RESPONSIBLE ENTREPRENEURSHIP VISION DEVELOPMENT AND ETHICS

114 RESPONSIBLE ENTREPRENEURSHIP
required capital from banks to acquire additional tea factories by maintaining trusted relationships.
B, D, E and F firms emphasize that they work as a team and maintain good relationship
with employees and their main suppliers. Further, B Company communicates their
daily target with employees every day and F company implements open door policy.
As experience of A, B, D, E and F Companies, owners of those firms organize the human,
technological and other resources effectively to facilitate the business strategies. In order to
overcome the skilled worker problem and upgrade the workers’ capabilities, periodically send
them for trainings. Experience of E and F Companies explains how owners used their conceptual
talents to solve the problems and dealing with uncertainties. Owners of those firms
monitor the main aspects of the company and tackle the problems in more effectively. All
entrepreneurs of this study have been awarded by entrepreneurial awards. Further, it confirms
that entrepreneurial competencies influence on EO of their firms.
As explain in six cases, they would able to develop better organizational capabilities such
as the firm’s innovative capability, cost-saving ability, quality and flexibility. Thereby can
plan and work towards a firm’s long term performance. Thus it can be confirmed that
entrepreneurial competencies influence on EO strategies of tea manufacturing firms in Sri
Lanka. This is in line with previous studies that several studies have demonstrated that organizational
strategies are influenced by personality traits of CEOs (Miller & Toulouse, 1986;
Miller et al., 1982). Further, above experience of B Company implies that opportunity, organizing,
strategic, relationship and commitment competencies of owner highly influence on
strategies focus of quality. While experience of E Company shows that relation, commitment
and conceptual competencies are more important for strategic focus of quantity.
Presence of entrepreneurial parents
The experience of five case studies out of six were highlighted that presence of
entrepreneurial parent had influence on the business strategies of their tea manufacturing firms.
A, B, D and F Companies were founded by the fathers of present owners and E was established
by grandfather. Study conducted by Dyke, et al. 1992 found that presence of
entrepreneurial parent’s impact on the performance of food manufacturers.
In discussing about the impact of entrepreneurial parent on the business strategies, owner
of A Company stated that emphasis of values and discipline of his father embedded in their
current business strategies by conserving traditional art of making tea which preserves intrinsic
aroma, taste and quality. The owner of B Company mentioned; that “Our passion for producing
high quality tea has been initiated by father”. Therefore, over the years they built
reputation for their own teas and maintain the consistency in quality. For instance, owner of
D Company stated that his father emphasized in integrity of doing business and upholding
the prestigious “Pure Ceylon Tea” image. Therefore, they adopted business strategies to offer
optimal quality and healthiest teas in freshness. According to F Company owner, they give
emphasis to produce hygienically fine quality tea from the day of establishment. For continuation,
now factory is equipped with some of modern machinery in tea manufacturing to
improve productivity and quality under good hygiene conditions. The owner of E said;
Art of making black tea has been refined through experience and pass down generations.
Present, we combine age old traditions and experience with modern technology to be one of
the single largest privately owned producer of tea in Sri Lanka.