International entrepreneurship Essay Example
International entrepreneurship Essay Example

International entrepreneurship Essay Example

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  • Pages: 5 (1254 words)
  • Published: October 7, 2018
  • Type: Research Paper
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The primary obstacle to international entrepreneurship is culture, not marketing, as demonstrated through examples and research in this paper. It will examine the veracity of this claim for small, medium, and large businesses. Although entrepreneurship is perceived as essential for a market-driven, globally competitive economy, this assertion challenges that view.

According to Du Bruin and Du Puis (2005), globalization has significantly increased in recent years with the help of the internet. This phenomenon has allowed for international financial and investment markets to operate due to market deregulation and advancements in communication technology. As a consequence, money has become more fluid, enabling decisions that affect global production (Bized 2006). Nevertheless, globalization presents challenges such as the need for a better understanding of diverse cultural beliefs. Entrepreneurship, on the other hand, provides liberation for people such

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as mothers who can now take care of their children while starting their own businesses, and offers opportunities for those who are unemployed without having to rely on other companies or agencies for employment.

Establishing a profitable business from home or garage using available resources like the internet is possible, but success requires overcoming obstacles. One of these obstacles is culture and its relationship with entrepreneurship. The word "entrepreneur" comes from French.

Entrepreneurship is the process of establishing a system to produce a product or service with the objective of earning money and often entails assuming some degree of uncertainty. Nonetheless, various individuals have defined this concept differently, making it devoid of a universal definition. To attain an exact comprehension of this term, Prof. W. Long and other scholars have researched its historical usage and progression.

Wikipedia (2006) states that Schumpete

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is recognized as the first to theorize modern entrepreneurship, but he used "unternehmer" and "unternehmergeist" instead of the French term commonly used in American literature. The advantages of entrepreneurship are numerous: direct benefits like reduced unemployment and poverty, as well as indirect benefits such as crime reduction, improved education, and enhanced national economy and morale. Entrepreneurs also enjoy increased mobility with internet-based jobs that allow them to work from anywhere. Encouraging a culture of entrepreneurship is crucial for countries to gain these rewards while eliminating cultural barriers that hinder entrepreneurialism; however, this task may not be easy.

To adequately address the inquiry posed by this paper, an examination of the definition of global culture is imperative. The United States populace has a tendency to frequently alter items such as residences, commodities, and services. Conversely, Europeans perceive stability as a source of potency (Becker, 1999). Hence, the American way of life may create a favorable environment for entrepreneurship, whereas European customs might impede it. Meanwhile, in China, veneration is given to culture, age, and wisdom; conversely, youthfulness and a lack of experience are not held in high regard (Mitchell, 2000). Thus, the potential opportunities that the West presents to Chinese societies might be forfeited.

According to Miraglia (2006), culture can be defined as a primary concept of shaping templates and learned behaviors that can be broken down into systems of meaning, ways of organizing society, distinctive techniques, and characteristic products. However, cultural norms differ from country to country (Sarap, 2004), indicating that culture has many meanings and can apply to religion, country, family, or organizations. Furthermore, individuals adapt to different cultures in their environment, such as a

culture of learning in school versus a culture of watching television at home, requiring adjustments to fit in (Miraglia, 2006).

According to training.com (2006), leaders can leverage the learning and adaptability of their staff to promote entrepreneurship. By fostering a culture of learning within the company, leaders can not only acquire the necessary skills to deliver products and services, but also empower the organization to achieve superior results through increased adaptability, anticipation of change, market responsiveness, employee motivation and innovation.

Smart organizations understand the importance of individuals across all levels being able to acquire knowledge rapidly and utilize it in unexpected scenarios (fastcompany.com, 2006). Such situations are common when navigating diverse cultures. In essence, entrepreneurship can be viewed as a culture - a fresh perspective, an innovative problem-solving approach that involves thinking outside the box.

By receiving encouragement from governments and authoritative entities, success can be attained. As shown by research commissioned by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, the interest in business and business ownership among youth (15-21 years) is high, with 79% of young New Zealanders having considered it. The favored industries among these individuals are fashion, hospitality, music, and sport.

According to a report by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise in 2004, Stephen Tindall, Eric Watson, Dick Hubbard, and Mike Pero are the most admired local business people. Introduction and management of culture can have a profound effect on a business, both internally and externally. Failures of mergers between two organizations often occur due to incompatible cultures within the combined workforce. Similarly, wars throughout history have been fueled by differing cultures, ultimately affecting businesses in the involved countries. For example, during the war in Iraq, businesses suffered

greatly, but anticipate improvement during times of peace.

According to Dawisha (2004), setbacks, advances, and prospects have been experienced in entrepreneurship, making it unsurprising that culture can pose threats to it. Culture can present obstacles in two ways. Firstly, a person's belief system may prevent them from engaging in certain business practices, as is the case with Christianity, which prohibits trading on Sundays. Secondly, a Jewish entrepreneur may be hesitant to do business with organizations that hold different beliefs. Stella Ting-Toomey outlines three methods through which culture can impede effective cross-cultural understanding.

According to the University of Colorado (2006), there are two types of constraints that affect communication in different cultures. The first type is referred to as "cognitive constraints," which consist of the frames of reference or worldviews that new information is compared to or inserted into. The second type is called "behavior constraints," and refers to the cultural rules regarding appropriate behavior that impact both verbal and nonverbal communication.

The rules of politeness vary among cultures and include factors such as eye contact, direct communication, and physical proximity during conversations. The University of Colorado (2006) explains that Ting-Toomey's third factor of cultural communication is "emotional constraints," which refers to the regulation of emotions in different cultures. Some cultures express their emotions openly during debates and may yell, cry, or exhibit anger, fear, frustration, or other feelings.

According to the University of Colorado (2006), some cultures prefer to conceal their emotions and only display or communicate the "logical" or objective elements of a situation. Utilizing cultural guides can assist in overcoming cultural differences and fostering deeper connections with diverse ethnic groups. Extension professionals who actively seek to

broaden their understanding and acknowledge other cultures often receive favorable responses.

A cultural guide can participate in a reciprocal learning process when approached with equality and shared meaning. Cultural guides offer Extension professionals valuable assistance in maximizing learning style preferences, identifying effective and meaningful learning experiences for specific cultural groups, developing marketing strategies for diverse audiences, and engaging volunteers from ethnic communities. According to Guion and Walker (2006), cultural diversity can impact entrepreneurship development differently based on the size of the business venture. For instance, a small business owner known to me exemplifies this variation.

Operating from South Africa, she offers virtual assistance services, including electronic transcription, to clients seeking such services. Although virtual assistance is not a new concept, it has been a successful venture globally for over a decade. However, due to lagging behind in physical technology and underappreciating technology's advantages, many South Africans still use cassette tapes to record dictation, making transcription easier through audio files.

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