Challenges in the Era of Globalization - iaabd

Challenges in the Era of Globalization
Edited by Emmanuel Obuah
These properties shape the nature of the relationship and in turn, the nature of value that the relationship
provides.
Analysis of the data revealed that entrepreneurs of the manufacturing sector have network
compositions reflecting mostly horizontal relationships, such as bonds and bridges (with (dis)similar,
immigrant, small entrepreneurs). Service sector’s networks tend to reflect more vertical relationships
(with larger corporate bodies, and government institutions), also termed as linkages.
Breakthroughs. Analysis of the data revealed the frequent mentioning of an occurrence or incident that
either catalyzes or hinders an entrepreneur’s progress. The concept, the intervening condition, was
named breakthroughs. According to the data, the breakthrough often has a definite starting and ending
point, and it serves as a critical point of transition as it presents new actors, pressures, opportunities, and
challenges that the entrepreneur must now maneuver through. Clothing entrepreneurs, for example,
commonly mentioned a distinct opportunity within which they were able to debut their talent such as
entering a fashion show, exhibit, or competition and gain the chance to receive cash prizes or committed
technical assistance. Service entrepreneurs comparably would express similar affirming moments, such
successfully completing a sub-contract from a larger company or accomplishing a difficult project for a
demanding clientele. Below, a clothing entrepreneur describes a ‘breakthrough’ in her journey.
“So when they short-listed and then I was one of the top ten, uh, selected to enter the show,
I entered the show … and then I was one of the top three that won the show. I won the
second with the collection…category. Then I pursued…well, I started working for myself,
I realized that, you know, this could work….I won a trip to Paris to go as part of my package
for the fashion show, like it was quite good a, a, a, prizes…and the response was quite positive
towards our clothing. And then, mmmmm, then I started working for myself, entering into many
shows, and then ever since, I’ve just been doing my own stuff.” ~ H
Network Restructuring. Network restructuring is the term given to the means by which entrepreneurs
respond to breakthroughs and other critical turning points– or the action/interaction strategies.
Responses can have either positive or negative consequences that lead to a resetting or adjustment of the
combination of bonding, bridging, and linkage relationships within the social network. This action would
be done both to facilitate change in their business as well as to manage change in their broader
environment. In turn, the data implies that relationships vary in prominence over time, in that those which
may be a vital source of value at the beginning of an entrepreneur’s journey may lessen in significance as
they become more developed. Hence, the diversity of social networks is far from static, but rather, is very
dynamic.
Entrepreneurial Progress is the desired consequence of this series of linked conditions, context, action,
and interaction within the Network Diversity Value Model. To derive grounded concepts of progress,
entrepreneurs were asked 1) ‘How would you conceptualize entrepreneurial success?’, and 2) ‘What are
the indicators of a business performing well?’ These questions were asked so as to understand how
entrepreneurs define good performance and to offer a set of notions that could form contextually relevant
assessments of entrepreneurial progress. The analysis disclosed seven properties collectively referred to
as entrepreneurial progress.
• financial viability – maintaining a balanced account that reflects consistent cash flow and
promising profitability.
• good customer relations – carrying out professional, responsive interactions with customers and
high-quality performance that sustains customer satisfaction.
• effective brand building- developing a strong and attractive firm identity that carries positive
connotations and becomes an entity beyond the persona of the individual entrepreneur.
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