaining power. At times, certain merchandise which is not readily available at the store may disappoint customers. To solve this problem, Nazeer started ordering more quantity than the anticipated demand from the distributor and the second step was to purchase out of stock products from wholesale markets from areas like Kalupur if the distributor’s visit is not expected in few days.

Does the characteristics of Friendly Mart differ considerably from those of the competition allows adequate differentiation? It is a typically organized food retail outlet, by that logic, it is like any other good retail outlet. Friendly Mart is in the process of expansion, and once his network is in place, planning to foray into private labels can then become key differentiators and provide advantages of economies of scale.

His subsidiary company Friendly Mart Enterprise caters to more than 150 highway hotels and 100 city-based hotels across Gujarat. He realized that he has access to a network of restaurants and if he is successful in creating a business around them in such a manner that it can be an asset to his retail venture. Then, he decided to foray into bulk hotel supplies of groceries and food item. It has also helped him earn negotiation and buying capacity of loose groceries, spices, and food items; and the benefits are transferred to the store and the franchises. He is also contemplating to develop rural-focused products which can uplift the living standards of the villagers and can effectively cater their needs wide franchise network.

With more than 5 years of existence as an organized retail store in Juhapura, the goodwill of the business has enhanced and given an intangible growth. He also got the first mover advantage in this area and which again has contributed to the growth in brand value of the organization. When Friendly Mart was launched in Juhapura, in the year 2004, the area was still developing, and real estate prices were in the limit. Over the years, increasing residential schemes and apartments were established and the area has started gaining prominence. This has led to an increase in the real estate price, and investment in Friendly Mart outlet has grown manifolds. The prices of real estate have grown 4 times in 6 years, and this is a tangible part of his investment growth.

To leverage the business opportunity formation Friendly Mart Enterprise took place, a sister concern organization catering over 100 restaurants in and around Ahmedabad and 300 restaurants in other cities of Gujarat. For this purpose, Nazeer collaborated with two budding entrepreneurs Wazir Ali and Husain Abbas to look after the operational part of the business. Friendly Mart Enterprise was formed in 2008, and within the span of 2 years, turnover has gone up by 300% and profits have soared more than 4 times since then. Friendly Mart Enterprise is involved in developing private labels for supermarket business and hotel supplies.

Considering the huge demand of tea from his restaurant customers, although tea business is different from food–grocery, it led to the launching of a new subsidiary “Friendly Mart Tea Packers” with the brand name of “Day Break” in the year 2009–2010, which gave a launching pad to yet another budding entrepreneur (Abdul Basheer) in the community. The expertise of Friendly Mart in catering to hotels was a great help for Abdul. In the last year, Nazeer launched a new company “Friendly Mart (Surat) Enterprise” in Surat (financial capital of Gujarat) on the lines of Friendly Mart Enterprise, to cater to the local restaurants of the region. Local entrepreneurs and staff were trained at Friendly Mart Enterprise (Ahmedabad) for 1 year and then later sent to Surat to care of the venture.

To integrate the business even further, an off-shoot was introduced, namely “Friendly Mart Logistics” in the year 2009–2010; as the name suggests, it is a supply chain company for transport of merchandise from Friendly Mart Enterprise to franchise networks, hotels, and restaurants. Logistics arm also converted into the stockiest to other related product mixes like confectionery, biscuits, and food items, which can be provided to other distributors and retailers. Friendly Mart Logistics is run by an independent entrepreneur under Nazeer’s guidance and supervision. To strengthen the backwards integration, another subsidiary was introduced, namely “Friendly Mart Farm Services,” which mainly provides consultancy services (technical) to the farming community on the best farm practices to increase productivity and reduce production cost. In return, Friendly Mart Enterprise would purchase the produce as per the market rate and would benefit the farmers and the enterprise mutually. If the produce is more than Friendly Mart Enterprise would market the same, farmer may end up earning better returns.

Nazeer’s purpose is to help the entrepreneurs with their franchise business as the growth of the franchise network and the subsidiary will reflect on the growth of the overall business.

Results and discussion

This paper is a preliminary effort to elucidate the concept of community-based entrepreneurial activities based on evidences from a case. It tried to identify the determinants leading to formation, composition, operation, and offering of community-based entrepreneurship as a means of economic or livelihood development. There is obviously a considerable scope of further research which remains as conjectures offered in origins, evolution, and collateral effects of the said phenomenon to increase our comprehension connected with the construction, progression, and performance of under-recognized (or unrecognized) form of enterprising processes.

Major determinants could be shared locality or values (e.g., “kin-based” and various forms of voluntary as well as “natural” associations as evident in Chilea community). Factors such as rural, urban, indigenous reserves, and new settlements are also could be an impacting one. Juhapura locality happens to be the new settlement for a Muslim community after the communal riots in 2001, in another word a Muslim ghetto. Deprived socio-economic status of Muslims can be considered as a key determinant of entrepreneurial activity as observed in the case. The study also suggests that entrepreneurship among a Muslim community characteristically emerge in an environment of economic stress, drawing from the community’s traditions of helping each other. The question could be the extent to which community-based economic activities may be an effective instrument in the context of developing the livelihood that can be replicated in communities that may or may not have a shared a characteristic.

The likely impact of community-oriented enterprises towards sustainable benefits of marginal communities helps in better understanding of a new form of entrepreneurial activity but limited by scarcity of literature. In case of Friendly Mart, benefits are limited to few people involved in the related commercial activities irrespective of place, language, religion, or community. So, spillover effects are absent or limited in nature (Peredo, and Chrisman 2006 ). There are many aspects of community-based entrepreneurship which require both qualitative and quantitative assessment for furthering the knowledge.

Community-based enterprise offers a promising approach towards poverty reduction in deprived communities to the limited extent. However, economic and non-economic goals can enhance the realization of social and material resources of the communities as suggested by the case. It also touches upon the role of cultural values, institutional arrangements, and structures in the formation of the enterprise. Study emphasis on the management skills is required in a day-to-day decision-making while keeping the consistency with the broader goal as a commercial entity.

The close coupling between capitals and capacity, resource tenure, and informed leadership can work as an analytical framework for furthering the research. The challenge is the interaction between the local regulatory framework based on one’s institutional values and norms with the national and international frameworks built on different logic. Although it can be noted, this is an ongoing process.

Finally, as reflected in this paper, leadership is the most critical element for the success of community-based enterprises (Anderson et al. 2006 ). In the early days of community-based entrepreneurship, leadership is the most crucial factor to recognize opportunities and risks while mobilizing capitals and capacities to realize social benefits.

The case study also reflects that asymmetry of the information creates a moral hazard in the community. Personal interactions among people play a vital role in avoiding moral hazard. In other words, community-based entrepreneurship can be considered as a window of opportunity to realize potential, otherwise remained isolated from the mainstream economy. This is important as to bring social upliftment of a community.

It can be stated that access to capital to mainstream connections can be a determining factor towards entrepreneurial success or failure. Community-based activities lead to dependence on sect partners, personnel, and customers which can be limiting in nature. This form of entrepreneurship is also plagued with communal cultural limitations about business ethos, lack of managerial experience, formal business training, and familiarity with the institutional and legal environment. The capital concentration of enterprises in urban ghettos and societal hostility are few of the principal challenges faced by ethnic entrepreneurs in Muslim communities are prone to. Many self-employed Muslim workers and small business in urban centers in a non-Islamic society indicate that they are bound to have a great propensity for entrepreneurial activities.

Conclusions

This study tries to emphasize on the development of a comprehensive approach towards community-based enterprising to enhance livelihood prospects for local population. It is evident that entrepreneurial ventures are motivated by community orientation and undertaken with the expectation of profits to be used for an expansion and the empowerment of members. But it remains to be established as an effective model for achieving community goals, as current evidences are limited in nature. Reflections from the study suggest that community affiliation combined with requisite entrepreneurial skills is essential for this form of enterprising to be successful. A community-based entrepreneurship should reflect on the multiplicity of local needs; however, this factor is missing in this case which needs to be explored further. The empowerment promoted by community enterprises suggests a shift towards the strengthening of existing capacities at an individual level and groups in a community. The major limitation of this phenomenon is the lack of community orientation in a modern society, capacity, and generalization of a model elsewhere. Community-based entrepreneurial activities could be an effective response to the “structural and functional disconnection between indigenous, informal, and formal institutions.” Few policy initiatives need to be taken for fostering a positive attitude towards entrepreneurship among members of weak communities and encouraging the catalytic role towards further development.

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Parwez, S. Community-based entrepreneurship: evidences from a retail case study. J Innov Entrep 6 , 14 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-017-0074-z

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Entrepreneurial Resilience: A Case Study on University Students

Elisabet montoro-fernández.

1 Department of Communication and Education, Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, University Loyola Andalucía, 41704 Seville, Spain

Antonio Ramón Cárdenas-Gutiérrez

2 Department of Theory and History of Education and Social Pedagogy, Faculty of Education Sciences, Seville University, 41013 Seville, Spain; se.su@1sanedraca (A.R.C.-G.); se.su@lanreba (A.B.-G.)

Antonio Bernal-Guerrero

Associated data.

Not applicable.

Entrepreneurial resilience refers to the capacity to face, overcome and project oneself after suffering life events with a negative impact. Emerging adulthood and the characteristics of university life facilitate the occurrence of stressful situations that can affect well-being. The aim of this phenomenological research is to explore the strategic components of entrepreneurial resilience and how young university students have shaped their entrepreneurial resilience after experiencing negative life events. The present research is a multiple case study that was developed through a mixed methodology. The methodological sequence was quantitative and qualitative, with priority given to the qualitative phase of the research. Ten university students with high levels of resilience were interviewed. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. The results indicate that resilience is built through intrapersonal and exopersonal processes. These processes make up a set of strategic dimensions related to entrepreneurial behaviour that are used for the construction of personal projects.

1. Introduction

Psychological resilience is a conceptually complex term that raises discrepancies in its understanding depending on the personality traits, processes and outcomes involved [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. This is corroborated by bibliometric studies that show a broad, diverse and fragmented state of the art [ 4 , 5 ]. Despite this conceptual heterogeneity, certain recurrent terms related to resilience have been extracted, such as coping capacity, adversity, risk factors, stressful situations, suffering and positive adaptation [ 6 ]. This terminological list leads to an approach of resilience as a multidimensional construct that involves the combination of biological, social, cultural and psychological processes [ 7 ] promoting adaptation and resistance to circumstances that are detrimental to physical and psychological well-being, whether in the social, personal, family or work sphere [ 8 , 9 , 10 ].

There is a widely accepted view of entrepreneurship as being directly related to business and understood as the process of initiation, creation, development and management of business projects [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. However, in the educational context, entrepreneurship has two different notions: “enterprise education” and “entrepreneurship education” [ 15 ]. The concept of “enterprise education” is related to the development of generic skills linked to the projection of life in an infinite number of situations [ 16 ]. On the other hand, the term “entrepreneurship education” is linked to entrepreneurial creation and business [ 17 ]. Given this distinction, we adopt the construct “enterprise education”, as it represents the adoption of a more global approach centred on the capacity to initiate, transform, adapt, act and develop in the face of the opportunities or difficulties that affect people in their life cycle [ 18 ]. In line with the previous research [ 19 , 20 , 21 ], we associate “Enterprise education” with personal initiative, i.e., a set of self-initiated, proactive and sustainable actions that are sustainable over time and have the capacity to transform the context in which the subject finds him/herself [ 22 ].

The intersection of entrepreneurship and resilience has been studied from the theories of business organisation, either as a capability [ 23 ], process [ 24 ], operation [ 25 ] or result [ 26 ]. Nonetheless, all these perspectives constitute an interpretation of entrepreneurial resilience limited exclusively to the workplace. However, from a more holistic perspective, and related to personal development and growth, the term entrepreneurial resilience is reinterpreted in this paper, detaching it from the exclusive interpretation of the theories of business organisation and conceptualising it from the broader construction of personal identity, understood as a dynamic, evolutionary and social process, in which entrepreneurial initiative is included. The shaping of identity involves choosing, initiating and carrying out life activities that are part of the personal experience. This approach converges with lines of research focused on goal-oriented human behaviour, of a profuse projection, such as personal projects [ 27 ], personal aspirations [ 28 ], personal tasks [ 29 ] or possible selves [ 30 ]. All of them are linked to the narrative construction of personal identity, incorporating not only the vital charge of past and present experiences, but also the direction and management of expectations [ 31 ]. In this way, we conceptualise entrepreneurial resilience not only as the ability to face and manage life’s adversities efficiently and effectively (resilience), but also to project the self into the future, through the implementation of strategies related to entrepreneurial orientation and behaviour [ 32 , 33 ]. The incorporation of entrepreneurial behaviour into resilience processes promotes the configuration of personal projects, aspirations and areas, where negative episodes in life are adequately integrated (entrepreneurship), configuring a congruent biographical narrative.

Entrepreneurial resilience is framed within the salutogenic model. This theory focuses on the origins and resources of health-promoting and interprets states of well-being as a continuum ranging from absolute health to profound disease states. The central concept of the salutogenic model is the sense of coherence (SOC) and it is conceived as a global orientation that expresses the degree to which one has a pervasive, enduring yet dynamic sense of confidence that: (1) the stimuli coming from the internal and external environment in the course of life are structured, predictable and explainable (comprehensibility); (2) the resources are available to one to meet the demands posed by these stimuli (manageability); and (3) these demands are challenging, worthy of investment and commitment (meaningfulness) [ 34 ]. SOC is a key concept in the development of resilience under adverse circumstances [ 35 , 36 , 37 ].

In turn, the salutogenic model is composed of a second construct: generalised resistance resources (GRRs). GRRs are defined as the set of personal, social or contextual resources and factors that minimise or counteract the stressors of everyday life by facilitating adaptation and coping in the face of adverse life circumstances [ 38 ]. Although not conclusive, research indicates that there is mutual feedback between SOC and GRRs, favouring well-being and health, which means that the use of GRRs contributes to a strengthened SOC and, likewise, a strengthened SOC implies a better use of GRRs [ 39 , 40 ].

However, it is well established that stressors negatively affect the state of health and well-being. In this regard, in [ 34 , 41 ] stressors are grouped into three broad groups: chronic stressors, major life events and daily hassles. This research focuses on the second group of stressors, understood as life events of negative impacts, which provoke a homeostatic disequilibrium on people’s well-being at some point in their life cycle [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ].

The characteristics of the university environment and the confluence of emerging adulthood [ 43 ] make it possible for young university students to be subjected to various stressors, such as the exploration of professional identity, family independence, a greater degree of autonomy and responsibility, exacting academic demands, or family and personal expectations [ 44 ]. Furthermore, a study by the World Health Organisation on the prevalence and distribution of mental disorders in first-year university students revealed that 1 in 3 students (31.4%) suffered some mental disorder in the first academic year at university and in 1 out of 5 cases (20.4%) the disorders caused developmental problems, not only at the academic level but also affecting social life, personal relationships and work [ 45 , 46 ]. In the Spanish context, knowledge about how stressors affect the well-being of university students is not a widespread field of study, although some studies do exist. In relation to the prevalence of major depression, in [ 47 ] depression is reported to be highly prevalent in a sample of university students, with 8.7% of major depressive episodes, with the most common symptoms being a depressed mood (81.3%) and sleep disturbance (79.2%). In a more recent study of female university students, the results showed that 18.1%, 22.8% and 13.5% had severe/very severe levels of depression, anxiety and stress, respectively [ 48 ]. Along the same lines, it is concluded in [ 49 ] that one third of Spanish university students report having suffered from a common mental disorder in the last year, and one third of them report a severe impairment of their functioning. In addition, it is found in [ 50 ] that 21% of students persist in suicidal ideation one year after starting their university studies.

This research indicates that the university stage is a critical period for the transition to adulthood that is not free of stresses, which undermine students’ health and well-being, both the well-being of students and their entrepreneurial performance in the development of their life projects. While there is research on resilience and coping with stressors in the university context [ 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ], there are no studies on entrepreneurial resilience, in the sense of personal growth and development, but rather directly related to the organisation and creation of companies [ 55 ]. Personal growth as an entrepreneurial process is linked to the well-known concept of “entrepreneurial orientation” [ 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 ], which in turn is associated with performance theory [ 60 ]. This theory includes cumulative research on strategy and refers to three dimensions: innovation, risk-taking and proactivity [ 61 ]. Applied to individuals (it could also be applied to organisations), the process of entrepreneurial personal growth adds to the mere resilience of those strategic components that make up a specific disposition towards entrepreneurial behaviour, related to habitual tasks and the necessary adjustments required by the contexts in which the action takes place [ 62 ]. In a way, personal entrepreneurial growth highlights, as with the entrepreneurial orientation construct [ 63 ], the links between entrepreneurial attitudes and entrepreneurial behaviours [ 64 , 65 ]. In the academic environment, in which we have conducted the research, we could add some other strategic dimensions that characterise the process of personal entrepreneurial growth: self-confidence (confidence in relation to certain personal attributes), autonomy (ability to act with one’s own criteria and independently), perseverance (perseverance in achieving goals), achievement orientation (preference for taking responsibility and the submitting to evaluation of results) and problem solving (a process for dealing with difficulties). From a salutogenic perspective, the aim of this research is to explore the strategic components of the entrepreneurial profile of ten young university students and how they have shaped their entrepreneurial resilience after experiencing negative life events (NLEs).

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. research design.

This research is a multi-case study [ 66 , 67 ] that was developed through a mixed methodology [ 68 ] using quantitative (RS-14 test) and qualitative (interviews) instruments. Bibliometric research [ 69 , 70 ] reveals that mixed research methods are widely used in entrepreneurship studies and corroborates their methodological effectiveness, irrespective of the research sequences implemented [ 71 , 72 ], as they enable: (1) a more comprehensive view of processes and results, (2) an increase in validity, (3) an improvement in the interpretation of results and (4) the generation and integration of more detailed and explanatory knowledge [ 73 , 74 , 75 ]. The research design was based on the principles of priority and sequentiality, with the qualitative method being primary (QL) and the quantitative method secondary (qt). The research frequency was quantitative and qualitative. Thus, the study was structured in two research phases: qt→QL [ 76 ]. The quantitative phase (1) was implemented through a descriptive and selective non-experimental study [ 77 ] to determine the degree of resilience of the participants and to select the subjects with the highest levels of resilience. The qualitative phase (2) and central core of the research was developed under the phenomenological and interpretative approach [ 78 ], based on the exploration, interpretation and narrative understanding of the participants’ life experiences, through the memories and reasoning of their own personal trajectories [ 79 ]. In our case, this approach aims to interpret and understand how people give meaning and significance to NLEs in the process of building entrepreneurial resilience. Interventional studies involving animals or humans, and other studies that require ethical approval, must list the authority that provided approval and the corresponding ethical approval code.

2.2. Sampling and Participants

In order to select the participants, a non-probabilistic convenience and purposive sampling was used [ 80 ], following these inclusion criteria: (1) the participants belonged to the Pedagogy and Teaching Degrees of the University of Seville, (2) they had identified at least one NLE according to the Life Events Checklist for the DSM-5 [ 81 ] and (3) they had obtained very high scores (90–99) on the Resilience Scale (RS-14), the resilience measurement instrument. Following the sampling cycle [ 82 ], the participant sample (quantitative phase) consisted of 276 subjects who completed the RS-14 test and the real sample (qualitative phase) consisted of the 10 participants with the highest scores on the RS-14 test.

2.3. Data Collection Tools

The data collection instruments selected in this research are disaggregated according to the phases of mixed research (qt-QL).

Quantitative phase (qt): the level of resilience was measured with the Resilience Scale (RS-14) [ 83 ], validated in Spanish [ 84 ]. This consisted of 14 items with a 7-point Likert scale (“completely disagree” = 1, “completely agree” = 7). The SR-14 was made up of a single factor (resilience), reflecting the original dimensions of Personal Competence (11 items) and Acceptance of self and life (3 items). The psychometric properties of the RS-14 are adequate with an overall scale internal consistency (α 0.79) [ 84 ].

This scale was used for the selection of participants under the following criteria: (1) the scale was validated by Spanish university students showing adequate internal consistency (α 0.79) and robust validity with significant correlations with the resilience scale CD- RISC [ 3 ]. (2) The RS-14 was used in different studies in university populations [ 85 , 86 ]. (3) Previous studies were carried out with this resilience scale in the entrepreneurial field [ 87 , 88 ]. (4) In the Spanish context, there is a lack of instruments that measure the intrapersonal factors of entrepreneurial resilience in the university population. In this respect, in the initial instructions for completing the scale, the following indication was introduced for the completion of the items: “As an entrepreneurial person I consider that…”. In this way, participants responded to the SR-14 from an entrepreneurial perspective, as in other studies on resilience and entrepreneurship [ 89 ]. These criteria ensure the validity of the choice of SR-14 for this study.

Qualitative phase (QL): Understanding how entrepreneurial resilience is formed was studied through in-depth interviews based on a semi-structured script [ 90 ]. The development of the first interview script was based on the available literature [ 91 , 92 , 93 ]. Subsequently, the interview script was subjected to the judgements of ten experts who analysed its validity and relevance. The experts were selected for their recognised academic and professional backgrounds in the field of resilience and were drawn from the academic and therapeutic sectors. In the academic sector, 6 experts with at least 2 publications on resilience in indexed journals were selected, and in the therapeutic sector 4, professionals with at least 5 years of experience in the development of therapies were chosen. Finally, the interview script was comprised of three thematic blocks with a total of 87 questions: personal events (11 questions), resilience (41 questions), and resilient entrepreneurial identity (35 questions). An interview is the instrument used to characterise the entrepreneurial profile of the resilient people selected in the quantitative phase. An interview allowed us to discover the strategic components that predispose towards entrepreneurial behaviour and how they were formed.

Overall, the application of the SR-14 in the quantitative phase only involves the selection of highly resilient participants. In the qualitative phase, we used the interview as the main instrument of information collection to map the strategic dimensions that characterise personal entrepreneurial growth and the processes of how entrepreneurial resilience was achieved. In this way, the qualitative data collected will be crucial to define the strategic dimensions of the entrepreneurial personal growth process.

2.4. Data Collection

Prior to the beginning of the research, authorisation was requested from the Dean of the Faculty of Education Sciences to carry out the study. Subsequently, an e-mail was sent to the teaching staff of the Bachelor’s Degrees in Pedagogy and Primary Education explaining the aim of the research and requesting access during their teaching hours to collect data using the RS-14 scale (quantitative phase). A set of twelve teachers agreed to collect quantitative data from both degrees. The data collection took place during the month of October 2020 and the students were informed of the purpose of the research, of their voluntary participation and of the confidential and anonymous processing of data for exclusively scientific use. The participants in the quantitative phase gave their written informed consent. Once the data from the RS-14 scale had been collected, the data were emptied and the subjects were classified according to the level of resilience of the total scores obtained on the RS-14 scale into: very high (90–99), high (80–89), normal (70–79), low (60–69) and very low (50–59). In the qualitative phase, the 25 participants with the highest scores on the RS-14 scale were selected. They were then contacted by e-mail for in-depth semi-structured interviews. Of these 25 potential participants, 19 replied affirmatively to participate in the qualitative phase. However, nine of them finally declined to participate in the interviews for work and personal-related reasons. The interviews were carried out by the first author during the month of November 2020 in an office of the Faculty of Education Sciences. Prior to the interviews, the participants were informed about the purpose of the interviews and the scientific procedure to be followed in the data processing. The interviews were recorded and lasted between 60 and 90 min each, ending when there was a saturation of data [ 94 ].

2.5. Data Analysis

In the quantitative phase, a descriptive percentage analysis and a study of the mean scores obtained on the RS-14 scale were carried out using the SPSS version 27 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, USA) programme. From phenomenological and interpretative epistemology, the qualitative data were analysed via thematic analysis. This method of analysis “is not wed to any pre-existing theoretical framework and so it can be used within different theoretical frameworks (…). Thematic analysis can be an essentialist or realist method, which accounts for the experiences, meanings and realities of the participants” [ 95 ]. The thematic analysis of the data provided by the interviews followed the phases described in the methodological guide of [ 95 ]: first, the interviews were transcribed verbatim by two researchers, and each interview was listened to at least three times, achieving a high degree of accuracy in the transcriptions. Subsequently, a third researcher checked all the transcribed interviews for accuracy. Second, a process of reading and re-reading the interviews was carried out and two independent researchers generated the initial codes in relation to the semi-structured interview script. Once the first three interviews had been coded, together with a third researcher, the list of codes was agreed upon by eliminating, reformulating and adding certain codes. The coding was carried out with the Atlas.ti. 7.0 programme (Scientific Software Development GmbH, Berlin, Germany). Third, once the list of emerging codes was compiled, potential themes related to the “lived experiences” of entrepreneurial resilience were identified and organised into a structure of main themes and sub-themes based on their prevalence and representativeness. Fourth, the researchers reviewed and agreed on the selection and organisation of the themes and sub-themes.

Finally, the thematic structure was defined and nominated, i.e., the textual excerpts of each theme were identified and the essential aspects that would integrate each theme and sub-theme were determined. To do this, the themes themselves and their relationship with the other themes were considered. Through this process, the NLEs were interpreted and understood. The quality of the research was ensured by applying the following procedures [ 96 , 97 ]: (1) credibility was ensured by in-depth revision of the data, along with comparing data between researchers (triangulation); (2) dependability was ensured by using participant-identifying keys and describing data analysis techniques; (3) transferability was maintained by using purposive sampling, as well as describing the participants and data collection in detail; and (4) confirmability was obtained by analysing the data with Atlas.ti. 7.0 and checking the information from the interviews with the participants.

2.6. Ethical Considerations

This research was approved and reviewed, including ethical aspects, by the committee of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the State Research Agency of the Spanish Government under reference number PID2019-104408GB-I00.

3.1. Quantitative Study

3.1.1. socio-demographic characteristics of the participants.

Two hundred and seventy-six students from the Faculty of Education Sciences at the University of Seville participated in the study by completing the RS-14 scale. The socio-demographic characteristics of the participants are shown in Table 1 . The participants have a mean age of 21 years (SD = 3.20) and the age range is between 18 and 45 years. The highest percentage of the participants are female (87.7%), compared to a lower percentage of males (12.3%). This very disparate percentage distribution between men and women is a consequence of the feminisation of the degrees in Education Sciences in the Spanish university context [ 98 ]. Data from the National Institute of Statistics show that in the academic year 2020/21 the percentage of women enrolled was 77.8% compared to 22.2% of men. Similarly, this distribution also occurs in the Faculty of Education Sciences at the University of Seville, where the total number of women enrolled corresponds to 71.68% as opposed to 28.32% of men. The composition of the sample by year was as follows: first year (54.7%), second year (14.1%) and fourth year (31.2%). As for the distribution by degree, the percentages obtained were 41.3% in primary education and 58.7% in pedagogy.

Socio-demographic characteristics of the participants ( n = 276).

3.1.2. Participants’ Responses Related to Resilience Level

The RS-14 scale consisting of fourteen items was used to assess the students’ level of resilience, as can be seen in Table 2 . High scores were obtained for all the items studied, the mean being between 4.03 and 6.29. Among the high scores, items 14 (“in an emergency, I am someone people can trust”) (42.4%), 13 (“I am proud of the things I have achieved”) (44.9%), 12 (“I can usually find something to laugh about”) (47.8%) and 11 (“my life has meaning”) (48.9%) stand out. In contrast, an increase in low-scoring responses is observed for items 1 (“I generally take things in my stride”) (15.9% and 19.9%), 2 (“I am not afraid of difficulties because I have experienced them in the past”) (8.7% and 12.7%) and 3 (“I am a person with adequate self-esteem”) (7.6% and 12.2%). The rest of the items have high mean scores, approximately between 4.5 and 5.5.

Participants’ responses related to resilience level.

3.1.3. Resilience Levels

The resilience scores were distributed into the following categories: “Very low (50–59 points)”, “Low (60–69 points)”, “Normal (70–79 points)”, “High (80–89 points)” and “Very high (90–99 points)”, as shown in Table 3 . The majority of the participants, 64.5%, obtained an overall score on the scale within the value “High”, showing a positive perception of their level of resilience. Furthermore, 26.4% of students scored in the “Very High” range, while only 9.1% was in the “Normal” range. Therefore, the majority of the students agreed that, in general, they had a high level of resilience.

Distribution of participants according to level of resilience.

3.2. Qualitative Study

3.2.1. demographic characteristics of the participants.

Qualitative data were obtained through in-depth interviews and were analysed comprehensively, adopting a biographical narrative approach. Ten participants were interviewed, as summarised in Table 4 . The participants scored between 90 and 98 points on the RS-14 scale. The majority of the participants were women (7), compared to a small number of men (3). The mean age of the participants was 26 years (SD = 4.9), the age range being between 21 and 37 years. With regard to undergraduate degrees, the majority were in pedagogy (7), compared to those in primary education (3). The participants were enrolled in the fourth year (5), second year (1) and first year (4). Finally, among the Negative Life Episodes (NLE) they experienced, family problems and illnesses stand out.

Characteristics of the participants ( n = 10).

Note 1: S = subject, P = score on the RS-14 scale, E = age and Sex = male or female. Note 2: items identified in the LEC 5 [ 62 ]: 8 = sexual assault, 12 = life-threatening injury or illness, 13 = severe human suffering, 15 = sudden accidental death, 17 = any traumatic event (participants have indicated broken family and poverty).

3.2.2. Shaping Entrepreneurial Resilience

The information from the interviews indicates the set of processes implemented after the emergence of the NLEs. The structural thematic analysis was composed of two main themes and four sub-themes, respectively, categorised into intrapersonal and exopersonal ( Table 5 ):

Themes and sub-themes.

3.2.3. Resilience Shaping Processes

The resilience of young university students was shaped by intrapersonal processes, such as cognitive, emotional and behavioural processes on the one hand, and exopersonal processes, such as social support, on the other hand.

Cognitive Processes

The perception of the stimuli as NLEs was generalised across all the participants. The assessment of the severity of adverse events is unique to personal subjectivity and is closely related to the availability of the person’s resources. When the demands of hazards exceed personal resources, adverse experiences are evaluated with a high degree of severity. The university students interviewed describe that in the face of adverse experiences, such as sexual abuse, terminal illness, abandonment or family breakdown or the death of parents in accidents, they have not had sufficient resources to manage NLEs. Participant S10P90E21SM narrates that she has “suffered sexual abuse by a very close relative, from the age of 6 to 14 (…) I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know what was happening and I didn’t know how to act, I was a child who didn’t understand anything” . S6P92E23SV describes the lack of resources to adequately manage her NLE: “I witnessed my father beating my mother and verbally humiliating her on many occasions, ad nauseam. I also experienced my brother’s schizophrenic crises, which were brutal. And later, I had to take care of my mother who suffered from bipolar disorder. All this pushed me beyond my limits, I couldn’t cope any more”. Similarly, the rest of the participants described the lack of personal resources and their perception of the severity of their adverse experiences as NLEs.

According to the narratives, the NLEs that occurred are unchangeable and uncontrollable situations, i.e., there are no opportunities to change them. Faced with this, the participants opted for cognitive accommodation , since it was impossible to change the adverse situation that threatened their aspirations and life goals. S2P94E25SM indicated that “I have resigned myself, there is no way out, I know that this disease is going to end my life, at most in a few years (…) I have had to adapt” . The limited mental resources of the participants allowed them to exercise a high degree of cognitive control. In this sense, they focused on relevant information with the intention of reducing the uncertainty of the severe adverse situations they were experiencing. S8P91E22SM’s cognitive control reveals how he implemented cognitive control to minimise harm to his mental well-being.:

“I was saturated, everything in my mind was totally confused, too many things had happened to me that I wasn’t able to assimilate, I was paralysed, I couldn’t make a decision to move on with my life. There came a time when I had to act and I started to focus on what was important. Everything I did and thought about was directed towards what really mattered to me.”.

Cognitive flexibility has been a constant in the participants’ response to the changes that occurred in their context due to the emergence of the NLE. This is expressed by S4P92E26SV, “ … my way of thinking changed, I had to look for new solutions to the problem ”, and S3P93E32SV, “ … the situation was serious, everything I thought did never work, I had to reflect and see new ways to get out of that situation ”.

Emotional Processes

The intensity of the emotions that arise in NLEs has led the participants to describe profoundly negative emotional states. In some cases, these emotional states have involved acute stress reactions leading to emotional blockage. Thus, S7P91E25SM recounts that “when I was told that the tumour was inoperable and the time I had left, I was in shock because I was not able to do anything. I was in shock because I was not able to assimilate it” . However, sometimes traumatic experiences leave permanent after-effects. The emotional intensity that emerged in the NLEs decreased as time passed, and the participants adapted to their new life circumstances. In this sense, some participants stated that they did not feel emotional blocks, although they did experience episodes of anxiety and depression after the NLEs: “I had that depression, when everything came to light” (S5P92E24SM) or “I also had some anxiety attacks” (S9P90E30SM).

Undoubtedly, NLEs have involved the emergence of high intensity negative emotions that have affected, in one way or another, the emotional balance of the participants. However, despite the impact suffered, the functioning of the emotional system has not suffered a serious disruption that has caused irreversible damage to the well-being of the participants. On the contrary, emotional intelligence has been a mediating variable between the NLEs and their consequences on the health and well-being of these young university students.

Thus, despite the initial emotional confusion, all the participants indicate that they were gradually able to identify how they felt and were able to define their emotional states: “I was very clear about how I felt” (S1P98E37SM) and “I knew how to detect anger, strength, hope, rage, even revenge” (S9P90E30SM). Although, the lack of personal and emotional maturity in childhood and pre-adolescence has made it difficult to identify and define certain emotions or feelings when the damage has occurred in these stages: “when I started therapy, because of all the abuse, the psychologist helped me to put my mind in order and name the emotions I felt. From then on, I got to know and identify my feelings and emotions” (S7P91E25SM). The emotional states they experienced ranged from negative emotions, such as sadness, anger, pain and frustration, to positive emotions, such as hope, optimism or joy:

“Sadness, impotence. Sometimes anger. Pain” (S1P98E37SM).

“The sadness was very obvious, and so was the loneliness. I felt frustrated, that I couldn’t do any more, I felt powerless, I was falling down, I was tired of crying” (S3P93E32SV).

“Hope that everything would pass” (S6P92E23SV).

Not only emotional awareness, but also emotion regulation is key in the whole process of repairing emotional states after NLEs. Distorted thoughts and protracted episodes of rumination or feelings of guilt had an impact on the decrease in well-being. In the face of these anxiogenic states, the participants managed their emotions, although this was not an efficient and continuous process, but was rather characterised by fluctuations in emotional management. On the whole, however, they were able to regulate the emotional load positively affecting well-being, as S10P90E21SM says: “It depends on the day. There were days when despite all the bad things I was able to lift my spirits, to be positive and strong. However, there were also days when I would sit down and cry and I couldn’t stop the pain” .

The expression of moods was also part of the emotional processes. Nine of the ten interviewees openly indicated that expressing their emotional states was key to counteracting the negative emotional impact of NLEs. In one way or another, the participants described emotional expression as a means of venting, comfort and consolation:

“I cried a lot. I used to vent to my friends (…) Talking about it helped me to let off steam.” (S2P94E25SM).

“Talking about them. Accepting them” (S8P91E22SM).

“I write about what I feel, it helps me a lot” (S4P92E26SV).

Behavioural Processes

The participants responded to stressful or anxiogenic situations through a range of coping strategies. Thus, the coping implemented was not characterised by avoidance. On the contrary, the behaviour of all the participants was aimed at reducing the stressor as much as possible, investing a great deal of personal effort to achieve this. The participants neither denied the problem nor avoided it, which allowed them to generate behaviours aimed at solving the problem. S5P92E24SM tells us that:

“And that’s what I grabbed on to when I got caught in that loop (…) I realised that the damage was already done, and that I had no choice but to rebuild myself. I changed my attitude and everything started to get better”.

In general, the participants indicated that, at first, the thoughts that generated the NLEs were characterised by their distortion and dysfunctionality, making negative cognitions possible. In this situation, the participants re-evaluated and reinterpreted the adverse situation, i.e., they sought the positive and optimistic meaning of the stressor. S2P94E25SM expressed the following:

“When it all started, my thoughts were self-destructive, nothing that was happening made sense, I just wondered: why me? As time went by, my point of view changed, I tried to look for the good side”.

This reinterpretation implies a recognition and acceptance of the adverse events under a positive approach to the situation. As participant S4P92E26SV says: “… although I couldn’t believe it, I accepted it, I think that was the hardest thing to do, to accept that I had a serious problem that was affecting me deeply and could have serious consequences for my future” .

Social Support Processes

All the participants consider that they received help from one or more people around them. Moreover, they think that social support is essential to cope with adverse situations. Social support becomes a reference that facilitates a balanced transition from the adverse situation. S6P92E23SV expresses the social support of his environment:

“… my wife and her family (…) I saw the kind of life they led and then I said to myself that I was lucky to see that reference and I wanted to follow that model (…). I had a special friend, we have a lot of affinity. He lived with a good family (…). They took me in. That help is very important in my life and it also left a big mark on me. It helped me a lot, in terms of food, money, clothes, etc.…”.

Three of the participants explicitly sought this social support from mental health professionals, as they perceived the need for professional counselling to address NLEs. As S10P90E21SM recalls: “The key help was my psychologist, she gained my trust and the therapy was great” . The other seven participants indicated the presence of social support, although they did not intentionally seek it, but rather found it in their environment. Thus, social support is not linked to mental health professionals, but to people close to them who offered support, care, affection and security. These people established strong emotional bonds with the participants:

“…the schoolteacher saw great potential in me and, in a way, took responsibility for me when I was 11 years old, she was the one who helped me to get up every day with the strength of will to attend classes and not to sink. She was always there, offering me her support and affection” (S9P90E30SM).

3.2.4. Strategic Entrepreneurial Dimensions

In the processes of shaping resilience, the participants acquired a set strategic entrepreneurial dimensions promoting personal growth. The students interviewed believe that they acquired a good degree of self-confidence and claim to have the ability to overcome adversity successfully. As stated by S7P91E25SM: “I think I am confident enough to overcome any situation, but I also think that you never know what you might experience” . In turn, the participants presented a high degree of autonomy, as they were able to satisfy their basic needs, act with judgement and acquire personal independence following their own values: “Yes, I am used to being independent and autonomous (…) because I have had to do things by myself and make very difficult decisions to move forward in life” (S1P98E37SM).

According to the participants, the new circumstances following the NLEs required their initiative and proactivity, that is, they had to perform certain behaviours of their own accord, anticipating certain problems and their possible consequences. The participants’ behaviour was not driven by external factors; they self-directed their behaviour towards the goals they set for themselves. The initiative of S8P91E22SM was clearly revealed when she stated that “I don’t want to let things just happen but try to promote them myself. I like not to be satisfied and to find more ideas and solutions to problems” . Yet, six participants confirmed the personal efforts made to gain this degree of autonomy: “It has not been easy, everything has involved a lot of effort and work on my part, nobody has given me anything for free” (S5P92E24SM).

All the participants agree that coping has made them more perseverant. Four of the participants confirmed that before the NLEs, they did not possess such levels of perseverance to achieve the goals they set for themselves. The rest of the participants stated that their perseverance became stronger and stronger after the adverse experiences. S3P93E32SV and S10P90E21SM, respectively, expressed the degree of perseverance they possess: “Before I was not like that, after my bad personal experiences I have become more persistent and constant” and “I think I have always been constant. It is one of the things that helped me to overcome everything I went through, but now I am even more so” .

The participants agree that they offered original proposals to solve the various difficulties they encountered during and after the NLEs. In this sense, the narratives indicate that the creative processes made it easier for the participants to better adapt to different contextual demands. Similarly, they describe in their narratives that providing creative solutions enabled them to change adverse contextual situations for their well-being. Two of the participants describe it in the following way:

“I have developed creativity to solve any kind of problem” (S2P94E25SM).

“ You have to be creative (…) to react well to such a difficult situation ” (S6P92E23SV).

It is common for the participants to consider that the impact and management of NLEs has meant for them, above all, acquiring the capacity to solve problems of different kinds, whether they come from the adverse situation itself or as a consequence of it. As S5P92E24SM tells us:

“ When you have a problem and you make a decision and you carry it out, you solve the problem, but when you don’t solve it and the days go by, other types of problems come up that need other solutions. I always say the same thing, a problem appears, I find a solution ”.

In general, the participants corroborate that they learned to solve their problems regardless of their size, looking for the most efficient solutions, although again the personal efforts needed to solve the problems are evident in the narratives of five participants:

“ After what I have been through, I can solve any problem, improvise solutions or get out of any problem by myself, although I also know that it takes a lot of will and effort to remove the problem ” (S4P92E26SV).

3.2.5. The Process of Future Projection of the Self

Personal goals and efforts.

Two participants with serious illnesses primarily set themselves health-related goals. On the one hand, S3P93E32SV reports that “ The most important thing is to be in good health within the limits that this disease allows me. I try to do everything the doctors say to continue with my life as best I can ”. On the other hand, S8P91E22SM indicates that “ it is essential to endure the treatments and then move on when my body recovers from the side effects, although I’m always in that circle of stopping and then starting again ”. Regardless of the illnesses, all the participants have goals related to the completion of their university studies and their incorporation into the labour market in the field of education: “ I have focused on studying hard to get good grades and to be a good educator ” (S1P98E37SM), and “ I mustn’t fail subjects, I want to get to the final year and have my teaching degree, I want to work ” (S9P90E30SM).

After experiencing NLEs, the participants report that an overriding issue in their lives is to achieve a good degree of physical and mental well-being. The narratives indicate that their understanding of life is closely linked to this goal of well-being: “ After all the pain I have gone through, I always prioritise having inner balance, feeling good inside, leaving the old ghosts behind me ” (S4P92E26SV). At the same time, they coincide in their interest in generating and maintaining quality relationships with the people around them: “ I love making friends and having friends, friends bring you a lot, they help you and you can help them ” (S7P91E25SM).

The students reveal that achieving their goals is not without effort and personal commitment. According to them, perseverance towards their goals comes, on the one hand, from knowing what their priorities in life are in the short, medium and long term and, on the other hand, from the skills they acquired after overcoming the NLEs: “ I have learned to know what I want and to set goals to move forward little by little. Now I am stronger, I have more inner energy ” (S1P98E37SM). Although they make strong efforts, the participants expressed that this determination has a personal origin. Subject S8P91E22SM clarifies that: “ the energy comes from within me, it’s okay to support from outside, but the engine is inside of you ”. Similarly, the students feel confident and empowered to achieve what they set out to do: “ I rely on myself and all the things I have learned to get where I want to go ” (S4P92E26SV). The students agree that efforts are fundamental in the achievement of personal goals. However, they specify that it is also necessary to count on the help of people close to them and to have certain material resources, as S5P92E24SM says: “ primarily you, but there are also your friends or family members and, of course, having some minimums to live on ”.

Personal Projects

The NLEs entailed profound changes in the lives of these university students, since they had to trace life trajectories based on the new circumstances. In some cases, the occurrence of NLEs implied an abrupt rupture of their previous life projects. In other cases, personal projects had to be drastically reorganised due to the life transformations that the participants underwent. In one way or another, the participants had to take risks in the uncertainty of building a new life. As stated by S10P90E21SM: “Life totally changed what I wanted to do with my future"; and S6P92E23SV: “when everything happened, I realised that I had to change a lot if I wanted to move on with my life".

All the participants corroborate that the construction and development of personal projects after the NLEs made them aware of how to build personal projects. Thus, S7P91E25SM states that “before, I was not aware of how my life was going towards the future, towards things just like that. Now, I stop to think about what I want, how I am going to do it, how much time I will spend on it or what things I will need” . The students describe that, once they overcome NLEs, their lives focus on certain priorities, such as developing and maintaining physical and mental well-being, attaining an adequate education and entering the labour market, or fostering fruitful personal relationships with the people closest to them:

“ I like to feel good about myself, it’s something I don’t mind spending my time on ” (S2P94E25SM).

“ I want to finish my university studies and become a teacher. It is my greatest wish ” (S9P90E30SM).

“ I plan to continue my studies, but also to spend as much time as possible with my loved ones ” (S5P92E24SM).

In general, the narratives reveal that the projects emerge from personal values and have a high relevance for the participants’ lives. At the same time, they agree that they enjoy the implementation of the projects and are deeply involved in them: “I think that the important thing is to be happy and to be well with others. Everyone should know what they want to do with their lives and do it in accordance with their personal values (…) so it makes more sense and you get involved in it” (S3P93E32SV). Each of the participants is developing a variety of personal projects, in different degrees, but they corroborate that they are capable of implementing and executing them adequately, although they are aware of how contextual variables can influence their execution: “I see myself capable of doing what I have set out to do in the medium and long term, but of course I can’t control everything that happens, although I try to make sure that everything goes in the right direction” (S5P92E24SM).

To the same degree, all the participants consider that the construction of their personal projects is having a positive effect on their lives, making them feel more fulfilled and hopeful: “I feel very happy, I see the future with enthusiasm and positivity” (S9P90E30SM). Similarly, the personal projects they described have a purpose related to entrepreneurial personal growth, proposing projects of various kinds, but always with a genuine personality development aspect. Thus, the subjects set themselves second-order personal projects linked to their personal values and life purpose, together with first-order personal projects related to the medium and short-term execution of intermediate goals: “Like everyone else, I want to be happy (…) It’s like a path where you move forward according to the goals you set yourself, but without losing sight of the fact that I want to be good in everything I do ” (S4P92E26SV).

Finally, the participants indicate that the strategic entrepreneurial decisions learned during the NLEs they experienced are valuable personal resources that facilitate the construction of their personal projects: “Everything I have learned on a personal level is helping me to be able to generate all my desires” (S3P93E32SV).

4. Discussion

From a salutogenic perspective, the aim of this research was to explore how ten young university students shaped their resilience and entrepreneurial capacity after they experienced negative life events (NLEs). This study was implemented through mixed research, where the quantitative phase was used to select the cases with the highest degree of resilience and the qualitative phase to know the strategic entrepreneurial components involved in resilience, and to understand how the entrepreneurial resilience of the selected university students is formed under a phenomenological and interpretative approach. In the quantitative phase (qt), the data indicate that the university students in the sample possess acceptable levels of resilience. The surveyed participants range in resilience from normal (9.1%) to very high (26.4%), with 64.5% being in the high levels. No participants are in the very low or low levels. Other studies on Spanish university students show similar results with levels close to 60% in high resilience and 14% with strong resilience, although, on the contrary, they do show low levels of resilience at 30% [ 99 ]. Studies in Italy [ 100 ], Germany [ 101 ] and India [ 102 ] show fluctuating levels of resilience in emerging adulthood during the university stage. This explains the emergence of qualitative and mixed research trying to understand how resilience develops and consolidates itself in adulthood at university [ 103 , 104 ].

In the qualitative phase (QL), the data indicate that entrepreneurial resilience is configured through three moments: (a) the impact of the NLEs, (b) learning to overcome problematic situations and (c) the future projection of the self. In these three moments, university students used both SOC components and intrapersonal and exopersonal GRRs as promoters of entrepreneurial resilience.

Moment one is the impact of the NLEs and is characterised by the occurrence of the adverse situations and the subject’s management to minimise the stressors and their possible damage. At the moment of impact, the participants managed to implement the joint functioning of cognitive, emotional, behavioural and social support processes. The processes of cognitive perception and emotional identification allowed the interviewed university students to achieve a good degree of comprehension of the severity of the NLEs and the emotional states derived from these adverse experiences. On the other hand, accommodation, control and cognitive flexibility, together with the regulation and expression of emotional states fostered the participants being able to obtain an adequate manageability of the anxiogenic situations generated. In addition, cognitive emotional functioning supported coping behaviour in the face of NLEs through a focus on problems, emotions and meaning [ 105 ]. This cognitive, emotional and behavioural triad would be intrapersonal GRRs that promote entrepreneurial resilience. Previous studies [ 40 , 106 ] corroborate that cognitive, emotional and behavioural mechanisms are intrapersonal resources that strengthen SOC. However, we also find contextual GRRs, such as the social support received in the narratives. In this regard, the participants identify the figure of the resilient mentor [ 107 ], both from an explicit perspective of seeking social support, especially in mental health professionals, and from an implicit perspective, where the participants casually found social support in the people close to them [ 108 ].

NLEs are anxiogenic situations that are highly likely to affect well-being. Nevertheless, studies indicate that sometimes these experiences become personal situations of coping and sustaining future well-being [ 109 , 110 ]. In line with the other researches [ 111 , 112 ], we posit that intrapersonal and exopersonal GRRs recognised by the participants would strengthen SOC through learning acquired in NLEs [ 41 ]. This is the second moment that the participants identified.

The overcoming moment refers to all the strategic entrepreneurial dimensions acquired by the participants once they faced the NLEs. Thus, the moment of overcoming the NLEs would be characterised as a situation of reflexive and experiential learning, where the participants actively thought about the causes, consequences, possibilities and personal contributions that the experiences of the NLEs have brought to them [ 113 ]. Likewise, this second moment could also be characterised as an educational overcoming, since the participants, through their memories and autobiographical reasoning, were able to better understand the adversities they experienced and acquire a constructivist vision of the NLEs.

In this way, university students were able to identify a range of strategic entrepreneurial dimensions. The qualitative data indicate that resilient processes incorporate certain strategic dimensions of entrepreneurial behaviour with a different degree of concreteness. Thus, at a first level, we obtain two basic dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation: innovation or creativity and proactivity or initiative. At a second level, there are specific strategic dimensions, such as autonomy, perseverance, problem solving and self-confidence. This set of strategic entrepreneurial dimensions would be appropriately constituted as intra-personal GRRs for the personal future after the NLEs. [ 114 ]. Although they all have their degree of importance, self-confidence as a central element in the salutogenic model takes on a preponderant relevance, since the components of SOC, comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness , are mediated by the degree of confidence in recognising stressors, coping with the demands of those stressors through the available resources and the commitment to overcoming challenges [ 115 ].

In the third moment, the future projection of the self underlies the question of what happens when NLEs are successfully faced and overcome. In general, a wide range of new possibilities opens up for the participants. The experiences of the university students interviewed indicate that there is a profound transformation of the system of beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviours prior to the NLEs. According to them, this internal change allowed them to observe new opportunities and achieve a life with a greater degree of meaningfulness . Previous research explored how negative experiences promote a meaningful life [ 116 , 117 ].

The third moment is characterised by the implementation of the strategic dimensions of entrepreneurial behaviour, enabling the projection of the future self [ 118 ] and the construction of life projects [ 119 ], through personal goals and efforts [ 120 ]. However, after the moment of educational impact and self-improvement, the participants explicitly manifested the acquired entrepreneurial strategies, it is no less true that, in the third moment of future projection of the self, they developed strategic entrepreneurial dimensions related to risk-taking (basic level) and achievement orientation (specific level) for the achievement of their objectives, goals and personal projects. It would be difficult to understand the implementation of personal projects without a certain degree of risk-taking and achievement orientation. With the development and implementation of the strategic dimensions, the participants built up a personal goal structure, differentiating between focal and instrumental goals [ 121 ]. Both types of goals were constituted by the participants through intrinsic and identified motivations, i.e., they chose the goals and objectives that represent their system of beliefs, values and attitudes [ 122 ]. These are so-called self-concordant goals [ 123 ]. Recent research corroborates how the choice of personal goal concordance generates optimism and well-being [ 124 ]. The self-concordant goals selected by the participants are linked to: first, maintaining and developing personal well-being; second, academic or professional development; and third, fostering quality inter-personal relationships. The achievement of these objectives implies a deep commitment on the part of the participants, which is reflected in the personal efforts they made towards their attainment. Underlying these personal efforts are the strategic dimensions acquired during the moment of self-improvement. In spite of their personal efforts, the participants are aware that there are contextual resources, which are convenient in order to achieve their goals, and material and financial resources.

Distinguishing between focal and instrumental goals [ 121 ] also implies the difference between first- and second-order projects [ 125 ]. In the participants’ narratives, we can distinguish how they elaborated first-order projects to achieve certain instrumental goals that would facilitate the development of second-order personal projects, which are aimed at focal goals or self-concordant objectives. Thus, the participants construct their personal projects hierarchically. Studies on Spanish university students support this hierarchical conception of personal projects in emerging adulthood [ 126 ]. In this sense, it is common for all the participants to establish a hierarchy, where second-order projects, which guide first-order projects, are defined as being directed towards personal development, growth or well-being. It is not surprising that the effect of the personal projects constituted after the NLEs on well-being is considered as positive by the participants. This notion of the positive effect of personal projects was indicated by early studies on life satisfaction and the organisation of personal projects [ 127 ]. Finally, in the projection of the self through personal projects, the participants recognise the value of the strategic dimensions of entrepreneurial behaviour acquired in the implementation of their personal projects. In this sense, all the narrative data indicate that the implementation of intrapersonal GRRs, in this case, the strategic dimensions, enable a more solid configuration of the SOC. The described strategic dimensions favour a better comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness of their personal present and future. In this sense, the acquired strategic dimensions form the core of the entrepreneurial behaviour that accompanies resilient processes. It is even possible to define an entrepreneurial profile of the resilient person configured by this set of strategic dimensions linked to entrepreneurial behaviour.

5. Towards a Model of Entrepreneurial Resilience

Based on the salutogenic paradigm, we composed some guidelines that outline a comprehensive model of entrepreneurial resilience. From the participants’ narratives, we observed how severe stressful situations have a high probability of having a negative impact on physical and mental well-being. Next, we describe the constituent elements of a comprehensive model of how entrepreneurial resilience is configured in order to face adversity and build life projects. The first block would be the moment of impact of NLEs and would be made up of behavioural, emotional, cognitive and social support processes. The second block would be constituted by educational improvement in which the subjects would learn the set of strategic dimensions of entrepreneurial behaviour. The third block would be characterised by entrepreneurial personal growth through the implementation of the strategic dimensions, facilitating the construction of life projects.

This structure would have a dynamic, integrative and progressive character that would be characterised by the evolution of the subject over a temporal continuum from the appearance of the NLEs to the future projection, passing through educational improvement. At each of these moments, interpersonal and exopersonal GRRs would be identified, formed and used. This model would reflect how the use of the intrapersonal and exopersonal resources by the participants influences the consolidation of a SOC, which, in turn, influences the use of the GRRs. Underlying this structure is the approach to the narrative construction of identity, through autobiographical mnemonic processes (memories and reasoning) that facilitate the generation of a temporal self-awareness over time, as well as a coherent sense of identity.

6. Limitations and Future Research

In this research, convenience sampling was selected. RS-14 was used for the selection of the participants and only the data were analysed descriptively. The participants were selected exclusively from the Faculty of Education. Consequently, the study has limitations in terms of generalisability. However, the study was primarily carried out using a phenomenological and interpretative approach. The small number of cases selected and the qualitative nature of the data analysed facilitated an in-depth understanding of what the strategic dimensions of entrepreneurial behaviour are and how entrepreneurial resilience is formed in university students. The study explored a possible entrepreneurial profile in resilient university students but did not explore the contextual GRRs that they have within the university context. In this respect, it is necessary to highlight the lack of quantitative instruments concerning entrepreneurial resilience. Perhaps the strategic dimensions of entrepreneurial behaviour described in the study would constitute possible factors for future psychometric tests related to the subject. Furthermore, the concept of GRRs could be revised, understanding it not only as a set of personal, social or contextual resources that minimise the stressors of everyday life, facilitating adaptation and coping in the face of adverse life circumstances [ 38 ], but also as the possibility of generating and implementing strategic dimensions that promote entrepreneurial behaviours that favour the construction of life projects. This reconceptualisation of the GRRs, incorporating the strategic dimensions of entrepreneurial behaviour could take the form of a model of entrepreneurial resilience in the university population.

7. Conclusions

This research was developed by taking into account the salutogenic model, with the aim of finding out the strategic entrepreneurial dimensions that are part of resilient processes and understanding how entrepreneurial resilience is formed from the point of view of university students. To this end, the strategic entrepreneurial dimensions and their contribution to the personal projects of resilient university students were identified. The findings of the study contribute firstly to the design of quantitative instruments on the profile of the resilient entrepreneur; second, to the reconceptualisation of the GRRs by introducing the component of strategic dimensions of entrepreneurial behaviour; and finally, to the design and concretisation of the model of entrepreneurial resilience in emerging adulthood.

Acknowledgments

We thank all the participants for taking their precious time and participating in this study.

Author Contributions

All authors took part in the design of the study. The research proposal was developed by E.M.-F., A.R.C.-G. and guided by A.B.-G. Conceptualisation, E.M.-F., A.R.C.-G. and A.B.-G.; methodology, E.M.-F., A.R.C.-G. and A.B.-G.; software, E.M.-F., A.R.C.-G. and A.B.-G.; validation, E.M.-F., A.R.C.-G. and A.B.-G.; formal analysis, E.M.-F., A.R.C.-G. and A.B.-G.; investigation, E.M.-F., A.R.C.-G. and A.B.-G.; resources, E.M.-F., A.R.C.-G. and A.B.-G.; data curation, E.M.-F., A.R.C.-G. and A.B.-G.; writing—original draft preparation, E.M.-F., A.R.C.-G. and A.B.-G.; writing—review and editing, E.M.-F., A.R.C.-G. and A.B.-G.; visualisation, E.M.-F., A.R.C.-G. and A.B.-G.; supervision, E.M.-F., A.R.C.-G. and A.B.-G.; project administration, E.M.-F., A.R.C.-G. and A.B.-G.; funding acquisition, E.M.-F., A.R.C.-G. and A.B.-G. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

This publication is part of the I+D+i project PID2019-104408GB-I00, funded by MCIN/ AEI/10.13039/501100011033/.

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

Conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Case study on adoption of new technology for innovation: Perspective of institutional and corporate entrepreneurship

Asia Pacific Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

ISSN : 2398-7812

Article publication date: 7 August 2017

This paper aims at investigating the role of institutional entrepreneurship and corporate entrepreneurship to cope with firm’ impasses by adoption of the new technology ahead of other firms. Also, this paper elucidates the importance of own specific institutional and corporate entrepreneurship created from firm’s norm.

Design/methodology/approach

The utilized research frame is as follows: first, perspective of studies on institutional and corporate entrepreneurship are performed using prior literature and preliminary references; second, analytical research frame was proposed; finally, phase-based cases are conducted so as to identify research objective.

Kumho Tire was the first tire manufacturer in the world to exploit the utilization of radio-frequency identification for passenger carâ’s tire. Kumho Tire takes great satisfaction in lots of failures to develop the cutting edge technology using advanced information and communication technology cultivated by heterogeneous institution and corporate entrepreneurship.

Originality/value

The firm concentrated its resources into building the organization’s communication process and enhancing the quality of its human resources from the early stages of their birth so as to create distinguishable corporate entrepreneurship.

• Corporate entrepreneurship
• Institutional entrepreneurship

Han, J. and Park, C.-m. (2017), "Case study on adoption of new technology for innovation: Perspective of institutional and corporate entrepreneurship", Asia Pacific Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship , Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 144-158. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJIE-08-2017-031

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2017, Junghee Han and Chang-min Park.

Published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship . Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial & non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

1. Introduction

Without the entrepreneur, invention and new knowledge possibly have lain dormant in the memory of persons or in the pages of literature. There is a Korean saying, “Even if the beads are too much, they become treasure after sewn”. This implies importance of entrepreneurship. In general, innovativeness and risk-taking are associated with entrepreneurial activity and, more importantly, are considered to be important attributes that impact the implementation of new knowledge pursuing.

Implementation of cutting edge technology ahead of other firms is an important mechanism for firms to achieve competitive advantage ( Capon et al. , 1990 ; D’Aveni, 1994 ). Certainly, new product innovation continues to play a vital role in competitive business environment and is considered to be a key driver of firm performance, especially as a significant form of corporate entrepreneurship ( Srivastava and Lee, 2005 ). Corporate entrepreneurship is critical success factor for a firm’s survival, profitability and growth ( Phan et al. , 2009 ).

The first-mover has identified innovativeness and risk-taking as important attributes of first movers. Lumpkin and Dess (1996) argued that proactiveness is a key entrepreneurial characteristic related to new technology adoption and product. This study aims to investigate the importance of corporate and institutional entrepreneurship through analyzing the K Tire’s first adaptation of Radio-frequency identification (RFID) among the world tire manufactures. Also, this paper can contribute to start ups’ readiness for cultivating of corporate and institutional entrepreneurship from initial stage to grow and survive.

K Tire is the Korean company that, for the first time in the world, applied RFID to manufacturing passenger vehicle tires in 2013. Through such efforts, the company has built an innovation model that utilizes ICTs. The adoption of the technology distinguishes K Tire from other competitors, which usually rely on bar codes. None of the global tire manufacturers have applied the RFID technology to passenger vehicle tires. K Tire’s decision to apply RFID to passenger vehicle tires for the first time in the global tire industry, despite the uncertainties associated with the adoption of innovative technologies, is being lauded as a successful case of innovation. In the global tire market, K Tire belongs to the second tier, rather than the leader group consisting of manufacturers with large market shares. Then, what led K Tire to apply RFID technology to the innovation of its manufacturing process? A company that adopts innovative technologies ahead of others, even if the company is a latecomer, demonstrates its distinguishing characteristics in terms of innovation. As such, this study was motivated by the following questions. With regard to the factors that facilitate innovation, first, what kind of the corporate and institutional situations that make a company more pursue innovation? Second, what are the technological situations? Third, how do the environmental situations affect innovation? A case study offers the benefit of a closer insight into the entrepreneurship frame of a specific company. This study has its frame work rooted in corporate entrepreneurship ( Guth and Ginsberg, 1990 ; Shane and Venkataraman, 2000 ) and institutional entrepreneurship ( Battilana, 2006 ; Fligstein, 1997 ; Rojas, 2010 ). As mentioned, we utilized qualitative research method ( Yin, 2008 ). This paper is structured as follows. Section two presents the literature review, and section three present the methodology and a research case. Four and five presents discussion and conclusions and implications, respectively.

2. Theoretical review and analysis model

RFID technology is to be considered as not high technology; however, it is an entirely cutting edged skills when combined with automotive tire manufacturing. To examine why and how the firm behaves like the first movers, taking incomparable high risks to achieve aims unlike others, we review three kinds of prior literature. As firms move from stage to stage, they have to revamp innovative capabilities to survive and ceaseless stimulate growth.

2.1 Nature of corporate entrepreneurship

Before reviewing the corporate entrepreneurship, it is needed to understand what entrepreneurship is. To more understand the role that entrepreneurship plays in modern economy, one need refer to insights given by Schumpeter (1942) or Kirzner (1997) . Schumpeter suggests that entrepreneurship is an engine of economic growth by utilization of new technologies. He also insists potential for serving to discipline firms in their struggle to survive gale of creative destruction. While Schumper argued principle of entrepreneurship, Kirzner explains the importance of opportunities. The disruptions generated by creative destruction are exploited by individuals who are alert enough to exploit the opportunities that arise ( Kirzner, 1997 ; Shane and Venkataraman, 2000 ).

Commonly all these perspectives on entrepreneurship is an appreciation that the emergence of novelty is not an easy or predictable process. Based on literature review, we note that entrepreneurship is heterogeneous interests and seek “something new” associated with novel outcomes. Considering the literature review, we can observe that entrepreneurship is the belief in individual autonomy and discretion, and a mindset that locates agency in individuals for creating new activities ( Meyer et al. ,1994 ; Jepperson and Meyer, 2001 ).

the firm’s commitment to innovation (including creation and introduction of products, emphasis on R&D investments and commitment to patenting);

the firm’s venturing activities, such as entry into new business fields by sponsoring new ventures and creating new businesses; and

strategic renewal efforts aimed at revitalizing the firm’s ability to compete.

developing innovation an organizational tool;

allowing the employees to propose ideas; and

encouraging and nurturing the new knowledge ( Hisrich, 1986 ; Kuratko, 2007 ).

Consistent with the above stream of research, our paper focuses on a firm’s new adaptation of RFID as a significant form of corporate entrepreneurial activity. Thus, CE refers to the activities a firm undertakes to stimulate innovation and encourage calculated risk taking throughout its operations. Considering prior literature reviews, we propose that corporate entrepreneurship is the process by which individuals inside the organization pursuing opportunities without regards to the resources they control.

If a firm has corporate entrepreneurship, innovation (i.e. transformation of the existing firm, the birth of new business organization and innovation) happens. In sum, corporate entrepreneurship plays a role to pursue to be a first mover from a latecomer by encompassing the three phenomena.

2.2 Institution and institutional entrepreneurship

Most literature regarding entrepreneurship deals with the attribute of individual behavior. More recently, scholars have attended to the wider ecosystem that serves to reinforce risk-taking behavior. Institution and institutional entrepreneurship is one way to look at ecosystem that how individuals and groups attempt to try to become entrepreneurial activities and innovation.

Each organization has original norm and intangible rules. According to the suggestion by Scott (1995) , institutions constrain behavior as a result of processes associated with institutional pillars. The question how actors within the organizations become motivated and enabled to transform the taken-for-granted structures has attracted substantial attention for institutionalist. To understand why some firms are more likely to seek innovation activities despite numerous difficulties and obstacles, we should take look at the institutional entrepreneurship.

the regulative, which induces worker’s action through coercion and formal sanction;

the normative, which induces worker’s action through norms of acceptability and ethics; and

the cognitive, which induces worker’s action through categories and frames by which actors know and interpret their world.

North (1990) defines institutions as the humanly devised constraints that structure human action. Actors within some organization with sufficient resources have intend to look at them an opportunity to realize interests that they value highly ( DiMaggio, 1988 ).

It opened institutional arguments to ideas from the co-evolving entrepreneurship literature ( Aldrich and Fiol, 1994 ; Aldrich and Martinez, 2001 ). The core argument of the institutional entrepreneurship is mechanisms enabling force to motivate for actors to act difficult task based on norm, culture and shared value. The innovation, adopting RFID, a technology not verified in terms of its effectiveness for tires, can be influenced by the institution of the society.

A firm is the organizations. An organization is situated within an institution that has social and economic norms. Opportunity is important for entrepreneurship. The concept of institutional entrepreneurship refer to the activities of worker or actor who have new opportunity to realize interest that they values highly ( DiMaggio, 1988 ). DiMaggio (1988) argues that opportunity for institutional entrepreneurship will be “seen” and “exploited” by within workers and not others depending on their resources and interests respectively.

Despite that ambiguity for success was given, opportunity and motivation for entrepreneurs to act strategically, shape emerging institutional arrangements or standards to their interests ( Fligstein and Mara-Drita, 1996 ; Garud et al. , 2002 ; Hargadon and Douglas, 2001 ; Maguire et al. , 2004 ).

Resource related to opportunity within institutional entrepreneurship include formal or informal authority and power ( Battilana, 2006 ; Rojas, 2010 ). Maguire et al. (2004) suggest legitimacy as an important ingredient related to opportunity for institutional entrepreneurship. Some scholars suggest opportunity resources for institutional entrepreneurship as various aspects. For instance, Marquire and Hardy (2009) show that knowledge and expertise is more crucial resources. Social capital, including market leadership and social network, is importance resource related to opportunity ( Garud et al. , 2002 ; Lawrence et al. , 2005 ; Townley, 2002 ). From a sociological perspective, change associated with entrepreneurship implies deviations from some norm ( Garud and Karnøe, 2003 ).

Institutional entrepreneurship is therefore a concept that reintroduces agency, interests and power into institutional analyses of organizations. Based on the previous discussion, this study defines institution as three processes of network activity; coercion and formal sanction, normative and cognitive, to acquire the external knowledge from adopting common goals and rules inside an organization. It would be an interesting approach to look into a specific company to see whether it is proactive towards adopting ICTs (e.g. RFID) and innovation on the basis of such theoretical background.

2.3. Theoretical analysis frame

Companies innovate themselves in response to the challenges of the ever-changing markets and technologies, so as to ensure their survival and growth ( Tushman and Anderson, 1986 ; Tidd and Bessant, 2009 ; Teece, 2014 ). As illustrated above, to achieve the purpose of this study, the researcher provides the following frames of analyses based on the theoretical background discussed above ( Figure 1 ).

3. Case study

3.1 methodology.

It is a highly complicated and tough task to analyze the long process of innovation at a company. In this paper, we used analytical approach rather than the problem-oriented method because the case is examined to find and understand what has happened and why. It is not necessary to identify problems or suggest solutions. Namely, this paper analyzes that “why K Tire becomes a first mover from a late comer through first adoption of RFID technology for automotive tire manufacture with regards to process and production innovations”.

To study the organizational characteristics such as corporate entrepreneurship, institutional entrepreneurship, innovation process of companies, the qualitative case study is the suitable method. This is because a case study is a useful method when verifying or expanding well-known theories or challenging a specific theory ( Yin, 2008 ). This study seeks to state the frame of analysis established, based on previously established theories through a single case. K Tire was selected as the sample because it is the first global tire manufacturer, first mover to achieve innovation by developing and applying RFID.

The data for the case study were collected as follows. First, this study was conducted from April 2015 to the end of December 2015. Additional expanded data also were collected from September 12 to November 22, 2016, to pursue the goal of this paper. Coauthor worked for K Tire for more than 30 year, and currently serves as the CEO of an affiliate company. As such, we had the most hands-on knowledge and directed data in the process of adoption RFID. This makes this case study a form of participant observation ( Yin, 2008 ). To secure data on institutional entrepreneurship, in-depth interviews were conducted with the vice president of K Tire. The required data were secured using e-mail, and the researchers accepted the interviewees’ demand to keep certain sensitive matters confidential. The interviewees agreed to record the interview sessions. In this way, a 20-min interview data were secured for each interviewee. In addition, apart from the internal data of the subject company, other objective data were obtained by investigating various literatures published through the press.

3.2 Company overview

In September 1960, K Tire was established in South Korea as the name of Samyang Tire. In that time, the domestic automobile industry in Korea was at a primitive stage, as were auto motive parts industries like the tire industry. K Tire products 20 tires a day, depending on manual labor because of our backward technology and shortage of facilities.

The growth of K Tire was astonishment. Despite the 1974 oil shock and difficulties in procuring raw materials, K Tire managed to achieve remarkable growth. In 1976, K Tire became the leader in the tire sector and was listed on the Korea Stock Exchange. Songjung plant II was added in 1977. Receiving the grand prize of the Korea Quality Control Award in 1979, K Tire sharpened its corporate image with the public. The turmoil of political instability and feverish democratization in the 1980s worsened the business environment. K Tire also underwent labor-management struggles but succeeded in straightening out one issue after another. In the meantime, the company chalked up a total output of 50 million tires, broke ground for its Koksung plant and completed its proving ground in preparation for a new takeoff.

In the 1990s, K Tire expanded its research capability and founded technical research centers in the USA and the United Kingdom to establish a global R&D network. It also concentrated its capabilities in securing the foundation as a global brand, by building world-class R&D capabilities and production systems. Even in the 2000s, the company maintained its growth as a global company through continued R&D efforts by securing its production and quality capabilities, supplying tires for new models to Mercedes, Benz, Volkswagen and other global auto manufacturers.

3.3 Implementation of radio-frequency identification technology

RFID is radio-frequency identification technology to recognize stored information by using a magnetic carrier wave. RFID tags can be either passive, active or battery-assisted passive (BAP). An active tag has an on-board battery and periodically transmits its ID signal. A BAP has a small battery on board and is activated when in the presence of an RFID reader. A passive tag is cheaper and smaller because it has no battery; instead, the tag uses the radio energy transmitted by the reader. However, to operate a passive tag, it must be illuminated with a power level roughly a thousand times stronger than for signal transmission. That makes a difference in interference and in exposure to radiation.

an integrated circuit for storing and processing information, modulating and demodulating a radio frequency signal, collecting DC power from the incident reader signal, and other specialized functions; and

an antenna for receiving and transmitting the signal.

capable of recognizing information without contact;

capable of recognizing information regardless of the direction;

capable of reading and saving a large amount of data;

requires less time to recognize information;

can be designed or manufactured in accordance with the system or environmental requirements;

capable of recognizing data unaffected by contamination or the environment;

not easily damaged and cheaper to maintain, compared with the bar code system; and

tags are reusable.

3.3.1 Phase 1. Background of exploitation of radio-frequency identification (2005-2010).

Despite rapid growth of K Tire since 1960, K Tire ranked at the 13th place in the global market (around 2 per cent of the global market share) as of 2012. To enlarge global market share is desperate homework. K Tire was indispensable to develop the discriminated technologies. When bar code system commonly used by the competitors, and the industry leaders, K Tire had a decision for adoption of RFID technology instead of bar code system for tires as a first mover strategy instead of a late comer with regard to manufacture tires for personal vehicle. In fact, K Tire met two kinds of hardship. Among the top 20, the second-tier companies with market shares of 1-2 per cent are immersed in fiercer competitions to advance their ranks. The fierceness of the competition is reflected in the fact that of the companies ranked between the 11th and 20th place, only two maintained their rank from 2013.

With the demand for stricter product quality control and manufacture history tracking expanding among the auto manufacturers, tire manufacturers have come to face the need to change their way of production and logistics management. Furthermore, a tire manufacturer cannot survive if it does not properly respond to the ever stricter and exacting demand for safe passenger vehicle tires of higher quality from customers and auto manufacturers. As mentioned above, K Tire became one of the top 10 companies in the global markets, recording fast growth until the early 2000. During this period, K Tire drew the attention of the global markets with a series of new technologies and innovative technologies through active R&D efforts. Of those new products, innovative products – such as ultra-high-performance tires – led the global markets and spurred the company’s growth. However, into the 2010s, the propriety of the UHP tire technology was gradually lost, and the effect of the innovation grew weaker as the global leading companies stepped forward to take the reign in the markets. Subsequently, K Tire suffered from difficulties across its businesses, owing to the failure to develop follow-up innovative products or market-leading products, as well as the aggressive activities by the company’s hardline labor union. Such difficulties pushed K Tire down to the 13th position in 2014, which sparked the dire need to bring about innovative changes within the company.

3.3.2 Phase 2. Ceaseless endeavor and its failure (2011-2012).

It needs to be lightweight : An RFID tag attached inside a vehicle may adversely affect the weight balance of the tires. A heavier tag has greater adverse impact on the tire performance. Therefore, a tag needs to be as light as possible.

It needs to be durable : Passenger vehicle tires are exposed to extensive bending and stretching, as well as high levels of momentum, which may damage a tag, particularly causing damage to or even loss of the antenna section.

It needs to maintain adhesiveness : Tags are attached on the inner surface, which increase the possibility of the tags falling off from the surface while the vehicle is in motion.

It needs to be resistant to high temperature and high pressure : While going through the tire manufacture process, a tag is exposed to a high temperature of around 200°C and high pressure of around 30 bars. Therefore, a tag should maintain its physical integrity and function at such high pressure and temperature.

It needs to be less costly : A passenger vehicle tire is smaller, and therefore cheaper than truck/bus tires. As a result, an RFID tag places are greater burden on the production cost.

Uncountable tag prototypes, were applied to around 200 test tires in South Korea for actual driving tests. Around 150 prototypes were sent to extremely hot regions overseas for actual driving tests. However, the driving tests revealed damage to the antenna sections of the tags embedded in tires, as the tires reached the end of their wear life. Also, there was separation of the embedded tags from the rubber layers. This confirmed the risk of tire separation, resulting in the failure of the tag development attempt.

3.3.3 Phase 3. Success of adoption RFID (2013-2014).

Despite the numerous difficulties and failures in the course of development, the company ultimately emerged successful, owing to its institutional entrepreneurship and corporate entrepreneurship the government’s support. Owing to the government-led support project, K Tire resumed its RFID development efforts in 2011. This time, the company discarded the idea of the embedded-type tag, which was attempted during the first development. Instead, the company turned to attached-type tag. The initial stages were marked with numerous failures: the size of a tag was large at 20 × 70 mm, which had adverse impact on the rotation balance of the tires, and the attached area was too large, causing the attached sections to fall off as the tire stretched and bent. That was when all personnel from the technical, manufacturing, and logistics department participated in creating ideas to resolve the tag size and adhesiveness issues. Through cooperation across the different departments and repeated tests, K Tire successfully developed its RFID tag by coming up with new methods to minimize the tag size to its current size (9 × 45 mm), maintain adhesiveness and lower the tag price. Finally, K Tire was success the adoption RFID.

3.3.4 Phase 4. Establishment of the manufacture, logistics and marketing tracking system.

Whenever subtle and problematic innovation difficulties arise, every worker and board member moves forward through networking and knowledge sharing within intra and external.

While a bar code is only capable of storing the information on the nationality, manufacturer and category of a product, an RFID tag is capable of storing a far wider scope of information: nationality, manufacturer, category, manufacturing date, machines used, lot number, size, color, quantity, date and place of delivery and recipient. In addition, while the data stored in a bar code cannot be revised or expanded once the code is generated, an RFID tag allows for revisions, additions and removal of data. As for the recognition capability, a bar code recognizes 95per cent of the data at the maximum temperature of 70°C. An RFID tag, on the other hand, recognizes 99.9 per cent of the data at 120°C.

The manufacture and transportation information during the semi-finished product process before the shaping process is stored in the RFID tags, which is attached to the delivery equipment to be provided to the MLMTS;

Logistics Products released from the manufacture process are stored in the warehouses, to be released and transported again to logistics centers inside and outside of South Korea. The RFID tags record the warehousing information, as the products are stored into the warehouses, as well as the release information as the products are released. The information is instantly delivered to the MLMTS;

As a marketing, the RFID tags record the warehousing information of the products supplied and received by sales branches from the logistics centers, as well as the sales information of the products sold to consumers. The information is instantly delivered to the MLMTS; and

As a role of integrative Server, MLM Integrative Server manages the overall information transmitted from the infrastructures for each section (production information, inventory status and release information, product position and inventory information, consumer sales information, etc.).

The MLMTS provides the company with various systemic functions to integrate and manage such information: foolproof against manufacture process errors, manufacture history and quality tracking for each individual product, warehousing/releasing and inventory status control for each process, product position control between processes, real-time warehouse monitoring, release control and history information tracking across products of different sizes, as well as link/control of sales and customer information. To consumers, the system provides convenience services by providing production and quality information of the products, provision of the product history through full tracking in the case of a claim, as well as a tire pressure monitoring system:

“South korea’s K Tire Co. Inc. has begun applying radio-frequency identification (RFID) system tags on: half-finished” tire since June 16. We are now using an IoT based production and distribution integrated management system to apply RFID system on our “half-finished products” the tire maker said, claiming this is a world-first in the industry. The technology will enable K Tire to manage products more efficiently than its competitors, according to the company. RFID allows access to information about a product’s location, storage and release history, as well as its inventory management (London, 22, 2015 Tire Business).

4. Discussions

Originally, aims of RFID adoption for passenger car “half-finished product” is to chase the front runners, Hankook Tire in Korea including global leading companies like Bridgestone, Michaelin and Goodyear. In particular, Hankook Tire, established in 1941 has dominated domestic passenger tire market by using the first mover’s advantage. As a late comer, K Tire needs distinguishable innovation strategy which is RFID adoption for passenger car’s tire, “half-finished product” to overcome shortage of number of distribution channels. Adoption of RFID technology for passenger car’s tire has been known as infeasible methodologies according to explanation by Changmin Park, vice-CTO (chief technology officer) until K Tire’s success.

We lensed success factors as three perspectives; institutional entrepreneurship, corporate entrepreneurship and innovation. First, as a corporate entrepreneurship perspective, adopting innovative technologies having uncertainties accompanies by a certain risk of failure. Corporate entrepreneurship refers to firm’s effort that inculcate and promote innovation and risk taking throughout its operations ( Burgelman, 1983 ; Guth and Ginsberg, 1990 ). K Tire’s success was made possible by overcome the uncountable difficulties based on shared value and norms (e.g. Fligstein and Mara-Drita, 1996 ; Garud et al. , 2002 ; Hargadon and Douglas, 2001 ; Maguire et al. , 2004 ).

An unsuccessful attempt at developing innovative technologies causes direct loss, as well as loss of the opportunity costs. This is why many companies try to avoid risks by adopting or following the leading companies’ technologies or the dominant technologies. Stimulating corporate entrepreneurship requires firms to acquire and use new knowledge to exploit emerging opportunities. This knowledge could be obtained by joining alliances, selectively hiring key personnel, changing the composition or decision-making processes of a company’s board of directors or investing in R&D activities. When the firm uses multiple sources of knowledge ( Branzei and Vertinsky, 2006 ; Thornhill, 2006 ), some of these sources may complement one another, while others may substitute each other ( Zahra and George, 2002 ). Boards also provide managers with appropriate incentives that better align their interests with those of the firm. Given the findings, K Tire seeks new knowledge from external organizations through its discriminative corporate entrepreneurship.

When adopting the RFID system for its passenger vehicle tires, K Tire also had to develop new RFID tags suitable for the specific type of tire. The company’s capabilities were limited by the surrounding conditions, which prevented the application of existing tire RFID tag technologies, such as certain issues with the tire manufacturing process, the characteristic of its tires and the price of RFID tags per tire. Taking risks and confronting challenges are made from board member’s accountability. From the findings, we find that entrepreneurship leadership can be encouraged in case of within the accountability frame work.

Despite its status as a second-tier company, K Tire attempted to adopt the RFID system to its passenger vehicle tires, a feat not achieved even by the leading companies. Thus, the company ultimately built and settled the system through numerous trials and errors. Such success was made possible by the entrepreneurship of K Tire’s management, who took the risk of failure inherent in adopting innovative technologies and confronting challenges head on.

Second, institutional entrepreneurship not only involves the “capacity to imagine alternative possibilities”, it also requires the ability “to contextualize past habits and future projects within the contingencies of the moment” if existing institutions are to be transformed ( Emirbayer and Mische, 1998 ). New technologies, the technical infrastructure, network activities to acquire the new knowledge, learning capabilities, creating a new organization such as Pioneer Lab and new rules to create new technologies are the features. To qualify as institutional entrepreneurs, individuals must break with existing rules and practices associated with the dominant institutional logic(s) and institutionalize the alternative rules, practices or logics they are championing ( Garud and Karnøe, 2003 ; Battilana, 2006 ). K Tire established new organization, “Special lab” to obtain the know technology and information as CEO’s direct sub-committees. Institutional entrepreneurship arise when actors, through their filed position, recognize the opportunity circumstance so called “norms” ( Battilana et al. , 2009 ). To make up the deficit of technologies for RFID, knowledge stream among workers is more needed. Destruction of hierarch ranking system is proxy of the institutional entrepreneurship. Also, K Tire has peculiar norms. Namely, if one requires the further study such as degree course or non-degree course education services, grant systems operated via short screen process. Third, as innovation perspectives, before adopting the RFID system, the majority of K Tire’s researchers insisted that the company use the bar code technology, which had been widely used by the competitors. Such decision was predicated on the prediction that RFID technology would see wider use in the future, as well as the expected effect coming from taking the leading position, with regard to the technology.

Finally, K Tire’s adoption of the RFID technology cannot be understood without government support. The South Korean government has been implementing the “Verification and Dissemination Project for New u-IT Technologies” since 2008. Owing to policy support, K Tire can provide worker with educational service including oversea universities.

5. Conclusions and implications

To cope with various technological impasses, K Tire demonstrated the importance of institutional and corporate entrepreneurship. What a firm pursues more positive act for innovation is a research question.

Unlike firms, K Tire has strongly emphasized IT technology since establishment in 1960. To be promotion, every worker should get certification of IT sectors after recruiting. This has become the firm’s norm. This norm was spontaneously embedded for firm’s culture. K Tire has sought new ICT technology become a first mover. This norm can galvanize to take risk to catch up the first movers in view of institutional entrepreneurship.

That can be cultivated both by corporate entrepreneurship, referred to the activities a firm undertakes to stimulate innovation and encourage calculated risk taking throughout its operations within accountabilities and institutional entrepreneurship, referred to create its own peculiar norm. Contribution of our paper shows both importance of board members of directors in cultivating corporate entrepreneurship and importance of norm and rules in inducing institutional entrepreneurship.

In conclusion, many of them were skeptical about adopting RFID for its passenger vehicle tires at a time when even the global market and technology leaders were not risking such innovation, citing reasons such as risk of failure and development costs. However, enthusiasm and entrepreneurship across the organization towards technical innovation was achieved through the experience of developing leading technologies, as well as the resolve of the company’s management and its institutional entrepreneurship, which resulted in the company’s decision to adopt the RFID technology for small tires, a technology with unverified effects that had not been widely used in the markets. Introduction of new organization which “Special lab” is compelling example of institutional entrepreneurship. Also, to pursue RFID technology, board members unanimously agree to make new organization in the middle of failing and unpredictable success. This decision was possible since K Tire’s cultivated norm which was to boost ICT technologies. In addition, at that time, board of director’s behavior can be explained by corporate entrepreneurship.

From the findings, this paper also suggests importance of firms’ visions or culture from startup stage because they can become a peculiar norm and become firm’s institutional entrepreneurship. In much contemporary research, professionals and experts are identified as key institutional entrepreneurs, who rely on their legitimated claim to authoritative knowledge or particular issue domains. This case study shows that authoritative knowledge by using their peculiar norm, and culture as well as corporate entrepreneurship.

This paper has some limitations. Despite the fact that paper shows various fruitful findings, this study is not free from that our findings are limited to a single exploratory case study. Overcoming such limitation requires securing more samples, including the group of companies that attempt unprecedented innovations across various industries. In this paper, we can’t release all findings through in-depth interview and face-to-face meetings because of promise for preventing the secret tissues.

Nevertheless, the contribution of this study lies in that it shows the importance of corporate entrepreneurship and institutional entrepreneurship for firm’s innovative capabilities to grow ceaselessly.

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Acknowledgements

 This work was supported by 2017 Hongik University Research Fund.

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How Intrapreneurship Accelerates Organizations: 4 Case Studies

Fostering an intrapreneurial culture can reap long-lasting rewards for your business, what is intrapreneurship.

Intrapreneurship is a people-centric approach to developing an entrepreneurial culture . Unlike entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs are actual employees who work with an existing company’s resources to achieve corporate innovation.

While the term “intrapreneurship” has a debatable history, it was first coined by Gifford Pinchot III and Elizabeth Pinchot in their published paper “Intra-Corporate Entrepreneurship” in 1978 and used again in their 1985 book “Intrapreneuring”. The term is a portmanteau of the words “inside” and “entrepreneur”.

Intrapreneurs are not building ventures from scratch, nor are they investing their own money into businesses. Instead, these people use an entrepreneurial mindset to develop innovative products and ideas that benefit the companies they’re working for.

Intrapreneurship can be achieved in 2 ways:

• Experimenting with new lines of business through investment in new internal ideas
• Instilling an entrepreneurial approach to strategy and execution into existing business lines

Why intrapreneurship accelerates growth

Companies that embrace innovation while optimizing existing products see lasting growth and profitability. A powerful yet simple approach to achieving innovation is capitalizing on the most important resource within your company: your people.

Research shows that intrapreneurship elevates both productivity scores and employee engagement . This is especially true for those employees who are more motivated by rewards as opposed to punishment. (As you might expect, employees that have a cautious and risk-averse mindset generally do not make good intrapreneurs.)

Why it’s hard to achieve

Intrapreneurship runs the risk of pinning all hope on a “genius who can save the day” which results in unpredictability of results and returns. This in turn can make it hard to champion intrapreneurship again in the future in front of boards and execs.

Furthermore, intrapreneurship isn’t as perfect a fit for all industries, especially where capital requirements and regulatory burdens are high. Some industries like aerospace and energy may face headwinds simply because the investment into internal startups must be more significant to generate data and measurable returns—and usually without the typical funding channels available to the rest of the business.

Intrapreneurial projects are also different from a traditional startup that is usually based on a blank canvas. As Bill Aulet, director of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship puts it, startups are generally worry-free compared to larger companies. When you’re operating an enterprise, there’s already “a lot of paint on the canvas”.

An established business like this has several products, revenues, staff, processes, and an organizational structure—all those things that a startup is still trying to obtain—which can be both an enabler and a decelerant.

As startups mature, staying flexible and avoiding rigidity becomes harder. An entrepreneur has nothing to lose, but when you’re part of a bigger business you just don’t have that much freedom anymore due to potential threats and risks. Maintaining a balance in cases like these is crucial.

The right way to do intrapreneurship

Companies leveraging intrapreneurship the most fully tend to have 4 traits :

• They embrace uncertainty
• They assemble the right team and resources around intrapreneurs
• They reward agility and incremental proof
• They widely explore new customer needs and segments

Let's explore 4 companies that have had stellar results from intrapreneurship.

Case study 1: Amazon Web Services

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a global cloud computing service provider. The story of how AWS became the workhorse of the cloud computing industry, now standing next to such giants as IBM, Microsoft, and Google, is fascinating, to say the least.

According to Andy Jassy, AWS leader and SVP , no “ah-ha” moment lead Amazon, then an online bookseller, to become a game-changing force in the technology market. Instead, the idea to expand gradually emerged out of the company’s frustration with its ability to support existing customers, and launch projects.

Amazon stumbled upon the concept of AWS while trying to solve a recurring need for faster technology deployments. The reason for this was the company’s focus on delivering better experiences both internally and for its partners. 

The AWS team soon started as an intrapreneurial venture within Amazon. After some time, the company began to look seriously at what this branch of business would look like in the long term. Amazon’s early-stage startup questions included:

• Is there a market need for a better solution?
• Do we have the competency to provide a successful product?
• Is the space large enough to become part of the business?
• Do we have a differentiated approach?

The answer to all of these was a solid yes. AWS was launched in 2006 and soon manifested itself as a disruptive approach to cloud computing development.

Case study 2: PlayStation

PlayStation is a captivating story of a successful product creation launched by Sony’s intrapreneur Ken Kutaragi.

Ken joined Sony in Japan in 1975. He was working as an electrical engineer at Sony sound labs when he bought his daughter a Nintendo game console. As his daughter played games, he noticed that the quality of the sound was sub-par. Ken figured that a digital chip dedicated to sound would drastically improve the quality of the gaming system. 

Long story short, he started working as an outside consultant for Nintendo while keeping his day job at Sony. Ken managed to develop the SPC7000 for Nintendo games, and as he continued working as a part-time consultant, he eventually developed a CD-ROM-based system for Nintendo.

Nintendo decided not to move forward with the CD-ROM system. That’s when Ken saw the market opportunity of gaming systems for Sony. Being a natural intrapreneur, he pressed hard to convince Sony to enter the electronic gaming industry. Sony’s then-CEO Chairman Ohga recognized Ken’s creativity and innovation-focused mindset. He backed Kutaragi’s plan despite most of the senior management opposing the idea.

Ken went on to lead the effort to help Sony develop a gaming system that later became widely known as PlayStation. The product became a global success, taking a significant market share of the same consoles and selling more than 70 million units in the late 1990s . By 1998, the PlayStation made up 40 percent of Sony’s operating revenues.

Case study 3: Post-It Notes

Post-It Notes is the classic business school example of an intrapreneurial mindset. It all started in 1974 when a 3M engineer Arthur Fry saw that a special adhesive developed by the company was failing. He noticed the glue had a slight tacky quality so he tried some of it to stick a note in his hymnal. Not only did it work, but it was also easily removable. 

However, after the initial discovery, 3M management failed to see value in the non-sticky adhesive. There was no internal senior support for the concept until a change in management in 1973. That’s when the new products laboratory manager Geoff Nicholson was convinced to give this a go. 

It wasn’t until 1977 that the product has been finally tested for real-world sales, and the rest is history.

Case study 4: Gmail

As Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt puts it , Google’s business is all about innovation. A notable aspect of Google’s innovative culture is its legendary 20 percent time policy that allows employees to invest about a day per week to pursue projects outside of their area of duty. Through this practice, Google encourages its employees to act as intrapreneurs and think outside the box. Most of the time, Googlers that work on 20 percent projects join forces with others to create an internal start-up.

One of the most notorious and successful examples that resulted from this practice is Gmail. It all started with Google’s employee Paul Buchheit and his idea to expand Google’s services by developing a web-based email that could provide a search engine.

Most within the company thought this was a bad idea from both the strategic and product point of view. But all worries were set aside when founders of Google Larry Page and Sergey Brin decided to go ahead and support Paul’s project.

As a result, Google’s Gmail launched in 2004 and became the company’s first landmark service since its search engine service started in 1998.

Today, Gmail has more than 1.5 billion active users from around the world. It has gone from a small intrapreneurial experiment to becoming one of the key services of Google’s product offering.

Final words

It’s important to understand that intrapreneurship is by no means the catch-all solution for companies looking to innovate. As mentioned earlier, intrapreneurship is not made for every business, and it certainly can’t solve all problems. Think of it more like one of the many elements that can be applied to foster company innovation.

The case studies provided in this article all point out one simple truth: intrapreneurship isn’t just about doing things in a certain way but is more of a mindset that enables your employees to think and act in a way that supports entrepreneurial culture within the company.

It’s also not about hero employees saving the day. Developing an intrapreneurial culture takes time and has to be supported at an organization-wide level to bring lasting results.

Photo by Riccardo Annandale .

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Case Questions

The National Association of Broadcasters launched its PILOT Innovation Challenge in 2016. The challenge is centered around a specific challenge question aimed at helping the association’s primary customers, broadcasters. The most recent challenge question was, “What is an unconventional way broadcasters and other local media could serve communities?” The PILOT organizers have contracted you to help them design their next challenge. Using your knowledge of innovation and customer-centric entrepreneurship processes, what would you advise? How would you go about determining the challenge question? What questions about innovation would you have regarding the Innovation Challenge?

The Guidewell Innovation Center at Lake Nona Medical Center on the outskirts of Orlando, Florida, is a 92,000-square-foot facility aimed at accelerating innovation within the healthcare industries. Guidewell, the parent company of Florida Blue, brings in outside companies to help with that innovation process. One of the features of the Innovation Center is its Collaborative Resource Ecosystem. Some of the center’s strategic areas of focus are next-generation consumer engagement, computational health, well-being and human performance, digital health, and remote management, among other areas. How could Christensen’s theory of disruptive innovation and jobs-to-be-done theory help guide Guidewell’s mission? What are the prevalent business models in the strategic areas for incumbent businesses? What are opportunities for innovation for new companies?

As youth programs face severe budget cuts, many youth sports organizations respond by raising their fees, which shifts the costs to families. Good Sports was founded in 2003, to tackle this problem by providing new equipment, footwear, and apparel to those most in need. The organization’s addressable markets include children ages five to eighteen living in low-income households, as defined by poverty data, and participating in youth sports in top fifty metropolitan service areas. This Boston-based organization has plans to expand from its three existing markets in Dallas, Chicago, and Boston to seven total markets by 2023 with a goal to serve 600,000 kids by that target date.

• What would a customer empathy map look like for Good Sports’ target user? What about its target customer segment? Would it or should it differ in differing markets? Is the Boston area user any different from say, an Atlanta, user?
• Given its social mission, what are some impact measures Good Sports could use to gauge success and impact?

DoSomething.Org is a “global movement for good” among 6 million young people, transforming their communities across the United States and in 131 countries worldwide. This nonprofit organization constantly holds cause-based campaigns, ranging from receiving over 1 million pairs of donated jeans from teens to clothe homeless youth to cleaning up 3.7 million cigarette butts through its Get the Filter Out initiative. A past campaign, “Don’t Be a Sucker,” addressed the problem of Americans losing $5.8 billion annually and producing 8.7 billion pounds of carbon pollution by leaving unused devices plugged in. The campaign sought to slay those “energy vampires” not in use by having users unplug equipment and post a sticky note next to the outlet to remind others not to let them suck the energy dry. Further research the problem, solution and this campaign and answer the following:

• Identify what social impact(s) the campaign addressed.
• What impact measures could the campaign assess?
• Could a viable business be created around this problem?

In recent years, the entrepreneurial educator and author Steve Blank began applying lean startup principles to various US governmental agencies. Through a Hacking for Diplomacy course, students at Stanford University began tackling problems for the Department of State. A former US ambassador to the United Nations, a State Department representative to Silicon Valley and senior advisor for technology and innovation, a retired US Army colonel, and other entrepreneurial educators joined Blank in applying lean startup methods to State Department issues. Then-Secretary of State John Kerry even visited the Stanford students and said he was looking forward to the solutions students develop during the ten weeks. One project that emerged was from a group calling themselves Team Space Evaders. The team was tasked with working on the problem of satellite collision. Members charted satellite positioning data and explored how information about potential collision was shared by commercial operators and governmental entities ranging from the Federal Aviation Administration to the Department of Defense.

• Apply the lean startup methodology to identify potential customer segments and problems and solutions that students such as yourself could identify for the State Department on the issue of satellite collision.
• What would a unique value proposition for a State Department solution to this issue be? How could a high-level concept pitch work when selling the concept within the State Department?

Incorporated in 2003, Tesla declared in its mission statement that its goal is “to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable transport,” 56 and it has proven itself a leader in green technology in the automotive sector. In its initial business plan, by co-founder Martin Eberhard , the electric sports car company promised to provide the value of a high-end sports car at a lower cost to the customer and a lower environmental cost to the planet. Electric vehicles were seen as inferior to standard vehicles prior to Tesla’s innovations in creating powerful cars that piqued consumer desire. The generic automotive manufacturing business model relies on collaborative manufacturing with industry partners and a distribution model dependent on third parties. Standard cars are aimed at people and businesses with individual transportation needs. This model is commercially viable because of custom-equipped add-on features to the per-vehicle prices.

• Tesla’s business model is different. Identify at least three ways in which the Tesla model differs from the traditional automotive business model.

In the mid-1990s, at least one newspaper company, the now-defunct Knight-Ridder chain, created the prototype for a tablet newspaper that very much resembles the present-day iPad. A 1994 video titled “The Tablet Newspaper: A Vision for the Future” shows off the design of a futuristic newspaper designed at the Knight Ridder Information Design Lab in Boulder, Colorado. The video went viral in 2011 after it was posted on YouTube and numerous websites and blogs. The person behind the tablet vision, Roger Fidler , had even published an essay describing a tablet future as far back as 1981. The Knight-Ridder lab shared a wall with its neighbor Apple, with executives swapping ideas and visitors. The newspaper company, focused on content creation and not the hardware side, decided to not patent its tablet design and scrapped the project because screens took too much energy, and it was too expensive.

• Using the components of a feasibility study, consider how the newspaper company would stack up on go-or-no-go decisions for each component of the feasibility study.
• How did the newspaper company in the 1990s fare in terms of management prowess, resource capabilities, financial viability, and market analysis?
• Do you think the newspaper made a wise decision to abandon the project when it did? Why or why not?

Founded in 2013 primarily as a coding boot camp, Tech Talent South offers both part-time and full-time courses on topics like Ruby on Rails and Big Data Analytics. Most of the camp’s programs are run out of cooperative working spaces and temporary locations throughout the cities it has a presence in. The primary focus of the Atlanta-founded and now North Carolina-based company as branded in the name was on coding in the South, but the company to date has expanded to eleven markets with plans to expand even more. The founder, Betsy Idilbi , jokes that she wouldn’t have named the company Tech Talent South if she had known its full potential and growth, including being plugged into the entrepreneurial ecosystem in places such as Columbus, Ohio. The company even has offices in the northeastern city of Hartford, Connecticut.

• Could a feasibility analysis have helped Betsy from the start?
• The company has expanded its business to offer corporate trainings at existing companies, rather than teaching classes directly to student enrollees. How would you identify a new potential market for Tech Talent South to enter?
• What could be done with its existing business?
• How would you advise the company on making go-or-no-go decisions for entering new markets?

You were introduced to The Cut Buddy , a plastic hair and beard grooming tool that began selling on Amazon in 2016, in The Business Plan . Following funding from the Shark Tank investor Daymond John , the company plans to expand into retail and extend its product line.

• How would a business plan for the company’s ecommerce business differ from a retail distribution outlet?
• Discuss how changes to aspects of the original business plan affected the outcome of the success of The Cut Buddy.
• What do you think should be the key markets and strategies moving forward for the company?

Pretty Young Professional , discussed in The Business Plan , failed because of disagreements among its four founders that emerged shortly after launch.

• If you were to launch the venture today, outline what steps you would need to take in formulating a business plan.
• What do you think the total addressable market would be, which industry classification would it fall under, and who would be the primary competition?
• 56 In 2016, it was changed from “sustainable transport” to “sustainable energy.” https://www.tesla.com/about

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These are the reasons why businesses are getting started in 2023, 29% of entrepreneurs say they wanted to be their own boss, 17% were dissatisfied with corporate life, 16% wanted to pursue their passion, and 12% say the opportunity presented itself. Entrepreneurship in India has witnessed a remarkable surge over the past few decades. With a burgeoning economy and a dynamic ecosystem, the country has produced a plethora of successful entrepreneurs and startups. In this article, we delve into the top 10 case studies on entrepreneurship in India, each offering unique insights, lessons, and inspiration for aspiring business leaders.

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Table of Content Top 10 Case Studies on Entrepreneurship in India

Top 10 Case Studies on Entrepreneurship in India

Flipkart: revolutionizing e-commerce.

Founders : Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal

Year Founded : 2007

Source: Safalta

Key Takeaway : Customer focus and innovation can disrupt traditional industries and lead to exceptional growth.  

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OYO: Disrupting the Hotel Industry

Founder : Ritesh Agarwal

Year Founded : 2013

Ritesh Agarwal's story is a prime example of young entrepreneurship in India. OYO, which began as a budget hotel aggregator, has expanded globally, becoming one of the world's largest hospitality chains. Ritesh's vision is backed by a robust technology platform, and streamlined and standardized hotel operations, offering affordable, quality stays.

Key Takeaway : Identifying a market gap and using technology to address it can lead to rapid business expansion.

Read more:  Top 12 Examples of AI Case Studies in Content Marketing

Byju's: Changing the Face of Education

Founder : Byju Raveendran

Year Founded : 2011

Byju, the edtech unicorn, was born from Byju Raveendran's vision to make learning engaging and accessible. He built a unique platform offering interactive online classes for students across India. Byju's became one of the world's most valuable edtech companies, catering to millions of students.

Key Takeaway : Leveraging technology for education can create substantial opportunities and impact a wide audience.  

Paytm: A Digital Payment Pioneer

Founder : Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Year Founded : 2010

Paytm, initially a mobile recharge and bill payment platform, became a pioneer in digital payments in India. Vijay Shekhar Sharma's journey from a small town in Uttar Pradesh to building a fintech empire is an inspiration. The company's success can be attributed to its innovative approach and the ability to adapt to evolving market needs.

Key Takeaway : Flexibility and adaptability are crucial in the ever-evolving fintech industry.

Zomato: From a Restaurant Guide to a Food Delivery Giant

Founders : Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah

Year Founded : 2008

Zomato began as a restaurant discovery platform but swiftly evolved to include food delivery services. The founders, Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah, navigated challenges like fierce competition and the logistical complexity of food delivery. Their ability to pivot and cater to diverse customer needs allowed them to expand globally.

Key Takeaway : Adapting to changing market demands and diversifying offerings can lead to substantial growth.

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MakeMyTrip: Trailblazing in Online Travel

Founders : Deep Kalra

Year Founded : 2000

Deep Kalra founded MakeMyTrip at a time when e-commerce was in its nascent stage in India. Over the years, the company transformed the way Indians booked travel. With continuous innovation and expansion, MakeMyTrip is now a leading online travel company in the country.

Key Takeaway : Identifying an untapped niche and being a pioneer can result in long-term success.

Nykaa: Redefining Beauty Retail

Founder : Falguni Nayar

Year Founded : 2012

Falguni Nayar, a former investment banker, ventured into the beauty and cosmetics industry with Nykaa. The e-commerce platform revolutionized the beauty retail sector by offering a vast range of products, including both luxury and affordable brands. The company's success underscores the importance of understanding consumer preferences and delivering a seamless online shopping experience.

Key Takeaway : Customer-centricity and a diverse product range can lead to rapid growth in e-commerce.

Suggested:  Nykaa Case Study on Digital Marketing Strategies 2023

Freshworks: SaaS Unicorn from India

Founders : Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy

Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy co-founded Freshworks with the aim of creating a customer engagement software company. The company's suite of SaaS products has gained global recognition. Their approach to building a robust software platform with a focus on customer satisfaction exemplifies their journey from a Chennai-based startup to a SaaS unicorn.

Key Takeaway : A strong product and customer-centric approach can drive international success in the SaaS industry.

Lenskart: Redefining Eyewear Retail

Founder : Peyush Bansal

Peyush Bansal recognized the need for a reliable and convenient way to purchase eyewear in India. Lenskart introduced an online platform for buying eyeglasses and contact lenses. By integrating technology, Lenskart streamlined the purchase process, offering a wide range of eyewear and personalized services.

Key Takeaway : Identifying gaps in the market and providing innovative solutions can create new business opportunities.  

Rivigo: Revolutionizing Logistics

Founders : Deepak Garg

Year Founded : 2014

Deepak Garg's Rivigo introduced an innovative approach to logistics and transportation in India. Their relay model and tech-enabled trucking system optimized supply chain operations, reduced transit times, and enhanced efficiency. Rivigo's success in a traditional industry showcases the power of technology-driven solutions.

Key Takeaway : Applying technology to traditional sectors can lead to significant improvements and growth.

These 10 case studies on entrepreneurship in India provide a diverse range of success stories, demonstrating the versatility, resilience, and innovative spirit of Indian entrepreneurs. Each of these entrepreneurs identified market gaps, harnessed technology, and adapted to changing dynamics to build successful businesses. Their journeys serve as inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs and underscore the limitless possibilities that await those willing to take risks and pursue their visions in the Indian business landscape.

What is entrepreneurship?

Who is an entrepreneur, what qualities make a successful entrepreneur, what is a business plan, and why is it important for entrepreneurship, what is "bootstrapping" in entrepreneurship, what is a business model.

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