Introduction
Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, current chairperson of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), is a renowned investor and entrepreneur listed among the richest people in the world as by statistics released by Forbes. Publications of the year 2011 reveal his net worth to be approximately 19.6 billion US Dollars, making him the 26th richest individual globally. He built his immense fortunes through his participative trade in stock markets and real estate (Choron & Choron, 2011). Dubbed by Time Magazine as “The Arabian Warren Buffett”, Talal’s career in entrepreneurship commenced after graduating from Menlo. Talal’s first entrepreneurial step was the purchase of crucial tranche of shares at Citigroup, at a time when this firm faced major monetary crisis. Currently, he holds one billion dollar shares in this company – among other companies – summing up all worth of his shares to over four billion dollars (Choron & Choron, 2011). His investments in real estate include enormous shares in exclusive hotels like Monte Carlo Grand Hotel, Savoy Hotel, Plaza Hotel (in New York) and Four Season chain of hotels.
I would like to interview Talal since to achieve an insight oh his prowess in entrepreneurship, particular his sustainable business practices. KNC is known for precise exploration of new and viable business opportunities and undertakings, synchronizing them with fluctuations and deviations in the global corporate world. Additionally, Talal’s distinct liberal thinking and dynamic social interaction with other worldwide leaders, entrepreneurs and policy makers earn KNC a place in corporate entrepreneurial map (Choron & Choron, 2011). Furthermore, Talal actively participates in social projects fostering corporate responsibility through his philanthropic donations, both locally and internationally. Apparently, celebrated entrepreneurs like Talal owe their success to sustainable entrepreneurship.
Sustainable Entrepreneurship in Asia
Entrepreneurship is gradually evolving into a devoted and distinguishable conduit, which brings about a worthy transformation towards sustainability in product and process building. Emergent literary readings on ethical entrepreneurship have led to the development of novel models of entrepreneurship as a way of endowing resources with a new-look perception. It is in this domain that breeds construction of a new form of entrepreneurship dubbed “authentic, sustainable entrepreneurship” (Racelis, 2014). It contradicts outmoded business models that describe entrepreneurship as an act of endowing resources with novel capabilities to produce wealth. The disparity, which most entrepreneurs attribute to deviations in success, falls in spectra of moral and value-laden properties that modern-day businesses demand.
Among critical steps towards maturity of entrepreneurial sustainability is developing apt models for effective communication of sustainability. An amalgamation of social, environmental and economic motives in entrepreneurial activities is a suitable way of alleviating social ills affecting entrepreneurial performance. Entrepreneurship holds a noteworthy input towards innovation, employment creation and impartial supply of income (Racelis, 2014). Over the past decade, it has been noted as a critical compelling force for monetary growth through creation of employment opportunities. Thereby, improving it through sustainability practices can be an ultimate resolve to the joblessness menace.
Nevertheless, entrepreneurs face many barricades in market that affects their success and eventually lead to collapse of their ventures. Unless entrepreneurs practice apt sustainability about to corporate responsibility, they are likely to incur huge losses due to a corruptive business environment (Racelis, 2014). However, most entrepreneurs view corporate social responsibility as a practice that is costly, yet yields no benefits.
The Value of Creativity and Innovation in Entrepreneurship
Success in entrepreneurship requires an advantage derived from sustainable practices in the business environment. Such an edge can be achieved through synchronism of creative notions and an imperial capability for execution. Creative entrepreneurship encompasses either innovation of products or variation of production processes for improving existing products (Okpara, 2007). Moreover, a businessperson may have a distinct vision of consequences of changes that triggers externally. Entrepreneurship is a medium for channeling creativity and innovation since it brings about invention whereas innovation generates new demand.
Most entrepreneurs firmly believe that innovations are crucial to developing of competitive edge in markets. As a spirit of enterprising, these sustainability practices enable brewing of distinctive mixture of values. Thus, innovation and creativity offers a leeway fort astute enterprising, which involves a participatory search for opportunities to execute new inventions, or better still extraordinarily execute existing practices (Okpara, 2007). Through these practices, entrepreneurs can spontaneously trigger and drive organizational activities as prescribed by prevailing market conditions and customer tastes. Subsequently, this delights customers in the market, gives entrepreneurs a competitive edge, and increases profits: an apt description of sustainability in entrepreneurship.
Present economic environments exhibits violence and volatility, therefore, it calls for a transformed and dynamic approach to catering for changing needs. In these new systems, only discerning firms hold a capability of managing inherent deviations in these new business environments (Okpara, 2007). Entrepreneurs are thus obliged to keep their firms updated on innovations for continuous satisfaction to clients, which is the ultimate drive of any business. Nevertheless, some entrepreneurs are rigid to respond to changing trends in business.
The influence of sustainability orientation on entrepreneurial intentions—investigating the role of business experience
Emerging literature readings on sustainability in entrepreneurship creates a new dimension to this study. Contrary to past ideologies, entrepreneurship is not merely expected culminate to economic accomplishment: sustainable entrepreneurship demands harmonizing economic wellbeing, social fairness and environmental liability through apt entrepreneurial conduct (Kuckertz & Wagner, 2010). Although sustainable entrepreneurship relies on traditional approaches of practicing business, it brings forth extra potential for surrounding society and business environments. With empirical analyses embedded into theories of entrepreneurship, insights are given on affirmative relations between sustainability alignments and entrepreneurial intents of individuals carrying out business ventures.
Presently, issues pertaining business environments and societies are overabundant. Many businesses, for instance, experience detrimental effects of global warming, with many industrialized nations worldwide experiencing massive unemployment. These adversities attribute to undesirable externalities, tragedies, and unsustainable entrepreneurial behavior (Kuckertz & Wagner, 2010). Thus, sustainability acts as a platform for the creation of development solutions to tackle challenges facing societies and business environments. In 1980, Brundtland Commission of UN described sustainability as a situation of meeting pressing demands in the corporate world without necessarily compromising capacity for healthy self-sustaining of future generations.
In spite of controversies engulfing it, sustainable development in entrepreneurship is a trending culture that influences managerial settings in many organizations. Sustainability is gradually evolving into a prop in corporate environments with nearly every entrepreneur tagging all job titles in their firms with a sustainability clause (Kuckertz & Wagner, 2010). Moreover, large business ventures are explicitly incorporating policy statements on sustainability practices in entrepreneurship and also apply a “triple bottom line”, which gives due consideration to social, environmental and monetary performance of an organization.
Review of Discussion Regarding Successful Entrepreneurs
Successful entrepreneurs incorporate sustainability practices in their entrepreneurial ventures through synchronizing of monetary, social and ecological aspects affecting business environments. In-depth analysis of these aspects strengthens skills of an entrepreneur with regard to sustainability. Such skills cover vast facets including non-profit endeavors for effecting changes in social circle (Balderson et al, 2014). Amalgamating profit and non-profit projects whilst maintaining conducive ecological states justifies the common phrase, “People, Profits & Planet” or, “Triple Bottom Line”. These phrases are commonly applied in defining corporate sustainable practices in entrepreneurship.
Five Questions
- What features regarding corporate sustainable practices in entrepreneurship guarantee success of a business?
- What are commonly recommended skills of interaction that tactically steer entrepreneurs in a novel obligation as agents of change for guiding communities towards sustainability?
- What kind of successful entrepreneurs hold a capacity to foster sustainability in communities?
- With reference to successful entrepreneurs, what is the current trend in progressive sustainable entrepreneurship?
- What techniques can small-scale business holdings cost-effectively apply in their practices for sustainable entrepreneurship?
References
Balderson, D. W., Mombourquette, P., & Clark, J. D. (2014). Canadian entrepreneurship and small business management. Whitby, ON: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.
Choron, S., & Choron, H. (2011). Money: Everything you never knew about your favorite thing to covet, save & spend. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
Kuckertz, A. & Wagner, M.( 2010). The influence of sustainability orientation on entrepreneurial intentions—Investigating the role of business experience. Journal of Business Venturing vol.25 , 524-539
Okpara, F. (2007). The Value of Creativity and Innovation in Entrepreneurship . Journal of Asia Entrepreneurship and Sustainability, Vol 3, issue 2
Racelis, A. (2014). Sustainable Entrepreneurship In Asia A Proposed Theoretical Framework Based On Literature Review. Journal of Management for Global Sustainability, vol 2
