Background of the Problem
It is important to notice that entrepreneurship is one of the most discussed phenomena in the academic research literature. There is a great amount of studies proposing multiple theories and concepts that define entrepreneurship, yet there are still more questions than answers in this area. Designating the factors of success in this area is difficult, as each case of entrepreneurship is individual. It is claimed that entrepreneurship is vital for the economy of the state. For instance, Yusuf emphasized that the entrepreneurs can alter the world by contributing to the world economy with their innovations that make people’s life more comfortable (Yusuf 120). At the same time, they are valuable not only to the economy, but to society because the innovations may improve the life of disadvantaged people, create new decisions in curing diseases, improve the environment, and resolve the problem of poverty. Productive ventures developed by entrepreneurs create more jobs for the citizens and invest into the social and economic development of the entire nation.
As it was mentioned, there are a great variety of factors defining the entrepreneurship, but it is difficult to choose a single one that will be the most appropriate. In general, entrepreneurs are individuals who identify the demand in the market and manage the supply by creating a unique product or service that was not proposed earlier. While it is quite a simplistic definition, it identifies the most important qualities that enable the entrepreneur to express their urge to create, innovate, and bind the rules existing in the market. It was admitted by Estrin et al. that “entrepreneurs are people who not only present innovations, but transform the professional fields serving as the driving force of a progress” (Estrin et al. 480).
Often, the process of entrepreneurship is embodied in identifying the area of need, investing in it, building the company, and if necessary repeating this process. Some literature implies that such people are born with the specific innate features enabling them to create and innovate. The others believe that there are factors directly affecting their chances for success, like environment, upbringing, availability of resources in early years, and even a tragic accident. At the same time, there is no consensus among the experts regarding the question of what it takes to become entrepreneur. However, it is possible to argue that entrepreneurship is a multilayered issue that has multiple factors contributing to the success, which can be individual in each case. Impact of entrepreneurs on the world and society also can be embodied in different ways as well, where each of them contributes to at least one professional area.
Aims and Objectives
The main aim of the current research is to reveal what factors determine a success of the entrepreneurs. Also, the study has a goal to detect how entrepreneurship affects the world and society, including both a specific impact and a general one. It is important to find out the answers to these questions, as in the modern globalized and technically advanced society it is essential to be innovative and creative to become successful and relative in the business environment. At the same time, impact of every entrepreneur on the outside world is individual, which is essential to explore in each case. Therefore, in addition to evaluating of the scholarly research dedicated to entrepreneurship, it is essential to assess several individual cases of successful entrepreneurs who influenced the world and the society. Several case studies identify the factors generated success for the entrepreneurs.
Research Questions
In the course of the current study, the following questions are addressed:
What are the factors determining the success in entrepreneurship?
How effective entrepreneurs affect the world and society?
Discussion
Upbringing & Inheritance
Several studies admitted that usually, entrepreneurs express their extraordinary abilities in the childhood, which can be contributed by several factors. Specifically, this specificity is either the contribution of the upbringing or innate features of character. For instance, it was evidenced that parents may contribute to the entrepreneurship skills of their child by supporting his/her creativeness in the early age (Klein and Bullock 430). One of the examples of entrepreneurs who expressed their abilities in the early age was Jeff Bezos, one of the most successful businessmen in the modern world.
Technological advancement produced great opportunities for the entrepreneurship in this area, where Jeff Bezos has occupies the place of the greatest innovators, business magnates, and investors. He was a key player in in the development of e-commerce by becoming the creator of Amazon, which is still remains the biggest internet retailing stores in the world as well as some media groups, liek The Washington Post. According to the resources, during Bezos’s school years, the educators admitted his unique abilities, as Jeff was different from the other students (Stone 31). They find him not only incredibly different, but also particularly driven. It was revealed that he became interested in computers in the early age and managed to educate himself of how to design programs. At the same time, as his parents were afraid that he will become a social pariah due to his addiction to various sciences, they decided to put him in variety of sports. In the result, during his school years, Bezos was playing baseball and football, though as he said, he was not interested in these activities (Stone 34).
As the result, his incredible competitiveness, friendliness, and the ability to concentrate attention on one specific goal, produced the roots of the fists ventures he had initiated. Further on, he managed to create not only a successful business venture that would sell everything, but to innovate the inner governance of the company. Bezos came up with the idea of creating small groups outs of the company’s employees that have to compete with each other in terms of productiveness, creativity, and effectiveness (Stone 36). In addition, he insisted that each of these groups will be closely monitored and evaluated by him. While the regulatory policy in Amazon was quite harsh, the results were immediate, as the company revisited its policies and improved the relationship with the customers. As his colleagues and friends claimed, the Amazon founder put his entire attention on his goal without being distracted by the other things or people, which made him at some point particularly driven. Yet, Amazon expands and grows every year destroying its competition.
There are several inquiries claiming that parenting strategies in the early age can have opposite effect on the skills of a child, as they can both suppress the talent or expand it (Bhandari 134). It was also admitted that if parents have the acumen for entrepreneurship, their children will more likely to have at least necessary business skills for their further development (Bressler, Campbell, and Elliott 138). Such results emphasize the impact of parenting skills in the early age. However, it may also point to the inherited features that help new entrepreneurs to grow. As the research in genetics and inheritance of the personal features is still in the first stage of its development, it is impossible to guarantee that each child of famous entrepreneur will follow the same path and vice versa. Yet, the evidence support the impact of upbringing on the success in entrepreneurship, which may help to develop the skills needed for their development.
Challenging Experience
There is some evidence showing that a lot of entrepreneurs had difficult experience in their life which affected their skills and predetermined success. One of such examples is Howard Hughes, which has become one of the greatest innovators in aviation industry and film making. In his adolescence Howard lost both of his parents, which led to the development of certain quirks as well as the obsession with the aviation industry and Hollywood. According to the recourses, Hughes was close to his parents and suffered deeply after they passed away. “Howard did not spend a night away from his mother until he was ten years old” (Barlette and Steele 12). During this time, he starts to express his innovative ideas and support several initiatives that would help people in need.
Hughes supported several industries and had designed a great number of constructions by helping science and aviation. He became one of the most successful pilots in the history of aviation winning several prizes and making huge accomplishments in this area. He has been known for his passionate involvement and determination to change the world, especially in the areas he loved. It was one of his obsessions and constant subjects of perfection, which he gained in several industries. Right after his parents’ death Hughes experienced the symptoms of obsessions including his infamous germophobia. It leads to the conclusion that Hughes was shocked by his mother’s death that he became obsessive. However, his loss inspired and influenced him on building medical centers and helping people in need.
It is possible to conclude that Hughes’s impact on the several industries, yet aviation was affected by his inventions the most what concerned the aircrafts, airlines, and piloting techniques. In addition, as a film producer, Hughes mastered several techniques for shooting the motion pictures. He also became a patron of sciences by supporting several industries including medicine. Nowadays, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute is an American second largest charity in this field. It is one of the largest research centers established by Hughes himself and it conducts the research in bio-medical area since the 1950s.
Another example of a person who managed to overcome serious difficulties was Ruth Handler. She is an inventor of one of the most popular toy in the world, a Barbie doll, and an innovator in toy industry. Since her early years, Ruth encountered with the financial and personal difficulties by living in poverty and, according to sources, managed to start working since she was an adolescent. Poor conditions of living, being a tenth child in a family, and brought by her sister, Ruth gained independence quite early.
People who knew claimed that she had a lot of vivid features making her a driving force in anything she started. While Handler has never revealed her acknowledgement of her parents’ poor upbringing skills, it is rather clear that Ruth was wounded by the fact that she was the only of 10 children who did not live beside her mother. At the same time, when she has met her future husband at the age of nineteen, she did not hesitate to get married against her parents’ will. Also, it can be assumed that she tried to escape dependent life on her sister’s family, as neither she, nor her husband-to-be had any finances to support themselves.
She and her husband established the now well-known company Mattel that produced revolutionary toys. Despite the skepticism of her managers, Ruth implemented her idea of a new doll and as after that the company was overwhelmed with the orders and constantly multiplying clients, Ruth managed to create different ways of promoting her inventions. She promoted TV shows and Mattel has become the first company that marketed its products on TV. Further on, Ruth noticed that it is possible to create different versions of her doll and introduce new outfits for it. She had the ability to see the perspective and see the demand in the practical experience. For example, Ruth claimed that she noticed her daughter wanted to play only with the adult toys, which affected her decision creating a Barbie doll the way it is now. Also, Ruth’s ability to see the demand and the ability to produce the supply made her a particularly creative innovator in the toy industry. Since then, Barbie has become the most wanted toy for the majority of girls.
It was implied that challenges, especially what concerns the financial difficulties usually motivate individuals and stimulate their entrepreneurial abilities, which becomes one of the ways out of their socio-economic difficulties (Welter 166). There are a lot of examples of the successful entrepreneurs who managed to become particularly successful after living in challenging conditions, including Kenny Troutt who established Excel Communications, Oprah Winfrey, billionaire Francois Pinault, and Starbucks’ founder and CEO Howard Schulz (Business Insider). The majority of these entrepreneurs realized that difficult conditions are not the barrier in success in business.
It is possible to notice that different entrepreneurs were stimulated by various factors in their path of becoming successful in business. While some of them lived in advantageous conditions and were affected by well-managed upbringing, the others had to strive for the financial success, which was the first motivation of the entrepreneurs. Despite such factors, all of them managed to gain success in several professional fields. Such differences in their past and the beginning of the careers raise a question if all entrepreneurs have at least several similar features or their destiny had nothing to do with the entrepreneurship and the success depended on their inner personality features.
At this point it is possible to imply that all entrepreneurs are particularly creative, determined, and concentrated on their goals despite the circumstances. The stimulus for the entrepreneurship may be different, from the low economic status to the personal tragedy that empowers for the future progress. It will be incorrect to claim that entrepreneurs are driven only by financial gains, they are eager to innovate, to bring about the changes in the world, and to express their ideas by implementing them into something worthy.
Impact on the World
Nowadays as well as in the past entrepreneurs change the world, including its economy, technology, societal, and environmental development. For example, Thomas Edison introduced electric light bulb and phonograph as well as creating multiple other discoveries that became a breakthrough in the area of science. It is possible to claim that such technological geniuses as Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, as well as Steve Jobs managed to change the world by introducing Facebook, Windows, Google, and Apple, the companies that had altered the way people today communicate, transfer and search for the information, and work. At the same time, due to their ability to affect the world and control the information, there are a lot of concerns regarding the accountability and social responsibility of the entrepreneurs, not only those who work in the technological sector, but all of them together.
The companies and inventions created by the entrepreneurs affect the lives of a great number of people as well as environment, which cannot be overlooked. According to the studies, all business ventures have to be hold accountable for their actions, including the mistakes that can cause tremendous financial losses for ordinary people, like in was during the economic downturn in 2007 or the corporate scandals involving the biggest companies in the world (Petrovici 5). Lack of social responsibility can lead to the inadequate treatment of the personnel, poor management, flaws in the internal governance, frauds, and deterioration of the environment.
Conclusion
It was revealed in the course of the research that it is impossible to give the precise answer identifying the keys to success for the entrepreneurship. However, it is possible to claim that such things as the financial factors, personal determination, difficult conditions, and personal tragedy can create the opportunity for an individual to become a successful entrepreneur. Simultaneously, while examining the case studies, the conclusion claims that all entrepreneurs investigated have similar features that identified their success. First of all, it is ultimate creativity; secondly, all of them had particular belief in their success; thirdly, all entrepreneurs felt they want to change something. At the same time, such experience made everyone to crave for the same purposes. All entrepreneurs were eager to obtain freedom from financial status, family, or personal drama that poisoned their life. Each of them succeeded one way or another. Their impact on the world was also incredible, which made them accountable and responsible for their inventions.
Works Cited
Bhandari, Narendra C. "Relationship between Students' Gender, Their Own Employment, Their Parents' Employment, and the Students' Intention for Entrepreneurship." Journal of Entrepreneurship Education 15 (2012): 133-144. Print
Bressler, Martin S., Kitty Campbell, and Brett Elliott. "The Reverse Family Business: An Emerging Trend in Entrepreneurship?" Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal 20.2 (2014): 137-147. Print
Estrin, Steven. “Entrepreneurship, Social Capital, and Institutions: Social and Commercial Entrepreneurship across Nations,” Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice 37.3, (2013): 479-486. Print
Klein, Peter G., and J. Bruce Bullock. "Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught?" Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 38.2 (2006): 429-439. Print
Petrovici, Amalia. "Social Economy and Social Entrepreneurship: An Exercise of Social Responsibility." Journal of Community Positive Practices 13.4 (2013): 3-17. Print
Stone, Barbara. The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon. New York: Little, brown, and Company, 2010. Print
Welter, Friederike. "Contextualizing Entrepreneurship-Conceptual Challenges and Ways Forward." Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice 35.1 (2011): 165-177. Print
Yusuf, Jean. E. “Putting Entrepreneurship in Its Rightful Place: A Typology for Defining Entrepreneurship across Private, Public and Nonprofit Sectors,” Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal 11.2 (2009): 113-124. Print
