Week 7: Case Study Group: FEP-KLTSA Business Challenge

Week 7

Introduction of an Entrepreneurial Mindset 

    The concept of entrepreneurial Mindset (EM) has been an ongoing interest that is piqued across different fields, such as organizational research, education engineering profession, vocational psychology and others. EM definitions also has been changing from “ a way of thinking about entrepreneurship which orientated around focusing and leveraging the business uncertainty to entrepreneur’s advantage and benefit to a “growth perspective mindset that promotes agility, flexibility, creativity and continuous innovation”. Pidduck et al. (2021) also claimed that it is an interaction of beliefs and opportunity beliefs that form and generate entrepreneurial behaviours. EM as the dispositional and opportunity-based schema that stimulates goal-oriented entrepreneurial behaviour (Pidduck et al., 2021).

The characteristics of an EM include: 

• The cognitive aspect, that focuses on the mental functions, mental states and thoughts of entrepreneurial individuals, serves as a facilitator of individual actions and emotions.
• The behaviour aspect, whereby by taking action, entrepreneurs can influence how they feel about the world around them and begin to transform the perceptions and mental models they adopt.
• On the emotional aspect, it can have a direct and significant impact on the other aspects of the entrepreneurial mindset. The way that an entrepreneur feels, and the effect they experience, can affect how they think about things and actions that they take.

    With these EM characteristics interacting with each other, these entrepreneurial mindset traits are focused on, educated and developed to help aspiring entrepreneurs succeed. By cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset, individuals can increase their chances of starting and growing successful businesses.

Value of a product to the customer

    In today's competitive market, the value of a product to the customer extends far beyond its price, encompassing the overall experience and satisfaction it provides. This value is a balance between cost and benefits, influenced by various tangible and intangible factors.

    The value of a product is the perceived benefit it offers relative to its cost. Customers assess a product based on how well it meets their needs, solves their problems, or enhances their lives. Key elements influencing this assessment include reliability, durability, and effectiveness, which are critical attributes that enhance perceived value. Products with unique or innovative features stand out and justify a higher perceived value. Positive emotions evoked by a product through brand reputation, design, or user experience significantly enhance its value. Additionally, excellent customer service boosts the perceived value by making customers feel supported and valued.

    The value of a product also encompasses the entire customer journey. A seamless purchasing process, both online and in-store, adds to the product's value. Effective communication, easy returns, and ongoing support during the post-purchase experience reinforce the product's value and lead to customer loyalty. While perceived value is subjective, actual value is measurable. Successful companies align these aspects to ensure customer satisfaction.

    Marketing and branding play crucial roles in shaping the perceived value. Effective marketing highlights the benefits and unique features of the product, while strong branding creates trust and reliability.

    The value of a product to the customer is a multifaceted concept encompassing quality, performance, innovation, emotional connection, customer service, and the overall customer experience. By enhancing these elements, businesses can create products that are seen as valuable investments by customers. In an evolving market, prioritizing customer value is essential for long-term success and growth.

Why is culture important? (Briefly explain culture, then relate to entrepreneurship)

    Cultural entrepreneurship is defined as an entrepreneurial process that employs cultural components as a way to achieve specific entrepreneurial goals while simultaneously promoting culture as a whole, thereby contributing to the region's socioeconomic success (Barman, 2022). Art, handloom, handicraft, language, literature, and performing arts such as dance, music, and drama are examples of powerful cultural media. Networking and relationship development are essential for cultural entrepreneurs, and they are part of their entrepreneurial responsibility. 

    Firstly, the preservation and promotion of cultural assets are critical objectives of cultural entrepreneurship. Incorporating cultural traditions into business operations ensures that a person's or society's cultural uniqueness is maintained and developed. For example, a company that sells traditional products made by regional craftspeople benefits from preserving those workers' knowledge and cultural heritage. Besides that, cultural entrepreneurship, by targeting a specific and typically underserved market, has the potential to generate revenue. This benefits the community by creating jobs and money. For example, in countries where visitors travel to experience local culture and customs, the cultural tourism sector may generate significant economic benefits. Finally, all of these factors promote economic growth and development. Furthermore, cultural entrepreneurship has the potential to increase the total cultural diversity and richness of society by supporting and preserving various cultural practices. This creates a more accepting and tolerant culture. It is essential for building strong, resilient communities. A restaurant, for example, that serves traditional cuisine from various countries may create a welcome atmosphere. Then people from various backgrounds can interact.

    In short, cultural entrepreneurship is an innovative and effective technique for preserving and promoting cultural heritage while also creating economic benefit. It has certain difficulties. Successful cultural entrepreneurs can overcome these challenges while maintaining their cultural heritage and ideals. This allows people to enhance their own communities while also contributing to a more connected and diverse global community.

Do you think Facebook overpaid for WhatsApp? Why?

    Whatsapp, a messaging app with no advertisements. Cost Facebook 19 Billion Dollars, But Why? Did it turn out to be worth it? The monthly active users of Facebook have reduced, and the users are shifted from using Facebook to other Social Networking Apps which include WhatsApp, SnapChat, and recently TikTok. Facebook's initial strategy of the acquisition of Snapchat was not successful. They planned on therefore moving to WhatsApp. Whatsapp enjoys massive receptiveness in the nations of Europe and Asia. It has been observed that Facebook has been spying on WhatsApp activity for the last several months and probably WhatsApp is now a reason for decline of Facebook in terms of total audience or market penetration. There are about 3 billion active users currently on WhatsApp (WhatsApp Revenue and Growth Statistics (2024) - SignHouse, 2023) which means that Facebook greatly benefits from acquiring user data as this will assist not only the advertiser to be relevant in the selling of their products on both the Facebook and Instagram online platforms. The management of Facebook feared they might lose the attention of the users, since their new, smoother and cooler apps were being developed. The said move proved significant to the social networking site after it acquired the messaging platform via application in a multibillion-dollar deal. To be more precise, what we post on WhatsApp, the pictures, videos, links, or messages sent and received, all this information is available to Facebook after the acquisition, it has the means to identify our real interest. It is used as well to advertise on the company other properties such as its owned television networks. Currently, whatsapp is nearly valued at around 105 billion dollars (WhatsApp Revenue and Growth Statistics (2024) - SignHouse, 2023). All in all, Facebook was able to make a profit and maintain its status, so the call was good.

What are some of the problems bringing in new investors?

    Bringing in new investors has respective pros and cons. To identify good investors, you need to study individual characteristics of the investors. By having an investor, it is easier to overcome any financial obstacles, particularly where loans may not be approved by banks. One of the drawbacks bringing in new investors is they lack of investor education. Most of the investors only want to pay some of money and get the profit after period of time without thinking of the risk they will faces. This is because, investors often have high expectations as to how and when they are repaid, as they now have partial ownership of the business (Rasolli, 2024). In addition, investor do not want to partake in any business meeting or give out some idea to make the company business success and can invest in a long time while building trust with the employee or the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company. This type of investor's focus may not be in the business success, but rather their own personal investment (Rasolli, 2024). Last but not least, friends and family can be the investors but if anything happens in the process they will get upset. Thus, having investors who are friends or family may put a strain on the relationship should the business take a turn for the worse (Rasolli, 2024). In conclusion, every start-up is different, when introduce investors into business can vary considerably, depending on its growth and progress. Whilst it most common to have investors during the initial start-up phase to ease financial risks, investors can still be valuable once a business is well developed and stable (Rasolli, 2024).

Conclusion 

    Being an entrepreneur is no easy feat, to cultivate one’s mindset requires lots of experience, the ability to face risks and find its own value among its competitors in the market. As the market is constantly changing trends every few years, many organizations try to find ways to survive in the market to avoid getting fell off from being relevant. As different cultures have different needs, organizations need to seek ways to suit their demand without changing too much of their business nature. While attracting new investors is necessary for expansion, it also presents a unique set of difficulties that require cautious handling. Comprehending these factors can aid entrepreneurs in navigating the intricate terrain of establishing and expanding a prosperous business.

References

Barman, R. D. (2022). THE PROCESS OF CULTURAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP: A LITERATURE REVIEW. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379993721_THE_PROCESS_OF_CULTURAL_ENTREPRENEURSHIP_A_LITERATURE_REVIEW

Anderson, J., & Narus, J. (1998). Business Marketing: Understand What Customers Value. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/1998/11/business-marketing-understand-what-customers-value

Rasolli, M. (2024, February 8). 6 Common challenges faced by new investors and how to face them. TrendScout UK. https://www.trendscoutuk.com/blog/6-common-challenges-faced-by-new-investors-and-how-to-face-them/

Kuratko, D. F., Fisher, G., & Audretsch, D. B. (2020). Unraveling the entrepreneurial mindset. Small Business Economics, 57(4), 1681–1691. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-020-00372-6

Pidduck, R. J., Clark, D. R., & Lumpkin, G. T. (2021). Entrepreneurial mindset: Dispositional beliefs, opportunity beliefs, and entrepreneurial behavior. Journal of Small Business Management, 61(1), 45–79. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2021.1907582