Untitled

Entrepreneurship
and Big Data

Big Data for Industry 4.0: Challenges and Applications
Series Editors: Sandhya Makkar, K. Martin Sagayam, and Rohail Hassan
Industry 4.0, or the fourth industrial revolution, refers to interconnectivity, automa-

tion, and real-time data exchange between machines and processes. There is a tre-
mendous growth in Big Data, from the Internet of Things (IoT) and information
services which drives the industry, to the development of new models and distributed
tools to handle Big Data. Cutting-edge digital technologies are being harnessed to
optimize and automate production including upstream supply-chain processes, ware-
house management systems, automated guided vehicles, drones, etc. The ultimate
goal of Industry 4.0 is to drive manufacturing or services in a progressive way to be
faster, more effective, and more efficient; that can be achieved only by embedding
modern-day technology in machines, components, and parts that will transmit real-
time data to networked IT systems. These, in turn, apply advanced soft computing
paradigms such as machine learning algorithms to run the process automatically
without any manual operations.
The new book series will provide readers with an overview of the state-of-the-art
in the field of Industry 4.0 and related research advancements. The respective books
will identify and discuss new dimensions of both risk factors and success factors,
along with performance metrics that can be employed in future research work. The
series will also discuss a number of real-time issues, problems, and applications with
corresponding solutions and suggestions, sharing new theoretical findings, tools, and
techniques for Industry 4.0, and covering both theoretical and application-oriented
approaches. The book series will offer a valuable asset for newcomers to the field and
practicing professionals alike. The focus is to collate the recent advances in the field,
so that undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers, academicians, and
industry people can easily understand the implications and applications of the field.
Industry 4.0 Interoperability, Analytics, Security, and Case Studies
Edited by G. Rajesh, X. Mercilin Raajini, and Hien Dang
Big Data and Artificial Intelligence for Healthcare Applications
Edited by Ankur Saxena, Nicolas Brault, and Shazia Rashid
Machine Learning and Deep Learning Techniques in Wireless and Mobile
Networking Systems
Edited by K. Suganthi, R. Karthik, G. Rajesh, and Ho Chiung Ching
Big Data for Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development
Edited by Mohammed el Amine Abdelli, Wissem Ajili Ben Youssef, Ugur Ozgoker, and
Imen Ben Slimene
Entrepreneurship and Big Data
The Digital Revolution
Edited by Meghna Chhabra, Rohail Hassan, and Amjad Shamim
Microgrids
Design, Challenges, and Prospects
Edited by Ghous Bakhsh, Biswa Ranjan Acharya, Ranjit Singh Sarban Singh, and
Fatma Newagy
For more information on this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.com/Big-

Data-for-Industry-4.0-Challenges-and-Applications/book-series/CRCBDICA
Entrepreneurship
and Big Data
The Digital Revolution
Edited by
Meghna Chhabra
Rohail Hassan
Amjad Shamim
First edition published 2022
by CRC Press
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ISBN: 978-0-367-47673-1 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-367-56481-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-09794-5 (ebk)
DOI: 10.1201/9781003097945
Typeset in Times
by SPi Technologies India Pvt Ltd (Straive)
Contents
Preface.......................................................................................................................vii
Editor Biographies.....................................................................................................ix
Contributors...............................................................................................................xi
Chapter 1 Ecosystem for Entrepreneurship in a Big Data-Driven Universe.......... 1

Nupur Kashyap and Ankur Kashyap
Chapter 2 The Application and Influence of Industrial Internet of Things,

Big Data, and Analytics Towards Sustainable Value Creation............ 13
Russell Tatenda Munodawafa and Satirenjit Kaur Johl
Chapter 3 Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in Global Business

Services (GBS): New Insights for Entrepreneurs................................ 25
Dayana Jalaludin, Siti Nursyahirah Abd Aziz, and Eng Kar Seong
Chapter 4 Social Entrepreneurship in an Era of Disruption: Converging

Social Change and Sustainability Through Big Data Analysis
in a Post-COVID World....................................................................... 39
Manmeet Bali Nag
Chapter 5 Big Data: A Boon for Food and Servicepreneurship........................... 55

Kiran Sood, Navneet Seth, Munish Jindal, and Harsh Sadawarti
Chapter 6 Adoption of Big Data in Agripreneurship: A Panacea to the

Global Food Challenge........................................................................ 71
Uzairu Muhammad Gwadabe and Nalini Arumugam
Chapter 7 Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls that Can Sink a Startup.............83
Mahima Birla, Sunita Kishnani, and B Venkat
Chapter 8 The Influential Role of Breakthrough Strategies of the Family

Business and Its Implication in Entrepreneurship............................... 99
Tanvi Thakkar and Mahima Birla
Chapter 9 Crucial Factors for Successful Entrepreneurial Start-ups................. 113

Ghazala Khan and Rohail Hassan
v
viContents
Chapter 10 Social Entrepreneurship.................................................................... 137

Sangeeta Sumbly
Chapter 11 Terracotta Pottery Catastrophe: Survival Issues and the Road

Ahead for Sustainable Enterprise...................................................... 153
Shweta Dahiya, Parveen Siwach, Anupama Panghal, and
Shilpa Sindhu
Chapter 12 Social Sustainability Through Women Entrepreneurs in

India: A Case of Inclusion and Development Through
Small Organizations.......................................................................... 167
Amrinder Kaur
Chapter 13 Leveraging on Demographics Insights of Online Shoppers

for Netpreneurs.................................................................................. 185
Deepak Halan
Chapter 14 Study on the Effectiveness of Social Networks in

Persuading Entrepreneurial Initiatives with Reference to
College Students in Chennai............................................................. 195
V. Jayanthi and S. Subbulakshmi
Chapter 15 Curbing Inconsistencies Through Financial Bootstrapping:

Study of Indian Startups Ecosystem.................................................. 213
Anju Singla and Prihana Vasishta
Chapter 16 Repurposing the Role of Entrepreneurs in the Havoc of COVID-19....... 229

Manpreet Arora and Roshan Lal Sharma
Chapter 17 Business and Financial Management Sustainability of a

Small-Medium Enterprise: A Case Study of Rohaya and
Abu Bakar Enterprise, Penang, Malaysia.......................................... 251
Rohani Yusof, Mohd Hafiz Abdul Halim, Yuslina Abdul Ghani,
and Zuhairah Abdul Hadi
Chapter 18 Sustainable Enterprise Development: A Review of Training

Topologies for Entrepreneurs............................................................ 267
Zahid Hussain Bhat, Riyaz Ahmad Rainayee, and
Meghna Chhabra
Index....................................................................................................................... 285
Preface
The disruptive potential of Big Data has received growing attention in research and
practice over the last few years. Industrial Revolution 4.0 has opened our eyes
towards a new chapter of our lives. Currently, all industries are undergoing a form of
digital transformation. Companies explore the avenues to walk on technologies and
seek paths to increase customers’ demand and expectations. The story has moved
away from fulfilling customers’ needs to creating an impact on their lives and improv-
ing well-being. We wake up in the morning to start our day with data consumption
and end the day with data consumption. Big Data is around us, and we consume data
to make our lives better. This emergence is making it imperative to scrutinize Big
Data in relevance to contemporary entrepreneurship. The entrepreneurial ecosystem
is changing due to Big Data, and thus it is intervening an impact on everyone’s life.
This book’s theme revolves around how Big Data in the digital transformation
impacts the various facets of entrepreneurship development which is essential for
improving our well-being. The book contains insightful chapters on the ecosystem
themes for entrepreneurship in the Big Data-driven universe, social entrepreneurship
in the era of disruption, and sustainability in the digital world.
The book is ideally designed for entrepreneurs, researchers, business owners,
managers, graduate students, and academics seeking current research on Big Data in
contemporary entrepreneurship.
vii
Editor Biographies
Meghna Chhabra is Associate Professor (Entrepreneurship
& Finance) and Area Chair Entrepreneurship and Small
Business Management at Faculty of Management Studies,
Manav Rachna International Institute of Research &
Studies, Faridabad, Haryana, India. She is also on the
boards of the various university-level committees promot-
ing research and consultancy. Dr Meghna has more than 15
years of experience in industry and academia and has
worked closely with students for employability training
and job placements. She has been running the E-Cell @
FMS. She has various publications in national and interna-
tional journals to her credit, including two publications in the Small Enterprises
Development, Management and Extension (SEDME) journal promoted by NI-MSME,
an organization under the Ministry of the Government of India. She has also con-
ducted the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board
(NSTEDB), Dept. of Science and Technology, Government of India-sponsored
“Entrepreneurship Awareness Camps”. Her research interest lies primarily in study-
ing the gender gap in entrepreneurship, women entrepreneurship, and entrepreneur-
ship education. Currently, she is also working on an Indian Council of Social Science
and Research (ICSSR) project on “Capacity Building of Women Entrepreneurs”. She
is also a recipient of a faculty grant for conducting the “Faculty Development
Program in Entrepreneurship Development” from the All India Council of Technical
Education (AICTE). She is also on the editorial board of the ‘International Journal
of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation’ (Inderscience Publishers) and the
journal ‘Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurial Research’.
Rohail Hassan, PhD, is Senior Lecturer of Corporate

Governance and Finance at Othman Yeop Abdullah
Graduate School of Business (OYAGSB), Universiti Utara
Malaysia. His research interests include corporate gover-
nance, women empowerment, gender-related issues,
diversity and inclusion, gender diversity, Big Data and
analytics, firm performance, and strategy. The main
research has been published in leading management jour-
nals and top-tier peer-reviewed journals ranked by ABS,
including Journal of Business Research (3*), Journal of Management and
Organization (2*), Journal of Cleaner Production (2*), Journal of Intellectual
Capital (2*), Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research (1*), Economics
Bulletin, Sustainability, Journal of Risk and Financial Management, and International
Journal of Financial Studies). He is currently working as a series editor for the work
titled Big Data for Industry 4.0: Challenges and Applications from Taylor & Francis
Group. Rohail is also serving as an International Editorial Board Member to the
ix
x Editor Biographies
Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration and the Journal of Risk and Financial
Management, and is Editor of Humanities and Social Sciences Reviews and reviewer
to several prestigious academic journals such as Journal of Business Research,
Journal of Management and Organization (JMO), International Journal of Finance
and Economics (IJFE), Applied Economics (incorporating Applied Financial
Economics), Sustainability, and International Journal of Environmental Research
and Public Health.
Amjad Shamim is currently Program Manager for MBA in

Energy Management and Senior Lecturer in Marketing at
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Malaysia. He is also Core
Researcher at Center of Social Innovation, Institute of Self-
Sustainable Building. He holds PhD, MS and MBA in Marketing.
He is the recipient of UTP Brand Advocate Award (2020), and
Liam Glynn Research Scholarship Award by Service Special
Interest Group (AMA-SERVSIG) sponsored by Arizona State
University Center for Services Leadership USA (2019).
Dr. Amjad has published over 30 articles in reputed interna-
tional journals such as Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, International Journal
of Hospitality Management, Journal of Consumer Marketing, International Journal of
Retail & Distribution Management, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics,
Journal of Islamic Marketing, Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies,
Frontiers in Psychology, Entertainment Computing, Environmental Science and Pollution
Research, and IEEE Access among others. In addition, he has received Seven research
grants amounting to USD 84,000 from national and international funding bodies. His
research projects are in the areas of value co-creation practice in oil and gas industry,
value-in-experience model for retailing, neuromarketing approach for online busi-
ness and service-dominant logic application in services sector. His research interests
are in the areas of value co-creation, service-dominant logic, service thinking, service
inclusion, brand experience, and neuromarketing.
Contributors
Manpreet Arora Yuslina Abdul Ghani
School of Commerce and Management Commerce Department
Studies Seberang Perai Polytechnic
Central University of Himachal Pradesh Penang, Malaysia
Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India
Uzairu Muhammad Gwadabe
Nalini Arumugam Faculty of Business and Management
School of Agriculture Sciences and Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin
Biotechnology Universiti Sultan Terengganu, Malaysia
Zainal Abidin
Terengganu, Malaysia Zuhairah Abdul Hadi
Commerce Department
Siti Nursyahirah Abd Aziz Seberang Perai Polytechnic
School of Management Penang, Malaysia
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Pulau Pinang, Malaysia Deepak Halan
School of Management Sciences
Zahid Hussain Bhat Apeejay Stya University
AAA Memorial Degree College Gurugram, India
Bemina, Cluster University,
Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India Mohd Hafiz Abdul Halim
Commerce Department
Mahima Birla Seberang Perai Polytechnic
Faculty of Management Penang, Malaysia
Pacific University
Udaipur, Rajasthan, India Rohail Hassan
Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate
Meghna Chhabra School of Business
Faculty of Management Studies Universiti Utara Malaysia
Manav Rachna International Institute of Sintok, Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia
Research and Studies
Faridabad, Haryana, India Dayana Jalaludin
School of Management
Shweta Dahiya Universiti Sains Malaysia,
Department of Food Business Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Management and Entrepreneurship
Development V. Jayanthi
National Institute of Food Technology Vels Institute of Science, Technology &
Entrepreneurship and Management Advanced Studies
Sonipat, Haryana, India Chennai, India
xi
xiiContributors
Munish Jindal Anupama Panghal

HoverRobotix Department of Food Business
India Management and Entrepreneurship
Development
Satirenjit Kaur Johl National Institute of Food Technology
Department of Management and Entrepreneurship and Management
Humanities Sonipat, Haryana, India
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
Bandar Seri Iskandar, Malaysia. Riyaz Ahmad Rainayee
Department of Commerce
Ankur Kashyap University of Kashmir, India
Bennett University
Greater Noida, India Harsh Sadawarti
CT University (Pb.)
Nupur Kashyap India
GITI (Women), Raebareli, India
Eng Kar Seong
Amrinder Kaur School of Management
Pink Guava Consulting Services Universiti Sains Malaysia
Gurgaon, India Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Ghazala Khan Navneet Seth

Putra Business School Malaysia Department of Applied Sciences
University Putra Malaysia Baba Hira Singh Bhattal Institute of
Malaysia Engineering and Technology
Lehragaga, Punjab, India
Sunita Kishnani
Chief Marketing Officer, Systematix Roshan Lal Sharma
Infotech Pvt. Ltd. Department of English
Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India Central University of Himachal Pradesh
Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India
Russell Tatenda Munodawafa
Department of Management and Shilpa Sindhu
Humanities School of Management
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS The NorthCap University
Bandar Seri Iskandar, Malaysia Gurugram, India
Manmeet Bali Nag Anju Singla

School of Management Centre of Management and Humanities
Manav Rachna University (CMH) Punjab Engineering College
Faridabad, India (Deemed to be University)
Chandigarh, India
Contributors xiii
Parveen Siwach Tanvi Thakkar

Department of Food Business Welingkar Institute of Management
Management and Entrepreneurship Development and Research
Development Mumbai, India
National Institute of Food Technology
Entrepreneurship and Management Prihana Vasishta
Sonipat, Haryana, India Centre of Management and
Humanities (CMH) Punjab
Kiran Sood Engineering College (Deemed to
Chitkara Business School be University)
Chitkara University Chandigarh, India
Punjab, India
B Venkat
S. Subbulakshmi AICTE,
Department of Commerce New Delhi, India
S.D.N.B. Vaishnav College
Chennai, India Rohani Yusof
Commerce Department
Sangeeta Sumbly Seberang Perai Polytechnic
School of Management Studies Penang, Malaysia
IILM University
Gurugram, India
1 Ecosystem for
Entrepreneurship in a
Big Data-Driven
Universe
Nupur Kashyap
GITI (Women), India
Ankur Kashyap
Bennett University, India
CONTENTS
Introduction�� 1
Role of Big Data�� 2
Emerging Technologies�� 2
Research Methodology�� 5
Proposed Framework�� 5
Identifying Challenges�� 6
Conclusion�� 8
References�� 9
INTRODUCTION
The term “entrepreneurship” was first used in the Middle Ages, when “the entrepre-
neur was someone who performs tasks in projects like buildings, construction, and
the likes by using all the resources he had”. However, the word entrepreneur gained
its present form in the 17th century, as Cantillon described it “as a person responsible
for undertaking a business venture” (Entrepreneurship and Big Data, 2019).
According to a note by the UNCTAD secretariat (2011), the ability and propensity of
an enterprise to innovate not only depends on its access to knowledge from research
institutes or technology services centers but also many other factors, including access
to finance; access to human resources; adequate basic physical infrastructure; firm-
level capabilities (design, operation, maintenance, managerial); inter-firm linkages
and collaboration and partnerships in R&D among academic and commercial enti-
ties; general business services; and demand conditions.
DOI: 10.1201/9781003097945-1 1
2 Entrepreneurship and Big Data
ROLE OF BIG DATA

Earlier, Big Data was considered a problem, but it became a boon for entrepreneurs
with the advent of new technologies. One could find its reach in each corner of the
business arena in one way or another, directly or indirectly. Whether it is text mes-
sages, pictures, videos, blogs, reports, multimedia content, digital traces, swipes on
different sites, reading preferences on mobile, time spent on each page, omitted por-
tions, likes on social media, or anything related produce Big Data and this data is
under the scanner of data analysts to generate useful information out of this. Big Data
as a lucrative entrepreneurial option has gone beyond the boundaries of internet-
related establishments. In Japan, data generated through geo-coded maps of agricul-
tural fields and the real-time monitoring of every activity from seeding, watering,
fertilizing, and, some experts estimate, harvesting to improve yields around USD 100
per acre in increased profit (OECD, 2014). New York-based start-up Muze has intro-
duced a new mobile app on iOS that provides users the facilities, besides adding
texts, to pin their pictures or Graphics Interchange Format (GIFs), in and out zoom-
ing the text and draw on message board using multiple sizes and colors of pens
(Perez, 2020). In business, Google and Facebook are highly data-driven firms that
opted for AI at a very early stage and got the market advantage of embracing AI
(Prüfer & Prüfer, 2020).
“Big Data” is often used as a synonym for customer analytics, real-time analytics,
or predictive analytics (Lochy, 2017). Worldwide, Big Data market revenues for soft-
ware and services are projected to increase from $42 billion in 2018 to $103 billion
in 2027, attaining a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10.48% (Columbus,
2018). According to NewVantage Venture Partners, Big Data delivers the most value
to enterprises by decreasing expenses (49.2%) and creating new avenues for innova-
tion and disruption (44.3%) Figure 1.1.
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
Whereas the human brain can manage two to three dimensions of information, algo-
rithms allow for hundreds of dimensions. Thus, data science could extract meaning-
ful information from the association, classification, and data clusters (Prüfer &
Prüfer, 2020). According to blogs, with on an average more than 40,000 searches on
Google every second, i.e. 3.5 billion searches per day, 2.5 quintillion bytes of data
were created each day in 2018. This pace is only increasing by leaps and bounds
with the development of the Internet of Things (IoT) (Marr, 2018). At present, dur-
ing 2020, 1.7 MB of data is created every second by every person (Bulao, 2020).
The need for advanced versions of present time technologies will always be felt for
processing and analyzing these ever-increasing data. The Internet of Things (IoT) is
the talk of the town nowadays. With smart sensors and their wireless connectivity,
much data are gathered and analyzed. The global audit and consulting company
Deloitte’s state-of-the-art, IoT-powered office, “The Edge Amsterdam,” is equipped
with 28,000 sensors that send data to be analyzed to increase the building’s effi-
ciency (Khvoynitskaya, 2018). The sensors track all of the employees’ movements
and activities and indicate to them the unoccupied places in meeting rooms. Another
Ecosystem for Entrepreneurship 3
Decrease expenses 49.2% 23.4%
New Avenues for innovation 44.31% 20.19%
Launch new products/services 36.1% 26.8%
Monetize Big Data- increased/new revenue 32.8% 22.0%
Accelerate new capabilities deployment 31.1% 33.4%
Transform business for the future 27.9% 23.7%
Establish a data-driven culture 27.9% 41.5%
Started and Benefits Started and no Benefits Not Started
Big Data business initiatives underway; with successful results Started Success
Decrease expenses through operational cost efficiencies 72.6% 49.2%
Establish a data-driven culture 69.4% 27.9%
Create new avenues for innovation and disruption 64.5% 44.3%
Accelerate the speed with which new capabilities and services are deployed 64.5% 31.1%
Launch new product and service offerings 62.9% 36.1%
Monetize Big Data through increased revenues and new revenue sources 54.8% 32.8%
Transform and reposition your business for the future 51.6% 27.9%
FIGURE 1.1 Big Data Initiatives and success rate. Source: Big Data Executive Survey
(2017), reported by Columbus (2018).
application adjusts the temperature, humidity, and CO2 concentration to maintain a

comfortable environment for employees, resulting in increased staff members’
increased efficiency. Another revolutionary breakthrough is Artificial Intelligence
(AI) which, according to Jens Prüfer and Patricia Prüfer (2020), “is a concept, in
which machines mimic cognitive functions of learning and problem solving”.
Unlike the “Industrial Revolution,” when the main drivers were coal and steam, the
present “second machine age” is driven by data and artificial intelligence
(Obschonka & Audretsch, 2019; Di Vaio et al., 2020). The spread of AI could be
assessed with a report of The Economist according to which a factory in Southern
England “OCADO” better known as Custom Fulfilment Centre (CFC), uses a
unique grid system, “The Hive” where 700 robots assemble customers’ orders.
They work on an air traffic control system fulfilling 65,000 customers every day and
giving tough competition to leading online grocery outlet Amazon. It was made pos-
sible with the help of artificial intelligence and automation. The sources, individuals
related to machine-based intelligence, and entrepreneurial research processes should
be focused upon for augmentation of Big Data and AI (Obschonka & Audretsch,
2019). An advertisement for HG Hector, the four-wheeler SUV, says, “It is a Human
Thing”, the reason being that Alexa with human-like capabilities is incorporated in
the vehicle that gives directions and suggestions (just like a living person) through-
out the journey. The robotic workforce will soon become the new norm. The impor-
tance of robots can be surmised because XYZ Robotics raises $17 million for its
pick-and-place logistics robots (Heater, 2020). Drones have already started working
in the field of delivery. Keeping in view the wide range of the drone’s commercial
prospects, a market rise of more than five times is estimated in the next five years
(from $5.2 billion in 2016 to $27.1 billion in 2021; Fatbit.com, n.d.). The latest in
this series is neurotechnologies, i.e., the use of technology in monitoring body func-
tions. Mind-controlled robots are one of its examples. Virtual and Augmented
Reality, wearable technology, Edge computing, Blockchain (a decentralized, dis-
tributed, and public digital ledger consisting of records called blocks that is used to
record transactions across many computers so that if any involved block is altered,
all subsequent blocks would be altered (Wikipedia). No code development platform
also falls in this category. Personalized wealth management advice is provided to
the customers regarding their policies based on customers’ financial and personal
details and status. Besides, there are digital assistants (as with Disha on the IRCTC
website of Indian railways), cashless payments (through PayPal, Paytm, MobiKwik,
and Bitcoin), hybrid wireless technologies, deep learning, automated software,
video search optimization (tracking locations, tracking the uncertainty of nature),
and many more technologies that help in using Big Data for the entrepreneurship
purposes. A study by Microsoft’s IoT Signals indicated that “one-third of IoT proj-
ects are abandoned after the proof of concept stage”. What are the factors that lead
to the failure of such projects that are worth discussing? As Big Data is something
different from the traditional way of obtaining the final output, the challenges must
be treated differently. Researchers have considered many factors that hinder the
growth rate of new ventures. Some of the studies citing these challenges are given
in Table 1.1.
TABLE 1.1
Challenges faced by entrepreneurs in Big Data universe
Challenges Authors
Security and privacy, dynamic provisioning, algorithms, Misuse of Big Alam et al. (2014)
Data, data management
Data storage, data transmission, data management, data processing, Yang et al. (2017)
data visualization, data analysis, integration, architecture, security,
privacy, quality
Knowledge discovery and computational complexities; scalability and Acharjyaa and Ahmed (2016)
visualization of data; and information security.
Data – storage, quality, security and privacy, service delivery and Balachandran et al. (2017)
billing, interoperability and portability, reliability and availability,
performance and bandwidth cost
Big Data professionals, interactiveness, loading, and synchronization, Wani and Suraiya (2018)
visualization
Data challenges, process challenges, management challenges Sivarajah et al. (2017)
Privacy and security, data access and sharing of information, human Satyanarayana (2015)
resources and manpower, quality of data
Data growth, data infrastructure, data governance/policy, data Khan et al. (2014)
integration, data velocity, data variety, data compliance/regulation,
data visualization
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study is exploratory research and used primary and secondary data to analyze the
ecosystem for entrepreneurship for Big Data. For designing the research problem, the
authors used the existing resources available on the subject matter; afterward, primary
research tools are employed to synthesize the proposed model (Figure 1.3). The
research was conducted in two phases: identifying the problem, and proposing a con-
ceptual model for understanding the ecosystem based on qualitative analysis of the data
gathered through focus group discussions (FGDs) and informal interviews. A struc-
tured approach was applied for gathering primary data for the study. To begin with, a
two-panel of a total of ten experts was formed for conducting two FGDs. The six aca-
demic experts were invited from private and public HEIs having sufficient experience
in entrepreneurship. Apart from academic experts, the group had representation from
industry also. Two experts from the computing industry at the senior level were part of
these FGDs. Two students working on a technology-based start-up at an academic incu-
bation center have also participated actively in the discussions. Both the FGDs were
conducted online because of the lockdown imposed by the government to restrict the
COVID-19 pandemic. Both authors acted as moderators in each discussion.
PROPOSED FRAMEWORK
As the data is huge and complex, the processing of these data is not an easy job,
significantly when the tools used for analyzing are not updated. They also increase
the cost and time taken to process, thus, always lagging behind the schedule. With the
help of emerging newer technologies, this work could be performed better at a fast
pace, almost in a real-time process.
In the OECD synthesis report 2014, the key players in the Big Data ecosystem are
given, as shown in Figure 1.2.
Data driven entrepreneurs and innovators across

society
(ex. Start-ups, civic entrepreneurs)
Data providers
Data analytics providers
(ex. Consumers, data
(ex. Analytic software
brokers, government, &
solutions)
the IOT)
IT infrastructure Providers
(ex. Database management tools, cloud computing)
Internet Service Providers

(eg, Fix and mobile broadband)
FIGURE 1.2 Key players of Big Data ecosystem (OECD, 2014).

FIGURE 1.3 Entrepreneur Ecosystem in Big Data-Driven Universe.
Based on these factors and expanding this view, a framework is proposed where
Big Data and emerging technologies (like the Internet of Things, artificial intelli-
gence, etc.) work hand in hand. These two are the essential ingredients for digital
entrepreneurs. The proposed framework presents the entrepreneurial ecosystem and
the factors that need to be focused on or improved upon to allow entrepreneurs to
achieve their desired goals.
Digital entrepreneurship is driven by data providers, data analyzers, internet pro-
viders, and IT infrastructure providers. There is a hindrance in the form of a 7-S wall
that is to be taken care of before the launch of an innovation. These 7-S are: security
lapse of data, sorting difficulty of data, storage hassle of data, scarcity of skilled per-
sonnel, shortage of funds, slow internet & connectivity, and shoddy collaboration &
cooperation.
IDENTIFYING CHALLENGES
According to IoT expert Sandra Khvoynitskaya (2018), the most common IoT chal-
lenges are “technical unpreparedness, budget shortages, and skill gap”. These chal-
lenges are a part of emerging technologies, and it is hoped they will disappear as soon
as the IoT system improves. We have classified the challenges into seven categories
(7-S) that are impediments to Big Data implementation.
1.
Security lapse of data: Data is the key element in an innovative system. When
the data is stored on cloud-based storage systems, one has no direct control
over it, and the chances are always there that the data could be leaked. Cloud is
a sharing server, so data privacy is a big concern. In the recent past, many cases
of data theft were reported. Some firms had to pay the enormous ransom
amount to get their data back. With newer security approaches, some of the
current techniques are efficient in securing the data channels, such as Datagram
Transport Layer Security (DTLS) (Ryan and Watson, 2017).
2.
Sorting difficulty of data: Selecting the appropriate data is a cumbersome pro-
cess. Data science methods – Python programming language, Natural Language
Processing (NLP) techniques, NoSQL – are solutions for sorting unstructured
data. The Deep Neural Network (DNN) comprises several processing layers
that are competent for learning hierarchical representations from the input data
and modeling complex behaviors of heterogeneous data sets (Saleem et al.,
2019). These technologies include large-scale distributed file systems like
Hadoop, which can handle enormously large data sets. The firms require high-
quality data for making suitable operational, strategic, and financial decisions.
The latest information technology is required; otherwise, the dependence on
secondary or redundant data will lead to less accurate decisions.
3.
Scarcity of skilled data personnel: For emerging entrepreneurs, it is a challenge
to arrange adequate resources and to attract personnel with skills for data anal-
ysis as compared to large organizations and established entrepreneurs (Pappas
et al., 2017). OECD (2019) stressed that policymakers should bring schemes
that instill digital and entrepreneurial skills in unrepresented groups through
education and training programs. These training programs should be data spe-
cific, as mere knowledge is not all entrepreneurs needed. A key skill involves
explaining Big Data outcomes to executives – in visual displays or verbal nar-
rative (Chhabra et al., 2020; Chieng et al., 2015; Davenport and Dyché, 2013;
Del Giudice et al., 2021; Singh et al., 2018) for relatively better decision
making.
4.
Shortage of funds: One of the reasons for the failure of innovation projects
could be the paucity of funds. A study by Thomas Niebel, Fabienne Rasel, and
Steffen Viete (2018) suggests that Big Data analytics is the prominent factor
for the probable market success of product innovations and applies to both
manufacturers and the service sector, depending on the firms’ investment in
IT-specific skills. Bryan Ritchie and Nick Swisher (2018) found that although
the start-ups may lack political or financial power, their (particularly high-
potential) collective contributions to the economy are important, and they
experience growth rates substantially higher than other firms, creating a huge
impact on the overall economic productivity of the economy. Nevertheless, as
money attracts money, this growth is owed to an adequate amount of funds
with the entrepreneur. OECD (2019) suggested some means of financial access
to entrepreneurs:
a. Support and/or promote crowdfunding platforms to improve access to start-
up financing for the digital entrepreneur.
b. Use award programs to provide small grants.
5.
Storagehassle of data: As the name implies, Big Data is enormous. With the
digitization of each and every thing in this universe, including entrepreneurial
activities, large amounts of digital information exist on virtually any topic of
interest, in which mobile phones, online shopping, social networks, electronic
communication, GPS, and instrumented machinery all produce torrents of data
as a by-product of their ordinary operations (McAfee & Brynjolfsson, 2012).
One has to prepare an information warehouse that can handle so much data.
Nevertheless, this being a costly affair, the companies prefer to store systems
on cloud-based platforms. According to Ryan and Watson (2017), to manage
IoT databases’ size, newer methods for querying semistructured data, data
streaming, continuous sampling data, and data mining are needed. Due to the
velocity of Big Data, it is difficult to store information with the traditional stor-
age methods as they are unable to scale up rapidly (Yang et al., 2017)
6. Slow internet and connectivity: IoT works on the internet platform and requires
high speed and reliability. There is a problem of connectivity, and the net-
work’s erratic behavior causes a problem for IoT. In production or business
processes, all the activities need to be connected via the internet to gain porta-
bility. The expansion of broadband would enhance pattern recognition by using
the connected resources accessed via the internet (Caceres-Diaz et al., 2019).
7. Shoddy collaboration and cooperation: Pappas et al. (2017) stressed the need
for co-creation and inclusive growth to stimulate societal innovation taking
advantage of Big Data. Similarly, a collaboration between multiple stakehold-
ers of the entrepreneurship system – government, society, and entrepreneur –
tends to prove beneficial for innovation’s success rate. Myriad sources drive
the source of data in large quantities; thus, balanced cooperation is of utmost
importance. Multiscale collaborations require multi-spatiotemporal collabora-
tion across different domains supported by distributed storage (Yang et al.,
2017). The cloud environment should allow data scientists and business ana-
lysts to explore knowledge acquisition data interactively and collaboratively
for further processing (Acharjyaa & Ahmed, 2016; Chung et al., 2014).
According to a report of the World Economic Forum (2019) produced in col-
laboration with McKinsey & Company the classification of data collaborative
is as given:
• “Data cooperatives: Corporations and other essential data holders group
together to link and connect data resources.
• Prizes and challenges: Corporations make data available to qualified appli-
cants who compete to develop new apps or discover innovative uses for the
data.
• Research partnerships: Corporations share data with universities and other
academic organizations.
• Intelligence products: Shared corporate data is used to build a tool, dash-
board, report, app, or another technical device to support a public or human-
itarian objective.
• Application Programming Interfaces (APIs): APIs allow developers and
others to access data for testing, product development, and data analytics.
• Trusted intermediary: Corporations share data with a limited number of
known partners.”
CONCLUSION
Digitalization plays the role of an outcome as well as a source for innovation. At the
same time, entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs may be the drivers and the agents of digi-
tal transformations (Satalkina & Steiner, 2020; Shahzad et al., 2020). With the advent
of the Big Data era, a new job profile will undoubtedly occur, catering to data indus-
tries’ demands. Various fields are doing wonders after integrating these technologies
with Big Data to make the ecosystem more conducive for entrepreneurship. The
framework proposed here is in the primary stage. It is suggested to develop and test
it for best practices that can further be used to incorporate newer technologies and
Big Data for easing the challenges faced by entrepreneurs.
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2 The Application and
Influence of Industrial
Internet of Things,
Big Data, and Analytics
Towards Sustainable
Value Creation
Russell Tatenda Munodawafa and
Satirenjit Kaur Johl
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Malaysia
CONTENTS
Literature Review�� 14
Sustainable Value Creation�� 14
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)�� 15
Big Data and Analytics Infrastructure�� 16
The Proposed Sustainable Value Creation Framework�� 17
Resource�� 18
Capability�� 18
Competitive Advantage�� 19
Conclusion�� 20
References�� 21
INTRODUCTION
The industrial revolutions that have taken place throughout human history on Earth
have profoundly affected people, the planet, and profit. Beginning with the first
industrial revolution, technologies developed in this era enabled more efficient steam
power use. These timeframe technologies also enhanced production through mecha-
nization, thus establishing industrial value creation through manufacturing (Nuvolari,
2018). The second revolution introduced electricity to industrial value creation.
Technologies that harnessed electricity profoundly impacted the industrial value
DOI: 10.1201/9781003097945-2 13
creation process through mass production. The introduction of information commu-

nication technologies (ICT) and digital electronics marked the third stage of industri-
alization. The technologies at this stage further enhanced the industrial value creation
process through automation of industrial processes (Nuvolari, 2018). Another wave
of technological developments that will further enhance industrial value creation has
been noted, emanating from the late 2010s. These technological developments are
based on the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), or Industry 4.0. The IIoT enables a
new level of connectivity and real-time information exchange for the industrial value
creation process (Müller, Veile, & Voigt, 2020b).
The technologies underpinning IIoT, such as Big Data, Cyber-Physical Systems
(CPS), Cloud, and the Internet of Things (IoT), promise to further enhance industrial
value creation through digitizing, connecting, and autonomizing the value creation
chains. This enables manufacturing to be “smart” – leading to an optimized and more
efficient value creation process (Müller, Veile, & Voigt, 2020b). IIoT’s promises of
efficiency also coincide with the growing global awareness of environmental, eco-
nomic, and social issues. It is widely accepted that to ensure future sustainability and
competitiveness, the industry cannot just pursue profit alone. Growing environmen-
tal and social problems require that the industry shift from focusing purely on profit.
They must balance the need for profit while protecting the interests of the planet and
people (Müller & Voigt, 2018). Hence, the industry’s current and future focus is
shifting towards an industrial value creation process that is sustainable on three
fronts – economy, environment, and social. Ensuring the protection of the biosphere,
which houses both industry and people, will influence current and future competi-
tiveness for industry, as an industry also relies on people (Dantas et al., 2021).
As a result of its technical nature, current literature on IIoT has focused exten-
sively on its feasibility and influence from a technical perspective. Studies that focus
on the integration and influence of IIoT technologies such as Big Data in addressing
environmental issues and subsequent value creation are scant (Müller, Veile, & Voigt,
2020b). This paper, therefore, asks the question: How can IIoT technologies influ-
ence sustainable value creation?
Focusing on specific IIoT technologies can enhance understanding of the poten-
tial effect of IIoT on sustainable value creation. In addition, most studies on IIoT
have come from a wide array of approaches. However, technology-specific frame-
works upon which to base empirical analyses are still lacking in this emerging
research (Müller, Buliga, & Voigt, 2020a). Therefore, the conceptual framework pro-
posed in this chapter can assist in further understanding the potential influence of
IIoT towards sustainable value creation.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Sustainable Value Creation
Sustainable development’s inception is linked to the Brundtland Commission of
1987, in which experts and scientists acknowledged the negative effects anthropo-
genic activities were having on the biosphere (Olawumi & Chan, 2018). Hence,
according to the report, corrective action must be undertaken to ensure the continued
The Application and Influence of IIoT 15
uninhibited operation of the biosphere, which serves the dual functions of resource
provider and anthropogenic emissions sink. Thus, development from that juncture
needed to be sustainable, i.e., to focus on satisfying present needs without negatively
impacting the future generation’s ability to satisfy their own need (Hoff, Gausset, &
Lex, 2019). Hence, economic development should be within the threshold of the
environment while addressing societal needs.
Sustainable value creation is thus defined as a value creation process that makes a
positive contribution to sustainable development by considering the three dimensions
(Stock, Obenaus, Kunz, & Kohl, 2018). Incorporating sustainable development dimen-
sions can come through several different means, such as its innovation process – allowing
the entrepreneurial firm to have an innovative business model (Stock et al., 2018).
A firm’s innovation ability is an essential antecedent in its quest to attain sustain-
able value creation. A firm’s innovation practices in the present age should be geared
towards addressing environmental, economic, and social sustainability challenges in
this present age of rapid technological advancement driven by IIoT or Industry 4.0.
As sustainable value creation challenges mount in the present era, the realization of
sustainable value creation is one of the key aims of IIoT-based technological advance-
ments. Therefore, IIoT and its technologies are expected to play a formidable role in
the sustainable value creation process in the ensuing decades (Ranta, Aarikka-
Stenroos, & Väisänen, 2021).
INDUSTRIAL INTERNET OF THINGS (IIOT)

IIoT traces its genesis to the German government’s initiative to ensure the country’s
manufacturing industry (Kiel, Müller, Arnold, & Voigt, 2017; Müller, Kiel, & Voigt,
2018). The initiative, also referred to as Industry 4.0, leverages advancements in
information communication technology development to digitize and integrate the dif-
ferent value chain elements horizontally, vertically, and in end engineering (Vaidya,
Ambad, & Bhosle, 2018). Numerous manufacturing regions have drawn inspiration
from IIoT (Industry 4.0) and launched their iterations of this initiative. For instance,
under its “Made in China 2025” manifesto, China’s iteration looks to capitalize on
connectivity technologies to position China as a leading industrial power (Müller &
Voigt, 2018). South Korea’s iteration aims to digitize the country’s industries. The
European Union’s (EU) version aims to manufacture and remain competitive glob-
ally, simultaneously sustainably. Meanwhile, in the United States, this iteration is an
industry led by an industry members’ consortium (Müller & Voigt, 2018).
IIoT’s ability to usher in unprecedented connectivity and integration of sustain-
able value creation is facilitated by several core technologies such as CPS, Cloud,
and IoT (Frank, Dalenogare, & Ayala, 2019). CPS features electronics such as sen-
sors and data processors that enable firms to capture data in real time. Advances in
these electronics technologies, such as light-dependent resistors (LDR), have enabled
firms to capture more parameters of data during their industrial value creation process
(Sawant, Bondre, Joshi, Tambavekar, & Deshmukh, 2018). This captured data can
then be instantaneously fed to the cloud for access across the industrial process’s
value chain activities to enhance the monitoring and control of the process (Mhatre &
Rai, 2017). IoT also enables machines and other critical components of the value
Big Data & Analytics
Data
Data Data
CPS Cloud IoT
FIGURE 2.1 Technologies underpinning IIoT.
creation process to communicate vital data to humans or other machines along the
industrial value process (Suresh et al., 2020). Hence, it can also become self-aware
or “smart”. This constant stream of data from industrial value creation elements in
increasingly large volumes, higher velocity, and various formats would require the
infrastructure to assimilate this data (Suresh et al., 2020). Not only must the data be
assimilated, but it must also be analyzed in real time and utilized to unlock the poten-
tial value it may add to the sustainable industrial value creation process (Desai,
2018). The constant data exchange is all linked via the cloud, as data from the IIoT
technologies is uploaded to the cloud. Figure 2.1 highlights the interconnectedness of
the IIoT technologies, which creates the stream of data.
Uploading to the cloud enables the data to be accessible by the other dimensions
of IIoT across the entire value creation process. Hence, to use this data for entrepre-
neurial value creation, firms need to have in place the necessary data and analytics
infrastructure (Serrano, 2021).
BIG DATA AND ANALYTICS INFRASTRUCTURE

Data exchange is at the heart of IIoT. Various sensors within CPS and IoT increase
the parameters of data that can be collected within the organizational value cre-
ation process (Suresh et al., 2020). The intensive data being generated by these
IIoT technologies requires the necessary data infrastructure to be assimilated, pro-
cessed, and actioned in a rapid manner (Desai, 2018). Leveraging value from this
large stream of data requires analytics to be conducted, and the results are com-
municated to d ecision-making elements in real-time (Lin, Jun, Hongyan, Zhongwei,
& Zhanfang, 2018). As this data comes in various forms, the Big Data infrastruc-
ture must also be capable of coping with and aggregating the different structures
that this data comes in (Campos, Sharma, Gabiria, Jantunen, & Baglee, 2017). For
example, different sensors capture different parameters of data that may result in
structured, unstructured, or semi-structured data (Campos et al., 2017) as explained
by Figure 2.2.
• Data that is maintained in

Unstructured Data the same format it was
collected
• E.g. Audio
• Data not having a

predefined format due to
Semi-Structured Data having separators
• E.g. Extensible Markup
Language (XML)
• Data in a defined format

Structured Data i.e numeric or
alphanumeric
• E.g. Database
FIGURE 2.2 Summary of the different structures of data.
The capability of firms to ingest, prepare, store, and model this data hinges on
their Big Data infrastructure. Some of the infrastructures that enable real-time big
data analytics include algorithms, software, hardware for data mining, data pro-
cessing, and data security (Das & Dash, 2021). These infrastructures ensure com-
patibility and modularity of the data, enabling firms’ value creation activities to
be connected in a consistent manner (Oussous, Benjelloun, Ait Lahcen, & Belfkih,
2018). Furthermore, the advancement of communication network technologies
has seen the emergence of the fifth generation of network communication tech-
nology that can boost data transfer speeds and effectively reduce data transfer
latency. This fifth generation of network technology, also known as “5G”, prom-
ises to exponentiate the capacity of firms to capture, process, store, and utilize
data, further boosting a firm’s real-time big data analytics capability (Chettri &
Bera, 2020).
THE PROPOSED SUSTAINABLE VALUE CREATION FRAMEWORK

This chapter proposes a framework that can help understand how IIoT technolo-
gies could influence sustainable value creation. According to Barney (1991), the
resource-based view (RBV) of the firm postulates that leveraging knowledge from
data and information can enhance the firm’s entrepreneurial decision-making pro-
cess. This can subsequently result in the firm realizing competitive advantage.
The RBV, thus, showcases how value (competitive advantage) can be created and
sustained by firms’ via resource and capability (Alvarez & Barney, 2017; Barney,
1991). Figure 2.3 gives an illustration of the proposed sustainable value creation
network.
Entrepreneurial Decision-making
Capability
• CPS • Sustainable Value
• IoT Creation
• Cloud • Big Data & Analytics
Competitive
Resource
Advantage
Data
FIGURE 2.3 Proposed framework.
RESOURCE
Looking at sustainable value creation from the resource-based view theoretical lens,
data is a useful resource at the disposal of firms. It can provide useful information
upon which knowledge can be built (Sampson Abeeku, Mary, & Divine Quazie,
2020). Data can be sourced from various points along the value creation chain of the
firm. Examples of such sources include sensors, actuators, Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID), and barcode tags/readers, as well as other Near Field
Communication (NFC)-enabled technologies for inventory and tracking purposes
(Suresh et al., 2020). Apart from inventory and production lines, other crucial data
sources include Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and Point of
Sale (POS) systems (Bosi et al., 2020). In IIoT, CPS and IoT technologies enable
firms to acquire data from the aforementioned sources of their value creation process
(Ilin, Levina, Borremans, & Kalyazina, 2021).
Furthermore, the advent of 5G network technology further exponentiates the size
and availability of data that entrepreneurial firms can utilize for value creation
(Bärring et al., 2018). However, data, although valuable even in its raw state, is often
meaningless if unprocessed. Hence, once generated or ingested by a firm, the data
needs to be processed into information so that it can become meaningful and useful
in decision-making (Arunkumar & Kannimuthu, 2020).
CAPABILITY
The clusters and assets equipped with sensors capture data and communicates in real
time to the cloud, where it can be accessed by other assets and clusters in the value
chain. This helps keep the assets in an optimized setting, increasing the assets’ pro-
ductivity (Stock et al., 2018). In addition, data can also be analyzed to help manage
the assets and keep decision-making in line with real-time developments. It is the
analysis of data that can be the basis of a firm’s capability. This is because firms can
differentiate their data analytics capabilities based on the algorithms they develop or
adopt. Although firms can outsource their data analytics, firms with the capability to
develop a unique in-house machine or deep learning algorithms can make better and
unique decisions based on their distinct and proprietary algorithm (Cavalcante,
Frazzon, Forcellini, & Ivanov, 2019). Examples include analysis of production costs
data through machine learning or the use of data derived from production processes
or product lines to model a digital replica. The digital replica of the real-life object
can be used to run simulations that may not be feasible or practical in the real world
due to cost, time, or other organizational constraints (Di Vaio et al., 2020; Gaikwad
et al., 2020).
Furthermore, the development or attainment of digital capabilities through ser-
vitization enables firms to add a digital dimension to their value creation processes.
This subsequently enables firms to deliver greater value to their customers by includ-
ing service provision in value creation and delivery, i.e., firms do not just focus on
creating a distinct product. Instead, they enhance the product to include services.
This has resulted in a proliferation of the servitized or “as-a-service” business model
as firms seek to servitize their value creation process (Hung, 2019). The “as-a-service”
approach enables firms to differentiate themselves based on the value created, espe-
cially in this current age where economic value derived from manufacturing needs to
be coupled with ecological value. Practical application of the “as-a-service” business
model can be seen in the emergence of various forms of data servitization capabili-
ties such as Data Analytics-as-a-service (DAaaS) (Unhelkar & Trivikram Rao,
2020), Data Science-as-a-Service (DSaaS) (Elshawi, Sakr, Talia, & Trunfio, 2018),
and Data Mining-as-a-Service (DMaS) (Del Giudice et al., 2021; Dong et al., 2020).
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
The expected results of Big Data’s real-time analytics capability are reduced down-
time, idle time, production errors, and overproduction (Stock et al., 2018). Data can
also be available to stakeholders and members of the value chain so that they may
be well informed of the impacts of their activities (Bonilla, Silva, Terra da Silva,
Franco Gonçalves, & Sacomano, 2018). All these results in reduced energy usage
and waste generation whilst concurrently increasing asset efficiency – a sustainable
value creation process (Müller et al., 2018). Furthermore, data mined from the vari-
ous data points still needs to run through analytics systems so that meaningful infor-
mation can be deduced from it. This is where analytics for Big Data plays a critical
role, i.e., deriving information from the data, usually from in-house, open-source
and/or proprietary analytics software (Adamu et al., 2021; Bosse, Nahhas, Pohl, &
Turowski, 2019).
Once the firm’s decision-makers are furnished with meaningful information
from the analyzed data, they can make decisions in line with the competitive nature
of their business environment. In fact, entrepreneurial firms that can capture, lever-
age, and perform analytics of the data closer to the point of a collection can make
further savings to energy use, further reducing waste generated whilst increasing
the efficient utilization of the firm’s assets. Furthermore, the firm’s privacy, data
security, and bottom-line performance are all simultaneously improved due to
Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5
•Data •Data •Data •Advanced •Connecvity

Extracon Repository Exploitaon Analycs (Ulizaon)
Tools Lab
Big Data
Advanced Analytics
FIGURE 2.4 Example of data pipeline in commercial application with Repsol. Source:
Repsol (2019).
developing a real-time analytics capability (Pääkkönen & Pakkala, 2020; Shahzad

et al., 2020a, 2020b).
Such is the importance of Big Data and analytics capabilities in securing and sus-
taining the future that many firms across numerous sectors are embracing or drafting
digital strategies. For instance, companies in the energy sector such as Repsol con-
sider obtaining digital capabilities such as data and analytics as being one of the key
components in their strategy. The potential of value derived from data and analytics
is best illustrated by Repsol’s ability to leverage data from over 6 million customers,
i.e., approximately 100 million transactions per year. Development and application
of data analytics techniques such as machine learning could help Repsol predict
future customer behavior and make entrepreneurial decisions such as optimal pricing
of their products and services. However, to also ensure that the transition to sustain-
ability does not just focus on the economic aspect, data models are also utilized and
applied to find the optimum blends of crude and process optimization and simulation.
The application of data analytics ensures the efficiency of refineries’ operations; it
also ensures that the carbon intensity of refinery operations is lowered (Repsol,
2019). Figure 2.4 illustrates the pipeline of data and analytics of Repsol.
Hence, firms must develop some form of digital strategy to leverage and capitalize
on the big data made available by IIoT technologies. The IIoT technologies data can
help firms develop data lakes to analyze and make informed decisions in the value
creation process.
CONCLUSION
This chapter analyzed the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) potential applications,
also known as Industry 4.0, and technologies towards sustainable value creation.
From this overview of the applicability, data was identified as being at the core of
IIoT. Developments in digital electronics have enabled firms to capture more param-
eters of data. Hence, data is generated and exchanged between the IIoT technologies
constantly. The data exchange process is linked to all other IIoT technologies and the
rest of the organization via the cloud. This data is in increasing volume and arriving
at a higher velocity and in a variety of formats. To cope with this, firms need to have
the necessary infrastructure to ingest, assimilate, and process this data. Hence, Big
Data infrastructure is a necessary component. In addition to coping with the sheer

volume of data, firms also need to have the analytics infrastructure to analyze and
model this data for decision-making. The analytics needs to be conducted and com-
municated in real time. Other IIoT technologies and humans involved in the value
creation process can make the necessary decisions that increase efficiency and reduce
energy usage and wastage. Analytics enable decision making, even in real time,
which is a critical capability in value creation. These aspects contribute towards mak-
ing the process sustainable and ensures that the firm can be competitive. An example
of such application is provided for a leading energy sector firm’s application of Big
Data and analytics to optimize refinery operations to lower carbon intensity. Future
research can have a deeper look at aspects within the sustainable industrial value
creation process that IIoT can further enhance. Also, given that IIoT can potentially
impact industries by allowing new innovative business models, it would be interest-
ing if future research could investigate the influence of IIoT on firms that focus on
ecological innovations. Future research could also take a context-specific approach
to applying IIoT technologies towards sustainable value creation. For example, dif-
ferent industries and sectors may utilize IIoT differently to ensure sustainable devel-
opment. This can be seen in the importance of sustainable value creation in certain
sectors, such as energy, especially towards optimizing energy generation and distri-
bution. It would be interesting to note how energy transmission and distribution com-
panies could benefit from analyzing large data sets generated from Internet Protocol
(IP)-enabled digital meters for consumers. Lastly, empirical testing would help to
validate this proposed framework.
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3 Robotic Process
Automation (RPA) in
Global Business Services
(GBS)
New Insights for
Entrepreneurs
Dayana Jalaludin, Siti Nursyahirah Abd Aziz, and
Eng Kar Seong
Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
CONTENTS
Global Business Services – the New Way of Business�� 26
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) – an Introduction�� 26
Blockchain��27
Artificial Intelligence�� 27
Virtual Agent�� 27
Cybersecurity�� 27
Robotic Process Automation�� 27
Feasibility of RPA in Supporting Management Functions�� 29
Implementation Pathways of RPA in the Organization�� 31
Establishing Strategic Goals�� 31
Critical Process Assessment�� 32
Tactical Evaluation�� 32
The RPA Maturity Model�� 33
Level 1 Pilot�� 33
Level 2 Ramp Up�� 34
Level 3 Operations at Scale�� 34
Level 4 World Class�� 34
Challenges of RPA Implementation�� 34
Morale Impact on Employees�� 35
High Cost of Robot Maintenance�� 35
Limitation of RPA�� 35
Conclusion�� 35
References�� 36
DOI: 10.1201/9781003097945-3 25
GLOBAL BUSINESS SERVICES – THE NEW WAY OF BUSINESS

Global Business Services (GBS), sometimes known as Global Business Centre, is a
new business model where GBS exists as a one-stop center that provides various
functional solutions, often completing the whole beginning-to-end cycle. For
instance, a GBS center located in Penang, Malaysia, provides procurement-to-
payment service for its various business units located in various countries on the
Asian and European continents. Here, GBS specializes in providing related financial
services for its various wings operating in different parts of the world. In this new
business model of a ‘one-stop service center’, work functions are highly centralized,
thus integrating work and business processes with governance. The arrangement of
this new business model is practical as it allows optimization of processes and lowers
costs, where a GBS may focus on managing administrative employees and resources,
leaving the business with more space to focus on managing the customers and
increasing productivity.
GBS differs from traditional shared-services organizations as GBS groups empha-
size optimizing their workforce specialists from various functional areas such as IT,
human resources, finance, and many more. GBS handles a range of processes that
take a system on services from beginning to end and deliver complete functional
solutions. Meanwhile, the traditional shared-services organizations would focus only
on supporting tasks associated with a single function. Among the main advantages of
GBS is its flexible business structure, which allows for responses and solutions being
provided in a fast and systematic manner to the customers, thus promoting good
internal customer management. GBS employees are located not only in the office,
but work may also happen both in the office and at home.
Considering the fast development that comes with Industrial Revolution 4.0
(IR 4.0), GBS has become a familiar scene in many global businesses, especially
those that foresee the importance of leveraging the new technology as part of their
competitive strategy. The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system software, in
particular, is used for daily business tasks as it allows for integration and automation
of many functions along the administrative chain, including risk management, finan-
cial management, customer management, project management, and value chain man-
agement. This chapter explores how GBS units may function with the support of
emerging technology such as Robotic Process Automation (RPA), a part of the ERP
system. It specifically discusses how automation and artificial intelligence support
accounting and finance functions and give more room for service efficiency and cost-
saving, particularly for multinational companies.
ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION (RPA) – AN INTRODUCTION

The technological development that comes together with Industrial Revolution 4.0
has allowed business firms to adopt various techniques to enhance their business
operations, mainly when they are huge, with subsidiaries operating in different parts
of the globe. Among these technologies are blockchain, artificial intelligence, virtual
agent, cybersecurity, and robotic process automation.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) 27
Blockchain
The blockchain is a digital ledger of economic transactions that allows the sharing
and updates of related information by many users in the network. Here, all users
would be alerted and informed whenever there are any network transactions
(Ammous, 2016).
Artificial Intelligence
On the other hand, artificial intelligence (AI) is an intelligent machine that can mimic
human actions when performing tasks. Among the examples of AI would be a self-
driving car and drone. The specialty of AI lies in its ability to learn and recognize the
pattern that emerges from a big volume of data, such as language processing, machine
learning, and deep learning (Ammous, 2016).
Virtual Agent
In today’s world, effective communication must happen fast and go beyond dis-
tance and time zone to a world-class business to remain competitive. Computer-
generated technology such as the virtual agent plays the role of a customer service
representative. It allows for intelligent conversation with the users, enabling ade-
quate responses and behavior by business firms when being approached by their
customers (Lun, n.d.).
Cybersecurity
Given that the virtual world is now as important as our physical world, cyberse-
curity is a crucial aspect of today’s business organization to ensure a business
firm’s integrity and assurance of confidentiality. Invulnerable defense from threats
such as malware and viruses can be put in place only when there is a strong foot-
hold on cybersecurity that encompasses “tools, policies, security concepts, secu-
rity safeguards, guidelines, risk guidelines, risk management approaches, actions,
training, best practices, assurance and technologies that can be used to protect the
cyber environment and organization and user's assets” (ITU, 2009; Syed et al.,
2020).
Robotic Process Automation

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a new approach to business processes automa-
tion. RPA is a construct of three main elements, i.e., automation, process, and robot
(Anagnoste, 2017). A robot means software or machine that can be programmed to
resemble a human being and replicate certain human movements and functions.
Meanwhile, the process is a series of work done to achieve certain goals, and objec-
tive and automation are the changes of work from manual operation to another form
of operation (Chacón-Montero, Jiménez-Ramírez & Enríquez, 2019).
Generally, the utilization of RPA allows humans to focus on more value-added

work as it takes over repetitive tasks and produces error-free results. Through RPA,
tasks may be replicated and repeated within a system and between different systems
(Kappagantula, 2019; Sing, 2019). Figure 3.1 depicts the general uses of RPA in the
organization, which include: (1) generation of a report via automated extraction of
data; (2) quality assurance via regression testing processes and automated case sce-
narios; (3) full-fledged, error-free data migration; (4) performing multiple tasks via
data processing and manipulation; (5) information validation and auditing as it
checks on compliance and cross-verifies data; and (6) technical debt management via
custom in-house generated software that aims to reduce the gap between systems.
There are several benefits of RPA. Firstly, it can achieve cost savings for GBS as
well as for entrepreneurs. With automation of work processes, administrative costs
can be reduced by up to 50%. This is because the RPA can automate the manual
works. It is expected that GBS has a lot of repetitive processes, while for start-up or
small entrepreneurs’ businesses, there are many manual administrative works.
Secondly, it is 24 hours and 365 days of productivity. It simply means that by using
RPA, productivity can be increased and maximized. Robots can work around the
clock, day and night, weekdays and weekends, nonstop. Human labor can work only
during working hours, and if needed to work overtime or during weekends, there is
additional labor cost on overtime payment. Thirdly, it increases the speed to com-
plete the tasks. RPA can reduce the time spent on labor-intensive or repetitive tasks
by 25%. Lastly, accuracy can be assured. Robots don’t get judgment calls, and they
do not get tired. It can avoid human mistakes or errors, especially when there is a
huge repetitive manual works to be performed (Gupta, 2018).
Automated
report
generation
Technical
Quality
debt
Assurance
management
General
use of
RPA
Information
Data
validation
migraon
and auditing.
Perform
Multiple
Tasks.
FIGURE 3.1 General use of RPA. Source: Kappagantula (2019); Sing (2019).
There are two ways that GBS can leverage RPA. The first way is through out-
sourcing. Some GBS are engaging consultation firms like Deloitte, KPMG, or BDO
to automate their internal processes using RPA. The second way is to have an internal
team that specializes in RPA. This is somewhat more challenging yet sustainable for
GBS, and most of the GBS is having an RPA-specialized team internally. One GBS,
IBM, acquired a Brazil-based RPA provider to support extreme automation, enabling
IBM to have in-house RPA automation capabilities (IBM, 2020).
On the other hand, the entrepreneur Michael Dell, who owns the GBS of Dell
Technologies in several countries, also started to use RPA to automate his business
processes. Not only was Michael Dell an early user of RPA, but his company was one
of the pioneer companies to implement the bots for the human resource process by
using RPA (Automation Anywhere, 2020a). Some GBS has also formed the RPA
Ambassador group to promote the RPA and guide the respective functions in using
RPA software.
GBS of large multinational companies often use RPA to automate processes.
However, for entrepreneurs who are just beginning their start-up journey, usually,
RPA is not a priority for them, as they are focused more on product development,
sales, and hiring. However, start-up entrepreneurs often encounter the same issues
that larger firms or GBS do, although it is just on a smaller scale and could benefit
significantly from automation technologies from the start. RPA has become accessi-
ble enough, and it is easy for start-ups to benefit from the technology almost from the
beginning (Malina Platon, 2020). About 90% of businesses worldwide and 99.9% of
companies in the United States fall under the small business category (Saba Mirza,
2020), and they have started to embed RPA into their business. This shows that nowa-
days, entrepreneurs who want to start up the business are required to focus on sales
and automation to achieve competitive advantage and benefit from automation tech-
nologies, including time and cost savings in the long term.
The RPA can launch and operate other software (Frankenfield, 2018), thus giving
it superiority in carrying various types of tasks in specific orders, either high or low
in volume, repetitive or recurring on a low scale, and involving a substantial or small
amount of data. However, the RPA also has its limitations. It can function only based
on the program formatted on the software, and any discrepancies would disable the
processing system. In other words, processing and decision-making via RPA can
happen only when structured data are accompanying it and the business rules have
been explicitly defined. Furthermore, as the RPA is automated based on limited
thinking ability, it lacks common sense in making a complex judgment. Any error in
the coding or robotic framework will lead to repetitive errors until the flaws are cor-
rected. The GBS uses two common software of RPA, which is Automation Anywhere
(AA) and UiPath.
FEASIBILITY OF RPA IN SUPPORTING MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS

The RPA is an easy and convenient technology for GBS firms. These organizations
operate beyond borders hence involving communications that cross different coun-
tries, time zone, and local cultures. In the GBS business model, tasks need to be
performed with a high standardization process involving formalized processes,
considering there is usually involvement of huge data and long-distance interaction

by parties from different parts of the world. In short, the processes’ efficiency can
happen only when there is a standardization of inputs, streamlining of processes, and
continuous improvement of the system (Deloitte, 2018; Ali et al., 2021). As for start-
up or small entrepreneurs, RPA can help perform administrative tasks such as open
files or web pages, look for specified data, cut and paste data from one application to
another, fill out forms, and a lot more. It is something like digital and virtual employ-
ees in a digital workforce, working alongside to help entrepreneurs thrive (Automation
Anywhere, 2020b). This can help start-up entrepreneurs when they have challenges
in hiring the right person in the right position. They do not need to hire a local
employee with high wages to perform a high volume of repetitive tasks or hire the
high expatriate cost on commission and visa. Start-up entrepreneurs need to develop
the bots by RPA on repetitive and manual tasks. It is always easier to adopt the RPA
at the beginning stage rather than to adopt it later when all the systems and processes
have been developed. Software providers such as Automation Anywhere and UiPath
do provide the training for the users. Many resources are also available to help the
users to build the bots. The tools and functions of the software are user-friendly and
easy to use as it is a drag-and-drop process workflow design.
The RPA, when being utilized correctly, would fulfill the requirements mentioned
earlier due to its ability to provide continuous and error-free services. Robots can
work 24 hours a day year-round and perform tasks strictly according to instructions,
thus eliminating the non-value-added work throughout the processes. Additionally,
the highly automated work environment provided via RPA implementation does not
require any special skills on the part of the end user, allowing smooth deployment of
present tasks and easy transformation when there is migration in the systems. Here,
all that is required would be software programming changes, and it would not involve
re-training employees or hiring new staff. Such conditions give high empowerment
on the employees’ side and benefit the GBS firms in terms of time savings, cost
reduction, and resource optimization (Nizri, 2017; ACCA 2018).
In many aspects of the accounting and finance functions, some of the tasks may
be repetitive, while others may need to be conducted via several types of tasks in a
specific order. For example, at the logistic part of a GBS firm, the RPA ensures
smooth processing of information from the websites of transport companies, forms
the pool of orders, and confirms the order execution. Here, the accounting and finance
function of the GBS would rely on the efficiency of RPA in supporting the manage-
ment of bulk orders involving invoice processing, sales execution, and customer ser-
vices (Frankenfield, 2018). Here, the robots would load information into the
accounting system, subsequently starting processing orders by integrating the infor-
mation with various departments. Using RPA on accounting and finance functions at
the beginning stage for start-up entrepreneurs is relatively more straightforward.
They can engage external consulting firms to help to automate the accounting and
finance function in the first place. After deploying the bots on accounting and finance
functions, the enterprise can train their internal accountants to maintain and use the
bots to perform daily accounting tasks like matching the invoices with shipping doc-
uments or monthly accounting activities such as journal booking and balance sheet
reconciliation.
Another example of RPA implementation is in the area of human resource (HR)

management. The robots can detect and manage the large bulk of information involv-
ing the thousands of employees in the GBS firms in an error-free and fast manner. In
terms of recruitment and staff management, the RPA system permits resumes from
various locations, allowing the detection of suitable human talent, thus resulting in
better human resource optimization. In any organization, there will always be changes
involving HR policies from time to time. Through RPA, there would be smooth coor-
dination between the HR and accounting and finance function, thus allowing easy
adaptation in payroll and other related benefits (Frankenfield, 2018).
IMPLEMENTATION PATHWAYS OF RPA IN THE ORGANIZATION

The following conceptual model provides a general guideline for how business firms
may implement RPA in a structured manner (Santos, Pereira, & Vasconcelos, 2019).
This model can be utilized by organizations in implementing RPA for the first time
or to improvise their current RPA usage. There are three main steps in using this
model, i.e., strategic goals, process assessment, and tactical evaluation (Figure 3.2).
Establishing Strategic Goals

The first step in RPA implementation is to establish the alignment between automa-
tion and its present goals. Establishing the right strategic goals when automation is
put in place is essential to guiding the whole process and motivating the users. During
this first step, the advantages of having the RPA and its disadvantages and limitations
must be clearly spelled out to ensure all the objectives set would be suitable, achiev-
able, and realistic. Additionally, future challenges that come with the new technology
and the long-term planning must also be taken into perspective. GBS or start-up
entrepreneurs are all required to establish strategic goals by considering automation.
This is because the initial investment and subsequent payment on an RPA license is
high. Fifty percent of companies with RPA initiatives have fewer than ten bots in
production (IBM, 2020). It shows that half of the companies with RPA are not fully
utilized RPA. Thus, businesses must include automation and digitalization in strate-
gic goals. DHL Global Forwarding, Freight (DGFF) is improving its finance and
logistics processes across its five GBS. DGFF included automation in its goal: to
FIGURE 3.2 RPA conceptual model. Source: Santos, Pereira, and Vasconcelos (2019).
create a global process automation hub to remove non-added-value processes within

the entire organization (UiPath, 2020). Before using RPA, DGFF had a team of 30
employees complete the same process. Using UiPath, one of the RPA software, 15 of
these employees changed their roles to higher-value, more rewarding work. It saves
50% of manpower by using RPA (DHL, n.d.).
Critical Process Assessment

Selecting the correct process is vital to ensure that the automation using RPA would
meet its intended objectives in an effective, efficient, and cost-saving manner. For
instance, a thorough checklist regarding the features that constitute a process would
provide some directions to help a firm decide on the suitability of automation for the
process chosen. Here, automation’s reliability, especially in generating return on
investment as scheduled, would be evaluated to avoid investment wastage. It is also
vital to pay some attention to foreseeing the future challenges and consequences that
may arise due to the disadvantages of RPA. Such an attitude would also assist in
preventing the firm from choosing the wrong processes to automate. For example,
the automation of low-volume processes that currently require only a small number
of employees may not benefit the firm, particularly in covering its monetary and non-
monetary costs. Both GBS and entrepreneurs must perform a cost-benefit analysis
before starting the automation by RPA on the processes. It needs to balance the time
spent on automating the process, which depends on the complexity of the process
and the time saved. Usually, there is a checklist or automation feasibility assessment
template to be filled for each process that is going to be automated by RPA. This is to
assess if the process is feasible and suitable to be automated by RPA.
The feasibility assessment template consists of two categories. The first category
is process input. In this section, the subject matter expert in GBS, or users, or entre-
preneurs must check if the process input is an electronic format, scanned format, hard
copy, unstructured input, or structured input. If the process input is mostly unstruc-
tured input or hard copy and scanned format, it is harder to automate by RPA. The
second category is technical feasibility. This section focuses on whether the process
involves other software like Citrix, Oracle, or any other software and whether it
includes judgmental decision-making such as credit assessment. If it involves judg-
mental decision-making, the feasibility will be lower (Kopper, Rodrigues, Zomb &
Zuccolillo, 2020).
Tactical Evaluation
Once the process to be automated has been identified, the next step is to map to
accomplish the targeted results. Tactical evaluation is mainly about planning to get
the job done, thus achieving the strategic objectives set earlier. Among the factors
considered during this stage are time, money, the talent available, and the risks and
challenges encountered. The tactical evaluation approach would lead to determining
the most efficient way to optimize the resources and achieve quality results. Through
tactical evaluation, the judgment regarding the value of the RPA for the selected
process would be reported. In this stage, businesses start to plan the timeline to
automate the process with the necessary resources. For GBS, approval is needed by
the management, and the timeline is planned and set by the in-house RPA developer.
For entrepreneurs, it is a bit different from GBS, as the entrepreneurs need to ensure
the availability of fund and budget, the number of resources to be involved, the tar-
geted timeline to complete, or if is outsourced the process to automate, then the
considerations and planning will be more towards the communications with consul-
tation firms in explaining the internal process.
The RPA Maturity Model

Once a firm has implemented the RPA, it is essential to know its maturity level to
progress further by strategizing for improvement and moving to the next ideal level.
There are four RPA maturity advancements, starting with Pilot, Ramp-up, Operations
at Scale, and World Class. Here, the maturity level would reflect the capabilities of an
organization regarding its RPA implementation (Rosemann & Bruin, 2005). It
describes how systems, processes, and firms progress and evolve as defined, imple-
mented, and improved (Clark & Jones, 1999). A consistent definition of the levels is
also crucial in making sure the progression of the business is well-tracked (Figure 3.3).
Level 1 Pilot
The pilot stage is the starting point of RPA execution. The RPA is initiated in the firm
via a small-scale project where the feasibility and achievability of automation would
be carried out during this stage before the firm goes all out and continues with the full
project implementation. The pilot stage enables the employees to gradually adapt to
the changes which would affect their daily routines and tasks. During this stage, the
acceleration of learning happens among the users, creating the best practices for the
next projects. The pilot stage is essential as it enables a business to control the under-
lying risks and foreseen negative impacts before committing to a more substantial
amount of resources in the future.
The setup of the objectives, particularly on the areas that the firm intends to auto-
mate, and the setup of the expectations in terms of best- and worst-case scenarios are
among the main steps during the pilot stage. A pilot project cannot be too simple, and
issues and flaws that arise during this stage must be viewed as a learning process and
not a failure. Mistakes may happen during this initial stage, but what is more
Level 4
Level 3 World Class
Level 2 Operations
at Scale
Level 1 Ramp Up
Pilot
FIGURE 3.3 RPA maturity level framework. Source: https://www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/

WZRJZR8Q.
important is making room for improvement before the firm advances its RPA imple-
mentation into the ramp-up level.
Level 2 Ramp Up
Once the pilot stage is successful, the firm can gradually increase the implementation
of RPA and move to the ramp-up level where there would be an expansion of RPA
implementation into single or multiple lines of business. Here, greater attention is typi-
cally given towards opportunity identification, process design, and build-out of robots.
During this stage, the focus would be largely on establishing the best practices to
automate the selected process and expanding on the internal automation and expertise
of the RPA technology. The ramp-up level is often related to the venture capital aspect
of the firm as it gives answers regarding the return of investment achievement.
Level 3 Operations at Scale

Scalability is about having enough capacity and capability to operate at scale. It
relates to whether a firm has enough funds and expertise to operate the process via
RPA at scale. The Enterprise level of RPA is an end-to-end program starting with a
vision, strategy, governance, measurement, and operational capabilities. A firm needs
to set up a transparent governance model when planning to operate at scale. There
needs to be clarity on the person in charge before, during, and after RPA implementa-
tion, particularly one who manages the material and processes RPA will handle, and
how each employee will be involved with RPA. A strong foundation must be put in
place to create highly adaptable robots that work well alongside the engaged human
workforce to achieve the desired outcomes. The implementation of RPA at scale
requires responsive technological support from the Information Technology side in
the firm.
Level 4 World Class

World class means scaling up the implementation of RPA beyond the enterprise
level. The firm might want to move forward by adopting transformative components
into its RPA program, given its successful RPA implementation at the enterprise
level. Integration between RPA with other technology such as Artificial Intelligence
(AI), Cognitive Machine Reading (CMR), and also Machine Learning (ML) could
give more benefit to the firm. For example, the integration of RPA and AI would
enable unstructured data to be processed without employers’ intervention, where pre-
viously, RPA could work only with structured data.
CHALLENGES OF RPA IMPLEMENTATION

Besides its technical related issues (as discussed in the introductory part of the
chapter), the RPA possessed three main challenges that need to be addressed by the
firm wisely, i.e., the moral impact on human employees, the high cost of robot main-
tenance, and the limitation of RPA.
Morale Impact on Employees

The replacement of humans with robots and the relocation of employees to work on
another task may create tension among employees. Some employees may be reluc-
tant to change, while others may see robots as their opponents and started to be
demotivated in their work. Thus, talent management between humans and robots is a
crucial issue in the RPA environment and needs to be addressed right away during the
early stage of the robotic software execution (The Impact of RPA on Employee
Experience, 2019).
High Cost of Robot Maintenance

The RPA system requires consistent maintenance, which could also be costly to the
firm. The recurring changes due to the updates of the user interface and the robots’
reconfiguration can sometimes be time-consuming and disrupt the firm’s productiv-
ity. On some prior occasions, the RPA team has not been informed earlier by the
software provider about the changes. This created the team's need to continuously
observe the robots (Stople, Steinsund, Jon, & Bygstad, 2017).
Limitation of RPA
Although RPA brings many benefits to businesses, RPA has its limitations. RPA can-
not automate everything. Firstly, handwritten or scanned documents are not able to
be automated by using RPA. RPA requires structured data. This limitation prevents
some GBS or small business entrepreneurs still using hard-copy documents, such as
invoices, shipping documents, payment vouchers, or journal vouchers, from fully
utilizing the RPA. Secondly, those non-rule-based judgment calls are not able to be
automated by RPA. When the processes require some judgment or decision-making,
RPA cannot be automated (Indico, 2019).
CONCLUSION
RPA is an advanced technological tool that can help GBS firms boost their productiv-
ity and quality as it automates the firms’ processes. However, in choosing what task
to be automated, firms should carefully consider the limitation and future challenges
of RPA implementation, especially regarding its effect on the tasks and workforce.
Although RPA may look simple and the implementation of this technology seems
easy. According to Business Today, the failure rate in implementing RPA at the initial
project point can be as high as 30 to 50 percent (Das, 2018). Interestingly, this statis-
tic reflects not a technological flop, but mainly the failure to set up a good framework
and choose the right process to be automated. The automation of a complex project
will contribute to higher risks and the possibility of failure. Hence, any firms that
would like to implement RPA should take cautious steps by understanding the ropes
of its execution, for instance, as guided by the RPA implementation pathways and
progress maturity level. Given that the sky is the limit, we foresee that the future of
RPA implementation in the GBS business model would progress towards integration
between RPA with other advanced technology such as AI, Machine Learning, Natural
Languages Processing, and many more.
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4 Social Entrepreneurship
in an Era of Disruption
Converging Social Change
and Sustainability Through
Big Data Analysis in a
Post-COVID World
Manmeet Bali Nag
Manav Rachna University, India
CONTENTS
Introduction: Nature and Essence of Social Entrepreneurship and Its Variants�� 39
Big Data Leveraging Social Entrepreneurial Mechanisms�� 40
Current Trends and Futuristic Endeavors of Leveraging Big Data Towards
Viable Social and Business Paradigms�� 42
Social Entrepreneurship in the COVID-19 Era: Extrapolating
Models/Interventions From Past and Present�� 45
Monetizing Social Value Creation Through Data: Yunus Social
Business Model�� 46
Initiatives and Associated Dimensions of Disruption, Data,
and Social Innovation�� 46
Big Data Analytics and Innovation: Amazon Business Model
and Social Cause Alignment�� 47
Implications and Challenges Associated with Viable Business Propositions,
in Social Entrepreneurial Perspective�� 47
Conclusion�� 50
Bibliography�� 51
INTRODUCTION: NATURE AND ESSENCE OF SOCIAL

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ITS VARIANTS
With time, social entrepreneurship is advancing as a prime driver in philanthropy
clubbed areas with business ideation. In the pursuit of this endeavor, a societal commit-
ment attains hues of a mission-oriented entrepreneurial venture/model, leading to prof-
its clubbed with a greater good. There has been huge traction in this entrepreneurial
DOI: 10.1201/9781003097945-4 39
terrain in the last few decades, which has amplified voices to attain social goals in
various dimensions and sectors. There is a marked difference between social and
conventional entrepreneurship and its market outreach, and venture capitalization go.
The expanse of social entrepreneurship goes beyond the optics of profit-making
towards the wider horizons of societal enhancement on various benchmarks of liqui-
dating or diluting societal bottlenecks.
The arena of social work and social enterprise stands at the crossroads of unprec-
edented times in history. The interjection of philanthropy in a business model has
given a new meaning to employability and entrepreneurship. The capitalist econ-
omy, nurtured by social endeavors and models which are a harbinger of more sig-
nificant rewards towards a bigger humanistic purpose, is the pursuit. Therefore,
volunteerism, civic responsibility, and community development are becoming a
business-oriented movement wherein social causes intertwine with profits, thereby
creating a win-win situation.
The transformational progress of systems should address a specific societal loop-
hole genre and plug them in to sustain the entrepreneurial ecosystem. A whole ambit
of societal transformation warrants structured channels to divert from routine profit-
making towards community sustainability. This sets the stage for convergence of Big
Data and the social entrepreneurial terrain. Contemporary issues about environmental
problems, climate change, population, poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition, imbalanced
growth, and many huge problems are categories and subcategories of sustainable
entrepreneurship’s more enormous social realm. Entrepreneurship is leveraging Big
Data for proactive solutions.
The convergence of financial stability, profit-centric approach, and social value
creation is at the heart of any social entrepreneurial ecosystem. Some famous socially
relevant business houses lead by the likes of Azim Premji (Wipro) in India, the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation, and so on have attributed great relevance to social
causes clubbed with corporate profits by leveraging Big Data. Big Data as technol-
ogy helps synthesize extensive data about population, market insights, competitors,
and marketing strategies, to form futuristic strategies (Adamu et al., 2021). Innovative
technologies like Artificial Intelligence, augmented reality, blockchain technology,
and the Internet of Things have thrown open many mobile applications for data anal-
ysis, processing, and inventions (Di Vaio et al., 2020). Large and diverse data sets are
being structured, semi-structured, and unstructured with the help of advanced data
analytics techniques, thereby facilitating a Big Data Value Ecosystem of analysts,
researchers, and businesses (Figure 4.1; Cavanillas et al., 2016).
Big Data Leveraging Social Entrepreneurial Mechanisms

Big Data is all prevalent now, and possibilities of its wide applications, for social
good, multiply rapidly with the proliferation of ‘tools’ for collecting, collating, and
analyzing such data. There is a pertinent need to generate and utilize data and build
data systems for policy initiatives in the contemporary pandemic crisis. An emerging
trend for applying Big Data for social good and triggering social change is increas-
ingly noticeable. NASA researchers Michael Cox and David Ellsworth coined the
term Big Data in 1997 to refer to supercomputers generating massive amounts of
information that cannot be processed and visualized (Friedman, 2012).
Social Entrepreneurship in an Era of Disruption 41
FIGURE 4.1 The dimensions of a Big Data Value Ecosystem (adapted from Cavanillas et al.
[2016]).
While Big Data drives corporate profit, it also opens the doors to use Big Data in
social entrepreneurship to alleviate the world’s most intractable problems like health,
environment, strife, hunger, and poverty. Some researchers believe that data analytics
is capable of creating a data bourgeoisie (Crawford, 2013). “A new crop of social
entrepreneurs and activists see opportunities to improve the state of the world by
making sense of the current-day data deluge” (Malik, 2013). Thus, Big Data is likely
to emerge as a critical factor for practitioners in social relief by providing empirical
tools for problem-solving.
Big Data drives the formulation of marketing strategies by monitoring impacts in
real time, thereby creating accurate customer profiles and predicting organizations’
futuristic profitability. Diverse data sets have now proliferated data points ranging from
public records, point of sales systems, sensor data to intrusive cell phone histories,
making it possible to have near accurate correlations with a high degree of precision.
Most of the models and innovative techniques emerge from PPP (public-private
partnerships) or non-profit-making enterprises. In 2007, Ushahidi (2007) helped spur
donations for victims through mapping violence in post-election Kenya through
user-generated data. It created a platform called the ‘Swift River’, whereby data
transmitted by ordinary individuals through various digital means in a short period.
The operational models of organizations like DataKind (n.d.) and Data Without
Borders (n.d.) have been operating gratis to pairing data analysts with human rights
organizations. Recently, they have been organizing workshops and ‘data dives’ to
assist multilateral organizations like the World Bank analysis of multiple data sets for
facilitating practices of ethics, honesty, and transparency in governance. Many such
collectives or non-profit making enterprises (see Developers for Good, n.d.) consid-
erably similar to them are operating globally and locally by supporting data scientists
inclined to social causes. However, as such tools penetrate deeper for societal change,
profit motives are also beginning to emerge for Big Data usage for social good.
A potent model that can be cited is that of DemystData. A Hong Kong-based company
uses Big Data to link financial institutions to individuals who are excluded from finan-
cial systems. This is achieved by mining data from social media and similar online
sources to fill the financial market gaps and bring the marginalized under the radar.
‘Socially minded analytics’ have also been encouraged by open government ini-
tiatives, e.g., in the United States, President Obama initiated a model facilitating
public by data usage. An executive order was issued, mandating that “All Federal
Services would standardize and publicize available datasets, thereby making it easier
for citizens to find and analyze government” (Kalil, 2012; Shahzad et al., 2021). The
growth of ‘socially-minded data analytics’ is bolstered on the one hand by Artificial
Intelligence (AI)-based analysis software and, on the other hand, by the proliferation
of digital information affecting social problems. In this direction, IBM initiated a
model incorporating data visualization tool in 2008, ‘Many Eyes’, to provide busi-
nesses (Del Giudice et al., 2021; Emerging Graphic Tool Gets People Talking, 2008)
to draw applications from user-generated insights and innovation. As a result, this
was followed by publicly available versus proprietary data and its takeaway.
With the growth of data analytics usage in the social sector, a critical challenge
remains the reliability of Big Data and the pitfalls of its standardization. “Data ana-
lytics for social change requires unflappable standards” (Bernholz, 2012), which
would subsequently build on innovative thinking, commitment to openness, and
utmost respect to personal privacy rights.
Also of particular concern are privacy and data security issues in healthcare and
the ethical use of Big Data for social upliftment (Ali et al., 2021). Projects and models
in this direction are being launched by some organizations like mHealth Alliance
(n.d.) which operate in countries like Bangladesh and South Africa (Gangadharan,
2013). Big Data and GIS are being optimized to limit the spread of COVID-19 in
China and Taiwan, wherein real-time location-sharing mobile applications to track
patients are being used. Similarly, Big Data is being synthesized into predictive mod-
els to isolate high-risk individuals and associated medical staff in Singapore coun-
tries. In America, widespread predictive analysis models have emerged to optimize
the channels of the supply chain and apply data in enforcement measures. India has
made strides by using data trends based on mobility to access the pandemic patterns
and evaluate its transmission predictability. “Arogya Setu application is based on such
patterns of geo-referencing to predict and accurately find contact tracing, for surveil-
lance in hotspots” (Thehindu.com, 2020). Big Data analytics also utilizes social
media as well as crowdsourcing platforms to put government initiatives into action.
CURRENT TRENDS AND FUTURISTIC ENDEAVORS OF

LEVERAGING BIG DATA TOWARDS VIABLE SOCIAL AND
BUSINESS PARADIGMS
Since early 2020, the world has been surprised by the spread of a new coronavirus
strain, later named COVID-19. It has severely disrupted the economy and social
interactions, besides causing an immense strain on the health system. “While this
crisis emerged simultaneously across many nations, it had similarities to natural
disasters, which are “acute collectively experienced events with sudden onset, and
which result in a catastrophic depletion of resources” (Kaniasty & Norris, 1993;

Shah, 2012; USAID, 2020).
Unlike other natural disasters which occur with sudden ferocity and disappear, the
pandemic of COVID-19 is creeping on us slowly. It is impacting the daily routine of
the way we live. “Here we are dealing with changes in the way we go to work and go
about our daily lives, this kind of disruption is probably going to be happening for
weeks or months – and we are not used to that disruption” (Bacq et al., 2020; Shahzad
et al., 2020a, 2020b). Thus, “COVID-19 quickly warranted classification as a grand
challenge to society, a problem that, like poverty, climate change, and diseases such
as cancer, calls for a focused effort by entire disciplines and communities” (George &
Howard-Grenville 2016; Hilbert, 1902). As is evident from contemporary sources
and the unfolding of events across the world, the rapid spread of the deadly virus
COVID-19 poses difficult yet solution-oriented questions to all of us to leap into a
post-COVID world with a new perspective.
Generally, emergency response teams directly responsible for dealing with it or
impacted by it are the first to respond. However, in challenges like COVID-19, unique
challenges are unleashed too while the crisis still unravels (Drabek & McEntire, 1993).
Pandemics thus need result-oriented disruptive solutions to resolve the unprecedented
situation. “While the world operates largely for self-gratification, it has been seen that
major catastrophes unleash not the criminal [in society], but the altruistic” (Quarantelli,
1985). “This necessitates pro-social behaviors and the creation of emergent organiza-
tions to address human suffering” (Bacq et al., 2020). Thus, it is emerging that COVID-19
is no different from earlier challenges. The world is coming together in collaborative
efforts towards alleviating social problems generated by the pandemic.
Hence, COVID-19 presents us with opportunities to study extreme case studies to
harness the utility of Big Data in the evolution of innovative quick response mecha-
nisms for societal protection, growth and to manage grand challenges presented to
society in a “[o]nce in a century epidemic” (Gates, 2020). Such game-changing extreme
situations and case studies “often reveal more information because they activate more
actors and more basic mechanisms in the situation studied” (Flyvbjerg, 2006).
Such attempts of efficacy have been curated to focus on plausible interventions to
the social ecosystem around COVID-19. In this context, a credible case study is the
“virtual idea blitz.” (Using Idea Contagion to Combat Virus Contagion – “Virtual
Idea Blitz” by Kelley School of Business, 2020). The Virtual Idea Blitz had more
than 200 people from across the world over seven days.
As an example of usage of Big Data for social entrepreneurship, a framework of
data resources, concepts, and their impact on handling the COVID-19 situation may
be elucidated as follows.
(a) Conception and ideation of social compassion (Kelley Business School

initiative)
Several initiatives have heralded concepts integrated from collective thought and
brainstorming (Nager et al., 2011), Hackathons (Briscoe & Mulligan, 2014) and
Sprints (Knapp & Zeratsky, 2016) and derived a coherent, integrated response to
COVID-19. Virtual Idea Blitz was initiated by the faculty of Kelley School of
Business, Indiana University, in order to frame compassionate post-crisis organizing

in sync with the necessitated goals (Dutton & Worline, 2006; Williams & Shepherd,
2018) as well as with “Social entrepreneurship in the face of grand challenges” (van
Tulder & van Mil, 2020). The exercises also represent “Entrepreneurial hustle:
Navigating uncertainty and enrolling venture stakeholders through urgent unortho-
dox action” (Fisher & Stevenson, 2020). The parameters of crisis and collective com-
passion were mapped, and the best fit model of Social Compassion was enunciated
for all practical and futuristic purposes.
(b) Models of Sectored Social endeavors towards sustainability and development
Workshops and research in the COVID scenario have pointed out remote patient
monitoring and AI in healthcare. While innovations are done for emergent situations,
their sustainability in the long term is essential for creating a stable ecosystem of
harnessing the Big Data tools for the society at large.
Solutions are being driven through explosive growth in telehealth (Olson, 2020). There
is a huge demand for tele-solutions to provide health solutions through Remote Patient
Monitoring (Griggs, 2018) and Artificial Intelligence-based solutions in healthcare.
Using machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) technology, data-driven firms
from “Big Tech” to financial services, travel, insurance, retail, and media, make person-
alized recommendations for what to buy and practice personalized pricing, risk, credit,
and the like using the data that they have amassed about their customers.
(Theodoros Evgeniou, 2020)
Big Data gathered for other commercial purposes can be utilized to assess an indi-
vidual’s susceptibility to COVID-19 and his/her financial and physical ability to fight
the health challenges and economic outfall in case of an infection. On the one side,
Big Data with regard to individuals’ lifestyles can extrapolate their susceptibility to
infections, and on the other side, data with regard to their past medication and
co-morbidities as assessed through their past decisions of availing insurance, medi-
cation, and hospitalization can be used to assess the risks and to mitigate them
thereby. AI tools are increasingly being deployed during the current pandemic to
provide solutions in the short term but would be helpful in sustainable benefits in the
long run.
Big Data is also being used for efficient and effective distribution of health sup-
plies of masks, beds, PPE kits, medications, and ICU equipment. Optimum distribu-
tion of such assets amongst the affected population is of prime importance with data
tools. Technology providers are thus providing solutions to fight the pandemic.
A Georgia Tech team of five members (MIT, 2020) devised a tracking model focused
at a national level, which extracts data from multiple live data sources and facilitates
hospitals in predicting personal protected equipment (PPE) burn rate and identification
of hospitals in critical need, in order to help suppliers in prioritization of hospital needs,
and thereby direct their respective supplies of PPE equipment. Such models are the
need of the hour to develop long-term tools for optimizing health services worldwide.
Distance monitoring and curing patients through remote video conferencing have
gained a new acceptance level during the pandemic. While earlier, there was a
reluctance of people to adopt video meetings and consultations, the pandemic has led
to widespread acceptance of remote consultations between doctors and patients.
Many applications (Apps) are increasingly being used for tele-consultation, prescrip-
tion, and medical supplies in India’s case. These tools and methodologies provide
long-term solutions to health-related issues and other social sector interventions of
poverty alleviation.
(c) Futuristic foresight
The startup ecosystem has been coming up with solutions well before the pan-
demic, but there has been a massive failure of startups due to customer orientation’s
slow rate.
Business is fundamentally a human endeavor – humans trying to connect to other

humans. Products, technology, business models, funding – success in these dimensions
result from getting people right. So ultimately startup success comes down to people –
the people inside the organization and the people outside it.
(Yohn, 2019)
In the future, customer orientation and providing design solutions to solve prob-
lems through Big Data would have to be the main objective of startups.
Customized and flexible solutions would also be a major dimension of the emerg-
ing Big Data ecosystem within privacy and ethics limits. Language challenges
through AI Tools that translate queries and answers in real-time communication
would gain increased adaptation.
Finally, a social entrepreneur’s financial sustainability cannot sustain for long on
the largesse of philanthropists. So the period of free tech solutions would have to
morph to low-priced solutions that are sustainable through revenue generation from
customers and pharmaceutical and medical gadget suppliers. Big Data companies
would also need to be given a share of the revenue pie. Otherwise, the entire emerg-
ing ecosystem could collapse, and this chance for sustainable change would be lost.
One should draw lessons from earlier worldwide events like the two World Wars, the
Great Depression, and the Spanish-flu pandemic. Each of these epoch marking events
has led to great human imagination leaps, and the same would hold now.
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE COVID-19 ERA:

EXTRAPOLATING MODELS/INTERVENTIONS FROM PAST
AND PRESENT
Social entrepreneurship is of immense value and highly critical during a pandemic
like COVID-19, as has been witnessed as a black swan moment in world history
since March 2020. The “COVID-19 crisis has quickly become an unprecedented
grand challenge that created many social, health, and economic problems on a global
scale” (Gates, 2020). “These problems overwhelmed existing healthcare and govern-
mental organizations, which elicited the need for independent social entrepreneurial
ventures – organizing efforts centered on opportunities to create social value – to
participate in a large-scale response” (Bacq et al., 2020; Chhabra et al., 2020).
Monetizing Social Value Creation Through Data: Yunus Social Business

Model
In the realm of plausible models of social business framework encompassing an
altruistic dimension, Mohammad Yunus’s (MY) model of social entrepreneurship
justifies traditional profit-making business with philanthropy. Social business is a
business dedicated to a social goal, basis non-loss, and non-dividend benchmarks.
The broader vision of the MY model opines that all levels, from local to international
governmental bodies, have the inherent capacity of creating social business funds.
Social entrepreneurship involves the process of re-investing the social dividends to
develop the business further. Grameen Banks, established under the premise of the
MY model in Bangladesh, are prime examples of social business wherein sharehold-
ers happen to be the borrowers themselves. Data is garnered via administrative and
governance bodies to analyze and evaluate the ecosystem of poverty, unemployment,
and illiteracy.
“Self-sustainable businesses lead to the reinvestment of funds” (Dees, 2011).
Yunus and Lehmann-Ortega (2009) outlined the concept, model details, operations,
and performance monitoring aspects of the social business using the Grameen Bank
social businesses, leveraging data. Verticals producing Grameen phones, yogurt, and
rural drinking water supply projects were incorporated. In the modern-day world,
social business needs to be incorporated into the current economic structure and
framework.
This paves the way for a multidimensional model for sustainable business and
investment. The MY model addresses the social problem from a solution perspective
and an innovative approach by using data and research tools on a progressive learn-
ing curve. “This is a leap forward, enabling betterment of community, corporate and
culture due to the unique experience provided by social enterprise” (Esty, 2011). It
pioneered in earmarking the dimensions and benchmarks of the Grameen Bank
movement, which started from a humble beginning and made strides. The pilot proj-
ect was scaled up by the MY model on the basic premise of lending money to the
poor for self-upliftment. Grameen says collateral disbursed loans and women turned
out to be the main beneficiaries of the project.
Initiatives and Associated Dimensions of Disruption, Data, and Social

Innovation
In the wake of COVID-19, there has been a widespread lay-off scenario in the orga-
nized sector and unorganized labor unemployment. “The UN University estimated
that the economic fallout could push an estimated half a billion people into poverty
and take global development progress back three decades, primarily in emerging
economies” (Foundation, 2020). Social enterprises could be curated and imple-
mented with the aid of Big Data, thereby catapulting social impact measurement,
scaling up, and financial sustainability.
The COVID-19 pandemic poses a grave danger, but simultaneously, there is a
heartening surge of innovative entrepreneurs. Hackathons, simulation exercises,
business model innovations, volunteering, philanthropy, and such initiatives have
brought forth the irresistible urge of communities and individuals to re-balance soci-
ety like never before. This emphasizes the point that the COVID-19 pandemic could
prove to be a positive disruption in the social entrepreneurial terrain. For example,
“Some heartening examples of Atlanta high school students started an organization
delivering free meals to front line hospital workers, to a group of Colombian engi-
neers building low-cost ventilators, innovators creating novel solutions to the prob-
lems caused by the pandemic” (Bhaskar, 2020). Religious philanthropy and
community service have come to the fore in Khlasa aid, United Sikhs, etc. (Sikhs,
2020). COVID-19-inspired innovations are being actualized into sustainable busi-
nesses for humanity. Leveraging Big Data from such initiatives for social entrepre-
neurship can go a long way in streamlining society at many levels.
Big Data Analytics and Innovation: Amazon Business Model

and Social Cause Alignment
E-commerce giants like Amazon have innovated and enunciate ease of doing busi-
ness for MSMEs impacted by COVID-19 by leveraging Big Data. Amazon ushered
in Local Shops, Amazon Launchpad, Amazon Saheli, and Amazon Karigar for small
and micro sellers to facilitate selling while handholding them in the onboarding pro-
cess on its platforms (Hussain et al., 2021). The initiative has been leveraged by
processing Big Data of startups, women entrepreneurs, artisans, micro-businesses,
and weavers, and customer demand has been curated for their products. Alongside a
multitude of benefits accrue to them via group health insurance benefit to cover med-
ical expenses due to COVID-19, Hindi mobile apps for convenience, and fee waivers
to help sellers “navigate the economic challenges” during COVID. Amazon’s supe-
rior model of leveraging Big Data successfully towards such socially viable and prof-
itable initiatives in COVID times can set a precedent for future endeavors.
Amazon’s “Personalized Recommendation System” uses a comprehensive, col-
laborative filtering engine (CFE) to harness behavioral analytics via Big Data. The
“Anticipatory Shipping Model” is an anticipatory delivery model which synthesizes
huge data information to anticipate a customer’s buying behavior. Data optimization
involves “Supply Chain Optimization”, “graph theory”, analysis, and “Price
Optimization”, which facilitates small sellers in a big way. “Amazon Go” has facili-
tated small sellers to use the Amazon cashier-less app, which sets the stage for rud-
derless small entrepreneurs to assimilate into the bigger e-commerce and digital
marketing paradigms. Big Data analysis has ushered this whole ecosystem towards a
socially aware and enabling entrepreneurial framework.
IMPLICATIONS AND CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH VIABLE

BUSINESS PROPOSITIONS, IN SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURIAL
PERSPECTIVE
Social entrepreneurs plug the market failures and streamline government functioning
by catering to marginalized sections of population needs. In the current scenario,
such populations are in the throes of disruption, uprooting, and reverse migration due
to risks of COVID-19. The recent urban migration crisis in India wreaked havoc on
infrastructure, jobs, health, and well-being. The pandemic brought forth the systemic
inequalities of a global and national economic system. The “International Labour
Organization (ILO) has warned that the steep decline in the ability to work and oper-
ate is threatening the livelihoods of 1.6 billion workers in the informal economy”
(ILO: As job losses escalate, nearly half of global workforce at risk of losing liveli-
hoods, 2020).
This has accelerated the pace of data-based technologies. The governing class is
also contemplating leveraging Big Data to do skill-mapping and optimize the
employability potential of migrated labor, thereby optimizing their skills towards
development employability (Srivastava, 2020). The Schwab Foundation 2020 Impact
Report (Schwab Foundation, 2020) demonstrated how the network of 400 leading
social innovators and entrepreneurs it supports had improved the lives of more than
622 million people, protecting livelihoods, driving movements for social inclusion
and environmental sustainability, and providing improved access to health, sanita-
tion, education, and energy. The collective aspirations of a social entrepreneurial
ecosystem are leveraging Big Data to coordinate and accelerate response to pan-
demic-related disruptions by assessing and highlighting needs across social enter-
prise networks and by expanding financial support; by coordinating non-financial
support by intermediaries, procurement agencies, legal services and technological
support ecosystem; and by advancing communication efforts advocating applicable
fiscal and policy interventions Some challenges, as evident from research and as
synthesized from the deliberations of this chapter, can be encapsulated in the follow-
ing points:
1.
Access and analysis restrictions: Non-profit-making organizations and social
enterprises often have limited availability of Big Data in a collated format from
the government and private sector. While the private sector typically restricts
access to its proprietary data due to data monetization that adds to its market
capitalization, the government sector data is restricted in most nations due to a
lack of transparency in governance. Right now, we are in a state of evolution,
where the private and government sectors slowly open up their huge reservoir
of data sets for social entrepreneurs.
2.
Insufficient technological intervention: An added challenge is the lack of soft-
ware personnel in the non-profit sector who have the skill sets for data analysis
of Big Data and the leadership that can effectively identify the potential bene-
fits and tools for using Big Data. The potential can be realized after more social
entrepreneurs act as bridges between Big Data companies and private compa-
nies, building a triad that mutually benefits each other in terms of revenue
potential as well as societal benefit.
3.
Privacy concerns and data theft: Ethics of privacy concerns of data being col-
lected by big corporates like Google or Facebook, or by government agencies –
all of which are resistant to legislative restrictions on end use of data collected
by them. Corporates or governments collect rights for the use of data through
complexly worded legalese and long documents which the public generally
cannot read or comprehend fully. There has been a huge public movement
recently against the extent of data being collected and its end usage, and there
is a significant risk of abuse of Big Data. With cross-country implications of

data and lack of legislative control over the transfer of such data, the social
enterprises have an added dimension to deal with. Also, there needs to be a
realization that access to such Big Data cannot be provided indiscriminately to
all without a system of checks and balances (Syed et al., 2020).
4.
Insufficiency of data for research and extrapolation: Multilateral organizations
like the World Bank are currently using Big Data for many studies regarding
human development parameters, which are not easily accessible to social
entrepreneurs. The data will take time to come out from academic pursuits for
practical applicability for meaningful change.
5.
Need for policy interventions: Governments worldwide are increasing transpar-
ency of data, e.g., the Right to Information introduced in India has led to a sea
change in data availability to the public. The availability of such data has great
potential. Developing countries with large mobile penetration rates (e.g., Haiti,
which has a mobile spread of over 90%) can map cholera outbreaks and iden-
tify areas for quick response teams to tackle it through GPS tracking. Moreover,
information available from multilateral organizations or government is at a
macro level, wherein the raw data of individual, village, townships, or other
levels is not released. Even if released, social entrepreneurs will have to scale
up their skill sets to micro-analyze raw Big Data before making sense of it.
6.
Geo-political manifestations and fallout: The demographic and geographic
spread of Big Data is also a limitation for various reasons. Such reasons may be
political like China, which restricts access to international corporates and restricts
the release of its data sets, or technical, like telecom coverage and data speeds.
7.
Socio-cultural biases and under-representation: There is an inherent bias
towards some age groups and income levels in terms of data collected from
social media platforms, leaving out a large population section. In the above sce-
nario, the demographic spread of a humongous data set may be very narrow
across gender, age, and ethnicity, making it non-suitable for broader usage. Some
geographical locations or age groups may be unrepresented in a Big Data set.
8.
Redundancy of data collation and analysis techniques: Old-school statistical
tools of random sampling present a greater degree of confidence to people
involved in social entrepreneurship. The evolution to the usage of Big Data
would have to overcome this skew in data coverage eventually. The system of
blind trust in Big Data companies’ integrity and its usage is unsustainable in
the long run. Once trust and a system of checks and balances to verify that trust
is established between data companies and social networks, society can signifi-
cantly benefit from this data.
9.
Streamlining till grassroots level: In times to come, Big Data could be made
applicable even in those small hamlets in the forests of Jharkhand or
Chhattisgarh, in India, to provide reaping advice to herders, artisans, small
businesses, street vendors, or even transporters to kick-start a sustainable local
economy and reduce poverty. For example, Ivory Coast academics have
recently used a data set of text messages from a mobile telephony company to
create a contagion simulation model. Such models can be replicated for a wide
range of applications, as listed previously.
The synergy of Big Data and social enterprise is currently at a preliminary stage.
However, the stage is set for exponential growth in the power of this synergy once the
challenges with regard to availability, safety, privacy, and coverage of data are addressed
along with enhancement in skill sets of the workforce involved in social organizations.
CONCLUSION
Social entrepreneurship will undoubtedly be an antidote to our systemic inequalities
and market failures in the long run. The COVID pandemic had brought forth the
overt and covert underpinnings of our socio-economic landscape worldwide. It has
forced us to recalibrate our systems to streamline the gaping biases and inequalities
to sustain an egalitarian world. This should set a precursor for balanced socio-economic
growth in the long run. It sets a new precedent for systems to change leaders, who
would herald new beginnings under progressive yet empathetic technological inter-
ventions of communities as agents of change. Big Data assuredly remains a primary
harbinger to navigate complex institutional arrangements in a dynamic world. This
would imply dismantling the old archaic structures and polishing the rough edges.
Social entrepreneurial models of running inclusive, sustainable organizations that
nurture communities are critical to the COVID-19 response and recovery period.
This pool of critical knowledge, experience, and responses can revitalize the sustain-
able development agenda and build an egalitarian, more resilient, and inclusive
future, primarily in healthcare, sanitation, and education. According to the World
Economic Forum report (Oddup, 2020), “40 global organizations, including IKEA,
SAP, and Salesforce, have pledged to support thousands of social entrepreneurs
spread over 190 countries financially”.
François Bonnici, (Foundation, 2020) Head of the Schwab Foundation for Social
Entrepreneurship, said,
Social entrepreneurs and their community partners have been working for years to solve
market failures and demonstrate more sustainable and inclusive models. These front-
line organizations now face bankruptcy and severe constraints while also innovating
and responding to this global pandemic. Through this Alliance, members are commit-
ting support for social entrepreneurs to protect decades of work in the impact sector.
This necessitates the utmost importance to build data systems with a robust backing
in post-COVID times to accentuate the need for all governments to leverage data
purposefully for social good. New age data systems are the need of the hour. As jour-
nalist David McCandles (Opinion: Data is new ‘soil’ in times of covid-19 crisis,
2020) puts it,
Data needs to be relooked as the new “soil”. For example, the need to mandatorily geo-
reference all possible government datasets cannot be understated. Imagine if census
data with population densities, family profiles with members above 50 years, and public
health infrastructure are available at a micro-cluster level on an interactive map to the
authorities. Such information combined with unclean cooking fuel use and smokers’
presence is already being used in Nigeria to develop geographic risk distribution profile
to help prioritize action.
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5 Big Data
A Boon for Food and
Servicepreneurship
Kiran Sood
Chitkara University, India
Navneet Seth
Baba Hira Singh Bhattal Institute of Engineering and
Technology, India
Munish Jindal
HoverRobotix, India
Harsh Sadawarti
CT University (Pb.), India
CONTENTS
Raw Data to Information: An Absolute Transformation�� 56
Evolution of Big Data Since Ancient Times�� 56
Categorization of Big Data in the Form of Four V’s�� 57
Development of Framework of Big Data: A Review�� 58
Methodology�� 61
Augmentation of Internet Users (1995–2020)�� 61
Big Data Revenue Forecast�� 61
Big Data Applications into the Various Domains of Service Sectors�� 62
Role of Big Data in Weather Predication�� 62
Role of Big Data in Social Media�� 63
Role of Big Data in Healthcare�� 63
Role of Big Data in the Education Sector�� 63
Role of Big Data in Logistics�� 63
Role of Big Data in Travel and Tourism�� 64
Role of Big Data in Government and Law Enforcement�� 64
Big Data Applications in Food and Agripreneurship: A Future of Farming�� 64
DOI: 10.1201/9781003097945-5 55
Changing the Face of Farming Through Automation�� 65

Challenges Before Agripreneurship�� 66
Conclusion�� 67
References�� 67
INTRODUCTION
Evolution in technology has brought transformation into various objects we use in
our daily lives, from landline phones to smartphones, bulky desktops to floppies,
hard disks and now cloud for storing data and similarly now a day’s self-driving cars,
smart traffic camera, smart ACs and TVs are some of the Internet of Things devices
generating a profuse amount of data (Naresh & Munaswamy, 2019). The Internet of
Things comprises two words, the internet and things (devices), a giant network that
tracks our daily activities through devices. These devices embedded with sensors
gather and share data from all those devices that we come across in our daily lives.
This enhancement in technology has completely transformed our lifestyles, from
how we react to the way we behave. Every single click converts into your search his-
tory, taking the shape of Big Data. Google search, online shopping history, CCTV
footage, voice message, Instagram and Facebook posts, tweets, and emails are some
of the activities that generate a large amount of data. There are many other aspects
because data is evolving and converting into Big Data like banking and finance,
transportation, insurance (Sundareswaran, 2018), education, healthcare, retail, and
media and entertainment industries. There are now millions of ways in which data is
generated each day. How this data has grown exponentially can be seen through its
usage over the years, from 100 GB in 1997 to 40,000 GB in 2020.
A collection of alphabets, numbers, special symbols, images, audios, and videos
stored digitally can be termed as data. Data remains in its raw form until it is pro-
cessed. Raw data before processing might have different meanings to different per-
sons. Sometimes, data needs to be processed through various stages to get concrete
information. So, the processing stage is the utmost requirement to draw meaningful
inferences from data.
Raw Data to Information: An Absolute Transformation

Using an example, Table 5.1 shows how a numeric value is interpreted uniquely at
every stage after being processed.
When it comes to interpretation, data comes with a different meaning in different
hands until it is processed. Based on this example, it can be said that data needs to be
processed through various stages for taking the shape of information.
Evolution of Big Data Since Ancient Times

The Land Revenue system of the British in India had three divisions: Permanent
Settlement (Zamindari System), Ryotwari System, and Mahelwari System after inde-
pendence. This created a buffer amount of data-inspired various kingdoms to follow
the concept of Big Data in revenue collection throughout generations in the follow-
ing manner:
Big Data for Food and Servicepreneurship 57
TABLE 5.1
Stages of a transformation of data
4th stage
(Raw data
1st Stage 2nd Stage 3rd Stage converts into
Stages (Raw Data) (Processing) (Processing) information)
Inferences 130982 13-09-82 13-09-82 (Mr. 13-09-82 (Mr.
drawn at XYZ) XYZ), Fathers
various Name & Address
stages (Information)
Interpretation The numeric After processing, Further It gives greater
value, 130982, we give processing will weightage by
has different meaning to raw give more sense adding more
meanings to data. It could in understanding quantitative
different be a date of raw data that is meaningful
persons. It can birth, but not the DOB of aspects like the
be treated as a every individual XYZ. Although father’s name and
Roll No, is born with the many address to the raw
commodity same date of personalities data. The final
price, loan birth. Hence would exist in stage at which it
amount, joining data needs to be the universe with can be said that
date, processed the same name there is only one
manufacturing further. and DOB, there personality,
date, expiry remains a “XYZ,” exists
date, relieving possibility of against specified
period, etc. many DOB, father’s
personalities. name and address.
Source: https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001996.html.
1.
Vedic period: a highly structured form of literature like Upanishads, and
Arthasastra can be seen in ancient times during the Vedic period.
2.
Medieval period: speaks of that era when initiatives were taken by famous
Mughal emperors Alaudin Khilji and Sher Shah Suri to preserve the land
records.
3.
British period: Britishers extensively used the concept of Big Data in assess-
ing their wartime capacity against opponents, especially during World Wars I
and II.
4.
Post-independence period: the concept of Big Data was used in the post-
independence period by a newly formed government for collecting information
to abolish the age-old Zamindari system.
Categorization of Big Data in the Form of Four V’s

• Volume: it refers to the unbounded size of data produced daily by various orga-
nizations. Various parameters like M.B., G.B., T.B., and P.B are being used for
measuring the massive amount of data.
• Variety: nowadays, data has different forms like emails, photos, videos, audios,
PDFs. It has three types, structured, unstructured, and semi-structured,
explained as follows:
o Structured data: the highly organized form of data that can be stored or
processed and hence interpreted quickly with no hazels by machines is
known as structured data. Salary reports, addresses, Mark sheets, employ-
ment rate, etc., are examples of structured data that can be stored in rows
and columns (Adamu et al., 2021; Sivarajah et al., 2017).
o Unstructured data: this is the most complicated form of data increasing
exponentially due to an increase in smartphone usage. Ninety percent of the
total data available belongs to an unstructured form, and the remaining 10
percent belongs to a structured form. Videos, images, and audios are some
of the best examples of unstructured data.
o Semi-structured data: it is a combination of both structured and unstruc-
tured data. CSV, XML, Web pages, and JSON are some of the forms of
semi-structured data.
• Velocity: it refers to the magnitude of fluctuations in the data. A historical crash
of the global stock market due to deadly COVID-19 is one of the best
examples.
• Value: selection of data by organizations that require greater attention for stra-
tegic decision making, optimal utilization of resources, understanding of var-
ied customer requirements and maximizing of profits.
Table 5.2 outlines the transformation phases of Big Data from the late 1800s to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
DEVELOPMENT OF FRAMEWORK OF BIG DATA: A REVIEW

Our primary purpose is to examine the past and present trends of Big Data in various
sectors of the economy and study the impact and future scope of Big Data on food
and servicepreneurship. For the review, there was a need to develop a conceptual
framework to support the main objective, i.e., to examine the trends in this study and
provide a logical arrangement of subject matter and concepts for analyzing Big Data
applications in food and servicepreneurship.
Several problems are being faced by the supply chain managers in fulfilling cus-
tomer demands, so there is an adoption of Big Data techniques, especially in the agri-
cultural sector, to fight against various issues like lack of awareness, scarce and
illiterate labor, etc. (Ahearn et al., 2016). The ongoing problems related to behavior
and health of livestock were another growing concern for farmers that can be resolved
by developing a database. The study clearly stated the benefits of using a database for
recording all the observations on health or behavior (Vanderwaal et al., 2017).
Agriculture remained a neglected sector in many parts of the world, relying on species
and uncertain climate conditions that attracted various researchers’ great attention. An
attempt was made to highlight how beneficial the data science is to control the uncer-
tain climatic variables by applying a uniform amount of radiation, water, and fertiliz-
ers to boost productivity (Bock & Kirkendall, 2017; Bronson & Knezevic, 2016;
TABLE 5.2
Transformation phases of Big Data
Years Landmarks
1890 The tabulating machine was invented in 1890. The machine took on one hand only half
a year for processing a large amount of census data of 1880 instead of seven years.
1926 Nikola Tesla predicted a pocket-friendly future communication device with a high
capacity to analyze a large amount of data.
1937 IBM formed a huge database under a successful bookkeeping project.
1940s–1950s A blessing period of a decade has made jobs more comfortable with the introduction of
a high-speed calculation, electronic computing device.
1944 A challenging situation for the Wesleyan University librarian was to tackle the
decreasing storage capacity of its library. It was an alarming situation to match/fulfill
the requirement of approximately 200,000,000 copies by the end of 2040, resulting in
a workforce of more than 6000 employees for cataloging.
1949 The escalating crisis of storage capacity inspired Claude Shannon, known as the
“Father of Information”, to do new research in photography and punch cards. The
Library of Congress, with a storage capacity of 100 trillion bits of data, was one of
the largest items on his list for doing all researches.
1960 The year was dedicated entirely to curtailing the skyrocketing cost of accumulating data.
1965 First Data Center is conceived.
1989 A revolution came when a computer scientist, Tim Berners-Lee, invented the World
Wide Web (WWW) with free access to the entire nation. He brought a storm by the
invention of three commands, namely HTML, URL, and HTTP, that has brought the
largest explosion of massive data ever in history.
1996 A joint effort by R.J.T. Morris and B.J. Truskowski proved successful for minimizing
the cost of storing data digitally as compared to physically.
1997 The term “Big Data” was coined by David and Michael Cox.
1998 Mr. Carlo created a database named NoSQL to fight against an increasing amount of
unstructured data.
1999 The term Internet of Things (IoT) was first used by Kevin Ashton for his presentation
at P&G.
2001 Seeing the country grappling with managing data explosion, Gartner introduced the
concept of 3V’s in his research under the title of “3D Data Management: Controlling
Data Volume, Velocity, and Variety”.
2005 O’Reilly Media launched the term “Big Data” in 2005
2005 Hadoop was developed by Doug Cutting and Mike Cafarella to handle the massive
amount of unstructured data.
2006 Highlighting the growth in data by six times a study was pioneered by International
Data Corporation (IDC).
2007 North Carolina State University took the grand initiative by establishing an Institute of
Advanced Analytics and offering a master’s degree program in analytics.
2008 George Glider and Bret predict that in 2015, the massive internet usage of data in the
U.S. will increase 50 times more than in 2006, and IP traffic will reach one zettabyte.
The Global Information Industry Centre surveyed in 2008 state increasing per day
consumption of the internet for obtaining the information.
2009 One of the most prominent projects is storing of fingerprints and retina scans of more
than 7.8 billion citizens by the Indian Government in the form of ‘Aadhar cards’
made a record in 2009.
2011 Taking into consideration the increasing demand of the Big Data industry, a McKinsey
report predicts a massive shortage of workforce (analysts) in the U.S. by 2018.
Highlighting the issue there will be a deficiency of one and a half million market
analysts and executives.
2011 IBM created history by analyzing approximately 200 million pages in seconds.
(Continued)
TABLE 5.2 (Continued)

Years Landmarks
2012 Changing the nature of jobs in the Big Data market, Harvard Business Review gave
birth to a novel career, “data scientist,” naming it the “sexiest job of the 21st century.
2012 Skyrocketing problems related to Big Data prompted the U.S. government to take
initiatives by spending approximately $200 million on Big Data research projects.
Highlighting the growing issues of the U.S. government related to Big Data, 84 Big
Data programs were introduced by President Barack Obama. Dealing with Obama’s
2012 re-election campaign was the most excellent example of this.
2012 According to an Information Week report, growing problems related to data storage
highlighted the requirement of experts in analytics by 52 percent of Big Data
companies.
2013 While conducting an annual Digital Universe Study, EMV predicted that by 2020, Big
Data will grow exponentially to 44 zettabytes.
2013 A study conducted by EMC has shown concern over the decreasing volume of
semantic data, further mentioning that semantic data will comprise only 35 percent
out of the total available data in 2020.
2014 A report by IDC highlighted that the increasing popularity of online business in B2B
and B2C would produce a large amount of Big Data. It will soon surpass the daily
limit of 450 billion transactions.
2014 Based on experiences, Gartner predicts that internet subscribers will soon reach the
limit of 25 million in 2020 against 4.9 million in 2014. He further mentioned that by
2020, one-third of data produced digitally would be passed through the cloud.
2015 The Giant “Google” in the market of Big Data was titled the largest Big Data company
in the world, with a maximum storage capacity of 10 billion gigabytes.
2015 Amazon started its operations with approximately 1,400,000 servers in various data
centers and producing 1,000,000,000 gigabytes of Big Data from its 152 million
customers.
2016 The Internet of Things has a substantial impact on Big Data. As per the IDC report,
many organizations have started working on IoT-based solutions to the problems.
2017 The growing complexity of business has alarmed Gartner, highlighting the application
of Machine Learning (ML) in various sectors like healthcare, energy, transportation,
distribution, smart cities and agriculture.
2019 COVID-19 prompted researchers and scientists to do research work. Research has
suggested that Big Data analytics and cell phone tracking helped officials contain the
virus’ spread.
Collected from various sources.
Rosenzweig et al., 2014). The studies also suggested the successful use of Big Data
applications like Global Gridded Crop Models in solving various technical issues
related to temperature control, pest attacks, and deteriorating soil quality.
Academicians’ and scientists’ roles have been analyzed to give massive support to
agriculture research (Coble et al., 2018). The limited use of fertilizers with their side
effects has also been studied (Prasad, 2019). The role of Big Data in various sectors
of the economy has also been analyzed (Kitchin, 2014). The research has revealed
the positive impact of Big Data in all the activities of routine life, thereby making life
easy in all aspects. There is a change in the farmer’s role after adopting the Big Data
concept in various farm activities, especially in efficiently managing those activities
(Dyer, 2016). The author also favored the concept of additional income of the farmer
by sharing the data related to his farms with the research organizations. Several
issues were raised related to international competition and supply management, con-
necting national and international markets and requiring a strategic network design
(Sonka, 2016). Reducing the gap between producers and sellers, time management,
storage facilities, and a key advantage to buyers in terms of velocity and volume has
also been discussed. Precision farming has become productive for the farmers in
solving day-to-day challenges (Rahate & Khandekar, 2018). The role of wireless
connectivity has been lauded in maintaining the valuable data inputs from farming to
utilize it for betterment in further planning. Otherwise, these inputs have remained
unused or untapped due to limited internet connectivity (Mark et al., 2016).
Methodology
The secondary data that has been used for the study has been collected from previous
studies and reports. The information regarding the usage of Big Data in the various
sectors has been reported in this study. As in the current scenario, Big Data has
become the backbone of every aspect for initiating and continuing the business, so
every organization is now making a maximum financial contribution towards gather-
ing Big Data from every possible resource.
Big Data nowadays is being used in various apps throughout the world by most
organizations in the form of database management. The data is being automatically
saved with the help of different software and stored for future purposes. Various sec-
tors such as banking and insurance, stock markets, civil aviation, railways, road traf-
fic management, and health departments are using Big Data apps for their routine
working. Big Data has also proved to be a boon to fight and tackle the widespread
COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. The different nations were able to take daily feed-
back regarding the increase in the total number of patients being infected by the
pandemic.
AUGMENTATION OF INTERNET USERS (1995–2020)

Figure 5.1 reflect the number of internet users in millions and the percentage of the
world’s population for a period of 26 years commencing from 1995 to 2020. A tre-
mendous amount of growth, approximately 24 percent, can be seen in the form of an
increase in the number of internet subscribers from 16 million in 1995, representing
0.4 percent of the world population, to 4,574 million in 2020, or 60.70 percent. Easier
accesses to computers and a rise in internet usage in developing countries are two of
the reasons behind this enormous growth.
Big Data Revenue Forecast

Table 5.3 highlights the global picture of revenue forecast in the top two service sec-
tors, hardware and software, based on past years’ data. The table emphasizes the
estimate of the overall growth of 12.57 percent amongst these critical sectors. The
software sector has secured the first position by achieving the highest growth rate of
17.24 percent, followed by the service sector and hardware sector with a growth rate
FIGURE 5.1 Augmentation of internet users (1995– 2020) Source: https://www.internet-

worldstats.com).
TABLE 5.3
Big Data revenue forecast (in billions of U.S. dollars): a global picture from
2016 to 2027
Segments 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 CGR
Service 11 14 16 19 21 24 26 27 29 31 32 33 10.50
Hardware 9 10 12 14 15 16 18 19 20 22 23 24 9.33
Software 8 11 14 17 20 24 27 31 34 38 42 46 17.24
Total 28 35 42 50 56 64 71 77 83 91 97 103 12.57
Source: https://www.internetworldstats.com.
of 10.5 percent and 9.33 percent, respectively. This growth has made numerous
potential companies use data to increase their income.
BIG DATA APPLICATIONS INTO THE VARIOUS DOMAINS OF

SERVICE SECTORS
Role of Big Data in Weather Predication
Big Data is widely used in predicting various natural calamities, viz., a sudden storm,
hurricane, global warming, Amazon fire breakout, floods, and earthquakes. For
example, predicting a landslide that can cause massive damage to life and property
was also impossible without Big Data. The University of Melbourne studied this
challenge and developed a tool capable of predicting landslides. The tool predicts the
boundary where the landslide is likely to occur two weeks before. This magical tool
works on Big Data (Liu et al., 2019) and applied mathematics. Accurate predictions
can save lives and can help in relocating the route. This is how Big Data is used in
predicting natural calamities across the world.
Role of Big Data in Social Media

This is a massive role, as leveraging Big Data can boost the revenue of many compa-
nies. The growing popularity of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (Asur & Huberman
2010; Chieng et al., 2015; Chung et al., 2014 Singh et al., 2018) are examples where
Big Data plays a vital role in collecting all the emotions of a customer in liking and
disliking, posts, messages, and conversation. These emotions are analyzed to
conclude.
Role of Big Data in Healthcare

Healthcare is one of the most important sectors where Big Data is widely used to
save lives. Using Big Data, medical research is done very effectively by analyzing all
the previous medical histories. The remarkable role of Big Data in managing COVID-19,
beginning in China (Zhou et. al., 2020), is the greatest example. Big Data provides
meaningful inputs to doctors, scientists, and researchers to fight against the virus that
slowly captured the whole world. Artificial intelligence (AI) was the biggest bet in
tracing this virus’s path and predicting its outbreak. The algorithms can read through
zettabytes of data collected from the infected areas and give real-time insights. Tech
giants like Alibaba and Baidu have been at the forefront of this war by providing their
expertise to fight against this virus. AI has slowly helped to close the gap in fighting
COVID-19.
Role of Big Data in the Education Sector

The massive global effort to achieve universal education is made possible by
data. Data show successes and failures. Millions of children are not going to
schools; whether to hold them back is one of the many questions that Big Data
can answer. A sustainable development goal has addressed this issue to give qual-
ity education by 2030. There is no way to compare results on a global scale.
Linking different assessment criteria’s Big Data is developing global measures of
learning, enabling countries to monitor students’ progress, and strengthen poli-
cies to improve. Using Big Data, every student and teacher has a chance to excel
(Ali et al., 2021; Del Giudice et al., 2021; Di Vaio et al., 2020; Shahzad et al.,
2020b, 2021).
Role of Big Data in Logistics

Big Data is used to cut the processing time of transportation and storage of goods
from supplier to consumer. To achieve minimum time, sensors within the vehicle
analyze the fastest routes. This analysis is based on various data (Ahearn et al.,
2016), such as weather, traffic, the list of orders, etc. This helps in reducing the
delivery time. Big Data is also applicable to warehousing management efficiently.
This analysis, along with tracking sensors, provides information regarding the
underutilized space, which results in efficient resource allocation and also reduces
the cost.
Role of Big Data in Travel and Tourism

The global tourist market is expected to grow soon, and Big Data is used in various
ways in this sector. Looking into past occupancy rates, room tariffs, school holidays,
and peak season, the tourism industry can anticipate demand and maximize revenue.
Companies use Big Data to analyze information about their competitors, which gives
an understanding of what other hotels are offering their customers. The data col-
lected from tourists’ past travel history and likes can receive personalized experi-
ences focused on their needs. Few countries use Big Data to examine tourism flows
and discover investment opportunities in their country.
Role of Big Data in Government and Law Enforcement

• Maintaining law and order is of utmost importance to any government. Big
Data plays an active role by bringing new policies and schemes for the welfare
of its citizens. Predictive policing uses Big Data to forecast criminal activity
before it happens based on the information given to them through big data
analysis. The New York Police Department uses Big Data analytics to protect
its citizens. The department identifies and analyzes crime trends, fingerprints,
emails, and records from the police investigation and other public databases.
• Governments are also using Big Data to tackle the major issue of unemploy-
ment. By analyzing the number of students graduating every year and the num-
ber of job openings, governments can begin to address unemployment in the
country.
• Governments use Big Data tools to discover areas that fall under the poverty
line and do the needful.
Big Data Applications in Food and Agripreneurship: A Future of Farming

A famous saying by Giada De Laurentiis is, “food brings people together on many
different levels. It is the nourishment of the soul and body”. However, the world is
facing an imminent food crisis, and it faces the challenge of feeding nine million
people by 2050. The changing climate, expanding deserts, rising sea levels, and
degrading arable land (Bock & Kirkendall 2017) increase life complexities. Pests
and diseases are spreading; rainforests are dying, destroying biodiversity. Freshwater
is becoming scarce, and the soil is rendered less fertile. Industrial exploitation poi-
sons our seas and rivers; fish stocks are on the verge of collapse. Safely feeding the
growing population, keeping in mind that the integrity of the food supply chain can-
not be compromised through adulteration or mislabeling of products, is another chal-
lenge for the food industry (Bronson & Knezevic, 2016). Hence, there is a need to
harness and identify Big Data to ramp up food production with less pressure on our
water resources. This large volume of data will change the landscape for various
business opportunities into business values for making huge profits. Companies are
turning to automation and R&D to develop better-quality products to satisfy custom-
ers’ varying needs, the underlying opportunities giving rise to startups in the food
sector bridging the employability gap. The paradigm shift has made a tremendous
contribution towards the growth of the Indian economy since it has provided job
opportunities (Coble et al., 2018) to thousands of people, especially at the provincial
level, keeping in mind the safety and health-consciousness of customers’ new job
roles in food processing, food safety, quality management, food engineering, and
food technology. The complex supply chains involve many parties and increase the
level of risk. Many governments have not imposed strict safety standards given recent
food scandals around the world. The outbreak of COVID-19 has badly affected the
food supply across the nation. Using online Foodapps, Zomato, and Swiggy, the gov-
ernment and many organizations are fulfilling CSR activities by supplying all the
necessary food items like fruits, vegetables, and grocery items especially to poor
people residing in slum areas.
Changing the Face of Farming Through Automation

According to Sherrie Silver (Advocate for the Rural Youth International Fund for
Agriculture Development), “Farming is often seen as unglamorous, but it is not just
about working in a field; it is actually about entrepreneurship as well.” According to
the United Nations, by 2050, there will be food, shelter, fiber, and fuel deficits affect-
ing 300 million. There has been a drastic plunge in land under cultivation (Jackson,
2016) from 913 million acres in 2014 to 899 million acres in 2018 in the United
States. There is a need to harness the data (Elgendy and Elragal, 2014) to alleviate
farmers’ difficulties and increase their incomes. Targeted weather warnings, smarter
credit scoring, more inclusive value chains, and precise irrigation alerts (Dyer, 2016)
using Big Data can change the fate of farming. Some of the big data applications
reforming the entire agricultural economy are described as follows:
1.
Agri-tech apps: apps-based services are being offered to African farmers like
Wefarm for exchanging group wisdom. Another Kenya-based app, iCow, used
in dairy farming in real time, alerts farmers to milk the cow.
2.
Data-driven farming: agriculture scientists have been working on this prob-
lem, and the most promising approach came in the form of data-driven farm-
ing, which can map every farm in the world, for example, to know the moisture
level in the soil six inches below the soil, and what the soil nutrient level is
throughout the farm. Through a famous Big Data technique, precision agricul-
ture (Mayer-Schonberger & Cukier, 2013), the farmer can apply water and
pesticides only where it is needed, instead of applying it uniformly, to improve
the agriculture industry’s productivity. Another data-driven technique, pheno-
typing, can produce using the same seed variety to grow differently in different
parts of the farm.
3.
Cloud computing technologies: in this digital world, map-produced cloud com-
puting technologies like Hadoop allow for running of calculations across thou-
sands of machines and facilitate solutions to problems. New satellite data,
weather data (Prasad, 2019), digitization of the soils, and new sensors on the
farm have given us a better understanding of better interactions among crop,
weather, and soil. Using geometric tools like satellites, Big Data is revolution-
izing the way we farm and feed the world.
4.
IoT-based farming through SAP Leonardo IoT based discovery: strategically
placed sensors deliver data that makes farm digital intelligent. Data is collected
and fed to a cloud platform where the data is analyzed and can be accessed in
real time. In many industries, visual inspection of assets and types of equip-
ment is risky and expensive. Spotting and tackling issues in real time are often
not possible. The Field Force Drone Application sees things differently. It is an
innovative approach to remote inspection that unlocks new value by applying
new technologies; increases inspection capacity (Naresh and Munaswamy,
2019), safety, and efficiency; and reduces issue response time and cost, com-
bining IoT, machine learning, and computer vision to turn images into insights.
The Field Force Drone Application can be easily implemented, rapidly scaled,
and adapted to many use cases. It can check farming fields for crop diseases
and determine the best harvesting time to maximize yield. The possibilities are
enormous.
5.
Artificial machine and robotic farming: farming is a tough job these days. For
example, milking cows is not just the type of work people want to do anymore.
Standards of living are rising across the globe; the work is not as attractive as
it once was, leading some farmers to consider how robots could fill such a gap
as farming becomes more automated from sowing to harvesting with no human
intervention. Robotic farming plays an essential role in selecting the harvesting
of delicate crops like strawberries, mushrooms, and flowers; such crops can be
easily damaged, resulting in financial losses to farmers (Chhabra et al., 2020;
Hussain et al., 2020, 2021; Shahzad et al., 2020a; Syed et al., 2020).
6.
Vertical farming: this is a well-growing trend in agriculture, where crops are
grown using aeroponic technology, uses no soil, no pesticides or herbicides,
and 90 percent less water. Crops are grown using aeroponic technology. A
reusable cloth medium replacing soil and energy-efficient LED lights substi-
tuting the sunlight help crops grow indoors.
Challenges Before Agripreneurship

Farming is a complicated business, totally dependent on nature. Considerations like
soil and crop types, topography, planting, watching the weather, applying a uniform
amount of water, nutrients and pesticides, manually inspecting fields (Rosenzweig
et al., 2014), and climate change are significant in agriculture affecting output to a
greater extent. There is a shortage of skilled workforce (Aitkenhead et al., 2013) and
managerial workforce in the agriculture sector to carry out its routine activities. The
sector is underequipped, with infrastructural facilities facing difficulties transporting
agricultural produce from cold storage to end consumers. Lack of advanced tools and
agricultural equipment, skyrocketing infrastructure (Sonka, 2016), and distribution
costs add more fuel to the fire. There is no relief provided for the farmers for crop
loss arising out of natural calamities, creating much distress. Various countries face
the problem of controlling agricultural production by businesspeople being present
at both urban and rural levels. This mainly includes the community of traders, com-
mission agents (Sen & Madhu, 2017), and small financers who often control the
prices of goods and commodities in the local market, thereby losing the farmers.
Due to a lack of youth awareness towards making career opportunities in agriculture,

this sector has remained untapped.
CONCLUSION
There is a need to accomplish massive increases in efficiency on the farm as farmers
face the incredible challenge of increasing food production without getting any
more land. Data science is the next big wave of revolution, which can dramatically
increase output. Big Data in agriculture is in its pioneering stage in many corners of
the world. Major advancements in agriculture throughout the history of farming in
both equipment and genetic improvements have taken place. However, a country
like India is dominated by small and marginal farms, and farmers need to transform
into larger ones.
For this transformation, an assessment of various parameters like cultural prac-
tices, cropping pattern, and rainfall pattern, management practices, uncertain mon-
soon patterns, issues with market prices, problems with farmers’ knowledge and
skill, issues with approachability, internal infrastructural problems, lack of great
capital spending on developing infrastructure for agriculture, loan availability and
logistics are of paramount importance. An IoT-based integration of all the operations
of the agriculture sector at a macro level is required to solve the problems of this sec-
tor. Achieving the goal of smart farming requires success in maintaining a datasheet
containing a record of every individual farmer by name or by a farm giving custom-
ization solutions to farmers, and this can be possible only by quantifying things using
a unique farm code.
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6 Adoption of Big Data in
Agripreneurship
A Panacea to the Global
Food Challenge
Uzairu Muhammad Gwadabe
Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia
Nalini Arumugam
School of Agriculture Sciences and Biotechnology Universiti
Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia
CONTENTS
The Concept of Big Data�� 73
Definition of Big Data�� 73
Big Data Applications in Agriculture�� 74
Agripreneurship and Big Data in Malaysia�� 75
Challenges of Big Data Among Agripreneurs�� 77
Conclusion�� 78
Acknowledgments�� 79
References�� 79
INTRODUCTION
The current global food production needs to increase by at least 60% to feed the
world’s growing population, headed towards 9.8 billion by the year 2050. The focus
is to upsurge food production without wrecking the planet (Khokhar & Kashiwase,
2015; United Nations, 2017). However, one of the critical challenges is climate
change, which pressurizes agriculture; the soils, freshwater, and biodiversity are rap-
idly degrading. Consequently, the agricultural industry is facing the challenge of
producing more food on the existing farmland that can feed the earth without destroy-
ing forests and polluting the environment through chemicals and fertilizers.
In developing countries, most farmers, especially small-scale farmers, continue to
use traditional farming practices and limited access to the latest knowledge and tech-
nologies (Balana et al., 2020; Mastoi et al., 2014; Shahzad et al., 2020a, 2020b). This
practice results in inefficiency and low yields. On the other hand, the demand for
agricultural products continuously increases (Schwab, 2018).
DOI: 10.1201/9781003097945-6 71
In Malaysia, the agricultural sector is critical to the economy. Apart from being
the primary food provider, the sector employs more than 14.9 million people and
contributes 12% to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, in the last
two decades, the country’s share of the world’s production of crops steadily declined
(Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2019). For instance, in the last quarter of 2018,
the Malaysian economy recorded better performance; all major sectors reported pos-
itive growth except for the agricultural sector, which recorded negative results
(Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2019). Also, rice production, which is a staple
food in Malaysia, does not satisfy the nation’s needs. Thus, the country imports a
significant percentage of agricultural food (Hussain et al., 2020, 2021; Mirimo &
Shamsudin, 2018; Syed et al., 2020).
To improve the agriculture condition in Malaysia, entrepreneurship in agriculture,
known as agripreneurship, has a crucial role to play (Iza et al., 2019; Kahan, 2013;
Ndedi & Feussi, 2018). Agripreneurship is the consideration of agriculture as a busi-
ness (Sharma, 2020). It is the process by which farmers become creative, innovative,
determined, and willing to take calculated risks to improve and grow their farming
businesses steadily (Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services, 2020). Therefore,
agripreneurship would avail small farmers with the capability and mindset to develop
innovative ways of doing the routine to grow their agricultural business.
Correspondingly, Yusoff, Ahmad, and Halim (2016) express that agripreneurship
provides small-scale farmers explicitly with the ability to develop goals and create
wealth by applying innovative skills within the agricultural sector. It prepares them
with entrepreneurial characteristics that can adapt to environmental dynamism
and develop better methods to organize their farms and experiments on crops and
cultivars.
Therefore, this study focuses on small-scale farmers who will subsequently be
referred to as agripreneurs. Although they are weak in terms of resources, capital,
and modern agricultural techniques, they contribute to more than 80% of food pro-
duction in Malaysia. Therefore, being the largest food producer, agripreneurs are
the right category of farmers who can substantially increase the current food
production.
Agripreneurs can upsurge total crop production by increasing yields and reducing
waste on existing farmland through precision agriculture, facilitated by various
Internet of Things (IoT) and Information and Communication Technological (ICT)
devices for agriculture. The devices collect real-time and historical information in
structured and unstructured data sets that accumulate at high speed and become vast
and diverse. However, over time, the data accumulates fast and becomes big and
complex, so the traditional recording facilities cannot handle it (Cynthia, 2017). Such
massive data sets that are usually beyond the capacity of available data processing
facilities are called Big Data (BD) (Protopop & Shanoyan, 2016). Similarly, the
devices that generate and process such data are called BD devices.
In agriculture, BD devices increase efficiency and productivity and reduce the
costs of agricultural inputs. The devices ensure that the crops and soil receive the
exact amount of inputs they need for optimum health and productivity (Hedley,
2015). The insight gained from BD devices for agriculture leads to scientific and
rational decisions that can provide solutions to agricultural problems (Carolan, 2017).
Adoption of Big Data in Agripreneurship 73
By understanding how to engage with BD devices for agriculture, agripreneurs

will better appreciate their farmland by improving agricultural productivity while
conserving and enhancing natural resources and gaining insight into how to handle
the farmlands. The application of BD devices has shown development in some key
sectors, especially in commercial agriculture. The concept can also be an essential
tool for developing agripreneurship (Protopop & Shanoyan, 2016). Thus, it recently
attracts a growing interest among stakeholders.
However, there is limited literature and evidence on how revolutionary BD devices
help agripreneurs increase their productivity and supply chain efficiency. Therefore,
this chapter aims to provide a synthesized and integrated overview of the current
state of heart on agripreneurship in relation to the application of BD devices in agri-
culture in Malaysia. The study also highlights the benefit agripreneurs might derive
from the adoption of BD solutions for agriculture in their daily farming routine to
maximize yield on their existing farmland.
THE CONCEPT OF BIG DATA

Though the concept of BD is in its development stage, its roots go back to the 1960s
and 1970s. However, in recent times, the world of data began in 2005 to create the
first world data centers (Dontha, 2017). However, the first person who uses the term
in its modern context was Roger Mougalas in 2005. Mougalas used the word to mean
a large data set that is practically impossible to store, process, and analyze using
traditional methods. Mougalas coined the term to mean the amount of data collected
from different sources. Later on, an open-source software utility company, Hadoop,
was established in 2016, purposely created to store and analyze a large and complex
data set, followed by other database management companies (Adamu et al., 2021;
Hashem et al., 2015; Khan et al., 2014). The establishment of Hadoop and other simi-
lar companies like Spark has smoothed the evolution of BD.
Large data size continued to be generated by direct activities of humans and
advancement in ICT, IoT, and machine learning. Such developments contribute to the
accumulation of data by connecting smart devices to the internet to collect valuable
information in agriculture like weather conditions, water, humidity, soil moisture,
and pests and diseases (Oracle, 2019; Rijmenam, 2019; Soni, 2018).
DEFINITION OF BIG DATA

According to Gartner, “big data is high-velocity, high-volume and/or high-variety
information assets that need to be innovative and cost-effective forms of information
processing that enable enhanced insight, decision making, and process automation”
(Gartner, 2020). Gartner views BD from three perspectives, the volume, velocity, and
variability of the data, which rise beyond the capacity of the traditional data handling
technique or facilities. In a different definition, BD is “data sets characterized by
huge amounts (volume) which is frequently updated (velocity) in different formats,
like textual, numeric, images or videos (variety)” (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2019).
Therefore, BD deals with innovative technology integration to uncover insights from
complex, diverse, broad-based data sets (Hashem et al., 2015). Similarly, Khan et al.
(2014) defined BD as information assets that are large, fast, and diverse; a data set
that requires unique analytical techniques and methods to decode the valuable infor-
mation it contains.
Therefore, considering the concept of BD is still developing, it is difficult to pro-
vide its single definition, but its theme refers to a data set that is large or complex to
be collected, stored, retrieved, processed, or interpreted by the traditional data han-
dling facilities. Thus, the prerequisites for BD applications are to have the ability and
infrastructure to generate, process, store, and derive valuable information from the
accumulated information.
The main concern about BD is the size, diversity, or variability of the data and the
benefits derived from it. The usefulness of BD is the ability to analyze and draw
conclusions that may help to improve the routine activities, such as cost or time opti-
mization, or outcome that can facilitate the development of a new product or process,
or anything that may lead to smart decisions. Efficient analyses of BD can provide
solutions to critical survival-related issues like identifying the causes of a failure,
problems, and defects associated with any activity or venture. Application of BD can
help predict a customer’s transactional habits or preferences, calculation of risk port-
folios, and ability to detect a potential hazard before it affects the venture (Gandomi &
Haider, 2015; Strong, 2015).
BIG DATA APPLICATIONS IN AGRICULTURE

In recent years, global digital transformation increased opportunities in the agricul-
tural sector. BD applications in agriculture are receiving increased attention from
various players in the food and agribusiness sectors. Smart devices and technologies
like mobile phones and social media enable agripreneurs to interact with society.
Rapid ICT advancements through IoT and cloud computing drive smart farming
(Sundmaeker et al., 2016). The general advancement in ICT has led to widespread
mobile phones for virtually all rural farmers, and that has significantly impacted
farmers’ lives. The information generated by mobile phones enhances the efficiency
of trade in the agricultural sector. For instance, the introduction to mobile money
platforms has also expanded financial inclusion that provides agripreneurs with the
ability to use banking services to carry on transactions, borrow funds, and save
money. That has saved time and reduced operations costs for agripreneurs (Ali et al.,
2021; Protopop & Shanoyan, 2016).
Thus, BD devices in agriculture are blending the traditional agricultural processes
with contemporary data science. Farmers can handle large numbers of cases contain-
ing large amounts of data and better understand their farming business (Foodtank,
2019; Hedley, 2015). The BD solution is creating new approaches that can help farm-
ers analyze their farm operations and ultimately make farming more efficient, profit-
able, and sustainable (Foodtank, 2019).
In that regard, all agripreneurs must get to the heart of the challenge by migrating
from traditional farming techniques to modern, sophisticated agriculture aided by BD
devices. The agricultural devices can provide farmers with information that can help
them increase crop yields without any negative impact on the environment and increase
the amount of farmland (Peter, 2019). Agripreneurs need those smart devices to
efficiently determine how various crops can perform in different ways and different sea-
sons of the year. For example, BD devices for agriculture can help agripreneurs under-
stand micronutrients, minerals, and biotics in farming (Dutta et al., 2018; Peter, 2019).
Studies proved that information derived from soil and weather conditions could
be a solution to tackle issues like delayed planting or weeding, and lack of appropri-
ate land preparation and harvesting techniques, which are some of the problems that
affect small farmers’ productivity. Thus, a solution to those inefficient agricultural
processes will increase general crop production around the globe (Bunge, 2014; Del
Giudice et al., 2021; Di Vaio et al., 2020; Kshetri, 2014; Oluoch-Kosura, 2010;
Shahzad et al., 2021).
Therefore, many agencies around the globe pay attention to BD-based solutions.
For instance, the United States Department of Agriculture is focused on supporting
sustainable land use and world food security. It has launched the first two mobile
applications that can link farmers worldwide and equipped them with detailed infor-
mation on ways to improve farmland productivity. The two applications, LandInfo
and LandCover, were tested and issued under the five-year project of the department
(Jan, 2015). LandInfo users can collect and exchange soil and land cover information
as well as access global climate information. LandCover simplifies data collection
for use in the surveillance of inventories and land cover. The programs generate criti-
cal indicators for these types of covers on the phone and store data on servers that
users can access via the internet. This kind of knowledge exchange is essential for
agripreneurs to avoid many problems that might have happened. Consequently, pro-
ductivity can be increased to meet the need for feeding the growing global population
(Jan, 2015).
Similarly, Elsheikh et al. (2013) designed a Land Suitability Evaluator to deter-
mine the best crop for a given piece of land. This technology can help farmers iden-
tify and decide on the crops to plant for the best yield. This development could be a
solution to the problem highlighted by Jaabi (2017) that some crops are planted at
inappropriate farmlands; the land might be more suitable for different plantations.
AGRIPRENEURSHIP AND BIG DATA IN MALAYSIA

Ownership of agricultural land in Malaysia is generally divided into small-scale farms
(agripreneurs), an average farmland size of one to two hectares, and the plantation-based
estate sector with a farm size of over 500 hectares (Bakar, 2009). Agripreneurs pro-
duce up to 80% of Malaysia’s food supply and contribute significantly to the eco-
nomic well-being of the country (Casey, 2016). To date, agripreneurs in Malaysia
have not fully adopted modern farming techniques; hence, they exercise traditional
farming practices coupled with mechanized title techniques (Haris et al., 2018). That
includes small farms’ size in remote areas with restricted access to the latest informa-
tion and technologies. As such, agripreneurs are vulnerable and exposed to a wide
range of uncertainties, like attacks from pests and diseases, market and price fluctua-
tions, and climate change, among other issues. Therefore, the agripreneurs always
worry about equipment and labor costs and what, when, and how to plant crops. The
optimal level of inputs, monitoring of pests and diseases, quality of the soil and
water, timing, and price of the sale also need technological solutions.
The Malaysian government is seriously committed to developing and moderniz-

ing agripreneurship, especially in its efforts to attract more young graduates to
embrace agriculture. For instance, the Agro Youth Entrepreneur Incubator Programme
(IUBT) of the Ministry of Agriculture aims to develop agripreneurship among young
people and university graduates through practical training in food crops production.
Also, the government supports agripreneurship through various educational pro-
grams and training. Also, the government has been allocating billions of Ringgit in
support of various agripreneurship programs such as the ‘Young Agro entrepreneurs’,
‘My Kampung My Future’ programs, and so on (Yusoff, Ahmad, & Halim, 2016).
The focus is to strategically change the mind of the youths to accept agriculture
and make it a business. In this regard, the Malaysian Ministry of Agriculture and the
Agro-based Industry has implemented a program which is termed as Pertanian
Adalah Perniagaan, which means “Agriculture is a Business”. The policy calls on
agripreneurs to migrate from traditional to modern agriculture (Protopop & Shanoyan,
2016). Correspondingly, Annamalah et al. (2016) argued that the solution to a signifi-
cant increase in food production is that Malaysian agricultural entrepreneurs should
focus on diversifying and modernizing the agricultural process to create businesses
that can increase income and thus allow farmers to live comfortably.
Since agriculture is one of the important sectors in Malaysia, smart farming
devices will facilitate the understanding of real-time information generated on the
farm. As the government makes efforts to enhance small-scale farming by convinc-
ing the youths to embrace agriculture, the policy would be more attractive when the
sector is modernized and equipped with ICT infrastructure. Also, that can help
agripreneurs reduce operating costs and human errors, optimizing decision-making,
increasing production, and improving the supply chain’s efficiency.
Many studies suggest that agripreneurs can use smartphones to access informa-
tion that can improve farming procedures. Smartphones with internet connection in
Malaysia have grown at a remarkably rapid rate. This can result in mass mobilization
and accumulation of information at the small farming stage. Therefore, to create a
conducive environment in managing the accumulating information, the application
of BD devices for agriculture could be a solution (Protopop & Shanoyan, 2016).
Further, more BD devices have emerged to help store and make sense of these data
sets. Some of the software is free and can be installed on tablets and mobile phones.
This development shows how easily these technologies can penetrate the industry.
Nowadays, social media plays a vital role in information, communication, and mar-
keting (Protopop & Shanoyan, 2016).
BD devices for agriculture are practical solutions to agripreneurship. For exam-
ple, a system called Web Paddy GIS, developed by Norasma et al. (2013), supports
paddy farming in Malaysia. The system has specific features that help the fertilizer
application on the farm; it can provide information on water scheduling, pest control,
and farm yield reports. The system is another form of BD device. Although initially
there was concern about whether the semi-learned farmers could use the technology,
the project was successfully implemented as the schoolgoing children of the farmers
helped their parents to assimilate and use the technology. However, issues like access
to a reliable internet connection are a challenge.
In a study on multi-spectral bands onboard the earth observation satellite (SPOT

satellite), Jayaselan et al. (2018) determined the quantum of nitrogen that needs to be
added to palm oil trees to improve productivity. The project is underway to introduce
bands onboard the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and promises to be successful.
The service is an advantage for agripreneurs, as they can use such technology at low
prices. The National Applied Research and Development Centre (MIMOS) is
Malaysia’s leading ICT, Industrial Electronics and Nano-Semiconductor. The center
launched Mi-Trace in Mid-2016 for the end-to-end tracking and tracing process of
premium products.
CHALLENGES OF BIG DATA AMONG AGRIPRENEURS

The rapid growth rate in the amount of data is of great concern. Though the advanced
technology in data mining and storage facilities provides a solution for storage and
data analysis, there is concern about the diversity, transfer speed, and data security
(Khan et al., 2014). Therefore, agripreneurs need to understand BD and the way it
works. Studies revealed that agripreneurs and large-scale farmers also face difficul-
ties at the early stage of using BD-based solutions (Michaud, 2018). Correspondingly,
in a study by Gartner, only 15% of ventures it studied were able to accomplish their
BD projects successfully and effectively (Cynthia, 2017). The NewVantage Partners
conducted a five-year study and found that 51% of BD-related projects it studied did
not achieve measurable results (Cynthia, 2017). Thus, it becomes evident that
agripreneurs find it challenging to acquaint themselves with BD-based solutions.
According to Shirkhorshidi et al. (2014) and Adamu et al. (2021), the challenges
of BD can be traced from its significant features:
Volume: agriculture is a sector that deals with massive data sets. Data accumula-
tion starts from determining the best seeds for different soil and weather types up to
the harvesting stage. So, there is no way agripreneurs cannot deal with a large vol-
ume of data if they want to optimize the quality and yield of the crop. The volume of
data is one of the distinguishing characteristics of data that agripreneurs need to
consider while handling data. A typical example is how agripreneurs extract and
analyze relevant and valuable information systematically from the vast amount of
data that flows every day through the farming routine (Kshetri, 2014)
Variability: due to limited access to modern technology, agripreneurs find it chal-
lenging to handle inconsistent data sets. The irregularity of the data becomes a chal-
lenge in managing information efficiently (Shirkhorshidi et al., 2014). For instance,
in farmland, the amount of manure needed may differ based on weather changes.
Therefore, the amount of data needed at different points of time and in different parts
of the farmland may vary. That makes it challenging for agripreneurs to collect, pro-
cess, and analyze a data set in a different format (Hashem et al., 2015).
Variety: this refers to the heterogeneous nature and sources of data, whether struc-
tured or unstructured. In previous days, databases and spreadsheets were the main
formats compatible with almost all the data processing software. However, data can
be in different formats like pictures, audios, PDF, emails, monitoring devices, videos,
and files. Therefore, this diversity of unstructured data results in specific problems of
extraction, storage, and analysis (Shirkhorshidi et al., 2014). Thus, the discrepancy in
the flow of the data is a challenge to handle by agripreneurs.
Velocity: in this context, velocity refers to the speed at which farmers can generate
the necessary information. The real potentiality of data depends on the speed at
which it can be generated and processed to obtain the required information. Data
flows at high speed and must be processed at a reasonable period (Khan et al., 2014).
However, responding to the rapid accumulation of BD is one of the main challenges
for agripreneurs.
Complexity: data comes in different structures and sources. Therefore, it is imper-
ative to correlate and or create relevant relationships among various sets of data.
Otherwise, the data can look meaningless (Hashem et al., 2015). That aspect is
another obstacle to agripreneurs since the traditional grouping methods cannot han-
dle some data set complexity.
CONCLUSION
Agripreneurship, which is the inculcation of entrepreneurship in agriculture, is a fac-
tor that can provide small farmers with optimism towards the adoption of BD devices
for agriculture. The use of BD devices in agriculture is a promising approach to
increase food production despite environmental challenges. The devices will allow
for precision agriculture, a technique that maps soils and plants to determine their
needs. This will improve the yield, reduce the planting cost, and be better for the
environment.
BD devices in agriculture will benefit agripreneurs through real-time measurement,
feedback, forecasting, and future planning. For example, the devices can provide real-
time data on the need for fertilizers and chemicals by different plants in the same farm-
land. This type of information will increase the productivity of the existing farmland
without harming the environment. This is because the devices ensure that crops and soils
receive the amount of input they need to achieve optimum health and productivity.
The proliferation of smartphones and internet connectivity will facilitate the adop-
tion of BD devices among agripreneurs. Social media is also widespread, even among
rural farmers. The medium can be used to connect agripreneurs with experts on BD
devices to discuss technical aspects and challenges they may encounter. Moving for-
ward, the government, through various agencies, farmer associations, and value
chain stakeholders, will have to make a significant effort to overcome the obstacles
that agripreneurs may face in the early stage of adoption.
The government, agripreneurs, and all stakeholders need to increase the attention
given to BD devices in agriculture to increase agricultural productivity with rela-
tively fewer resources and address the task of increasing food production to feed the
growing population. The BD-based solution for agriculture will help the Malaysian
government realize its ambition to modernize the agricultural sector, youth empow-
erment, and rural development.
To achieve successful adoption, this study recommends a collaborative outreach
awareness program for agripreneurs. The awareness should be initiated through vari-
ous agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture. With the growing awareness of the
potential benefits of BD applications to agripreneurs, there could be an increasing

understanding of the benefits of using the devices in agriculture.
Finally, more research is needed to gain insights into the drivers and obstacles of
BD-based solutions in agriculture. It is imperative to conduct a study to develop a
framework that may lead to the successful adoption of BD-based agriculture
solutions.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research is a part of the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) RR261.
The researchers would like to thank the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education and
Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia, for supporting this study.
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7 Anticipating and
Avoiding the Pitfalls that
Can Sink a Startup
Mahima Birla
Pacific University, India
Sunita Kishnani
Systematix Infotech Pvt. Ltd., India
B Venkat
AICTE, India
CONTENTS
Valuable Lessons from Successful Startups�� 84
Cockroach Labs�� 84
Okera Inc.�� 85
Cazoo Limited�� 85
Observe.AI�� 85
Get the Basics Right for a Successful Startup�� 86
Understanding Unit Economics�� 89
What Is CAC?�� 89
What Is Churn Rate?�� 89
What Is LTV?�� 90
LTV to CAC Ratio�� 90
The Payback Period on CAC�� 90
How Unit Economics Helps You Remain Sustainable and Profitable�� 91
Understanding Customer Satisfaction Metrics�� 91
What Is CSAT?�� 91
What Is NPS?�� 91
Key Financial Metrics�� 94
Burn Rate�� 94
Cost of Human Capital�� 94
Annual Recurring Revenue�� 94
Inventories�� 94
Summary�� 95
DOI: 10.1201/9781003097945-7 83
INTRODUCTION
Even the most valuable companies of today were once humble startups. With ample
finance opportunities and advanced technologies, it has become easier these days to
establish a startup. Today, pioneering innovations can take shape in a college, home,
or garage. As a result, there is huge growth in startups.
An estimated 50 million startups are opening every year worldwide (The Ultimate
Startup Failure Rate Report [2020], 2020). Each of them is hoping to be a unicorn
(startup valued at a billion dollars or more) or be acquired by a bigger company.
However, for every single hugely successful startup, thousands fail. The top 20 rea-
sons for these failures are seen in the infographic in “The Top 20 Reasons Startups
Fail” (2019).
Bringing an idea into reality is lucrative yet challenging. The chapter further
unfolds success stories of some startups, helping you to understand aspects that need
the most attention and overcoming the challenges within. Your startup becomes a
unicorn, and your growth story is written in golden words.
VALUABLE LESSONS FROM SUCCESSFUL STARTUPS

The best way to start an entrepreneurship journey is to read more about real entrepre-
neurs and their real businesses that hire real people to conceive real products and
services for real customers. Therefore, let us read about a few startups and analyze
what made them successful.
Cockroach Labs
Cockroach Labs, a big data industry company, is amongst “The 10 Hottest Big Data
Startups of 2020” (Whiting, 2020). CockroachDB is considered the most outstanding
innovation in the open-source software movement to disrupt the database and data
management tools. CockroachDB is the world’s first cloud-native, distributed rela-
tional database that combines the rich functionality of SQL with the horizontal scal-
ability common to NoSQL. It has outstanding rebuild capabilities for disaster recovery
and is exceptionally reliable – therefore, the name Cockroach. Due to a strong focus
on R&D, CockroachDB is a globally spanning database that retains data close to a
customer’s legal jurisdiction, promises data privacy, and renders data quickly.
Legacy players like Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server have long dominated the
database market. Globally, stay-at-home orders after the COVID-19 pandemic radi-
cally increased pressure on the enterprise’s tech stack. At the same time, economic
insecurity is pushing businesses to increase efficiency and reduce costs. Therefore,
the switch from legacy, closed-source data platforms to modern, distributed, cloud-
native platforms and tools is seen as much faster than expected.
Cockroach Labs has so far received $195 million in funding. YOY customer
growth has been 295% since inception. Existing customers’ usage has doubled, and
customer retention is over 90%. Cockroach Labs is a classic example of understand-
ing market transition and finding an opportunity to build a successful product and
company.
Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls that Can Sink a Startup 85
Okera Inc.
Okera is named as a “Cool Vendor” in DataOps 2020 (“Okera Named a Cool Vendor
by Gartner”, 2020), is amongst “The 10 Hottest Big Data Startups of 2020” (Whiting,
2020) and also has been honored with Datanami Editors’ Choice Award for Best Big
Data Security Product or Technology (“2020 Datanami Readers’ Choice Awards”,
2020).
A US-based data governance company, Okera provides enterprises with secure
data access for modern analytic platforms. Okera Active Data Access Platform
(ODAP) and Okera Policy Builder deliver peace of mind to share data confidently.
They enable detailed data access control policies and governance compliant with
privacy regulations such as GDPR and CCPA and reduce data security breaches. It
provides native support across Big Data cloud applications for data-driven initiatives
in enterprises. Data is used more effectively as the same data can be used in various
projects without creating multiple copies or custom plumbing. Okera has so far
raised $29.6 million in funding.
According to Gartner, 36% of the data administrator’s time is spent on data prepa-
ration and data integration, which is more than any other data management task
(Okera Named a Cool Vendor by Gartner, 2020). Okera spotted the market gap and
worked on a product that addresses this. The result is a successful startup that has the
trust of large enterprise clients and investors.
Cazoo Limited
UK-based used-car startup Cazoo has so far raised $239 million in funding. Used-car
businesses have always been there; what made Cazoo, then, the fastest British busi-
ness to achieve unicorn status?
Cazoo transformed how 8 million used cars are bought annually by launching a
digital platform and home delivery much like any other product. Cazoo brought in
the comfort and trust factor for a used-car buyer. Cazoo reconditions each car, and it
passes through more than 150 inspection points. A seven-day money-back guarantee
replacing the traditional seven-minute test drive, recent MOTs, full-service history,
seven-day free insurance, a free 90-day warranty, and RAC roadside assistance build
customer trust.
The key differentiation behind Cazoo’s success can be attributed to reinventing
the used car buying experience and the flawless execution of the idea.
Observe.AI
Founded in May 2017, Observe.AI is a speech analytics and AI platform for contact
centers that provide agents with real-time feedback on customer sentiment and sug-
gest the following best action during a live customer call. When 50% of customers
are unsatisfied with their call center experience, Observe.AI knew there was a huge
opportunity for their product. Observe.AI figured out the market opportunity first and
then launched the product. The product-market fit helped them become a successful
startup with $35 million in total funding, 100+ clients, and multi-million revenue.
GET THE BASICS RIGHT FOR A SUCCESSFUL STARTUP

The first and foremost question for a startup should be a perfect alignment of opera-
tions that lead to its survival and successful scaling. Following are the various aspects
that a startup should think through for a thriving foundation.
1.
Right Founding Team
The game can only be won with the right combination of team players. Founders
and their team are the single biggest factor behind the success or failure of a startup,
more so than the product/service itself. Later is the outcome of the intellect that the
exceptional founding team brings to turn an idea into a marketable product/service.
Therefore, from idea to establishing a founding team is a journey that requires care-
ful considerations. Some of these are listed as follows:
• Solopreneur, pair or more. Nothing is wrong with choosing to be a solopre-

neur, but realize that the startup turf is tough to play on. The right companion
brings complementing skills, congruence to take quick decisions, and most
importantly, support each other on the bumpy startup ride. Having a co-founder
also signals confidence to investors regarding both the success of the idea and
the co-founder’s diverse skills to make a startup successful.
• Choice of cofounder. Spouse, friend, relative, or colleague – you have many
options for selecting a co-founder. Many startups fail due to interpersonal
issues; therefore, make a prudent choice. Choose a co-founder known to you
for a reasonably long time, because you can assess whether he/she comple-
ments your temperament, skills, and expertise and is a leader and a self-
sufficient, persuasive, emotionally strong personality.
• Selection of founding team. The founding team must be lean. Therefore, select
members that bring the necessary skills and abilities. Some of the traits in the
founding team should be the subject knowledge, passion for building, and
multi-tasking. Do not hire super talent because the startup may not afford it,
but it should be the team you are confident of nurturing to managerial or lead-
ership roles going forward.
• Deciding key roles. Correct distribution of the key roles among the founding
team is a crucial decision in the success of a startup. When the equity is equal
among founders, then who would head becomes a sensitive subject. Take a
thorough decision by analyzing prior experience and key competencies while
allocating roles. For instance, a founder with experience in sales and marketing
should take the role of a CEO as sales, marketing, and investor relations are the
prime focus for any startup. The one with technical background should take the
role of Product Engineering Customer Service Head.
Wasserman (2014) noted that “65% of high-potential startups fail as a result of con-
flict among co-founders.” The saying “Two is a company, and three is a crowd”
stands true for a startup as well. More than two founders mean more internal discus-
sions, task delays, low trust, politics, and ego clash. Here is a real-world example:
An NBFC in India was founded by four friends with equal investment. As the
roles were not clearly defined, two of them never took interest and continued focus
on their existing business, while the other two were full-time. Again, one friend
offered investment for the equity and joined, becoming the fifth founder. Only one
founder was full-time to look after everything – new business, collections, accounts,
compliance, etc. Despite five experienced industry founders, the startup never saw
growth because of the informal arrangement. The company had been profitable all
through, but after eight years, when their NBFC license was canceled due to some
minor non-compliance, all partners started blaming the one who was managing the
business. Unclear roles, too many founders without active involvement, no growth
plan or strategy all led to the end of an eight-year-old profitable startup.
2.
Follow the 30/70 Concept
Many entrepreneurs think that idea will lead to success, but execution plays a
major role. Even the best idea fails as a business if not executed rightly. In contrast,
even if the idea is not original, it still achieves success with the right execution. Let’s
refer to this as a 30/70 concept. Having an excellent idea that can be worked upon,
improvised, and stretched is important. However, 70% of the focus should be plan-
ning and execution. Only with implementation can one distinguish whether the idea
was good or bad, amazing or pathetic, useful or not.
A few who worked upon an existing idea and still are successful include Facebook
through MySpace, and Instagram, though Hipstamatic was the first. The point is that
a great idea can be improvised to have a new and fresh feel, making it more relevant
with the appropriate execution.
In the beginning, we have seen Cazoo as the successful execution of an idea in an
existing industry. Byju’s, an EdTech unicorn startup from India, is another example.
Byju’s disrupted the entrance examination coaching industry. Byju’s improvised
classroom coaching through a digital platform making appropriate use of technology
and content right when the internet and mobile penetration was increasing in India.
Besides, he ensured that the digital medium is complemented with the personal touch
of the teachers. Therefore, not the idea but the execution made Byju’s distinct and
reached to masses (Soni, 2018).
The execution plan lays down the strategy for a startup. It provides a framework
with clear milestones, tasks, and responsibilities for managing and reviewing the
business, communicating critical goals, timelines, and success parameters. The fol-
lowing is the guideline for creating an execution plan:
• Create a list of functions and goals in all these functions.

• Identify tasks to achieve goals.
• Prioritize tasks, assign resources, set completion timeline, and allocate
budget.
• Create a training plan and processes. Train the team and explain processes.
• Review progress and adherence to processes. Identify road blockers and
realign.
A well-defined execution plan helps in preparing a finance plan as well. Only found-
ers have a vision of what and how they want to achieve their goals in a startup. Thus,
simple delegation does not work. The founder’s direct involvement is essential for
the training and guiding team, followed by a continuous review mechanism and pro-
cess alignment.
3.
Plan Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and Start Early
The product plan is another area where many startups fail. A startup has limited
resources in terms of money and manpower. Therefore, plan a product with mini-
mum features that can be quickly built and launched to prove the value that it adds to
the customer’s life and evaluate growth prospects based on its state and adoption
speed. The approach is called “Minimum Viable Product (MVP)” (Minimum Viable
Product [MVP], 2020) and is essential for tech startups. Planning an MVP means
considering a full-scale product – each offering feature, functionality, and execution
of only those that are most essential from a user’s perspective
The MVP approach reduces the probability of failure as it surfaces learnings and
an agile way of adjusting the product as per the customer’s need. It also helps to
legally safeguard the original idea, product, or service at an early stage. Following is
the guideline for planning MVP:
• Plan one or two key features that address the biggest pain point of your
customers.
• Evolve the product by listening to your customers to upgrade existing features
and functionality and gathering feedback on the features to be incorporated later.
• Track metrics, and improve and release upgraded products. The frequency of
initial releases can be monthly.
Do not lose focus on the main problem statement by incorporating overly wide fea-
tures or associated offerings. How not considering MVP killed a big idea can be seen
in the following real-world example. Internet pharmacy was an untouched territory
in India until 2013. A startup decided to foray into this space as early as 2012. Their
idea was to address the pain point of diabetic, hypertensive, and other lifestyle-
diseased patients who visit the physical pharmacy store every month to buy the same
medication. As they worked on the idea, they realized that pharmacies make 50% of
their revenue from non-pharmacy products. They decided to include them in the
product catalog. Next, they thought, there are not many organized pharmacy retail
chains, so let’s venture into this area as well. Then, they thought, there is no portal to
manage personal health records (PHR), so let’s build that. As soon as an online phar-
macy and retail stores were launched in two cities, they also decided to add a loca-
tion-based doctor’s list and functionality to book a doctor’s appointment. The simple
idea of ordering and home delivery of medicines was complicated with many add-
ons during the founding years. Soon, other online pharmacy startups were seen in the
market. By 2014, three other online pharmacy startups offering medicine ordering
and home delivery, that too in few cities, started getting huge traction, and this startup
was still struggling with whether to focus on online, offline, or the health portal
market. As per the EY report “E-pharma: Delivering Healthier Outcomes’, e-pharma

players are expected to attain a combined market size of US$2.7 billion by 2023 from
about US$360 million currently. But this startup is nowhere amongst the top players
despite being a pioneer in the field.
4.
Assess Viability of Business Model
Start simple, execute smart, build on scale. For a startup, it is important to have a
viable business model; therefore, ensure that enthusiasm does not drive you away
from Unit Economics and Customer Satisfaction. Keep evaluating and analyzing
how quickly you will scale up and how profitable your venture is likely to be with the
help of the Unit Economics and Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Score. Remember,
calculating these is simple, and you do not need a financial analyst for this.
UNDERSTANDING UNIT ECONOMICS

Unit economics helps to know whether the business will be sustainable and scalable.
It measures profitability on a per-unit (per-customer) basis. Essential metrics for unit
economics are:
• Cost of Customer Acquisition (CAC)

• Churn Rate
• Lifetime Value (LTV)
• LTV to CAC Ratio
• Payback period on CAC
WHAT IS CAC?
CAC is the cost that is spent on convincing a potential customer to purchase a
product/service. The formula and an example follow.
Cost of sales and marketing ( including salaries and related expenses) for a given period
CAC =
Number of customers acquired in that period
$1, 000, 000 in Q1

CAC =
10, 000
CAC = $100
WHAT IS CHURN RATE?

Churn rate is the number of customers that drop your services in a given period. This
metric is important, as a cost is involved in acquiring a new customer (CAC). If the
customer continues, then not only is CAC saved but this also increases LTV. To
reduce the churn rate, build a responsive customer support mechanism. Ask custom-
ers to rate, find out the main separation reasons, and address them. Measure support
on the following metrics to figure out improvement areas.
• Response time
• Resolution time and rate
• Number of interactions-to-resolution
• Escalation rate
WHAT IS LTV?
LTV is projected gross margin from a customer over the lifetime of his relationship
with the business. Gross margin also considers any support, installation, and servic-
ing costs (Karnes, 2020). LTV helps forecasting cash flow and the number of custom-
ers to be acquired and retained to achieve desired profitability.
Example
The average sale for a B2B medical-supplies portal is $1000. On average, their
customers buy 8 times a year, and the retention period is 2 years. Their gross profit
margin is 20% after deducting the cost of goods sold (COGS) and all expenses,
overheads, sales, and marketing costs. Customer LTV will be:
LTV = Average sale value per transaction × No. of Transactions × Retention Period
$16000 = $1000 × 8 × 2
Customer LTV = LTV × Gross Margin
$3200 = ($1000 × 8 × 2) × 20%
In a subscription model (SaaS), Customer LTV takes into consideration the monthly
churn rate as well. Therefore, LTV will be the gross margin earned on monthly recur-
ring revenue per customer and dividing that by the monthly churn rate.
LTV TO CAC RATIO

LTV to CAC ratio is for unit economics analysis. The ideal is 3:1, where you get
three times the value of acquisition from each new customer. If the ratio is low, say
1:1, then refine sales, customer acquisition, and pricing models. If it is high, say 6:1,
it means you are missing out on valuable growth opportunities as each customer is
paying more than the cost of acquiring them. If so, allocate more time and budget to
acquire new customers and scale fast.
THE PAYBACK PERIOD ON CAC

The payback period is the amount of time a startup takes to start earning from each
customer. The average payback for a startup is 15 months. The shorter the payback
period, the faster will be the growth and less working capital requirement.
HOW UNIT ECONOMICS HELPS YOU REMAIN SUSTAINABLE AND

PROFITABLE
Startup founders are highly confident about their idea and the business. However,
“let’s start, and we will get traction and customers” never works, and it is the biggest
reason for failure. A startup needs both a healthy growth rate as well as profitability
to sustain. A startup will be profitable when LTV > CAC, i.e., 3:1 to cover all costs
such as infrastructure, product development, and logistics.
Unit economics enables one to predict revenue curve and make long-term finan-
cial projections accurately. That is why nowadays, investors focus more on unit eco-
nomics than Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) (Pilcher, 2020).
UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION METRICS

Customer satisfaction assessment aligns product-market fit, marketing, promotion,
and pricing strategy to reduce customer churn rate. It is also a metric to assess brand
loyalty.
WHAT IS CSAT?
CSAT score indicates customers’ satisfaction for a product, service, transaction,
interaction etc., usually on a scale of 1–5 (Highly Dissatisfied [1], Dissatisfied [2],
Somewhat Satisfied [3], Satisfied [4], and Highly Satisfied [5]). It provides insight as
to what is working or failing.
Sum of Satisfied and Highly Satisfied Responses

CSAT Score % 100
Total Number of Responses
WHAT IS NPS?
Net Promoters Score (NPS) predicts how likely your customers are to promote your
product/service or brand. NPS is usually an assessment of overall experience with the
brand and is generally asked as “Considering your overall experience, how likely are
you to recommend us?” The scale used is 0–10, where “0” is lowest and “10” is high-
est. The customer ratings are classified as follows:
o Promoters – 9–10
o Passive –7–8
o Detractors – below 7
NPS = Percentage of Promotors − Percentage of Detractors

NPS is expressed as a number in the range of −100 to 100. The score is negative
when a startup has more detractors than promoters, and positive when it has more
promoters. Along with the NPS Survey, ask a few questions to understand the good
and bad aspects of the customer’s overall experience. This helps to focus and improve
upon the weak points.
Refer to the same online pharmacy startup and see how a complicated business
model and execution barred it from achieving its growth potential. Instead of starting
with home delivery of medicines in one or a few cities, they chose to ship medication
all over India. This means enabling the logistics function from day one to cater to the
whole country. Further, their retail pharmacies were also in four different states, with
multiple stores in one city. Their portal was also over-featured as against the MVP
approach. Because of this, sales and marketing expenses increased manyfold. The
average sale value per transaction for pharmacy in India is shallow. As we just stud-
ied, if the average value per transaction is low, customer LTV will not suffice to
recover CAC and other business costs.
In contrast, their competitors focused on setting up operations in one city only.
Therefore, their CAC was significantly low. Now you can realize that instead of wid-
ening and getting too thin, their competitor decided to focus on the major pain point,
learn with a simpler model, and scale fast after the success. Their competitor is now
among the top players in India.
A startup should work in an agile model. Let the model be simple and easy to
execute, learn from the errors, and fix quickly to focus on the unit economics and
customer satisfaction index. Once established, scaling is easy and error-free.
5.
Decide the right time for market launch
Simply having a great product does not lead to success. A startup needs to market
their product to succeed. Marketing here means public launch after the test marketing
is done among limited customers who have tried your product/service.
Test marketing and timing of market launch both are important. Remember, great
marketing can get you customers, but a terrible product will take them away. Test
marketing is more crucial for a tech startup because even with a highly qualified and
capable product team, bugs are inescapable. Therefore, the thought process for test
marketing should start right from the moment you start working on your idea and
developing a product/service.
As the product is built, discuss it informally and share the prototype with the
family/friends representing your target audience. After a few of these discussions,
assess whether the sales benefits that you presented are convincing and easily under-
stood or not. As product development progresses, expand this group to include peo-
ple you are connected to but do not have a personal relationship. Share the initial
versions with this group for beta testing to determine whether it is easy to navigate
and use. If multiple users give the same feedback about a feature or functionality, it
is worth addressing. Use this feedback to enhance the product and make it ready for
launch. In the third phase, create a larger group. At this stage, gather specific terms
that the target audience uses for search, their major locations, and popularity/trends
for your type of product/service.
Too early or late go-to-market kills possibilities of going big with the idea. Do not
wait for a matured product to start marketing; instead, go ahead with a Minimum
Viable Product (MVP). They are launching a marketing campaign before MVP risks
success because the venture will get good coverage but no traction. Now, to decide
the right time for the go-to-market, ask yourself the following questions:
• What is my product/service disrupting?

• What is the bottom-line benefit to the customers?
• Am I done with the test marketing?
• Do I know the early adopters?
• What is the best way to reach out to the customers?
• What marketing communication would strike my audience?
If you have clear answers to these questions, then strategize the timeline for announc-
ing the launch. Also, decide whether you would like the information to spread slowly
or through one-to-one marketing, big announcement, launch city by city or consider
an entire target geography, etc. The strategy will also include what you want to hap-
pen next after the market launch.
How an untimely market launch proves fatal for a startup is seen in Cuil’s case.
Launched in 2008, Cuil was considered to be a solid contender to dent the Google
search engine (Sullivan, 2008). Cuil claimed to have indexed 120 billion webpages,
larger than Google’s index at that time, and the founders, being former Google and
IBM employees, knew search. Yet, it failed miserably. The reason is that the product
could not perform the core functionality of finding relevant search results. Cuil cre-
ated huge traction by using the terms “pioneering”, “significant breakthroughs”,
“ideal search engine”, “complete user privacy”, “next-generation approach to search”
in their marketing communication. Soon after the launch, negative reviews – “it is
buggy”, “slow”, “hand-tweaked”, “requires exact spelling” – started appearing
(PCMagStaff, 2008). If these were the claims in a launch, then Cuil should have had
a good product to back that up, but such was not the case. The result was that Cuil
suffered an early launch with a load of buzz and negative reaction. Once a promising
search startup, Cuil ended its journey in 2010, having raised $33 million between its
founding and shutdown (O’Dell, 2012).
Like an early launch, a delayed launch also kills a startup. The same online phar-
macy in India that we discussed earlier also suffered on delayed launch and missed
the boat. When this online pharmacy started in 2014, there were no major competi-
tors. However, as they were busy making an over-featured product and extended
offering, they did not market their MVP in a timely manner. The MVP for them was
the website and mobile app that lets a buyer order medicines online and utilize a
home delivery service. As a result, many other players such as 1mg, Pharmeasy, and
Netmeds, who started during that time and focused only on online medicine ordering
and home delivery, are today successful online pharmacies in India.
6.
Manage cash flow and adhere to legal compliances
About half of all establishments survive five years or longer (U.S. Small Business
Administration. Office of Advocacy. Frequently Asked Questions, 2016). About one-
third of establishments survive ten years or longer (U.S. Small Business
Administration. Office of Advocacy. Frequently Asked Questions, 2016)
Poor cash flow management, or poor understanding of cash flow, contributes to
the failure of a business; therefore, it is important to focus on sustainability.
Sustainability is accomplished with a balanced focus on both healthy growth and
efficient operations management. Startups tend to focus more on developing the

product, infrastructure, acquiring customers, and increasing revenue. Equal focus is
required on operations, i.e., cost of goods sold or product development, inventory,
salaries, cash flow, and other financial issues. With an imbalanced focus, you may
incur losses or penalties for non-compliance. Negligence in finance management
puts a business straight on the path to failure.
KEY FINANCIAL METRICS

Burn Rate
A startup requires sufficient cash flow for smooth operations. Burn rate refers to the
speed at which funds are utilized to clear business obligations. A startup must know
its burn rate and how it can be reduced or managed well so that the operations are not
hampered. Some ways to address this are reducing overhead, bargaining better sup-
plier margins and credit period, encouraging cash sales, and achieving better cus-
tomer margins.
Cost of Human Capital

Unless founders themselves are skilled and experienced enough to build MVP and do
sales and marketing, they need to hire a team. Salaries are generally the biggest
expense head in tech companies. Therefore, do not hire the best; rather, hire the right
talent. Some ways to manage are no inflated salaries, hiring of revenue-earning team
members first, and pay packages comprising fixed, variable pay, and stock options.
Keep track of the salary bill and ensure that it is as per the budget.
Annual Recurring Revenue

Calculate the Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) by multiplying the immediate previ-
ous month’s revenue (called Revenue Run Rate) by 12. Revenue run rate is a simple
metric to indicate how your startup is scaling. Revenue run rate derived after identi-
fying trends and patterns in sales helps in aligning sales strategy.
Inventories
If your startup is into product manufacturing or trading, then ensure you are stocking
the right products in the right quantities. Measure effectiveness with the stock turn-
over ratio that indicates how fast a business sells inventory. A low turnover suggests
poor sales and overstocking.
7.
Be ready to pivot
In the startup journey, you may not get the expected response and growth.
Circumstances might also change quickly. Therefore, be ready to change the course
and find a viable, scalable business model. The Lean Startup approach calls this
change “Pivot”. A pivot aims to test a fundamental hypothesis about a product or

service. It is a strategic decision that leads a startup to change one or more signifi-
cantly, but not all, of its basic components: product, founding team, business model,
or growth strategy (Bajwa, 2017). Understanding pivot help startups avoid setbacks
and keep investors on board. Some startups that pivoted and became more successful
include Twitter, which originally was a podcast service, and Flickr, which offered an
online multiplayer role-playing game. Pivot is basically in response to the user’s
reaction to your product/service – whether they think that you are solving the right
problem. Another major reason for the pivot is internal when you realize that the
business model is flawed. Groupon is one such startup that pivoted because of a
flawed business model.
SUMMARY
To summarize, the factors that have a clear impact on the success of a startup are:
• An original business idea or a high degree of improvisation in an existing idea

• Founder’s skills and a reliable team
• A robust execution plan for product and marketing
• A viable business model
• Cash for seed fund and bootstrapping
• Understanding signs for pivoting
But the most crucial factor above all is the timing of your business.
Airbnb was launched in October 2007, just two months prior to the great recession
in the United States. At that time, people were looking for ways to earn additional
income, including sharing their living space (Kalita, 2012). Similarly, Andrew Mason
founded Groupon in 2008, a website that offered deals on various products and ser-
vices to consumers. They saw immediate success because they were able to offer
performance-based marketing to both the brands and consumers (Conklin, 2020).
Startup founders should answer the question, “Why is now the right time?” with
the data points that establish the solid reasons that there is a market need for working
on an idea outside of their motives. The success lies in perfect timing and something
unique to your startup coupled with passion and perseverance.
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8 The Influential Role of
Breakthrough Strategies
of the Family Business
and Its Implication in
Entrepreneurship
Tanvi Thakkar
Welingkar Institute of Management Development and
Research, India
Mahima Birla
Pacific University, India
CONTENTS
Background�� 100
TEAM Work�� 100
Goal and Accomplishment�� 100
Learning Process�� 101
Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy�� 101
Education Plays a Key Role�� 102
Setting a Goal�� 102
Dream Big, Start Small, Act Now�� 104
Introduction of Pitambari Powder�� 104
The Ladder of Success Is Never Crowded at the Top�� 104
At First, They Will Ask, Why Are You Doing It? Later They Will Ask,
How Did You Do It?�� 105
Big Data�� 107
Positive Reinforcement�� 108
Installation of RFID�� 109
Finding a Solution�� 110
Conclusion�� 110
Primary Source�� 110
Secondary Sources�� 111
Other References�� 111
DOI: 10.1201/9781003097945-8 99
BACKGROUND
It was a day of celebration, 3 February 2017 – the Golden Jubilee of Pitambari Group.
Mr. Parikshit Prabhudesai, son of Mr. Ravindra Prabhudesai, the founder of Pitambari,
was hosting the event. Many guests were invited. Traders, retailers who have been in
association with them for so many years, were all excited to hear the story of the
inception of Pitambari. A huge photograph of the late Mr. Vamanrao Prabhudesai,
co-founder of Pitambari, was put up on stage. Mr. Ravindra Prabhudesai ignited the
lamp and took the microphone to begin. Looking at the crowd, it was like a dream
come true to him. After graduating with a BSc (Chemistry), he was a small-time
manufacturer of blue flame liquids, mainly used to heat food and usually found in
five-star restaurants. After that, he manufactured Copshine powder which was used
to clean water tanks. He has witnessed many milestones and is a self-made man. He
has a profound personality, and the credit goes to his father, who was very strict and
disciplined.
TEAM WORK
Mr. Ravindra Prabhudesai is of the view that Together Everyone Achieves More –
TEAM work. He began his speech for the day in remembrance of his father; he
worked as Union Leader at Central Railways in those days. Not that he was good at
handling union problems, but he disliked conflicts. Hence, railway recruiters found
him as the most suitable person. It was a secured job. He was also the founder of
Thane SahakariJanta Bank and played a key role at RSS Shakha. He introduced the
concept of Sampark at RSS, where the motto was networking. People were encour-
aged to socialize by visiting each other’s houses before or after the meeting and
greeting their families. He thought this would bring a feeling of unity. Approximately
5000 people joined hands together in that group.
GOAL AND ACCOMPLISHMENT

Mr. Vamanrao believed that discipline is the bridge between goal and accomplish-
ment, and he was very aggressive when things went wrong. However, he attacked the
behavior and not the person. Hence, people were happy working with him. Lately, he
realized that to grow in life, he had to leave this secured job, get out of his comfort
zone and work independently. He left the job in 1967, and with the desire to start
something on his own, he purchased a rickshaw. For years he was riding rickshaws
where he was earning well for survival. One day he met Mr. Gogte, who now runs his
own company; they had worked together at Central Railway. Knowing about
Vamanrao’s personality as a leader, Mr. Gogte decided to give him a contract with his
company POSCO, a tin-sheet making company. His company was facing many theft
issues and avoiding pilferages; Mr. Gogte thought Mr. Vamanrao would be the best
person to appoint for transportation. It was an excellent opportunity for Mr. Vamanrao
to grow his business. He immediately applied for a loan and purchased ten rickshaws.
The transportation business was a success story, and references started taking place.
He got a new contract with a very reputed tile making company. Years passed by, and
Role of Breakthrough Strategies 101
his son, Mr. Ravindra, also joined in the business. After a few years, business got
stagnant. Mr. Ravindra said, “I do not wish to continue [in] this business”. Glaring at
the inquisitive audience, he continued: “My father was building a villa; he called me
in person and said, “This bungalow needs maintenance of Rs 15000 per month; can
you afford it once I am no more?’ With sheer tone, I said, I shall do it. The confidence
was appreciative. However, he continued, “I do not wish to continue [in the] transport
business. I shall do something else”.
Mr. Vamanrao was disappointed as he raised his volume to ask him back, “What?”
Mr. Ravindra said, “anything but not transport, as I do not see myself interested and
will not grow it”. After deep thoughts and discussion with mates, Mr. Vamanrao took
over a sick unit of the tile manufacturing company and handed it over to his son. Mr.
Ravindra was pleased as this was his first venture, and his father trusted his caliber.
LEARNING PROCESS
Mr. Ravindra did not know the basics of the tile manufacturing process, but he
thought that every practice is a learning process. Hence, he was highly dependent on
supervisors and operators. They guided him through the process and material require-
ments. The process of tile manufacturing requires the steering of hard sand. It was a
difficult and time-consuming process for laborers. To increase productivity, supervi-
sors demanded soft sand, which would benefit in steering. For the convenience of
laborers, Mr. Ravindra ordered soft sand this time. He started measuring the results
of productivity. The results were positive, and the staff was also delighted. Mass
production was done and delivered on a large scale to all the builders. Everything was
running smoothly.
One day, there was a call, “Can I talk to Mr. Prabhudesai?” The caller’s tone
seemed very angry, and the receptionist replied politely, “I will transfer the call,
please be online.” She briefly described the situation to Mr. Ravindra and transferred
the call. Mr. Ravindra, on the other end of the line, began, “May I know who is on the
call?” The same tone continued, “I am Mr. Kadam from Kadam Construction. I had
purchased tiles from your company three months ago”. Ravindra intervened; “Oh,
yes sir, I know you, please tell me how can I help you? Do you need more tiles of the
same variety?” “NOOOOO …” Mr. Kadam shouted over the phone and said, “Your
tiles are of so poor quality that pitting started taking place. Please take all your tiles
back and give me my money back”. Mr. Ravindra was in complete silence for a
while, not knowing what to say but then apologized and promised a replacement.
Hearing this, the angry man said, “12 days; not more than that I can give you” and
hung the phone.
NOTHING WORTH HAVING COMES EASY

With this distress situation, Mr. Ravindra went to his team and asked them to start
working on the Kadam construction re-work immediately. He was guilty of supply-
ing poor quality. That day he went home early and discussed the same with his father.
Mr. Vamanrao consoled him and said, “It’s business, and things may go wrong some-
times; make sure the same mistake is not repeated”. The next morning, Mr. Ravindra
was on his way to work; his marketing agent called him and requested that he come
to the office urgently; he sounded low, which made for a tense moment. After a while,
he was in his office. Mr. Ravindra hurriedly ran to his cabin and asked for a meeting.
The marketing team started with complaint reports of a delivery done in the last two
months. The manager said, “Sir, there are too many pitting complaints in the tile, and
customers are very unhappy about it”. Mr. Vamanrao entered the meeting, as he had
followed Ravindra to his office having been worried for his son, who was upset about
the pitting problem. He heard the situation and decided to do an analysis. Reports
indicated tiles that were delivered only after using soft sand called for a replacement.
Mr. Ravindra realized his mistake, and there was a turning point in his life. He under-
stood the importance of education in being an entrepreneur, the importance of change
in management, etc. Had he known all this, he would not have depended completely
on his co-workers for their guidance.
EDUCATION PLAYS A KEY ROLE

Mr. Ravindra Prabhudesai thought to himself that it was going to get harder before it
gets easier, and hence he started studying diploma management at Bedekar College
in Thane. He studied only 90 minutes a day which, he had mentioned to KYT in
Thane Vaibhav newspaper (Figure 8.1), was an eye-opener for him. He came across
many new concepts which he felt he was deprived of for so many years. Also, he
realized the mistakes he had been making so far, and there was nobody to correct
him. Something that excited him was a lecture by Prof. Bandhekar, a visiting lecturer
at the college who had been working with Colgate toothpaste. For the first time, Mr.
Ravindra came across the term Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) from Prof.
Bandhekar. Mr. Ravindra started studying FMCG in depth and decided to do some
product manufacturing in this field. Brainstorming was held at home along with fam-
ily members. RSS Shakha meetings were still part of the Prabhudesai family, as
Sampark proved to be an opportunity for studying FMCG very closely. Mr. Ravindra
realized that most FMCG are found mostly in the kitchen. He visited every kitchen
of the guest and made small notes of it during Sampark. He visited approximately 40
houses in three months. His course was completed, and he was certified with a
diploma in management.
SETTING A GOAL
Setting a goal is the first step in turning the invisible into visible. Mr. Ravindra was
now ready to take up some business professionally. He began with his small research,
which he had collected in that three months. The research was about kitchen utensils;
ladies used lime and tamarind to wash utensils. There were no branded products yet
in this industry. He expressed his thoughts to his father about making products for
cleaning vessels of brass and copper. Mr. Vamanrao showed confidence in his son as
always. He knew his son had manufactured blue flame liquid, and it was a success.
Now knowing the importance of branding and intellectual property, Mr. Ravindra
wanted to have a brand name that was easy to pronounce and had an association. All
the family members were excited about the product name, and Mr. Ravindra had in
FIGURE 8.1 Entrepreneurial journey of Pitambari (Source: Clipping provided by the

Pitambari group; permission granted to reproduce).
mind to give feminism a name. Since it was used for brass and copper vessels, Pita
and Tamba, which in Marathi mean brass and copper respectively, was suggested; all
of them liked it and came up with “Pitambar”. This name did not sound sufficiently
feminist, so it became “Pitambari”. The name was finalized, and they next turned to
manufacture.
DREAM BIG, START SMALL, ACT NOW

Manufacturing started from home. There was no factory unit designated initially,
unlike now. Pitambari powder for washing brass and copper utensils was made out of
good-quality granules and manufactured at home. Then it was time to market the
product. Mr. Ravindra himself went to explain the product to retailers and educate
them about its importance and usage. However, this channel of communication did
not work. His father suggested door-to-door selling by giving agents or traders 50%
commission on the sale of per product. A young and energetic team was appointed
and was sent into the field. With a 50% commission higher than any other commis-
sion, these agents worked harder for Pitambari powder than for any other product. It
was affordable for Prabhudesai because the supply chain was very short – i.e.,
Manufacturer to Trader to Customer. All products were sold, hard work was cele-
brated, and Pitambari powder was well accepted in the market by customers.
INTRODUCTION OF PITAMBARI POWDER

Pitambari powder did not need any briefing anymore to sell in the market. Reverse
marketing started taking place. Retailers were curious to know from the agents what
product they were selling as customers went to retail shops asking for Pitambari
powder. For a long period, agents became traders of Pitambari powder and started
selling in retail stores. Many other retailers tried reaching them directly. It was a huge
success, as the same quality was maintained. For more than a decade, Pitambari
powder enjoyed a monopoly. Many competitors came and went but could not beat the
quality. Also, competitors came up with economical costs which fit the local pocket,
but they were also knocked out with innovative marketing strategies by Pitambari.
The proper structure was built up as follows:
Manufacturing of Pitambari powder → Super Stockiest → Agent → Retailers →
Customers
THE LADDER OF SUCCESS IS NEVER CROWDED AT THE TOP

Progressing with brass and copper vessels, Pitambari launched two additional prod-
ucts: Rooperi, used to wash silver vessels; and Sanitall, which is used for cleaning
toilets. In 2012, after elaborate research, Pitambari started their healthcare division.
Fulfilling a need for Ayurvedic medicine which can cure diseases without any side
effects was their vision. The Gomutra Plus capsule was their first experiment in
Ayurveda. Research on the study of 21 obese patients diagnosed that highly signifi-
cant relief was found in weight reduction and body mass index in both trial and
control groups by consuming Gomutra in liquid form. The trial group’s results were
not as good as those of the control group. A recent study in Udaipur on 30 patients
was evident that obesity has become a major concern for the country because of junk
food, and Gomutra has proved effective in obesity management in reducing weight
and BMI.
Further to this study, the Gomutra Plus capsule was made up of pure, fresh
Gomutra procured from healthy Indian breed cows only. Gomutra Plus capsule
contains Gomutra powder and Triphalachurna, which is equivalent to two teaspoons

of Gomutra. Once the collected Gomutra has gone through strict quality testing, it is
accepted only if the Gomutra obtained is found to be as per specifications set by
them. It is nothing but a solid, concentrated form of Gomutra, which can be taken
without experiencing unpleasant odor and undesired taste. For the first time in
Ayurveda, an innovation that takes into consideration the environment and society
could see a way forward. The product was well accepted in the market and started
running successfully.
Pitambari’s next unique product was Gopiyush. Piyush, cow colostrum, contains
more immunoglobulin, lactose, protein, and fat than normal cow’s milk, which helps
Vrishan Karma of the human body release action on immunity. It is a potent immu-
nomodulation. Gopiyush capsule contains 400 mg of Gopiyush, i.e., Indian cow
colostrum powder. It is a proven immune system modulator. Hence, it can be used
therapeutically in various diseases. It brings about early & efficient recovery in treat-
ing various diseases if used as an adjuvant. Prevention of Rotavirus infection by oral
administration of cow colostrum experimented on seven infants from 13 in an
orphanage, resulting in Rota colostrum prevented diarrhea outbreak but did not act
on rotavirus infection were no side-effects of Rota colostrum. As it is processed from
colostrum, Milk derived from cows belongs to the Indian breed; the product is free
from A1 Beta casein protein which is quite hazardous to our psychological and phys-
ical health. Being processed under vacuum and low-temperature immunity modify-
ing components remains preserved in the Gopiyush capsule. Pitambari was now a
brand of trust and loyalty. People were confident of the brand and its association
because of its constant efforts in supplying good quality. Mr. Vamanrao was always
of the opinion, “Never cheat your customer. Educate them about your product, and
you will succeed with no accident, but with the hard work of what you are doing”.
Pitambari produces products across seven divisions, namely home care, health-
care, agricare, food care, Agarbatti, farm, and agro-tourism (Figure 8.2). The com-
pany manufactures more than 40 products across these divisions, with homecare
being the very first division and Pitambari Shining Powder being the first product to
be launched.
AT FIRST, THEY WILL ASK, WHY ARE YOU DOING IT? LATER THEY
WILL ASK, HOW DID YOU DO IT?
There was a round of applause for a good 40 seconds, and tears rolled out from all
beloved families, where Mr. Parikshit Prabhudesai took the microphone and thanked
his father for his valuable speech. Parikshit continued,
My father is my role model; he explained to me the importance of education in the jour-

ney of entrepreneurship. As in today’s era to break the traditional circle was important.
It can only happen with the help of innovation, education, and technology.
Everybody in the audience was eager to hear from their young COO, who had
joined the organization in 2014 after completing his post-graduate program in
FIGURE 8.2 Pitambari Products (Source: Clipping provided by the Pitambari group; per-
mission granted to reproduce).
entrepreneurship management from Welingkar Institute of Management Development

and Research. Parikshit Prabhudesai joined the business as Production Manager; He
was a BMS (Bachelor of Management Studies) graduate and had a high interest and
intellect in marketing. His interest also lies in research and development. He joined
the company when Saptashakti Sesame Oil was about to launch. One of the studies
done by Parikshit in his post-graduate program revealed that sesame oil is a healthy
food that is resistant to oxidative stress in the human body and protects against injury
in the animal body. In the beginning, the product was not wholly accepted in the
market. Parikshit tried finding the reasons for the lack of acceptance by going to retail
shops, taking feedback from customers, and analyzing competitors’ products. This
was the first thing that he had learned from his post-graduate program – when things
go wrong, go to GEMBA, i.e., where the actual work takes place. He concluded that
visibility of color was the main reason for customers not buying the product, and that
is why they could not relate to those customers. As competitors had a different color,
a lovely aroma of the oil, and a little preservative, consumers choose their product
over Saptashakti Sesame Oil. The required changes took place, and today Saptashakti
Sesame Oil is the highest manufacturer of sesame oil in the country.
Later, Parikshit shifted his interest in the Research and Development Department.
He understood that today’s era moves towards Big Data, machine learning, artificial
intelligence, and product sustainability to the environment. In 2015, the Prabhudesai
family decided to give tribute to their ancestors to make environment-friendly prod-
ucts. They purchased land in Maharashtra and decided to plant flowers, unlike other
farmers who planted cashew and mangoes. Two hundred Champa trees were planted
in Dakoli, which yield 5000 flowers a day. These flowers were sold in the market.
Gradually, supply of flowers in Dakoli exceeded demand. Flowers were distributed
outside the Dakoli market but did not get a good response. Somebody from the fam-
ily suggested that Dadar in Mumbai is the biggest market of flowers, and one can
supply there. Transportation arrangements were made to sell flowers in the Dadar
market. This marketing plan failed miserably, as flowers would get damaged in trans-
portation and distance was an issue. Also, flowers did not remain fresh till the time
they reached customers.
BIG DATA
Mr. Parikshit and his father are Saturday Club members (Figure 8.3), where entrepre-
neurs meet and exchange ideas. One of the businessmen suggested that innovation is
the game of new business and should sell extract flowers to make perfumes. They
thought the idea was bright; hence, Mr. Prabhudesai called his team, and with the help
of big data, he started with his experiment. Around 120,000 kg flowers gave an extract
of 1 kg Concrete, and 300,000 kg flowers give an extract of 1 kg Absolute. Essential
oils extracted from the lavender plant study show that it is an essential source for mak-
ing perfumes that can avoid side effects, unlike other penetrated perfumes in the mar-
ket. This short-time experiment would not have been possible without data, unlike the
old times, where data collection and analysis took most of the research time. With the
help of technology, aromatic essential oils were extracted from perfume-generating
FIGURE 8.3 Strategic Saturdays (Source: Clipping provided by the Pitambari group; per-
mission granted to reproduce).
plants. Marketing of the product was started, and the response was prolonged. Still,
demand was less than supply. Parikshit decided to cut the trees and plant cashew trees
with a frustrated mind like what the other Dakoli farmers did. He requested that his
father discontinue the flower business, explaining that planting flower trees was purely
a loss business. His father replied, “I think we should wait for two months and wait
for the market to respond on extract”. Parikshit was disappointed, as he thought it was
a waste of time to wait for two months. More than one month into the wait, the
response was the same. Mr. Ravindra Prabhudesai was worried, and his heart was
heavy in destroying those trees which yield so many beautiful flowers.
POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
Mistakes are proof that you are trying. Finally, two months were over, and the day
had come where the junior Prabhudesai was waiting for a “yes” from his father to cut
the flower trees, which had become a liability. Mr. Ravindra Prabhudesai was in his
room worshiping god with incense stick; he murmured, “I wish to protect these trees
from destruction, please help me.” He stopped with the incense stick and tried putting
it in an extract made out of flower; as expected, it smelled good. He immediately ran
to his son and asked him to experiment the same. Three days of the experiment took
place, with positive results. The extract of the flowers helped make the incense stick,
which is the first and only Agarbatti in India to be made out of natural extracts. There
was a ray of hope, and the probability of success was very high. Sample products
were made and distributed amongst employees for research and feedback. Internal
feedback was very positive, and now was time for external research. With machine
learning, different age group members were taken as samples from RSS Shakha and
the Saturday Club. People who worship god temples regularly buy incense sticks,
and only those audiences were targeted. Suggestions were noted and worked upon.
The product was now ready with all positive reinforcement. It was named “Devbhakti
Agarbatti”
INSTALLATION OF RFID
Marketing was difficult, as retailers refused to keep new products. Many “me too”
products were available in the market. One of the drawbacks of Pitambari was that all
the product sales were handled by one person only. There were no separate teams for
selling different products. While marketing the product, the salesperson enters a par-
ticular shop for pitching Pitambari Powder, then he pitches about sesame oil, fol-
lowed by medicine, and lastly Agarbatti. Parikshit observed this problem closely and
analyzed that, by the time marketing agents pitch about Agarbatti, retailers have lost
interest because they had to pay attention to walk-in customers at their shops.
Parikshit decided to set up a different marketing team for “Devbhakti Agarbatti” and
accordingly for the rest of the products. He assisted Tab to his entire sales team with
software installed, which showcased Pitambari products used in and around the
vicinity in a radius of 200 meters. This was done with the help of the introduction of
RFID installed at the retailers’ end. He made 40 calls a day and personally visited
those shops with his team members. Also, the breakthrough strategy was built. A
Pitambari Home care marketing agent was placed everywhere before Agarbatti
Marketing employees would reach. The benefit of this was that Homecare Marketing
agents would light incense sticks, and it would last till the time the Agarbatti market-
ing agent would arrive. This gives a demo and aroma of natural flowers extract to
customers as well. Hence, pitching becomes easy. The strategy worked, and the
Mumbai market accepted Devbhakti Agarbatti. But a major problem was occurring
that caused the distributor to lose interest in continuing the product: the incense
sticks would break before reaching the retailers. Hard cardboard was made to over-
come this, but the problem continued. It was decided to hire a consultant to analyze
the problem breakage of Agarbatti. Various consultants across the country were
asked to give quotations, and the best were shortlisted. Consulting fees seemed to be
very high for Parikshit. He said, “This is the beginning of the business, and to incur
Rs 4 lakhs in consultation without any earning is not a good idea”. The manager
replied, “Sir, the market is already to purchase; if this consultant helps solve our
problem, we might end up covering this cost in a short while”. Parikshit thought
about what his manager said but was not convinced. “Saving is also earning, and
what if we apply differential diagnosis?” It is a technique learned at Welingkar
Institute of Management from Dr. Shrinivas Gondhaekar (Dr. G). Parikshit and the
manager had tried differential diagnosis before on Saptashakti Sesame Oil, and it had
worked successfully. However, the manager was clueless as to how would Parikshit
work this out in incense sticks.
FINDING A SOLUTION
Parikshit called for a meeting and began with his analysis skills: “Let us begin with
which product is the problem”. The team answered, “Sir, it is only in Agarbatti”.
Parikshit then asked, “Does the breakage take place at godown?” Someone from the
team replied, “No, breakage takes place only after reaching the Super Stockiest”.
“Does a Super Stockiest complain about any other Agarbatti manufacturer besides
us?” There was silence for a while, as the team did not encounter this question with
the Super Stockiest. After a pause, Parikshit called his Super Stockiest himself and
asked him the same question. As expected, he replied “no” and named various com-
petitors whose boxes never had breakage. Mr. Parikshit smiled and remained on the
phone. He said, “Get 20 boxes of these competitors tomorrow at 9:00 am”. Everyone
started talking amongst themselves, how is it possible to discover why our Agarbatti
break into pieces by observing other boxes which are unbreakable?” It was 9:00 in
the morning; everyone was in the boardroom, and the competitor’s boxes were lying
on the table. Parikshit entered the room with his product box, “Devbhakti” Agarbatti.
He first opened all the competitors’ boxes and his box, for everyone it was no differ-
ent as any boxes had breakage. Parikshit pointed to them about packaging; all the
competitors’ boxes were placed vertically in packing while Devbhakti boxes were
placed horizontally in packaging, which caused weightage while stacking and break-
age of Agarbatti. A minor change in the stacking of boxes has helped them to prevent
breakage in the product during transit across India.
CONCLUSION
Every business which is passed from one generation to another needs trust, accep-
tance of change, innovation, and technology. In this case, Mr. Vamanrao Pabhudesai
always trusted his son’s caliber and stood by him in his career. Following the legacy,
Mr. Ravindra Prabhudesai, founder of Pitambari Products, accepted and welcomed
the new technology initiated by his son Mr. Parikshit Prabhudesai. This case has
witnessed how education plays a crucial role in the field of entrepreneurship. The old
saying that graduation or post-graduation is only for those who want a job and busi-
ness can be learned only by going on the shop floor is also a subject of debate now.
This case showcases how trust, persistence, education, innovation, machine learning,
Big Data, and RFID are some of the breakthrough strategies of entrepreneurs.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Source
The authors have retrieved primary data by visiting the founder’s office in Thane, Mumbai,
namely Mr. Ravindra Prabhudesai, and his son Mr. Parikshit Prabhudesai on 20 August
2018. The formal and informal interview took place over four days, where Mr.
Prabhudesai helped us meet his junior staff, executive staff that was part of his journey
from the foundation day. The staffs were very co-operative in providing information
about the steppingstones of Pitambari and their challenges. We were also privileged to
meet their other family members, who were very kind and humble to us in providing
information.
Secondary Sources
Dandin, S. V., & Mench, R. (2015). Development and implementation of Kaizen activities in
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9 Crucial Factors for
Successful
Entrepreneurial
Start-ups
Ghazala Khan
University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
Rohail Hassan
Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia
CONTENTS
Entrepreneur�� 116
Entrepreneurial Competencies�� 117
Strategic Competency�� 117
Personal Competency�� 117
Conceptual Competency�� 117
Ethical Competency�� 118
Opportunity Competency�� 118
Learning Competency�� 118
Familism�� 118
Entrepreneurial Innovativeness�� 119
Network Competence�� 119
Environmental Turbulence�� 119
Government Support�� 119
Business Success�� 119
Theories to Support Research Work�� 120
Survey: an Illustration�� 121
Demographic and Descriptive Data�� 122
Discussion on Descriptive Statistics�� 123
Inferential Statistics�� 126
Importance Performance Map Analysis (IPMA)��126
Theoretical and Practical Contribution�� 128
Limitations�� 129
Future Commendations�� 130
References�� 131
DOI: 10.1201/9781003097945-9 113

INTRODUCTION
In Malaysia, 76.5% of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) fall into the micro-
enterprises category; 21.2% are categorized as small, while 2.3% are under medium
enterprises (SME Corporation Malaysia, 2018). Globally, SMEs constitute 90% to
95% of the whole business and can produce 60% to 90% of employment (Tehseen,
2017). Over a few decades, SMEs in Malaysia have advanced in business performance.
These enterprises’ contribution to the GDP is still low compared to the counterparts
in emerging economies. Malaysian SME’s contribution to the GDP was 36.6% in
2017 (SME Annual Report, 2016/17), and at present it is 32% (Tahir, Razak, &
Rentah, 2018).
Business survival in Malaysia is the topmost challenge faced by organizations
today with increasing intensity (Tehseen, Qureshi, Johara, & Ramayah, 2019b).
Moreover, the downfall in the global innovation ranking of Malaysian SMEs is
another alarming factor for this research. Similarly, by studying their business and
networking methods, the government can assess the influence of essential aptitudes
on Malaysian venture performance, particularly the service sector.
Thus, the most critical issue is the greater failure/less survival rate of SMEs, and
in the service industry, it is prevalent, especially in Malaysia (Abdullah, Ahmad,
Zainudin, & Rus, 2016). Globally, the survival rate is 42.9% in the service industry
(Canadian Centre for Data Development & Economic Research, 2020). Nevertheless,
survival and success are the main goals for every business (Khalique, Shah, & Hina,
2018). Thus, business survival is a more prominent issue than Malaysia’s profitable
business (Rahman, Yaacob, & Radzi, 2016). Strategies guide entrepreneurs to achieve
their desired goal. Any firm that survives in three years can provide employment and
have the active turnover to be considered a surviving and successful business
(Rahman et al., 2016). In contrast, the results show that 80% of Malaysian SMEs do
not survive (Yusoff et al., 2018). Secondly, a prominent issue for the growth and
survival of Malaysian SMEs is entrepreneurial innovativeness. Due to previous
studies’ conflicting results, some researchers proposed to inspect the protagonist of
innovation in business success (Kheng et al., 2013; Mohsin, Halim, & Farhana, 2017;
Tajuddin et al., 2015).
Similarly, network competence is another potential medium toward a successful
business. It helps attain valuable resources in the shape of updated information, skills,
and knowledge (Ahmad et al., 2018; Centobelli, Cerchione, & Esposito, 2018a,
2018b; Tehseen et al., 2019a). Various studies have mentioned that the majority of
successful Malaysian SMEs have managed and controlled with the concept of Guanxi
(way of networking or relationships) as the critical success factor in their businesses
(Hassan, Yaacob, & Abdullatiff, 2014; Kheng & Minai, 2016; Luo & Child, 2015).
This network style is pivotal to business success, but these characteristics are still not
widely realized among Malaysian SMEs for venture success (Kheng & Minai, 2016).
The need of the hour is to conduct a comprehensive single research study to under
stand the influence of entrepreneurial competencies (Karmarkar et al., 2014), entrepre
neurial innovativeness, and network competence on SMEs’ success in the Malaysian
service industry. Hence, entrepreneurial competencies are conceptualized with their
seven dimensions (strategic, learning, conceptual, opportunity, personal, ethical, and
Crucial Factors for Successful Entrepreneurial 115
familism). At the same time, entrepreneurial innovativeness and network competence

are operationalized as individual single dimension variables (Chhabra, 2018).
This specific research aims to investigate the crucial factors, which are most
important for successful start-ups. The main objective is to highlight the essential
skills and, moreover, to categorize these skills based on their importance and perfor-
mance by utilizing the most advanced PLS-SEM technique called IMPA. These skills
are known as soft skills. Furthermore, Malaysian SMEs face a highly competitive
environment in terms of entrepreneurial innovation (Chhabra & Karmarkar, 2016b;
Halim et al., 2015). Besides, Malaysian SMEs lack competencies that can discriminate
the services and products (Mohsin et al., 2017).
The rest of the chapter is designed as follows. The next section reviews the litera-
ture and definitions of the terms used in research. This is followed by a discussion of
theories, then an illustration of the survey, the data collection procedure and the
methodology. Next, in contrast, inferential statistics and the analytical approach are
described. This is followed by the theoretical and practical contribution, a discussion
on descriptive statistics, implications, limitation, and future recommendation.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The service sector remains the prime industry all over the world (North & Varvakis,
2016). The service business has a vital part in their homegrown community and
economy (Arham, 2014). However, the service industry is declining and losing
human resources due to a turbulent environment, and now entrepreneurs strive to
figure out success factors which can enhance business success (Didonet et al., 2020;
Singh & Chhabra, 2020). Previous studies focused on the quality of services for
improving service industry performance (Arham, 2014). Few studies examined the
impact of leadership, entrepreneurial competencies, entrepreneurial innovativeness,
and network competence for business success (Tehseen, 2017) within the Malaysian
context, especially the service sector (Arham, 2014). A review of numerous research
studies on SMEs in the service industry reveals research work done on the Malaysian
enterprises is restricted only to a limited population; for instance, work done by
Aman et al. (2011) on crucial victory factor covers only the foodservice sector in
Melaka. The current research aims to recognize government assistance for business
success. Data is collected from 60 respondents based on entrepreneurial quality,
human resources, pricing, delivery, and services as the internal factor for business
success. However, the study fails to deliver the statistics on the entrepreneurs’
entrepreneurial competencies (Aman et al., 2011).
Work is done by Arham (2014) on leadership behavior in the service industry. One
hundred ninety-three business owners and managers participated in the survey. Only
transformational and transactional leadership attitudes were studied. Similarly,
Anuar et al., (2016) examine the influence of skills, quality management, and
innovation in the service sector and covers 50 respondents in Klang valley. This
study has endorsed the positive influence of innovation and quality management on
Malaysian SMEs’ venture performance.
Furthermore, this study declares that entrepreneurial competencies have no
significant influence on business success; therefore, the study result cannot be
simplified over the entire population due to the small sample (Ali & Iskandar, 2016).
Therefore, this study used a large sample size. Moreover, Idris et al. (2013) conducted
a study on operational flexibility dimensions in the service sector; 254 respondents
participated in the survey. Mohamad Radzi et al. (2017) conducted a study and
examined entrepreneurial competency as a single dimension and mentioned it as a
small business owner’s knowledge.
Conversely, Ahmad, Ramayah, Wilson, and Kummerow (2010) directed research
using 212 Malaysian entrepreneurs as a sample to measure the impression of crucial
competencies on the success of Malaysian SMEs’ venture and to introduce environ-
mental turbulence as a moderator. The outcomes revealed that ECOMP are robust
interpreters for business success. The researchers declare that the connotation
between competencies and success of venture are intensely apparent in an aggressive
and dynamic business environment compared to benevolent and sound surroundings.
Self-reporting used for this study receives much criticism due to the complexities of
the independent evaluation of variables (Ahmad et al., 2010).
SMEs’ failure rate in the service industry is quite common, especially in Malaysia
(Abdullah et al., 2016). Therefore, the company’s success as a dependent variable
requires more elaboration to understand the reasons behind the failures (Hashim
et al., 2018). Similarly, Jalali, Jaafar, and Ramayah (2014) have argued that additional
research work is mandatory to frame better distinct aspects of entrepreneurial success
by using suitable performance measures.
Consequently, this research intends to distinguish the dominant factors which are
crucial for SMEs’ survival. This is also consistent with the research work of Man and
Lau (2000), Ahmad (2007), and Tehseen (2017). It is justified that objective
measurement is difficult to evaluate in Malaysian SMEs. The literature suggests that
subjective measurement is appropriate for measuring performance when there is a
lack of objective data availability.
The influence of competencies on the performance of the firm is an issue of great
interest (Chhabra et al., 2020). Competencies required by entrepreneurs and managers
differ. Entrepreneurs require more complex competencies. The researchers summarize
that entrepreneurial competencies required by entrepreneurs are different from
managerial competencies (Ahmad, 2007). Recently, several studies have been
conducted on this topic, for instance, the significance of skills/competencies for
achieving venture success (Aisha, Sudirman, & Siswanto 2016). The positive
influence of personal, ethical, opportunity, strategic, learning, conceptual competence,
and familism on innovation has been supported by Mohammadkazemi, Rasekh, and
Navid (2016) in the case study of the Isfahan sports club. Furthermore, they practiced
the standardized investigation that was investigated by Ahmad (2007) to gauge the
magnitude of the entrepreneur’s skills. The most important terms used in the article
are defined as follows to understand the topic entirely.
Entrepreneur
There are many definitions for the term entrepreneur: Scholars and researchers still
do not agree on a single definition. In general, an entrepreneur is a businessperson
who can start a new venture and can sense an opportunity to manage all obstructions
during a new business creation process (Chhabra & Karmarkar, 2016a). An

entrepreneur should have the risk-taking ability, capability to survive in bad situations,
and the competency to convert raw ideas into practical shape (Baron, 1998). In other
words, an entrepreneur is a person who sets up a small firm, acts as the manager, and
leads the company toward success in available resources, situation, and a best
conceivable way (Gilman & Edwards, 2008).
Entrepreneurial Competencies
Entrepreneurial competencies are fundamental qualities or behaviors of an individual,
for instance, knowledge for specific work, motives for innovative tasks, traits, skills,
and a strong personality to run a business (Chhabra & Goyal, 2019). These abilities
originate speculation, support the existence, and lead toward development. The
influence of competencies on the firm’s performance is an issue of great interest.
Recently, several studies have been conducted on this topic; for instance, the
significance of skills/competencies for achieving venture success (Aisha et al., 2016).
The seven competencies/skills are as follows: (1) strategic, (2) personal, (3)
conceptual, (4) ethical, (5) opportunity, (6) learning, and (7) familism
Strategic Competency
Strategic competency (SC) is the persons’ aptitude to judge, assess, and act
accordingly to impose schemes planned out by the firm (Rahman, Amran, Ahmad,
& Taghizadeh, 2014). It also enables an entrepreneur to get a clear and broad vision
for the business. Moreover, strategic competency helps an entrepreneur to strategize
long-term visions (Goldman & Scott, 2016). Entrepreneurs must have a clear
mindset, enabling them to how and where to compete and achieve their goals
(Rahman, Taghizadeh, Ramayah, & Ahmad, 2015). Furthermore, strategic skills
enable business owners to utilize better organizational competencies (Gümüsay &
Bohné, 2018).
Personal Competency
Qualities present in the businessperson’s personality lead to personal competency
(PC), enhancing a person’s effectiveness. According to the dynamism of a business
nature (Rahman, Hanafi, Mukhtar, & Ahmad, 2014), PC consistently grows.
Similarly, Ahmad et al. (2010) points toward some behaviors such as sharp thinking
ability and keeping in mind all angles while making a decision. Also, recognizing
and improving one’s own shortfalls, constructive response to handle criticism, moti-
vating staff and co-workers, establishing positive and high-energy environments in
an organization, and keeping an enthusiastic approach toward responsibilities are
attributes of personal competency (Ahmad et al., 2010).
Conceptual Competency
Conceptual competency (CC) is responsible for entrepreneurs’ critical thinking and
enables them to deal with uncertain situations (Mohsin et al., 2017). It also aids the
entrepreneur in handling business successfully (Ahmad et al., 2010). This area of
competency constructs a range of diverse natural abilities that reflect an entrepreneur’s
attitude during the decision-making process (Man & Lau, 2000; Man, Lau, & Chan,
2002). CC enhances the entrepreneur’s decision-making skills, observation, risk-
taking aptitude, and innovative thinking (Man et al., 2002).
Ethical Competency
Ethical competency (EC) is an asset for an entrepreneur. Ethics are part of individual
personal attributes, which reflect on the person as trustworthy, loyal, honest, and
responsible for all his acts and decisions. Orme and Ashton (2003) report that
ethics is the center of every competency-based framework and is the leading brick
for a solid foundation for any deal. Kaur and Bains (2013) explain that ethical
competency is an elevated level of ethics and awareness. Thus, the entrepreneur
can understand and overcome the worst situation of ethical difficulties (Jiang, Hu,
Hong, Liao, & Liu, 2016). Entrepreneurs feel more courageous and competitive.
They can converse at an organizational level with confidence and run the business
more effectively.
Opportunity Competency
An entrepreneur’s opportunity competency (OC) has to do with ability to understand
and recognize different opportunities. It indicates a businessperson’s expertise to
seize the right market opportunity for business success (Rahman et al., 2014). OC
depicts the entrepreneur’s ability to explore, identify, acquire, and appraise all
chances available in the market (Man & Lau, 2000). Furthermore, this competency
enables entrepreneurs to identify accurate opportunities and evade potential risks
(Ahmad et al., 2010). Moreover, opportunity recognition permits the entrepreneur to
know the customer’s needs and fulfill these unanticipated demands (Rahman,
Taghizadeh, Ramayah, & Ahmad, 2015). Therefore, Man (2001) classifies three
main clusters of this competency: exploring opportunities, identifying the best
choice, and finally, its assessment.
Learning Competency
Entrepreneurial learning competency (LC) is a meeting point for organizational
education and entrepreneurship. LC represents the entrepreneur’s knowledge,
abilities, behavior, and openness to learning. It is a lifetime process (Aldrich & Yang,
2014). Gaining and improving experience throughout life is very important for
achievement in business. Therefore, learning competency creates new entrepreneurial
acquaintances from different means (Xiu-Qing & Li, 2013). As a result, competent
entrepreneurs generate knowledge and develop skills based on their experience,
retain knowledge, and practice it for their business success (Argote & Miron-Spektor,
2011).
Familism
Familism is a new term and variable introduced by a fresh stream of research in
entrepreneurship; it deals with business development and organization (Kuada,
2015). Familism is a symbol of attachment to the family. It is a feeling of faithfulness,
a sense of responsibility, harmony, and unity among business and family members
(Zeiders, Updegraff, Umaña-Taylor, McHale, & Padilla, 2016). Moreover, it can be

explained as support for each other, close bonds among family members, and taking
care of inconvenient situations.
Entrepreneurial Innovativeness
Entrepreneurial innovativeness reflects the eagerness to display creativity and trailing
to introduce new products or services, technological leadership, and research and
development (R&D) in the process of the new venture (Lumpkin & Dess, 1996).
Entrepreneurial innovativeness is a continuous process of creating, generating, and
developing innovative ideas and converting them into new business opportunities
(Maciariello, 2009).
Network Competence
Network competence is the entrepreneur’s ability to develop skillful new relationships
and manage them professionally with their customers, competitors, and suppliers. It
can effectively manage dealings with external parties (Ritter, Wilkinson, & Johnston,
2002).
Environmental Turbulence
Environmental turbulence can be defined as unpredictable change, uncertainty,
complexity, vitality, vigor, and dynamism in the organizational environment (Smith,
Sinha, Lancioni, & Forman, 1999). Besides, this research explains environmental
turbulence as an uncertain behavior and change in clients’ demands and behavior, the
customer, and unpredictable acts of competitive firms to win the business game in the
context of Malaysian SMEs (Ahmad, 2007).
Government Support
For this study, government support supports Malaysian SMEs’ supportive mecha-
nism in training programs to enhance innovative skills, financial assistance, and
training to polish entrepreneurial competencies and establish successful networking
by getting network competence provided by the government through related
agencies.
Business Success
For this specific research, business accomplishment has been operationalized with
four precise magnitudes: financial performance, non-financial performance, business
growth, and performance relative to competitors, as defined by Ahmad (2007) in the
Malaysian context. The success of a firm is identified through its performance, which
can be measured as financial parameters, i.e., a profit of the company (Buttner &
Moore, 1997), and non-financial parameter, which is the growth rate of sales and
employees that are in the company operation for more than three years (Chandler &
Hanks, 1994). Business success represents the survival and growth of a venture for
this study (Headd, 2003).
THEORIES TO SUPPORT RESEARCH WORK

Institutional theory (IT), strategic contingency theory (SCT), and resource-based
view (RBV) are the suggested theories to support the conceptual study model. These
three theories are most relevant to this research study, especially to define the rela-
tionship of competencies, network competence, and innovation (independent vari-
able) concerning business success (dependent variable). RBV insists that managers
envisage the significance of the available resources for the future and must possess
complete charge of reserves (Lockett, Thompson, & Morgenstern, 2009). While few
of them claim that this theory explains the sustainable competitive advantage (SCA),
success can be achieved with the help of a perfect combination of resources and
competencies (Hoopes, Madsen, & Walker, 2003).
Hence, SCT states that the concept of “fit” refers to alignment and matching
between environment and organizational resources to cope with pressures and
prospects. Therefore, the strategies could be amended by balancing the funds with
organizational competencies and other organization components with the
organizational prospects and intimidations (Venkatraman & Camillus, 1984).
Moreover, institutional theory describes how organizations can increase their sur-
vival abilities in a competitive environment by satisfying their stakeholders. It has
different interpretations and strands, but institutions are equipped with practices and
rules that shape this theory meaning. Institutions are composed of rules and incen-
tives; per designed institutional structure, members are supposed to react and respond
to the essential components. This theory has immense potential for entrepreneurship
and management. Institutional theory has been constructive in utilizing a theoretical
lens for entrepreneurship (Amenta & Ramsey, 2010).
The following hypothesis has been derived in light of the previously discussed
essential factors for business success.
H1a: Entrepreneurial competencies have a positive relationship with SMEs’

business success in the Malaysian service industry.
H1b: Network competence positively influences venture success in the
Malaysian SMEs’ service industry.
H1c: Entrepreneurial innovativeness has a positive influence on SMEs’ venture
success in the Malaysian service sector.
H2a: High turbulent environment significantly moderates the relationship
between entrepreneurial competencies and business success in the
Malaysian SME service sector. Thus, the relationship between
entrepreneurial competencies and business success will be stronger when
environmental turbulence is high.
H2b: High turbulent environment significantly moderates the relationship
between network competence and business success in the Malaysian SME
service sector. Thus, the relationship between network competence and

business success will be stronger when environmental turbulence is high.
H2c: High turbulent environment significantly moderates the relationship
between entrepreneurial innovativeness and business success in the
Malaysian SME service sector. Thus, the relationship between entrepre-
neurial innovativeness and business success will be stronger when environ-
mental turbulence is high.
H3a: High government support significantly moderates the relationship
between entrepreneurial competencies and business success in the
neurial competencies and business success will be stronger when govern-
ment support is high.
H3b: High government support significantly moderates the relationship
between network competence and business success in the Malaysian SME
service sector. Thus, the relationship between network competence and
business success will be stronger when government support is high.
H3c: High government support significantly moderates the relationship
between entrepreneurial innovativeness and business success in the
neurial innovativeness and business success will be stronger when govern-
ment support is high.
SURVEY: AN ILLUSTRATION
This research positions entrepreneurial competencies, network competence, and
entrepreneurial innovativeness as independent variables, while environmental tur-
bulence and government support are moderators. It is assumed that government
support may enable the entrepreneur to create a positive relationship between
entrepreneurial skills and venture performance. These independent variables are
hypothesized to investigate the relationship significance with business success,
which acts as a dependent variable (DV). This study investigates environmental
turbulence and government support, which is believed to moderate the relationship
between IV and DV. The entrepreneurial competencies consist of seven domains
(strategic, personal, ethical, conceptual, opportunity, learning, and familism).
Business success has four domains (financial performance, non-financial perfor-
mance, business growth, and performance relative to competitors). The respon-
dents for this proposed study are Malay, Chinese, and Indian entrepreneurs who
own SMEs in Malaysia from the central region, including Selangor, Putrajaya, and
Kuala Lumpur.
Fifteen hundred questionnaires were distributed in the federal territories of Kuala
Lumpur, Putrajaya, and the state of Selangor. The data collection period was
December 2018 to March 2019. In the first approach, the researcher identified some
walk-in events arranged by agencies, for instance, Event Brite, and advertised on
Facebook, such as the Lean in Malaysia, Institute of Entrepreneurship in Kuala

Lumpur, and Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (Magic). They
arrange workshops and seminars for entrepreneurs. There, entrepreneurs from the
service sector are invited to attend workshops, and the researcher requested that those
who fulfill the criteria mentioned in the questionnaire fill out the survey. This tech-
nique is cost-effective. The standardized questionnaires’ face-to-face strategy is
more appropriate for this research to acquire the utmost responsibility and decrease
non-response bias. This strategy also ensures the maximum response from the
targeted population (Memon et al., 2017). In the second approach, the researcher
identified SMEs related to the service sector in Taipan Business Centre USJ9 and
USJ10 and visited their shops and offices to meet them in person and collected the
questionnaires on the spot. Before collection, the researcher made sure that all
questionnaires are complete and properly filled. The completed questionnaire was
collected on the spot through an in-person face-to-face strategy. A third approach
researcher used Snowball Sampling and distributed 900 questionnaires in the federal
tertiary, Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, and Selangor, with known networks’ assistance. A
drop and pick strategy/mail survey was exercised, but the response rate was not
satisfactory due to difficulty accessing Malaysian entrepreneurs’ email (Ahmad,
2007, p. 183). Four hundred thirty-five (435) questionnaires were incomplete; 361
questionnaires sent by mail were not received, as respondents were unwilling to
participate; and 104 questionnaires did not fulfill the inclusion criteria. Therefore,
those 900 questionnaires were not included in the study. Altogether, 600 complete
questionnaires were collected, and the response rate was 40%.
Demographic and Descriptive Data

This survey involves 600 entrepreneurs as the primary informants to provide infor-
mation by using diverse sources, as it is believed that they are a true reflection of their
business successes or failures. Moreover, they are mainly involved in enlightening
the understudy variables by identifying behaviors to achieve venture success (Baer &
Frese, 2003). The researcher considers the entrepreneurs who have established firms
and are actively managing the business, getting government support, and being
involved in innovative practices. The final statistics are collected from the population
with the mean of the standardized questionnaire. The researcher exercises an in-
person gathering/meetings strategy. Education, innovative practices, and government
support condition of the respondents are considered before data collection. The mini-
mum education requirement for respondents is SPM; subsequently, they can compre-
hend the survey, and they must have the ability to converse in English. The study
focused on educated entrepreneurs to verify the aforementioned previous research
work of Ahmad (2007) and Tehseen (2017) and compare it with the new research
work of Idris et al. (2020). The survey is done at one point in time, and the participants
respond once only. The reason for exercising the cross-sectional study is that it can
measure prevalence for all factors under investigation simultaneously (Creswell &
Clark, 2017).
Inferential statistics support generalizing what is occurring in the world based
on gathered data. The PLS-SEM technique is employed for inferential data
analysis. The suggested research model is assessed using a two-step approach in

Smart-PLS, which includes testing the measurement model and examining the
structural model (Hair et al., 2014). Furthermore, the advanced technique of
PLS-SEM (IPMA) has been used to illustrate the managerial implications of this
research study.
DISCUSSION ON DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

As multiple races live in Malaysia, and the data was randomly collected, there was
no bias decision to include or exclude a specific racial community. Table 9.1 depicts
the demographic profile of the respondents and their firms. Six hundred (600) busi-
ness owners/business partners took part in the survey. The survey participants who
responded include 181 Malay entrepreneurs, 240 Chinese business owners, and 179
Indian entrepreneurs. Of the respondents, 132 (22%) are aged between 26 and 30
years old.
Interestingly, 468 (78%) of the respondents are above 30 years old. Overall, 336
males and 264 females participated in the survey. Regarding the education level, 384
respondents were undergraduate, and 216 were postgraduate or highly qualified. The
results verify that the education level positively impacts business success (Fahmi
Idris et al., 2020).
Table 9.2 discloses the demographic profile of the SMEs from the service sector.
As per the nature of the business, 96 businesses (16%) fall under the category of
wholesale service, while 204 businesses (34%) relate to the retail service, and 300
(50%) are involved directly in providing services to the customer.
The data shows that 528 are small business enterprises, while 72 fall under the
medium enterprise category. The details show that 96 (16%) of the companies
TABLE 9.1
Demographic profile of respondents
Frequency
Demographic (n = 600) Percentage %
Age 26–30 132 22.0
30 and above 468 78.0
Gender Male 336 56.0
Female 264 44.0
Race Malay 181 30.2
Chinese 240 40.0
Indians 179 29.8
Level of Education Undergraduate 384 64.0
Postgraduate degree 216 36.0
or higher
TABLE 9.2
Demographic profile
Frequency
Demographic (n = 600) Percentage %
Current position in the business
Business owner 252 42.0
Business partner 348 58.0
Year of company establishment
3–5 168 28.0
6–10 275 45.8
11–15 145 24.2
More than 15 12 2.0
Number of employees
5–30 528 88.0
30–75 72 12.0
Nature of business of your organization
Wholesale 96 16.0
Retail 204 34.0
Service 300 50.0
Type of industry 96 16.0
Pharmaceutical, medical, and surgical goods
Textile/clothing and dress making 144 24.0
Courier/cargo 24 4.0
Travel services/tourism 24 4.0
Household appliances/equipment maintenance/dry cleaning 48 8.0
Security services
Sports and recreational goods/fitness 12 2.0
Software and information service industry 24 4.0
Home delivery services 37 6.2
Financial services 24 4.0
Consultancy 35 5.8
Information transmission/education and training 12 2.0
Hotel/restaurants/hospitality 96 16.0
Real estate business 24 4.0
Ownership structure 288 48.0
Sole proprietor
Private limited company 312 52.0
Are your business assets growing? 552 92.0
Yes
No 48 8.0
What would you consider the current stage of your business? 204 34.0
Growth stage
Maturity stage 348 58.0
Decline stage 48 8.0
Annual sales of your firm 528 88.0
RM300,000 to less than RM3 million
RM3 million to not exceeding RM20 million 72 12.0
Firm location
Kuala Lumpur 311 51.8
Selangor 289 48.2
provide pharmaceutical, medical, and surgical goods; 144 (24%) are involved in
textile/clothing and dressmaking business, 24 (4%) are dealing in courier/cargo
services, 24 (4%) in travel services/tourism, 48 (8%) in household appliances/
equipment maintenance/dry cleaning, and 12 (2%) deal with security services. In
addition, 12 (2%) belonged to sports and recreational goods/fitness, while 24 (4%)
deal in the software and information service industry. Moreover, 37 businesses
(6.2%) provide home delivery services, 24 (4%) are involved in financial services,
35 (5.8%) are in consultancy services, 12 (2%) are related to information transmis-
sion/education and training, 24 (4%) provide hotel/restaurant/hospitality services,
and 24 (4%) deal in the real estate business. The ownership structure depicts that
288 (48%) of the participants are sole proprietors, and 312 (52%) own private lim-
ited companies.
During the survey, 552 businesses (92%) admitted that their business assets are
growing, while 48 (8%) were not satisfied with their business asset growth.
Consequently, 204 entrepreneurs (34%) agreed that their business was at the growth
stage. In comparison, 348 venture owners (58%) thought that their business was at
the maturity stage, and 48 of them (8%) admitted that their business was in the
declining stage. Thus, it is verified that education positively impacts business growth
and success (Ahmad, 2007; Fahmi Idris et al., 2020).
The firm’s annual sales depict that 528 firms (88%) manage to reach an annual
sale of RM300,000 to less than RM3 million, while 72 firms (12%) enjoy annual
sales of RM3 million but not exceeding RM20 million. In terms of location, 311
firms (51.8%) are in the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, while 289 firms (48.2%)
are situated in Selangor (Table 9.3).
TABLE 9.3
Descriptive statistics of constructs
Std. Error of Std Error of
Construct Skewness Skewness Kurtosis Kurtosis
Strategic competency (SC) −1.312 0.100 0.637 0.199
Conceptual competency (CC) −1.543 0.100 1.510 0.199
Opportunity competency (OC) −1.111 0.100 0.316 0.199
Learning competency (LC) −1.621 0.100 1.881 0.199
Personal competency (PC) −1.375 0.100 1.623 0.199
Ethical (EC) −1.278 0.100 1.108 0.199
Familism (FC) −0.867 0.100 −.044 0.199
Performance relative to competitors (CP) −2.766 0.100 9.241 0.199
Nonfinancial performance (NFP) −.732 0.100 .292 0.199
Financial performance (FP) −.739 0.100 −.664 0.199
Business growth (BG) −1.206 0.100 .794 0.199
Network competence (NC) −.816 0.100 .308 0.199
Environmental turbulence (ET) −.356 0.100 −1.059 0.199
Government support (GS) −.638 0.100 −.060 0.199
Entrepreneurial innovativeness (EI) −.349 0.100 −1.477 0.199
Inferential Statistics
Importance Performance Map Analysis (IPMA)
IPMA is a matrix analysis, and it describes managerial implications well (Ramayah
et al., 2016). “It is a valuable tool that extends the PLS-SEM estimations’ results by
contrasting the total constructs effect on some target variable with the average val
ues of the constructs’ scores” (Hair et al., 2017). The total effect specifies the exog
enous construct’s significance for symbolizing the precise exogenous constructs,
although the average construct scores depict their performance. The foremost reason
is recognizing the endogenous latent variable’s significant exogenous construct
(Hair et al., 2017). Thus, this research study’s analysis offers precious information
on managerial implications to spotlight and benefit performance. IPMA is incredibly
significant in providing supplementary conclusions with the combination of the
performance analysis and the important dimensions in PLS-SEM’s practical
applications. In consequence, it demonstrates which construct needs improvement
in terms of performance.
Table 9.4 discloses the findings of index values. It can be examined by the net-
work competence (NC) as the vital factor and has a high importance level, so the
network competence has too much potential for improving the performance level
of the construct. Environmental turbulence (ET) is the second most important vari-
able for determining Malaysian SMEs’ venture success (see Figure 9.1), and its
importance level is exceptionally high. To work in a turbulent environment, entrepre-
neurs and managers need a high level of competencies, improved innovativeness, and
extensive communication networks with the government to acquire resources. They
must have risk-taking ability and proactiveness to handle the high turbulent environ-
ment with strategies. Strategic competency theory explains the concept of fit. Thus,
there must be proper alignment between internal and external resources, and it must
fit the environment and performance. For that reason, the highest significant values
are compared with other predictors (see Table 9.4).
Entrepreneurial competencies (ECOMP) are the third main influential factor for
Malaysian business success due to their importance and performance level. EI is
equally crucial due to its importance and performance level. Entrepreneurs and man-
agers must utilize entrepreneurial innovativeness throughout the fiscal year. It is
TABLE 9.4
Total effects and index values for BS
Total Effect of a construct
Constructs (importance) Performances
ECOMP 0.212 79.339
EI −0.363 63.199
ET 0.58 60.749
GS −0.677 69.87
NC 1.439 75.756
FIGURE 9.1 IPMA for business success.
essential to be innovative in services, processes, and products. Entrepreneurs ought

to keep the business ready for any dynamic change in demand, market, or environ-
ment. Government support is the least important factor for BS.
The government introduced several schemes to support the entrepreneurs, but
there is a lack of proper resource distribution. The institutional theory explains how
organizations can investigate to channel resources, and how they can recognize, eval-
uate, exploit, and process the available opportunities for business survival in a com-
petitive environment, even though the performance of NC is less compared to
ECOMP. Collectively, to get venture success in a highly turbulent environment, net-
working needs the management’s attention.
The current research judges ECOMP and BS as a reflective-formative type II sec-
ond-order construct and utilized the combination of repeated indicator approach and
two-stage approach. The outcome of the calculations designated that the PLS model
has significant reliability and validity. Also, discriminant validity validates the PLS
model. The structural model analysis depicted the significance and non-significance
test of the proposition. Moreover, the analysis of moderators is explained, and
momentous interaction influences are described. Moreover, the MLMV technique of
CLC is also implemented.
Consequently, the results are compared. Nonetheless, there is no noteworthy
difference in the findings after the comparison. It is confirmed that CMV does not
influence the findings of this research. For that reason, the researcher confidently
concludes the findings. Additionally, PLS analysis findings are extended through
IMPMA, and managerial implications are also suggested based on IPMA results
(Tables 9.5 and 9.6).
TABLE 9.5
Comparison of t-values between CLC and original PLS estimates
Original PLS Estimation CLC Estimation
Relationship Beta t-value Beta t-value Decision
H1a: ECOMP → BS 0.339 ***8.522 0.348 ***8.394 Supported
H1b: NC → BS 0.719 ***5.829 0.763 ***5.91 Supported
H1c: EI →BS −0.151 ***6.032 −0.118 ***4.364 Not Supported
H2a: ECOMP*ET → BS −0.185 ***4.566 −0.173 ***4.343 Not Supported
H2b: NC*ET → BS −0.087 **2.164 −0.116 ***3.399 Not Supported
H2c: EI*ET → BS −0.083 **2.232 −0.078 **2.65 Not Supported
H3a: ECOMP*GS → BS 0.132 ***3.629 0.122 ***3.424 Supported
H3b: NC*GS → BS −0.135 ***3.412 −0.114 **2.151 Not Supported
H3c: EI*GS → BS 0.095 *1.689 0.147 ***3.465 Supported
Note: critical t values: *1.65 (significance level 10%) ***1.96 (significance level 5%), ***2.57 (signifi-
cance level 1%)
TABLE 9.6
Comparison of R2 values between CLC estimates and original PLS estimates
Original PLS Estimation CLC Estimation
Construct Before Interaction After Interaction Before Interaction After Interaction
BS R2 R Adjusted
2 R 2 R Adjusted
2 R2 R Adjusted
2 R2 R2 Adjusted
0.747 0.745 0.807 0.803 0.744 0.742 0.813 0.809
THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL CONTRIBUTION

• The first theoretical addition of the research findings is associated with
entrepreneurial competencies’ independent variable by assimilating the
organization’s major theory: the resource-based view (RBV). This research
encompasses the theory by investigating, identifying, and testing the impact
of seven dimensions of entrepreneurial competencies and confirming them
as vital and specific resources for SMEs’ business success in the service
sector. This research confirms entrepreneurial competencies as the third
most important factor for small and medium enterprises in Malaysia.
Moreover, as the second contribution, this study breaks the ground in inves-
tigating the direct effect of network competence in SMEs in the service
sector.
• Secondly, this study links network competence with RBV and SCT. The prom-
inent contribution is the declaration of network competence as the most crucial
external resource and vital factor for venture success. The concept of Guanxi is
highlighted for future research as a new contribution. Network competence is
explored as an independent variable. Internet-based advanced communication
technologies, business networks, and social networks are explained under net-
work competence.
• The third academic input of the research relates to entrepreneurial innovative-
ness as an independent variable with the support of RBV. The findings suggest
a direct effect of entrepreneurial innovativeness as the least essential factor
because it is a risk-taking activity. Entrepreneurial innovativeness can be a sig-
nificant factor for business success only with government support. Moreover,
entrepreneurs ought to innovate services and products with strategies and pro-
actively with the concept of fit factor.
• The fourth theoretical contribution of this research work is to inspect the mod-
erating impact of government support with institutional theory assistance. The
researcher introduces government support as a moderator in this research as a
new contribution.
• The fifth and final theoretical contribution of the research work is that it inves-
tigates the influence of a turbulent environment as a moderator with strategic
contingency theory (SCT). Results confirmed the negative moderating influ-
ence of high environmental turbulence on entrepreneurial competencies, entre-
preneurial innovativeness, and network competence.
• Furthermore, the study’s findings recommend that the service sector has the
abilities that should be considered specific resources and should be appropri-
ately aligned with government support and the business environment. This
study confirms that the competencies influence Malaysian SMEs in the service
sectors. The researcher verifies that network competence, seven dimensions of
entrepreneurial competencies, and entrepreneurial innovativeness are the cru-
cial resources for survival and excellent performance of the service sector
under the moderating influence of low environmental turbulence and high gov-
ernment support. Thus, a further understanding of these variables’ relationship
complements new information to the literature of entrepreneurship and leader-
ship in the Malaysian SME service sector context.
LIMITATIONS
Regardless of numerous inferences, there are a few limitations to consider while
understanding the research study’s findings.
• Quantitative methodology and positivism are multifaceted truths. It is believed

that immense investigation is applicable only to subjective and computable
data. The company is the element for investigation, and collected data is self-
reported. Thus, the participants provide an assessment of their entrepreneurial
competencies and firms’ performance. “This may also raise issues that whether
a single informant can present the whole company in the right way” (Al-Ansari,
2014). The absence of multiple respondents and scale might be a possible
limitation.
• Second, the research investigates the Malaysian SMEs in the service sectors,
which generally handle the various services and products. Thus, this study did
not explore the definite merchandise in the service industry. Moreover, the
findings of the service industry may not be generalized to any products

industry.
• Third, the study collects data from only two states. The urban area is mostly
located in the west region of Malaysia. Selangor is the busiest area for SMEs’
business activities, which is 19.8%, and WP Kuala Lumpur is the second big-
gest business hub with a ratio of 14.7%. So, the results might not be general-
ized for the whole population.
• Fourth, this study explores the firm performance subjective measures based on
business owners’ perceptions and could not be confirmed by lacking objective
measurement for performance. Moreover, subjective measurement is widely
practiced for multiple reasons, like access to accounting data (Ahmad, 2007).
• Furthermore, self-reported facts are collected for the measurement of variables.
“This approach is necessary due to the difficulties related to the independent
assessment of these variables” (Ahmad, 2007). Self-reported data is quite
common for measuring entrepreneurial competencies (Ahmad, 2007; Chandler
& Hanks, 1994; Man & Lau, 2000; Tehseen, 2017). Additionally, the researcher
selects three competencies to examine business success; however, some other
competencies might impact venture performance.
FUTURE COMMENDATIONS
• Alternate methods could be used for upcoming research, as could action
research and case studies to get core information on competencies, innovative-
ness, and network competence from executives, managers, and entrepreneurs
regarding their perspective.
• Second, future studies must examine the service sector for specific services or
products to understand better the influence of competencies and innovative-
ness, government support, and the business environment. As this research
reveals the direct impact of entrepreneurial innovativeness, it does not support
business success, but the introduction of government support as a moderator to
support business success has a positive influence on business success.
Therefore, future studies must study the moderating and mediating influence of
government support.
• Third, the competencies and innovative approach may differ from one product
or service to another. Therefore, the impact of the market and networking can
vary across diverse services.
• Fourth, imminent research should explore some aptitudes and issues regarding
SME’s business performance. For example, advertising competencies, techno-
logical, and quality. Besides this, extending the research work model, diverse
internal and external aspects as moderators might be studied.
• Furthermore, entrepreneurial competencies and innovativeness are changing
representations to the demand of customer and market environment. Thus, it
may need more time to study the situation. Additionally, future studies should
include the firms which could not survive to gain in-depth knowledge of the
factors which contribute to the failure of the business.
• This study can be replicated in other Asian countries like Indonesia, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, and other countries that deal with the service sector. The same
study can be conducted in large enterprises. A proportional study can be con-
ducted between SMEs and large firms in the service sector. Comparative stud-
ies among managers, entrepreneurs, business partners, and owners would
propose valuable insight into their perspective competencies, which are man-
datory for venture performance. Another interesting study is to compare com-
petencies based on gender to determine the differences in innovative practices
and networking.
• Moreover, a significant proportion of females are involved in the service indus-
try as compared to the other industries, and they are only 19.7% of the total
Malaysian SMEs. It is suggested that men and women manage to deal with
their business differently (Ahmad, 2007), and they may differ in competencies
and innovative practices.
• Future studies could do comparative studies between firms that are operated
internationally and domestically to examine the diverse proficiencies and cre-
ative practices. Competencies could be compared during the three stages of the
firm. Therefore, the forthcoming studies could involve a mixed methodology.
Similarities in culture in different Malaysian states ought to be investigated.
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10 Social Entrepreneurship
Sangeeta Sumbly
IILM University, India
CONTENTS
Comparison of Social Entrepreneurships with Commercial
Entrepreneurships�� 139
Similarities Between Commercial Entrepreneurship and Social
Entrepreneurship�� 139
Entrepreneurial Process�� 139
Impact-Oriented Mindset�� 139
Difference Between the Two Types of Entrepreneurship�� 140
Mission-Driven and Revenue-Driven�� 140
Measurement of Outcomes�� 140
Different Approach to Entrepreneurship�� 140
Models of Social Entrepreneurship�� 142
Support to Entrepreneurs��143
Providing Intermediary or Linkage to the Market�� 144
Employing the Economically Poor, Marginalized Communities�� 144
The Beneficiary Population as Customers�� 145
The Co-operative Model of Social Entrepreneurship�� 145
Model of Support or Subsidy�� 146
Measuring Social Impact�� 146
Importance of Measuring the Social Impact�� 147
Key Challenges in Measuring Social Impact�� 148
Lack of Maturity in the Measurement of Impact�� 148
No Consensus on the Usage of Cost-Related Impact Data�� 149
Methodology to Measure Social Impact�� 149
Defining the Social Value Proposition (SVP)�� 149
Quantify the Venture’s Social Value�� 149
Monetize the Social Value�� 149
Conclusion and Discussion�� 150
UN data estimates of 2019 show that the world’s population surpasses 7.7 billion
people (World Population Prospects, 2019). The UN report – The Sustainable
Development Goals Report, 2019 – highlighted that in 2018, close to 8 percent of the
world’s workers survived on less than US$1.90 per person per day. The report further
details that approximately 10 percent of the world population live in deplorable
DOI: 10.1201/9781003097945-10 137

conditions and are trying to fulfill their basic needs like food, shelter, medical
facilities, and sanitation and water access. High levels of employment and illiteracy
worsen their situation (Chhabra, 2018a).
The scarcity of resources, the needs of the growing population, and the growing
burden on the environment have made people conscious that governments alone cannot
take care of these challenges. Organizations need to step in to fulfill the customer needs
of the marginalized and underserved communities. Many enterprising people see
opportunity in these challenges and are willing to take risks to create innovative and
transformative products and services for the benefit of society (Chhabra et al., 2020).
They mobilize the resources, ideas, and technology to create a greater impact. They create
organizations that can fulfill society’s needs and at the same time be financially viable.
These entrepreneurs, who pursue a social goal while creating economically sustainable
organizations, are recognized for their efforts and are grouped as social entrepreneurs.
Thake and Zadek (1997) said,
The desire for social justice drives social entrepreneurs. They seek a direct link between
their actions and an improvement in the quality of life for the people they work with
and those they seek to serve. They aim to produce solutions which are sustainable finan-
cially, organizationally, socially, and environmentally.
Social entrepreneurship is more prevalent in low- to middle-income markets and is

most active in Ethiopia, Nigeria, India, Mexico, Brazil, and South Africa. Social
entrepreneurs try to solve the humongous social challenges existing in such countries
by “creating business models revolving around innovative and effective products and
services that resolve community problems” (Maingi et al., 2020).
Social enterprises create new, socially and financially sustainable solutions to the
many challenges facing the economically backward classes of the society. There are
many examples of entrepreneurs creating successful business models in the social
sector while working towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals identified by
the United Nations.
Case 1: Aravind Eye Hospital in Hyderabad, India. In 1976, Dr. Govindappa

Venkataswamy started the first Aravind Eye Hospital under the GOVIL Trust. There
are 13 eye hospitals under the trust that provide world-class eye care, with 50% of
their patients receiving eye treatments free or at highly subsidized charges (Makhlouf,
2011). Economies of scale, high operational efficiency, and use of the latest technol-
ogy have allowed Aravind to reduce treatment costs for its patients. The treatment
cost of the poor is offset by the profit earned from its paying patients, who constitute
40–50% of the total patients. Using this business model, the healthcare chain has
provided treatment to more than 60 million outpatients and performed more than 7.8
million surgeries. The quality of the care provided ranks with the best despite its
being in a business with social betterment at its core.
Ophthalmology students from institutions like Harvard and Johns Hopkins
regularly are trained at Aravind Eye Hospital. Indeed, the hospital’s model
showcases how “High volume, high quality, and affordable costs” can enable the
poor to get better health facilities while servicing the economically privileged
Social Entrepreneurship 139
class alongside, and builds a good case for entrepreneurship in the social sector
(Makhlouf, 2011).
One of the critical reasons why Aravind Hospitals have been able to get operational
efficiencies and the higher success rate is due to their ability to break differentiated
processes into small units and re-integrating them with precision. The analysis of
huge patient data has helped them improve their success rate and make headway in
the area of research of new solutions in eye care. They continue collecting large
aggregate data in registries and near real-time analysis, thereby rapidly identifying
solutions to the clinical questions. They adopt progressive technologies, such as the
program with Google to create an artificial intelligence algorithm for early detection
of the onset of blindness, to find innovative solutions to prevent sight impairment
(Basu, 2018).
COMPARISON OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIPS WITH

COMMERCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIPS
Traditionally, entrepreneurship is all about identifying new opportunities and
capitalizing on them for revenue generation (Chhabra & Karmarkar, 2016b). It is
about creating value and monetizing the same, despite constraints of resources.
Entrepreneurs identify need gaps in the markets and use innovation to fulfill the
same to maximize wealth (Chhabra, 2018b). When the scope of innovation in an
organization, be it product or process, is extended to fulfill a greater need of
society in a financially viable manner for society’s benefit, it is called a social
venture. However, when the focus of the entrepreneur is the creation of innovative
goods and services with the objective of maximization of profits while fulfilling a
need gap in the market, it is called commercial entrepreneurship, or simply
entrepreneurship.
Similarities Between Commercial Entrepreneurship and Social

Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurial Process
The entrepreneurial process is the same for social and commercial entrepreneurship.
Both types of entrepreneurs focus on vision and opportunity. These enterprising indi-
viduals identify an unfulfilled customer need and are willing to invest time and effort
and take risks to fulfill the customer’s need through innovative resources. Their pro-
cess of identifying customer pain points, using design thinking for creating out-of-
the-box, cost-effective, and sustainable solutions is similar.
Impact-Oriented Mindset
Both social and commercial entrepreneurs seek innovative solutions that are both
impactful and quantifiable. Both aim to maximize return on investment and efforts,
though the definition of return varies. While one seeks a financial return on investment,
the social entrepreneur evaluates her achievement by calculating the social impact
created by her.
Difference Between the Two Types of Entrepreneurship

Mission-Driven and Revenue-Driven
The biggest difference between these entrepreneurs is the nature of the immediate
return each tends to seek. Commercial entrepreneurs are market-focused and profit-
oriented. The objective of achieving the social impact that translates into fulfilling a
solid organizational mission is the motivation for a social entrepreneur. Profitability
and economic value are important to them more for ensuring that their venture is
sustainable and fulfills their social mission. Furthermore, social (impact) entrepre-
neurs reinvest the majority of their profit in increasing their social impact rather than
distributing it among stakeholders.
By contrast, commercial entrepreneurs seek to maximize profits and market share,
among other financial parameters. Commercial entrepreneurs have to operate within
the dynamics of the markets. If commercial entrepreneurs are unable to optimize
financial value, they could be out of the business because of competition and financial
viability. Their focus is wealth creation for their shareholders and themselves, and
they often change their business model and their product/service to maximize that.
Measurement of Outcomes
The success of commercial entrepreneurship can be determined by measuring the orga-
nization’s profitability, market share, revenue earned, and other financial parameters.
These are easily measurable in tangible and quantifiable values. Therefore, the success
of such an enterprise is dependent on the degree of social change caused by it in society
and communities. Due to the intangible, multifactorial nature and temporal dimensions
of the outcome, it becomes challenging to measure social entrepreneurship.
Case 2: Glasswing – leveraging community support to increase social impact.

Glasswing International, a Skoll awardee in 2020 for social entrepreneurship, was
launched in 2007 to leverage community resources to reduce the level of violence
amongst youth in Central America. It adopted a community school approach. The
organization conducts life skill sessions and mental health interventions after school
hours for marginalized communities. These sessions increase the youths’ ability to
cope with their life challenges and increase their interest in education and creating
careers for themselves. This led to transforming communities by offering viable
youth alternatives to crime and violence. Today the program covers over 100 schools
in El Salvador. They have improved one million-plus lives, mobilized over 137,274
volunteers to improve the education of over 398,166 participants and the health of
313,081 participants. Their model of social impact has been replicated in ten other
countries.
DIFFERENT APPROACH TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP

The approach to social entrepreneurship is exceptionally different from commercial
entrepreneurship. Resources such as employees are managed differently. A profit-
seeking entrepreneurial venture has to be competitive and agile to penetrate markets
and achieve larger customer bases. Hence, it has to pay a premium to attract promising
and competitive employees having a good skill set, knowledge, and attitude.
Compensation is a tool to attract employees in commercial, entrepreneurial ventures,
reward them, and recognize their contribution.
On the other hand, social entrepreneurs have limited full-time dedicated staff and
are dependent on volunteers and part-time employees to fulfill their human resource
needs. Due to the non-capitalistic nature of their organization, they are unable to pay
their employees handsomely, preferring to channel their revenues toward increasing
the scope of their impact. They attract those employees who place greater value on the
non-financial benefits remuneration. Due to the nature of their mission to maximize
social impact, these entrepreneurs tend to reinvest their profits back into the venture.
Case 3: SELCO – changing lives by making solar energy accessible to the poor.
SELCO Solar Light Private Limited is the brainchild of a social entrepreneur who
decided to use his doctorate in rural electrification from the University of
Massachusetts, USA, to benefit financially challenged people in India. Dr. Harish
Hande, the social venture’s founder, chose to provide solar power solutions to the
poor so that they could break from the cycle of poverty, exacerbated by unreliable
access to power.
In India, 57 million people do not have access to electricity, or they get it only on
an intermittent basis. The absence of electricity has a crippling effect on the lives of
these people, limiting their ability to generate income or educate their children,
thereby stifling them in a cycle of poverty. While many locations still do not have
access to electricity, the poor people cannot fund their basic energy needs in the loca-
tions having access to electricity.
As per Dr. Harish Hande, “We set up SELCO to bust three myths – the poor people
cannot afford technology, the poor people cannot maintain technology, and it is not
possible to run a commercial venture that fulfills a social objective” (Mukherji & Jose,
2010). SELCO fulfilled the need gap of the rural poor in a very innovative manner.
The team at SELCO, under Dr. Hande, understood the root cause of the problem, i.e.,
affordability and accessibility of power. Instead of fitting a standard solution to a
problem, they customize energy solutions for their consumers. They create, develop,
and use custom-made solutions by understanding the needs of their customers. Their
solutions factor in the terrain of their customers’ location, income, and prevailing. By
creating innovative solar products and pricing packages that suit their customers’
affordability, ranging from daily income earners to regular, salaried lower-income
families, SELCO provides eco-friendly power solutions to each household’s cottage
industries’ needs. Unlike the commercial players in the markets, who upfront-load the
cost of the solar panel onto the customers, SELCO focuses on controlling inflation on
the supply side and making the solar power accessible through rental schemes and
financing schemes. In the initial days, SELCO also facilitated the development of
financing schemes by state-owned rural banks that were better suited to their poor
customers’ needs. These schemes match the repayment installment structure with the
additional revenues generated by their customers from increased productivity arising
out of solar solutions. SELCO has ensured widespread adoption of energy solutions
by creating conducive market conditions by working on the five essential aspects of
the ecosystem. Economic inclusion (financing schemes), human capital development
(training and employing local talent), policies promoting sustainable energy (by
educating government agencies and getting their support), strengthening supply chain
(nurturing local vendors), and introducing innovative products (that cater to customer
needs) have allowed SELCO to provide energy services to households, health and
education institutions, cottage industries, and other rural organizations.
SELCO has been rigorously mapping the change caused by electrification to
society in their areas of operations. The data collected and analyzed on their customers
has helped them measure impact and receive support from important stakeholders
like the government, financial institutions, and international organizations like Skoll
Foundation. Further, SELCO has scaled its operations and provides power solutions
to people living in Tamil Naidu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Bihar, and Kerala. Since its
launch in 1995, SELCO has changed the lives of over 1 million people and delivered
many innovative modern energy solutions. It has 67 energy centers, 510 employees,
and a turnover of USD$3 million (Ashoka, n.d.).
In addition to SELCO Solar Light Private Limited, Harish Hande has created
social impact through the SELCO Foundation (which includes the SELCO Incubation
Centre) and the SELCO Energy Access Fund.
MODELS OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

The term social entrepreneurship became popular in the 1950s. However, it received
visibility and recognition much later due to social entrepreneurs’ efforts like Akhter
Hameed Khan and Muhammad Yunus. Their ventures and solutions’ success story
has increased interest in this format of entrepreneurship (Gandhi & Raina, 2018).
The 15-year period from 2004 to 2020 saw an increase of over 60% in the number of
social ventures launched. Today, social entrepreneurs are highly motivated, socially
responsible people who try to help the world eliminate ills like poverty, hunger, illit-
eracy, discrimination, lack of water and proper sanitation, unemployment, and a host
of similar problems. However, dealing with such a large scale is impossible without
adequate funds, nor can they rely entirely on philanthropy. Thus, social entrepreneurs
need to adopt sustainable business models that would allow their ventures to contrib-
ute to the social good for a long time.
There are many explanations and definitions of what constitutes the business
model. A business model is a statement that shares the processes adopted by an
organization to generate revenues over time. The statement reflects revenue-generating
and profit-making opportunities created by the various initiatives of the entrepreneurial
venture. It also reflects the set of assumptions made by the entrepreneur. It helps in
organizing and synergizing the various components of the strategy and execution of
the business. Social enterprises explain the relationship between various components
connecting the organization with the beneficiary and the consumer. The framework of
the social business model consists of the following components:
Offer: The customer value proposition, the benefit offered by the organization
to the customer through its products and services.
Market: The customer base being targeted by the social entrepreneurship

venture, which includes the geographies, customer segments, the
distribution channel, and the communication strategy along with the pricing
strategy.
Governance: The model of governance and the set of processes or laws define
the working relationships with multiple stakeholders to fulfill the
organization’s social mission. It also includes the legalities and the rules and
regulations set by the government and other institutions for promoting and
managing social ventures.
Social entrepreneurial ecosystem: This refers to the partner networks, social
impact investing funds, non-government organizations already operating in
that space, consumer groups, government agencies, and all other players in
the environment.
Surplus: This is how the organization manages the revenue surplus, especially
the distribution of profits among the shareholders and reinvestment of the
same into the business to maximize the social impact.
Economic Profit Equation: This describes the profitability arising out of the
costs incurred and revenue generated by the organization.
Social Value: It identifies the social impact the organization is making and
the risks and benefits associated with the activity based on its initiatives.
Based on the combinations of the aforementioned components, there are
six social entrepreneurship models, which are popular (Müller, 2012).
Each of these has a different form of articulation depending on how they
generate revenues, their markets, their product or services, and the social
impact.
Support to Entrepreneurs
The entrepreneur support model focuses on creating entrepreneurs at the grassroots
level and providing support either in guidance, training, better-quality raw materials,
or even financing, thereby ensuring that they become self-sustaining (Chhabra &
Goyal, 2019). An example of this model is the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh.
Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank and Nobel Peace Prize Awardee,
launched the social entrepreneurial venture in 1976 to provide financial support to
poor rural entrepreneurs and reduce their high-interest burden under predatory
lending. It provided credit without collateral to impoverished people in rural
Bangladesh. It was still able to recover the principal amount and interest from this
segment of the population. After seeing success on a smaller scale, Grameen Bank
(GB) adopted this unconventional banking practice across regions. It used mutual
trust, creativity, participation, and accountability to empower the poor. For the past
few decades, the bank has been providing microcredits and other financial services
to women (who make up 97% of their borrowers) struggling in poverty and
vulnerability, thereby helping them sustain and increase their business incomes
(Rahim & Wisuttisak, 2013). Today it has over 9.6 million members with a presence
in 81,678 villages of Bangladesh. The GB model is accepted and adopted in 68 other
countries around the world.
Providing Intermediary or Linkage to the Market

The intermediary model aims to connect the vulnerable segment to new market and
customer segments to provide them a higher and fairer value for their product or
service. The social entrepreneur guides to support and provides access to quality
raw material, technology, and financing to the small entrepreneurs and different
markets for their products to customers willing to pay a more suitable price. Take the
example of Fruandes, a social venture initiated in 2002 in Colombia. It encourages
small-scale, organic fruit producers by helping them market their products to
international markets such as the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, Canada,
France, Japan, and the USA, where they get higher and fairer prices (Fruandes,
2020).
Fruit growers from different countries and regions supply organic pineapple,
banana, sugarcane, mango, golden berries, dragon fruit, and cacao nibs to Fruandes.
Fruandes takes care of the logistics involved in gathering the fruits and other products
from small producers and supplying them to the international markets, tasks that
small-time producers find challenging to manage (Fruandes, 2020). Further, Fruandes
has developed a “Grower’s Service Model” that provides the growers with technical
guidance, training, and organizational support (Michael, 2017). Producers also get
support while applying for need-based funding from financial institutions. This type
of support helps them increase their scale of operations and revenue margins, thereby
helping them earn better and rise above their poverty. Fraundes’s network of fruit
producers has certification for organic farming for over 137 hectares. Their revenue
is over US$2 million (Michael, 2017).
Employing the Economically Poor, Marginalized Communities

This social venture model focuses on improving lives by employing economically
challenged people who are vulnerable or are marginalized on account of any other
reason. The social entrepreneurs employ the people from the underserved and under-
income communities, providing them with income to uplift their families from pov-
erty. This leads to a social change in the community, leading to better health and
better literacy levels. Yellow Leaf is a social enterprise that has created high-wage
employment for women residing in the rural areas of Thailand. The husband-and-
wife duo of Joe Demin and Rachel Connors, who are the founders of the enterprise,
decided to monetize the artisans’ potential and their weaving skills. They founded a
social enterprise, Yellow Leaf, through which they sell uniquely designed hammocks
that are incredibly soft and handwoven by the artisans. The team’s goal is to empower
the artisans to lift their families from poverty by presenting their work to the world.
Through design innovations, the use of new technology, and the production of quality
products, they have been able to create markets, get impact investment, and improve
the quality of lives of the artisans (Smith, 2011).
The Beneficiary Population as Customers

Under this model, the social entrepreneur designs an innovative product or service to
benefit underserved markets or the people categorized at the “Bottom of the Income
Pyramid”, a phrase coined by C.K. Prahalad for people who earn less than $2.50 per
day (Prahalad, 2005). The social venture creates products and services that are
affordable and accessible to poor people. Many social enterprises use this model,
wherein through technology and innovation, they provide affordable and relevant
products and services designed for the underserved community.
VisionSpring, a social enterprise, has improved the lives of lower-income customers
by providing them with affordable eye tests and glasses. The enterprise has been creating
change in more than 43 countries, including Bangladesh, El Salvador, India, and South
Africa (Stephens, 2020). Their glasses are competitively priced and designed to be
affordable for a person whose income is as low as $4 per day. Through these stores and
association with large NGOs/health organizations, the company distributes eyeglasses
and vision testing at very reasonable costs. They maintain potential manufacturers and
distribution partners’ databases to ensure they continue to create innovative and cost-
effective eye care solutions for their underserved customers (Manaus, 2013). They have
distributed 6.8 million corrective pairs of eyeglasses, increased productivity by 22–32%,
and created wealth of $1.4 billion (Vision Spring, 2020).
The Co-operative Model of Social Entrepreneurship

This model is based on a group of vendors/producers joining hands together by
creating co-operative societies to get better economies of scale, access to technology,
and better leverage in distribution channels. Social ventures that follow the
co-operative model organize their members in a democratic structure. The
management of such enterprises is in consultation with all members. These
co-operatives address common challenges like unemployment, lack of resources, and
suitable market structures to connect the producers with the consumers. The members
share resources, skill sets, and technology to strengthen the organization.
Case 4: Amul story – empowering small-time farmers. An early example of this

model of entrepreneurship is Amul (Anand Milk Union Limited). Co-owned by 3.6
million milk producers in Gujarat, the co-operative is a pioneer in the Indian dairy
industry (Varma & Ravi, 2017). The formation of the Kaira District Co-operative Milk
Producers Union and Amul Dairy in 1946 and 1950 has provided the dairy farmers
with access to a wide range of domestic markets and spurred India’s milk revolution.
Some of the reasons that led to Amul’s success include its robust and seamless supply
chain, hierarchical network of co-operatives, a strong connection between small and
large suppliers and management by professionals (Varma & Ravi, 2017). It has
empowered the small-time farmers, providing them with a steady income as well as
participation in profits. The co-operative has ensured the development of a strong
supply chain and provided access to technology and innovation. The company depicted
how by eliminating intermediaries and adopting professional management systems and
milk sourcing processes, one can ensure that low-income farmers generate better
incomes and rise above their poverty. Today Amul is an over $6.6 billion business
owned by members (farmers) who get to share in the profits (Amul, 2019).
Model of Support or Subsidy

In the subsidy model, the entrepreneur uses profits earned through its commercial
venture to benefit the economically challenged customer segment. The social enter-
prise develops products or services for different customer segments, wherein the
profit from one fund subsidizes the cost of the other initiatives. Such social ventures
create two organizational structures – one is for the activities relating to maximizing
social impact, while the other is designed for maximizing economic value. Aravind
Eye Hospitals in India follow this model of creating social impact. The hospitals
provide treatments, using the latest technology, to their patients. Their world-class
eye treatments are provided at differential rates to different segments of society. The
profits generated from the services provided to people in the upper-income segment
subsidize the services provided to the underserved population. This allows them to
treat at least 50% of the patients for free or at very subsidized rates.
In addition to the aforementioned models of social entrepreneurship, many others
are evolving. One such is the hybrid model, which many social entrepreneurs
extensively adopt. The hybrid model is when an organization adopts multiple models
to increase its social impact (Dao & Martin, 2017). For example, SELCO Solar
Lights Pvt Ltd provides solar power to the poor rural population through innovative
products and pricing. It also offers employment to the local young after training them
with technical skills. Besides, it has encouraged entrepreneurship at the grassroots
level by encouraging locals to become its vendors or service partners. The SELCO
Foundation is funding and supporting innovation in the space of sustainable energy.
Since the passion and motivation of social entrepreneurs are to maximize social
impact, they are willing to use hybrid models to benefit society.
MEASURING SOCIAL IMPACT

One of the most challenging and frustrating aspects of a social entrepreneur’s work
involves measuring and communicating the positive social impact of his/her
organization (Kramer, 2005; Kramer et al. 2007). To calculate the good work done by
an entrepreneur is difficult since it has far-reaching implications. First, knowing what
“good” means is hard; second, because it is extremely tough to equate the excellent
work done to a monetary value, it is difficult to understand the impact made by the
work done clearly.
Most entrepreneurs struggle to attribute a monetary value to the social impact
made on society, community, and the environment (Chhabra & Karmarkar, 2016a).
For example, it is almost impossible to calculate accurately the value of education
given to underprivileged girls from low-income families. How does one measure the
impact of this education that empowers them to become financially independent or
improve their family members’ health? As per a UNICEF report, an educated woman
gets access to information and knowledge, develops skills, and has self-confidence,
making her a better parent, a better income-generator, and a good citizen (UNICEF,
n.d.). Educated girls grow into women who positively impact their families, the
economy, and the next generation. Therefore, there are humongous benefits for
society as a whole (UNICEF, n.d.). However, it is difficult to measure the change in
society resulting from educating the girl child.
Importance of Measuring the Social Impact

Perhaps the main benefit of learning how to calculate a firm’s social impact lies in the
entrepreneur being able to measure the results of the organization’s work (Merchant
& Vander Stede, 2007). Measuring impact allows social entrepreneurs to allocate
resources to programs that make a bigger difference to society or move closer to the
fulfillment of their missions. When they can measure their firm’s social impact, they
can identify themselves and their organization with the industry. Another advantage
of accurate measurement is being able to impress multiple stakeholders, including
investors, and show that the organization is achieving its goal. This becomes impor-
tant in view of the size of the impact investing industry. According to the Global
Impact Investors Network’s report in 2020, the impact investing industry has grown
to $715 billion. Today, with such large funds, all stakeholders, including investors,
employees, government, customers, and other institutions, wish to understand the
efficiency and social result of the investments made. A social entrepreneurial venture
to attract investments and support from various government and other organizations
has to have absolute clarity about its vision and financial goals (PWC, 2014). Only
when it can quantify and highlight the value creation can it expand and cause a larger
change in society, environment, or any other social mission.
To share an example, Skoll Foundation is a California-based private foundation
that is focused on driving large-scale social change by “investing in, connecting, and
celebrating social entrepreneurs and other innovators focused on solving the world’s
social problems” (Skoll, 2020). The foundation awards $1.5 million in core support
investments to five social entrepreneurs each year to increase their work scale. The
awarded social entrepreneurs gain recognition and leverage in the global community
of visionary leaders and innovators, which further helps them with funding and asso-
ciations with other players from the social entrepreneurship ecosystem.
In June 2020, one of the winners of the award was Dr. Aparna Hegde, founder of
ARMMAN, a social venture operating in India. Since 2008, she has consistently
worked toward improving the lives of pregnant women, mothers, and children in India.
She used technology to increase the number of lives she could improve. Her ability to
quantify the efforts of ARMMAN enabled her to be a worthy partner to the Government
of India and jointly manage a voice helpline platform called Kilkari (Skoll, 2020).
Case 5: ARMMAN – using technology and data to increase the scale of social
impact. ARMMAN, launched in 2008, has adopted a “tech plus touch” model,
leveraging technology to ensure access to health-related information for pregnant

women, mothers, and children. ARMMAN’s initial innovation was the launch of a
free mobile voice call service called mMitra. Through this service, ARMMAN sends
preventive health care information weekly to mothers during pregnancy and infancy,
thereby reducing mothers’ mortality rate and increasing the birth of healthier chil-
dren. It has also created health entrepreneurs who go to the doorsteps of these women
to ensure that they have access to health facilities and can take action promptly.
Additionally, in 2019, they partnered with the Government of India to jointly manage
a similar voice helpline platform, Kilkari, that delivers health care information to
16 million subscribers in five languages in 13 states. Their partnership with the
Indian government also includes managing a Mobile Academy that trains frontline
government health workers (ASHAs), helping them refresh their knowledge on
health safety and preventive techniques and further sensitizing them to have better
engagement with pregnant women, mothers, and children providers. The organiza-
tion has been able to garner 2.2 million subscribers in its mMitra program, supported
and trained health workers in 100 government hospitals, worked with 43 community
NGOs, and impacted the lives of 16 million women. The organization also collects
huge amounts of data on medical history, health parameters, and other details of
pregnant women, mothers, and children and uses these details to pre-empt their
health issues and provide interventions to reduce mortality rates (Skoll, 2020).
Today, they associate with the Google Research Centre in the “AI for Social
Good” Program. The Google Research team, in association with IIT Madras profes-
sors, use artificial intelligence to predict the risk of expectant mothers dropping out
of healthcare programs. This enables them to improve timing of targeted interventions
and increase positive healthcare outcomes for mothers and their babies (Google
India, 2020).
Their ability to quantify the impact of their services has helped them get more
funding for their initiatives, have an association with the Government of India by
proving their experience, as well as get more support from high tech organizations
like Google which further augments the efficiency of their program (Google India,
2020).
Key Challenges in Measuring Social Impact

In the present scenario, social entrepreneurs need not rely on individual stories or
anecdotes alone to convey a sense of moving in the right direction or achieving their
vision and mission; instead, they can support the impact of their effort with complex
data. However, social entrepreneurs face two critical challenges when they try to
measure the impact of their work.
Lack of Maturity in the Measurement of Impact

Even though social entrepreneurship ventures have existed for a long time, only
recently have they become a recognized sector of study. Therefore, a systematic for-
mat of measurement of social impact is still under development. Additionally, the
social impact is visible over a longer period. This makes monetizing the value of the
full range of benefits or social impact even more complicated, leading to multiple
errors in the calculation. These challenges ensure that a standard framework like the
multiple financial parameters used for commercial, profit-making entrepreneurial
ventures, e.g., return on investment (ROI) (Kickul & Lyons, 2020), does not exist for
social ventures.
No Consensus on the Usage of Cost-Related Impact Data

Impact analysis is required for multiple purposes, including funding. There are two
schools of thought here. One set of practitioners suggests that the cost and impact
data of social entrepreneurial ventures can be compared across different program
areas, even for making funding allocation decisions, while the other set feels that the
data can be used only to evaluate similar programs.
Methodology to Measure Social Impact

One of the key benefits of calculating a firm’s social impact is to get a clear picture
of the quantifiable results of the organization’s output (Merchant & Van der Stede,
2007). This allows entrepreneurs to evaluate which of their social development
programs are working and which are not (Karmarkar et al., 2014; Kramer, 2005;
Tuan, 2008). Measuring social impact allows entrepreneurs to allocate resources to
areas that are generating maximum impact. Another benefit is that it allows impact
investors to see the social value being created by the organization. Finally, measuring
social impact allows the entrepreneurs and their organization to compare and evaluate
their efforts with other social enterprises, ensuring bigger outcomes and creating
further social change (Kickul & Lyons, 2020).
Defining the Social Value Proposition (SVP)

The SVP is the vision and the purpose for the organization, as well as its aimed
impact on society, individuals, and the environment. The firm needs to create an SVP
that explains the value the organization plans to create and why it exists. The SVP
can be created post discussions with all the relevant stakeholders.
Quantify the Venture’s Social Value

To ensure objectivity and measurement of social value, it must be quantifiable. Post
discussion with all stakeholders, a social entrepreneur can identify a few social indi-
cators representing the change created by the social entrepreneurial venture. The
social indicators have to be tracked over a period to measure social impact.
Monetize the Social Value

The last step that helps measure social impact is the monetization of the social value
of the relevant indicators. Monetizing the impact enhances the credibility of the
social venture and its mission. It establishes metrics used to measure the effectiveness
of the venture’s programs to achieve the desired social impact (London, 2009;
Scholten, 2006). Monetizing ensures that all stakeholders, whether customers,
vendors, or government organizations, can comprehend the impact being created.
While there is no perfect methodology, Melinda T. Tuan (2008) has identified eight
integrated approaches that can be used to estimate social impact. These include
cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-benefit analysis, REDF’s Social Return on

Investment (SROI), the Robin Hood Foundation’s Benefit-Cost Ratio, the Acumen
Fund’s Best Available Charitable Option (BACO) Ratio, the William and Flora
Hewlett Foundation’s Expected Return (ER), the Center for High Impact
Philanthropy’s (CHIP) Cost per Impact, and the Foundation Investment Bubble Chart
(Kickul & Lyons, 2020).
CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION

Social entrepreneurs are enterprising visionaries trying to balance society by redistri-
bution of resources, wealth, and education between the haves and the have-nots, the
large and the small, the local and the global. Social entrepreneurs offer solutions to
several problems in society. Reduction of poverty, providing basic healthcare,
improving education levels, and promoting safety and economic growth are impor-
tant goals that governments cannot achieve alone. Through social innovation, the
entrepreneurs can generate new social, economic, and institutional structures that
improve society and fulfill its needs. Social entrepreneurs identify their mission and
attempt to use their entrepreneurial ventures and social enterprises to maximize
social impact in different social sectors.
Social entrepreneurs adopt different models to sustain and grow their social ven-
tures to increase their social impact scale and scope. The driving factor in these
ventures is to reinvest profits for social enterprises’ growth and social change. They
can choose to create change in society by adopting one or a combination of the six
models of social entrepreneurship. Creating and delivering innovative, cost-effective
products and services for the underserved section of society; employing the poor,
marginalized communities; facilitating financial and non-financial support to entre-
preneurs at grassroots levels; developing the co-operative model of business to
empower many; providing support or subsidy to different beneficiaries on a need
basis; and organizing linkages to the intermediaries are some of the ways the entre-
preneurial ventures create social impact. Additionally, many social entrepreneurs
have achieved scale and increased impact by understanding their environment and
beneficiaries better. Their increased focus on data collection and analysis allows the
possibility of further research. Big Data and new technologies like artificial intelli-
gence can help them increase their scope of impact.
Measuring social impact is critical for the growth, funding, and recognition of
social enterprises. The value of the social changes caused by a venture needs to be
measured and highlighted in quantifiable terms for entrepreneurs and other ecosystem
members to evaluate deliverables and comparison effectively. Several methodologies
are adopted for measuring and monetizing social value. However, the methodologies
currently in use have some limitations (Lazzarini, 2018). Further, the research and
documentation in this area of entrepreneurship are still fragmented, limiting the
interest of other stakeholders who could contribute to the development of this sector.
As the sector becomes better organized, focuses further on data collection and
adoption of new technologies, and receives regular funding, it will evolve to attract
larger numbers of social change-makers.
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11 Terracotta Pottery
Catastrophe
Survival Issues and the Road
Ahead for Sustainable
Enterprise
Shweta Dahiya, Parveen Siwach and
Anupama Panghal
National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and
Management, India
Shilpa Sindhu
The NorthCap University, India
CONTENTS
Objectives�� 156
Data Collection and Sampling Design�� 156
ISM Methodology�� 157
Results and Discussion�� 159
MICMAC Analysis�� 159
Formation of the ISM model (Diagraph) and Interpretations�� 160
Experiences of the Entrepreneurs��162
Entrepreneur 1�� 162
Acknowledgment�� 164
Notes�� 164
DOI: 10.1201/9781003097945-11 153

INTRODUCTION
Terracotta is a complex, semi-consistent, moisture-free clay, usually burnt for
making pottery (Gangopadhyay & Sen, 2019). Terracotta pottery is an ancient craft.
The Terracotta figures indicate the existence of pottery crafted from Roman times
(Burr, 1933). Various handmade artifacts like bowls and vessels in different colors
such as brown, red, or orange were traced from the Neolithic age (Mazzocchin,
Agnoli, & Colpo, 2003). Few pottery specimens painted during the Harappan period
include a neck sherd small jar with a comb-like motif (Dangi & Uesugi, 2013).
The concept of sustainability relates deeply to Terracotta pottery. Clay, the pri-
mary raw material of pottery, is an abundantly available natural resource (Akpang &
Esege, 2014; Echeta & Esege, 2014; Menon & Varma, 2010; Rice, 2015). Also,
adopting earthenware items like clay plates for food, cups, and kulhad for tea and
coffee reduces the entire supply chain’s carbon footprint. Due to increasing consumer
awareness and demand for sustainable products (Chhabra, 2018a), Terracotta is
increasing its product domain from traditional products to modern-day requirements
like designer lights, Terracotta coolers, ovenware, non-stick tawas, and other cook-
ware made of clay.
Pottery craft is part of the cultural heritage of India(Sundaram & Bhattacharya,
2013). Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, New Delhi, Orissa, and Tamilnadu are
the significant places for Terracotta pottery in India. Terracotta pottery is a perfect
blend of sustainability with cultural creativity.
Prajapati colony, or Kumhar Gram, which was chosen as the study unit for this
study, is one of India’s most significant potters’ colonies in Uttam Nagar Delhi,1 set
up in 1970. There are presently around 700 families of artisans in the Prajapati
community of Uttam Nagar. They make products ranging from a humble teacup or
Terracotta planter to more sophisticated items of modern life.
The Terracotta pottery-making process involves a few articulated steps. There are
various methods of preparing, forming, dyeing, and decorating the pottery. The
process requires precision, and artisans have developed an expertise in this traditional
art, generation by generation. Maintaining product standardization in an entirely
manual production process is incredible about this art of pottery making. The product
ranges from Kulhad, a humble teacup, or Terracotta planter to more sophisticated
modern life items. A few images of the Terracotta products are shown in Figure 11.1.
Though there is a growing appreciation for a Terracotta product in the country, it
is still limited to a few market segments. With growing commercialization and
availability of cheap alternative products in the market, Terracotta pottery is facing
fierce competition. The traditional potters are leaving their profession, as it is not
enough to support their livelihood. Recently, National Green Tribunal (NGT), Delhi,
has ordered that all pottery kilns in Uttam Nagar must shut down their operations.2
The definitive aim of potters is to present their art through various colors,
techniques, and grazing. The grazing and ceramic firing process consumes high
energy and releases high levels of carbon dioxide into the environment (Lu et al.,
2019). Using traditional sources in pottery making creates a high level of air pollution
and requires sustainable methods to solve this problem. According to NGT’s scanner,
these potters are responsible for contributing to air pollution in Delhi. As a result,
Terracotta Pottery Catastrophe 155
FIGURE 11.1 A few of the pottery products produced by the Prajapati Community (Source:
Author).
these urban potters are forced to stop firing their clay works in traditional kilns. They
are left with the option of either switching to modern fuel like LPG or leaving this
occupation. The only source of income for artisans is Terracotta pottery. The
community has no alternate occupation and solution to the problem.
The association of potters claimed that the material they used for firing, like wood,
sawdust, and cow dung cake, is not as harmful as other sources of pollution like
diesel or petrol. Their primary raw material is clay, which is 100% organic.
Through this study, an attempt has been made to understand and model the
challenges perceived by Prajapati community artisans for sustaining their traditional
art of work. Modeling challenges helps the stakeholders take prudent decisions to
protect the art of Terracotta pottery and support the artisans.
The rest of the chapter is structured in sections. First, the methods and approach
adopted for this study are discussed. This is followed by a presentation of the results
and discussion, and then the conclusion.
This chapter evaluates the traditional methods used by the Prajapati community
Terracotta potters and their survival under strict environmental guidelines of the
government.
Objectives
• To understand the present state of Prajapati Community artisans
• To identify the challenges faced by Prajapati community artisans for sustain-
ing their traditional art of work.
• To model the identified challenges for a suggestive framework.
Data Collection and Sampling Design

An exploratory qualitative research design was chosen for the study. Such study
design helped researchers understand the artisan respondents and get appropriate
responses from them in a systematic and focused manner (Chhabra, 2018b; Chhabra
& Karmarkar, 2016). To ascertain the information reliability and concept contextual-
ization, discussions with multiple artisans were carried out. For the qualitative study,
a representative sample was chosen from the entire community. The respondents were
interviewed with the help of a set of open-ended interview questions. The questions
focused on personal information about the artisan, and then whatever information he/
she wanted to share about his/her entrepreneurial journey or his/her viewpoint pres-
ently. To approach and interview the respondents, help was provided by a senior aca-
demician who has actively been involved in working with and training the artisans for
years. Interviews were taken in person, and responses were recorded on the semi-
structured questionnaire. In all, personal interviews were conducted with 23 artisans.
The interviews were conducted in October 2019 over three days.
One of the interview questions was related to the challenges perceived by artisans
given recent regulatory restrictions and changing consumer demand. The artisans
were asked to respond to the question by giving a comparative rating to seven
different variables (challenges) in the order of their perceived priority. The seven
identified challenges were then modeled with a qualitative tool – interpretive

structural modeling (ISM), which is discussed further in this section.
ISM Methodology
Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) is a step-by-step approach of modeling the
variables into a meaningful relationship (Chander, Jain, & Shankar, 2013; Sage,
1977; Singh, Shankar, Narain, & Agarwal, 2003; Warfield, 1974). ISM is a well-
established modeling technique adopted by researchers in studies related to different
domains of entrepreneurship, a few examples of which are: analysis of barriers to
women entrepreneurship in Indian MSMEs (Tripathi and Singh, 2018); interaction
among the barriers to entrepreneurship (Raeesi et al., 2013); barriers to green entre-
preneurship (Makki et al., 2020); and main barriers of Portuguese entrepreneurship
ecosystem (Banha et al., 2017).
Step 1: identification of variables. The variables under study, in this case, are the
challenges which artisans need to face in the event of a ban on traditional furnaces
and a changing market scenario. For identification of significant and most critical
challenges, a three-step process was followed. The first step was to identify the chal-
lenges from previous studies through reviewing the related literature; secondly, the
identified challenges were verified from artisans, and information was collected
about any other relevant challenge through a questionnaire; finally, a focus group
discussion was carried with the experts in the field for confirming the challenges. The
experts included for this purpose were the four faculty members from different insti-
tutes, the head of the Prajapati community, and two active researchers. Consequently,
seven significant challenges were identified for further modeling and are described in
Table 11.1.
Step 2: identification of contextual relationship amongst the variables. All the identi-
fied variables are related to each other in one way, so to identify the relationship
between these variables, a structural self-interaction matrix (SSIM) was developed,
as shown in Table 11.2. SSIM was framed using the four symbols proposed in ISM,
to represent the direction of relationship amongst the variables, with the following
rule (Chander, Jain, & Shankar, 2013; Singh, Shankar, Narain, & Agarwal, 2003):
V = Variable i will lead to variable j;

A = Variable j will lead to variable i;
X = Variables i and j will lead to each other; and
O = Variables i and j are unrelated
Step 3: development of Reachability Matrix and Final Reachability Matrix after

including transitivity. SSIM is transformed into a binary matrix by replacing each
entry of V, A, X, O by 1and 0, by following the rule that if (i, j) entry in SSIM is V, X,
then (i, j) entry in reachability matrix will be 1 and (j, i) will be 0; if (i, j) entry in
SSIM is A, O, then (i, j) entry in reachability matrix will be 0 and (j, i) will be 1
(Chander et al., 2013; Singh et al., 2003).
The final Reachability matrix is then framed after including transitivities in the
initial reachability matrix, in the form of 1* and is shown in Table 11.3. The thumb
TABLE 11.1
Literature support for the identified variables (challenges)
S.No Challenge Literature Support
1. Increased costs Bodke, 2016; Mohapatra et al., 2016
2. Lack of technical expertise for Gupta, 1988; McKitterick, Quinn, McAdam, & Dunn, 2016;
the new equipment Middleton, 2007; Panda et al., 2019
3. Uncertainty of raw material and McKitterick et al., 2016; Middleton, 2007
equipment sourcing
4. Product quality will be different Echeta & Esege, 2014; Sarma, 2018; Wierenga, 2019
5. Uncertain demand Bodke, 2016; Panda et al., 2019; Sankaran, 2018
6. Seems non-sustainable in the Datta & Chan, 2016; Lewis, 2008; Panda et al., 2019;
long run Toledo-López et al., 2012
7. Uncertain government policies Anjum, 2013; Barrutia, Aguado, & Echebarria, 2007;
Echebarria, Barrutia, & Aguado, 2009; Jan, Marimuthu,
Hassan, & Mehreen, 2019
TABLE 11.2
SSIM
j
Variables 7 6 5 4 3 2
1 A V 0 O A A
2 O V O V O
i 3 A V O V
4 O V V
5 A V
6 A
7
TABLE 11.3
Final Reachability Matrix (transitivity)
Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Driving Power
1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2
2 1 1 0 1 1* 1 0 5
3 1 1 1 1 1* 1 0 6
4 1 1* 1* 1 1 1 0 6
5 1 1 1 1* 1 1 0 6
6 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
7 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7
Dependence 6 5 4 5 5 7 1
TABLE 11.4
Consolidated level of variables
Variable Reachability Set Antecedent set Intersection set Level
1 1,6 1,2,3,4,5,7 1 II
2 1,2,4,5,6 2,3,4,5,7 2,4,5 III
3 1,2,3,4,5,6 3,4,5,7 3,4,5 IV
4 1,2,3,4,5,6 2,3,4,5,7 2,3,4,5 III
5 1,2,3,4,5,6 2,3,4,5,7 2,3,4,5 III
6 6 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 6 I
7 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 7 7 V
rule for transitivity is that if A = B and B = C, then it should be that A = C. So, wher-
ever A is not equal to C, then it is done in the form of 1* (Singh et al., 2003).
Step 4: level partitioning of the Reachability Matrix. Reachability (horizontal; the

variable itself and those it will lead to) and antecedent (vertical; the variable itself
and the variables which leads it) sets were obtained by partitioning from the final
reachability matrix. The intersections were then carried out for each variable for its
reachability and antecedent sets. Level 1 was given to those variables whose intersec-
tion set covers the reachability set entirely. Then, subsequent levels were given to
further variables. As soon as any variable became level, it was excluded from the
system (Singh et al., 2003). In the present study, it took a total of five iterations to get
levels for each variable. The consolidated level partitions for all the variables are
shown in Table 11.4.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Based on the variables’ dependence and driving power (Table 11.3) and the levels
achieved by each variable (Table 11.4), MICMAC clustering of the variables and
ISM model development are discussed in this section. Further, brief experiences of
few pottery artisans are also a part of this section.
MICMAC Analysis
The dependence and driving power of all the variables were identified from the final
reachability matrix (Table 11.3), and accordingly, MICMAC was developed and
shown in Figure 11.2. As per the MICMAC analysis, all the variables are categorized
into four clusters, which are discussed here (Chander et al., 2013).
Cluster I (Autonomous Variables). The variables unrelated to other variables, with
low driving power and low dependence, are categorized as autonomous variables. In
this study, no variable emerged as an autonomous variable.
Cluster II (Dependent Variables). Variables in this cluster have high dependence
and low driving power. These variables are very significant for the system. In this
study, variable 1 (increased costs) and variable 6 (non-sustainability in the long run)
emerged as dependent variables.
7 7 Linkage
6 3 4,5 Variables
5 Independent 2 Driving
Power
Variables
4 Dependent
3 Variables
2 Autonomous 1
Variables
1 6
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Dependence
FIGURE 11.2 MICMAC.
Cluster III (Linkage Variables). The variables in this cluster are unstable, with high
dependence and high driving power. The impact of any type of change to these vari-
ables is reflected on other variables too. In this study, the variables which emerged as
linkage variables are variable 2 (lack of technical expertise for the new equipment),
variable 4(product quality will be different), and variable 5 (uncertain demand).
Cluster IV (Independent Variables). The variables in this cluster have very high
driving power. They are the most strategic variables. In this study, variable 3(uncer-
tainty of raw material and equipment sourcing); and variable 7(uncertain government
policies) emerged as independent variables.
Formation of the ISM model (Diagraph) and Interpretations

Based on the outcome of the ISM model, the diagraph was prepared, which mod-
eled the factors based on their dependence and driving powers. This is shown in
Figure 11.3.
The ISM model showed that “uncertain government policies” (variable 7) is one
of the most significant challenges for artisans. This challenge revealed the highest
driving power as per the ISM model, and therefore it leads to most of the other
challenges for the pottery artisans. From the interview responses of artisans, it was
realized that the majority of artisans feel that sudden change in government policies
and regulations affects their business decisions and models to a great extent. Stable
government policies help the artisans to decide about their suppliers, customers, and
product type. Accordingly, they can plan to update their technical skills as well.
Similarly, “uncertainty of raw material and equipment sourcing” (variable 3) is also
a challenge that has high driving power. Interviewing the artisans also revealed that
they are facing this as a significant challenge to explore from where to buy the new
proposed equipment (electric/gas furnace).
Similarly, for carrying out production with the latest technology, there would be a
change in a few of the raw materials as well, for which artisans were unaware and
uncertain. They had a set of suppliers with long-term contracts. Still, many of those
suppliers will not supply the new types of raw material and modern furnaces, which
FIGURE 11.3 ISM model (diagraph).
may need changes because of changed regulations, for which artisans are not pre-
pared. Further, “lack of technical expertise for the new equipment”(variable 2);
“product quality will be different” (variable 4), and “uncertain demand” (variable 5)
emerged as the linkage variables in the study. They support other dependent chal-
lenges to be met, provided driving forces support them. It was observed by the
authors that artisans completely lack the knowledge and technical know-how for
using modern-day furnaces for pottery production. They are much accustomed and
experienced with the traditional methods and equipment, and this sudden change has
left them disturbed and directionless. Lack of know-how is, therefore, leading to
other challenges to a great extent.
Similarly, artisans were worried about the effect of a government decision and
changing consumer requirements on product quality and price, leading to uncertain
demand patterns from the consumer side. Uncertainty in demand is the factor that
creates a disturbance in their business to a great extent and leads to an increase in
business costs as well. “Increased costs” (variable 1) has therefore emerged as one
of the significant dependent variables, which reflects that if other underlying chal-
lenges can be corrected, then an increase in costs will be restricted. Notably, the
increase in production costs is the challenge for artisans, which is emerging because
of the higher costs of modern furnaces and variable costs like electricity charges and
higher labor charges associated with running these furnaces. Artisans and their busi-
ness models are not prepared for those increased production costs, which creates
more uncertainties. Furthermore, the most substantial dependent variable which
emerged from the study is “seems non-sustainable in the long run” (variable 6).
Artisans state that because of change in the product production process, replacing
traditional furnaces with electric/gas ones will impact the quality of the product. The
type of product output may or may not be liked by consumers. Because of such
uncertainties, artisans doubt the sustainability of such practices in the long run.
Therefore, running the business with modern furnaces and as per new customer
expectations can sustain for long, only if the underlying challenges mentioned in the
study are adequately addressed.
Experiences of the Entrepreneurs

As discussed in previous sections of this chapter, the sustainability of Prajapati
community artisans and their art is facing several challenges: declining demand,
rising competition, and, most significantly, the government’s concern over the
generation of pollution from their traditional furnaces. As per the discussion of
authors with artisans, they feel that shifting to any other fuel base for the kilns is
costly, and it is challenging for most of the artisans to convert to gas-fired or elec-
tric furnaces. The experiences and opinions of a few of the respondent artisans(as
shared with the authors through their interviews with these artisans) are reiterated
as follows:
Entrepreneur 1
Mr. Harkishan Prajapati is a 63-year-old male, with education up to class 10. Since
childhood, he has been engaged in Terracotta pottery. Mr. Harkishan Prajapati is
one of the most prominent National Award Winner Potter artisans and is Pradhan
(Head) of the village from the Prajapati Community of Uttam Nagar. He has also
received the title of Master Craftsman. He hails from Mandoti village of Jhajjar,
Haryana.
About his journey as a potter artisan, he shared that he wanted to study further.
However, due to the financial condition of his family, he had to leave his studies and
help the family in making Terracotta pottery. He came to the Prajapati colony in
1976 and worked for another potter for a few months. Within three months, he started
his separate work and took a house on rent. Initially, he worked for 18 hours a day
with his elder brother, wife, and niece and used to make 125 pots a day. To avoid
disturbing his neighbors, he used to do work that produces noise in the daytime and
soundless work at night. Even today, he gets the clay from his native place Jhajjar,
Haryana. He is skilled in Terracotta pottery and glazed earthenware. He sells his
products in craft exhibitions and craft fairs, or directly to consumers. He wishes that
the new generations will continue the profession of pottery and that the culture will
survive. His daughters have also been trained to do Terracotta pottery artwork with
clay. When asked about the ban of traditional kilns, he said it would not be suitable
for the community, as gas-fired furnaces are expensive and people cannot afford
them. Due to the lack of other skills and lack of education, it is difficult for artisans
to change their profession. He also mentioned that the material they used for firing,
like wood, sawdust, and cow dung cake, is not as harmful as other pollution sources
like diesel or petrol. His opinion on the ban of traditional kilns is that artisans do not
have sufficient skills to change their ways, and the cost is high for gas-fired furnaces.
According to him, all the artisans are ready to relocate if they are provided with land
and proper infrastructure.
Entrepreneur 2
Mr. Ram Prasad Prajapati is an 85-year-old male and is uneducated. He has been
engaged in Terracotta pottery for over 65 years. Mr. Prasad Prajapati, who hails from
Alwar, came to the Prajapati colony at Uttam Nagar 60 years back. He purchased
land from the local Jaat community. Initially, he faced insufficient water, issues with
clay transport, and losses due to natural calamities. Though he wants the next
generation to continue the traditional pottery profession, he is doubtful about the
financial prospects. He said, “it would be better for the new generation to study and
try out other professions to survive”. Regarding the ban of traditional kilns, he
believes that 70% of artisans in the village survive on this occupation, and the ban
would therefore present a situation of crisis for them. He wishes that this traditional
art would be preserved.
As quoted by Mr. Prasad Prajapati, “Clay is needed in every stage of life from the
moment he is born and also when he dies.”
Entrepreneur 3
Mr. Gagan Prajapati is a 33-year-old male, with an education till class 10. He has
been in the business of Terracotta pottery since childhood, as a part of the family
occupation. Mr. Gagan Prajapati started the Terracotta pottery by helping his father
in a small production unit. Being a dynamic potter, he changed his business plan a
couple of years back and started buying ready-made craft from different parts of the
country, which he sells as a wholesaler from his shop at Uttam Nagar. However, he
said that the profit margin is not very high, and that at times payment is delayed and
money gets stuck. As a wholesaler, he buys products from Kolkata, Rajasthan,
Banaras, Agra, and Haryana. He believes that the craft will become extinct if the
situation remains the same, and challenges for artisans are not addressed adequately.
Therefore, to keep Indian craftsmanship in Terracotta alive, the government should
support and provide artisans facilities.
Entrepreneur 4
Mr. Naveen Prajapati is a 20-year-old male. He is pursuing a bachelor’s degree and
has five years’ experience in the Terracotta pottery business. Mr. Naveen Prajapati is
a third-generation potter. He is born and brought up in Uttam Nagar, Delhi. He helps
his father run the pottery production unit and is also studying to find new professions.
Though he would love to continue his old pottery profession, he would also like to
consider a more economically viable profession. He is doing a course in spoken
English and computers to assimilate with modern urban society. This would also help
to reach more people and extend his family business.
CONCLUSION
The Prajapati community has retained its rich culture of pottery making over many
generations. Due to the changing business landscape and customer expectations, the
pottery craft is losing its shine. Therefore, the next generation of the Prajapati
community is finding it difficult to retain this rich culture and tradition. Artisans are
facing uncertainty as the government policies and the subsequent impact on
availability of raw materials pose a big challenge. Artisans, therefore, seek government
support to provide them with financial aid for a new pottery startup with gas-fired/
electric kilns, as the cost of new equipment is too high for them. With growing
concern for the misbalance in the ecosystem, there is a strong need to understand and
preserve the Terracotta craft. There are Terracotta refrigerators, Terracotta coolers,
and many other lifestyle products to achieve conservation of energy and sustainability.
Artisans are concerned about uncertainty in demand for the type of products
developed through advanced kilns.
Moreover, there is a lack of confidence amongst the artisans in the technical
expertise required for new pottery production methods. The community expects the
government to safeguard their skill sets and their profession. Efforts need to be made
by all the stakeholders to revive the Terracotta pottery craft and provide sustainable
livelihood to the artisans.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank Mr. Harkishan Prajapati, Head of the Kumhar Gram
(Potters Village) in Uttam Nagar, Delhi, and other potters for sharing their knowledge
and experience in the practice of traditional Terracotta pottery. The authors also
thank Ms. Ela Mukherjee, a ceramic artist, for her help in approaching the respondents
and sharing her knowledge and experience in Terracotta pottery.
NOTES
1 . https://www.whatsuplife.in/delhi/blog/kumhar-colony-potters-village-uttam-nagar-delhi/
2. https://www.newslaundry.com/2019/08/05/potters-delhi-pollution-national-greentribunal;
https://scroll.in/article/911098/pollution-check-potters-in-delhi-scramble-for-solutions-
after-court-order-shuts-wood-fired-kilns
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12 Social Sustainability
Through Women
Entrepreneurs in India
A Case of Inclusion and
Development Through Small
Organizations
Amrinder Kaur
Pink Guava Consulting Services, India
CONTENTS
Introduction �� 167
Women Entrepreneurship in India�� 169
Women Entrepreneurs�� 170
Social Sustainability and GRI�� 171
Discussion �� 178
Limitations of Research �� 180
INTRODUCTION
Social sustainability is an essential part of sustainable entrepreneurship and is built on
the triple bottom line concept of people, profit, and plant (Elkington, 1999; Muñoz
and Cohen, 2017; WCED, 1987). Social sustainability is a development that includes
the communities, people resources through practices, decisions leading to greater
economic success and better utilization of resources (Ambepitiya, 2016; Kaur and
Sharma, 2017; WCED, 1987). Thus, decisions and practices for social sustainability
take place through responsible usage of resources, community involvement, employ
ment generation, care, and other goals for the prosperity and sustenance of people and
planet while gaining profits (Muñoz and Cohen, 2017; Orobia, Tusiime Mwesigwa,
DOI: 10.1201/9781003097945-12 167

Ssekiziyivu, 2020). Small organizations are essential stakeholders to achieve social

sustainability goals, as they utilize local resources and people to create value for
themselves and others involved (Kaur and Sharma, 2016).
Small organizations support economies worldwide, as they not only provide an
opportunity for employment and finances but also hedge on for innovation,
competitiveness, and agility to support the supply chain and larger firms (Akehurst,
Simarro, and Mas-Tur, 2012; Anderson, Li, Harrison and Robson, 2003; Audrestch,
2001; Kaur and Sharma, 2016; Muske et al., 2007). Small organizations run by women
play an essential intrinsic role in attaining social sustainability goals of inclusive
development while taking care of resources (Chhabra, 2018a; Yadav and Unni, 2016).
Women entrepreneurs are becoming essential and are garnering much interest from an
economic and research perspective, along with social sustainability needs (Chhabra
et al., 2020; Lepeley, Pizarro and Mandakovic, 2015; Yadav and Unni, 2016).
Women present half of the working population and thus are a significant part of
supporting development (Chhabra and Karmarkar, 2016b), enhancing the economy,
and contributing to GDP (Gundry, Miriam, and Posig, 2002). Women entrepreneurs
contribute by creating better living standards and are also a source of contributions to
society in terms of education (Chhabra and Goyal, 2019), gender diversity, greater
living standards, and just an equitable world where opportunities do not distinguish
and thus hold (Ambepitiya, 2016; Yadav and Unni, 2016).
Women entrepreneurship started gaining greater visibility and interest across the
globe with globalization and enhanced literacy rates. Enterprises/businesses set by
women entrepreneurs are due to multiple motivations varying from necessity at one
end to ambition at the other, with a potential to contribute to uplifting the whole
society, including communities and their families (Brush and Cooper, 2012; De Vita,
Mari, and Poggesi, 2014; Kickul, Gundry, and Sampson, 2007).
Women entrepreneurs in India are an encouraging story and have endless potential
and heights to achieve (Chhabra and Karmarkar, 2016a). The work is still in progress
if compared to their global counterparts. With changing times and a startup ecosystem
in India, more and more women are donning the entrepreneurial hat (Chhabra,
2018b). Moreover, despite the support prevalent, women entrepreneurs in India
continue to work at a smaller scale. Nevertheless, there are inspiring stories, and
more support is prevalent for other women entrepreneurs (Ambepitiya, 2016;
Ashwini, 2020). Women entrepreneurship has another significant outcome in terms
of social sustainability, which involves equitable utilization of resources (WCED,
1987) and enhancing quality of life (Karmarkar et al., 2014).
Social sustainability needs economic prosperity. Moreover, for this, women
entrepreneurs need access to capital, talent, and resources, including advisory, to
grow and establish their ventures (Brush and Cooper, 2012; Kickul, Gundry, and
Sampson, 2007). Thus, their success depends on how well they manage and leverage
the support groups, communities in which they operate to create a sustainable venture
that adds value to the founders (Kumar and Chhabra, 2021) and the other stakeholders,
including customers, while also utilizing the resources and talent available.
This chapter thus attempts the following:
• To understand how sustainable small-scale enterprises founded and driven by

women entrepreneurs are.
Social Sustainability Through Women Entrepreneurs in India 169
• To understand how women entrepreneurs are contributing to society.

• To understand the reason women entrepreneurs choose entrepreneurship.
Women entrepreneurs are significant as women are half of the population and thus
are the much-needed drivers for social sustainability to support the economy and
growth for a prosperous, poverty-less world where local communities are involved
and skilled in their work. It is a development where customers, employees, and
vendors are a focus and product responsible for equitable resources distribution
(Sreekumar et al., 2018). The journey has started, and the chapter provides evidence
through qualitative research involving 10 women entrepreneurs in India.
Looking ahead in the manuscript, the literature review is next, followed by research
methodology and discussion. The conclusion is then discussed, with the Limitation of
Research in the final section to support further research and researchers.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Women Entrepreneurship in India
A country, its socio-cultural way, and thus the ecosystem present play a significant
part in shaping women entrepreneurs’ entrepreneurial pursuits. Researchers also
highlight that certain specific characteristics are evident in societies that influence
women to flourish and choose entrepreneurship, such as religious inclination in
certain parts of Asia or support groups and networking in Eastern Europe (De Vita,
Mari, and Poggesi, 2014).
India has been a traditional society with some orthodox mindset, where girls ear
lier were not inspired to take risks and pursue entrepreneurial ambitions. However, as
is evident worldwide, women are coming out of their comfort zones with more access
to education and better living standards. In India, too, women have started setting up
their enterprises (Ashwini, 2020; Das, 2000; Prasad et al., 2013; Sharma, 2013).
Growth and success for an enterprise are dependent on both human and social
factors, including the entrepreneur or women entrepreneur’s own experience, skills,
capabilities, and support from social aspects to firm up her success. In India, women
entrepreneurs, along with their own motivation and intention, are also limited by
social and ecosystem support to take risks and inspire a larger scale. They usually
limit themselves on a smaller scale to comply and not affect their family and social
order. Researchers (Gundry, Kickul, and Iakovleva, 2014; Prasad et al., 2013; Sehgal
and Khandelwal, 2020) also enlist through their research about the social context and
preference for the family in Indian women entrepreneurs. Accordingly, it is an
essential factor for women’s entrepreneurial growth in countries like India. Women
entrepreneurs in India prefer to grow up to a point and then prefer to work within their
priorities (De Vita, Mari, and Poggesi, 2014). Smaller organizations thus are a norm.
Ashwini (2020) reports that women entrepreneurs in India usually start early and
are in the 20–30 age bracket, with the majority being solopreneurs (more than 50%).
Education also has a significant role for women entrepreneurs in India as it deter
mines their aspirations and chances to connect to critical resources; however, it is not
the limiting factor. Women entrepreneurs in the family business and having a prior
corporate experience significantly affect business venture success and growth.
Women Entrepreneurs
The motivation for women entrepreneurs to venture into entrepreneurship usually
range across numerous factors, including greater autonomy, independence, flexibility,
and job satisfaction, just like their male counterparts (Akehurst, Simarro, and Mas-
Tur, 2012; Brush, 1992; Das, 2000; Verheul, Stel, and Thurik, 2006). However, the
instance of women entrepreneurs embracing entrepreneurship in terms of overall
percentage is lower than their male counterparts. This trend is the same whether in a
developing country or the developed world (Prasad et al., 2013; Sharma, 2013).
Women venture into entrepreneurship due to aspirations for utilizing opportunities
or out of necessity (Jennings and Brush, 2013) including childcare and eldercare
responsibilities. An entrepreneur who embraces entrepreneurship irrespective of
gender brings their individual characteristics, including experience, formal educa
tion, aspirations, and other trait characteristics and resources. The further trajectory
and charter of the enterprises differ between the two genders, with women limiting
themselves to smaller scales than the male counterparts (Brush et al., 2010) due to
several factors.
Compared with male counterparts, women entrepreneurs do not have the same
access to resources, including financial, human, and network, including family.
Researchers also highlight that the likelihood of women embracing entrepreneurship
due to human capital, including knowledge, competency, and skills to produce goods/
services, is higher when compared to their male counterparts. In contrast, financial
capital as a factor does not have much difference for both genders. Access to a net
work, including family, increased the chances of women embracing entrepreneurship
in larger families, further necessitating the availability of needed support, including
child care (Brush and Cooper, 2012) (see Table 12.1).
Compared to male counterparts, women can have certain disadvantages concern
ing experience in handling and managing organizations. This affects their chances of
scaling up their ventures successfully. Women entrepreneurs also prefer to be in
smaller setups or work at a smaller scale to create a better work-life balance for
themselves (Fischer, Reuber, and Dyke, 1993; Kickul, Gundry, and Sampson 2007).
Researchers also highlight that representation of women in varied roles across
different corporate organizations, particularly in leadership roles, is skewed towards
men. Various reasons contribute to it, including the societal perception of women
being communal and caregivers and men being decisive, dominating, and aggressive,
which is needed to excel in leadership positions (Narayan, 2018). It affects women’s
escalation across rank and contributes to a lower representation of women. It also
considers that women leaders rise to leadership roles with comparative difficulty and
deal with biased perceptions. It usually takes more effort in breaking the image of
giving success and ROI in the hierarchy for the women to rise (Castrilion, 2019).
Research also provides evidence that there is a correlation between the successes of
organizations with women in leadership roles, as their behavior traits as nurturers
with a focus on community and the team can lead to sustainable organizational
success, and this is valid for entrepreneurship as well (Yadav and Unni, 2016).
Women venturing into entrepreneurship many times is due to the necessities cre
ated by the corporate world wherein breaking stereotypes becomes difficult. Women
TABLE 12.1
Some factors that support women entrepreneurship as per the literature
Factors that support women
entrepreneurship Reference
Access to capital, mentoring, and Brush et al., (2010); Brush and Cooper, 2012; Orobia,
advisory support Tusiime, Mwesigwa, and Ssekiziyivu (2020); Sharma
(2013);
Access to resources, including right Brush and Cooper, 2012; Jamali (2009); Prasad et al.
vendors and supplier (2013);
Advisory to support while making the Fischer, Reuber, and Dyke (1993); Orobia, Tusiime,
crucial decisions Mwesigwa, and Ssekiziyivu (2020); Prasad et al. (2013);
Access to customers and building Brush and Cooper, 2012; Holienka, Jančovičová, and
references Kovačičová (2016). Prasad et al. (2013)
Role models to learn and emulate Jennings and Brush (2013)
Risk-taking ability Farny (2016); Prasad et al. (2013)
Networking and support from informal Brush and Cooper, 2012; Holienka, Jančovičová, and
systems Kovačičová (2016). Kickul, Gundry, and Sampson (2007)
Responsibilities of families and children Prasad et al. (2013)
More experience and confidence Jamali (2009); Prasad et al. (2013)
Growth aspiration and technology Brush et al. (2010)
orientation
explore entrepreneurship either with the necessity to earn a living, or the desire to
prove themselves, or to create a better work-life balance, or to bring in a change for
a purpose. Moreover, the main difference between men and women entrepreneurship
to create more scaled-up and successful enterprises are dependent on growth aspira
tions. Researchers also highlight that along with aspirations, experience, technologi
cal orientation, network, and an entrepreneur’s attitude is the charter for a successful
way to create a broader, more sustainable organization. Bringing support through
network, incubation, training, and apprenticeship can make a great deal of difference
with women entrepreneurship (Brush et al., 2010; Prasad et al., 2013; Yadav and
Unni, 2016; Castrilion, 2019).
Social Sustainability and GRI

The Brundtland Commission Report (WCED, 1987) emphasized that sustainable
development is the economic prosperity envisaged through environmental stewardship
and social inclusion. Thus, the resources can be saved for future generations to focus
on the right practices and decisions (Ambepitiya, 2016).
Social sustainability is an equitable distribution of resources, including opportuni
ties, income, and development of skills for the communities involved, that is fair and
just for everyone to flourish and prosper (Vallance, Perkins, and Dixon, 2011). The
involvement of communities, stakeholders, and customers is a prerequisite for social
sustainability, and women are an intrinsic part of it. Ambepitiya (2016) further
explains that women predominantly give back their earnings, learn to support their
families for better education and health facilities, and, thus, support social
sustainability for a more equitable future.
Women can have ideas and innovation to support and solve immediate problems
that communities are facing. Usually, it gets limited, particularly in the developing
world, as the ideas due to lack of support do not go up through the community to the
policy levels (Ramaniac et al., 2013). Women entrepreneurs predominantly are
creating opportunities through formal and informal sectors (Kickul, Gundry, and
Sampson, 2007). Women entrepreneurs develop networks through their employees
and vendors, wherein they share knowledge, information, and vision, which also
support them further to enhance their network (Brush et al., 2010).
Researchers also highlight that an organization gets its competitive advantage
through its social resources that include people, customers, and partners with a
unique propositioning that determines how effectively it is collaborating with its
customer, employees, and people (Kaur and Bhardwaj, 2019; Prasad et al., 2013).
Stakeholder engagement is an important proposition for the long-term survival and
growth of any organization. Elkington (1999) further elaborates this as a triple bottom
line including people, profit, and the planet, which is further one of the guiding
principles for the global organization GRI (2019).
GRI (2019) is a global practice for reporting sustainability initiatives by
organizations. The framework comprises economic, environmental, and social
impacts by organizations and their activities. GRI is a collaboration between
Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES, 2014) and the United Nations
Environment Program (UNEP) and focuses on sustainable development and reporting
of impacts by organizations to further improve and reflect upon. One of the
“Sustainable Development Goals”, SDG-5, collaborates with gender equality and
empowerment of women to achieve the cumulative 17 “Sustainable Development
Goals”, and involving women is a way to support the initiatives for further holistic,
sustainable development (SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women
and girls, 2017). Women entrepreneurs are uniquely placed explicitly, as they are also
caregivers and nurturers to support and include communities. This achieves sustainable
development and its goals both in developing and developing economies, including
economic, environmental, and social aspects (Ambepitiya, 2016; Castrilion, 2019).
Qualitative research has been used to understand social sustainability through small-
scale enterprises founded and driven by women entrepreneurs. Qualitative research
is used in social sciences to understand different phenomena, mainly to understand
the behaviors, perceptions, and experiences in their natural setting without necessarily
putting rigid boundaries for research (Kaur and Bhardwaj, 2019; Thomas and
Magilvy, 2011).
Researchers emphasize that qualitative research is an effective method, mainly
when the data is unstructured. Thus, research needs an inquiry process to understand
emotions, behaviors, and intentions. Qualitative research is also appropriate in cases
with a small number of samples for more significant inquiry or depth. It involves
focus groups, as well as in-person interviews using semi-structured or open-ended
questionnaires. The intent is to understand the phenomena compared to quantitative

research, which works to understand the relationship between variables. Qualitative
research can help identify the reasons for a relationship and how it affects the entire
phenomenon. Hence, it is a useful technique to support researchers in descriptive
research for building theories and understanding the experiences, behavior, and
intentions in social sciences (Bricki and Green, 2009; Crossman, 2020; Thomas and
Magilvy, 2011).
The research involves understanding social sustainability on how women entre
preneurs in India are working for it while moving through choppier waters of entre
preneurship to create value for themselves and society at large. Qualitative research
involves in-depth and in-person interviews of women entrepreneurs using a semi-
structured questionnaire. The semi-structured questionnaire involved social factors
from GRI (2019). The research intends to understand and provide evidence for social
sustainability through women entrepreneurs in India for a more equitable and inclu
sive society.
The social sustainability factors as envisaged by GRI (2019) are further
summarized in Table 12.2.
The semi-structured questionnaire was also tested to capture data as per the objec
tives through expert opinion from two academicians (professor) and one corporate
professional (director).
The research sample size involves ten small organizations run by women entre
preneurs, wherein the women have a greater than 50% stake and are involved in
numerous businesses from manufacturing to food. Ten is considered an adequate
sample size for qualitative research with a homogenous group (Boddy, 2016). The
women entrepreneurs were chosen after a detailed search in social media by under
standing their work and enterprises. They were connected for the research through a
TABLE 12.2
Social sustainability factors as per GRI (2019)
Social-fair labor practices Social-human right practices
Employment in the supply chain Investment in the supply chain
Labor/management relations in the supply chain Non-discrimination in the supply chain
Occupational health and safety in the supply chain Freedom of association and collective bargaining
Training and education in the supply chain in the supply chain
Diversity and equal opportunity in the supply chain Child labor in the supply chain Forced/
compulsory labor in the supply chain.
Security practices in the supply chain.
Social-Society Social-product responsibility
Local communities For product responsibility related to customer’s
Anti-corruption practices health and safety
Public policy Product and service labeling
Anti-competitive behavior Marketing communication and
Compliance of laws customer privacy
Supplier assessment for impacts on society
and grievance mechanisms for impacts on society
social media engagement channel, LinkedIn, and were interviewed through video
chatting options, including Zoom and Skype.
Around 25 women entrepreneurs were contacted for the research, of whom 23
responded, and 14 had been chosen for the interview as they had greater than a 50%
stake in their ventures. Ten in-person interviews with women entrepreneurs were
conducted in 2020, starting from March and culminating by June. The women entre
preneurs were primarily based in India. Six were based in Delhi/NCR, two in
Mumbai, and two in Bangalore, respectively, in India.
Before the interview, a brief about the research was shared with them. The inter
view with a semi-structured questionnaire involving GRI social sustainability factors
also worked to understand the women’s journey to becoming an entrepreneur. This
includes the challenges that women entrepreneurs faced to adopt social sustainability
and an understanding of what keeps driving their work and passion. The average
interview lasted for an hour.
The author took a written transcript of each interview in the semi-structured ques
tionnaire during the interview through video chatting options, including Zoom and
Skype. For the credibility of qualitative research and to reduce the bias through inter
views, data captured was shared again with the women entrepreneurs to make sure
the discussions had been interpreted correctly. Any mismatch was rectified and con
sequently verified again from the respective woman entrepreneur. The process of
written transcript and consequent sharing was done with 10 women entrepreneurs
(Tables 12.3 and 12.4).
TABLE 12.3
Demographic profiling of the ten
women entrepreneurs
Industry No. of Responses
Manufacturing 3
Food 2
Digital Consulting 2
Travel 1
HR Consulting 1
Healthcare 1
TABLE 12.4
Company profiling of the ten women
entrepreneurs (as per the turnover)
Turnover annually (in INR) Women Entrepreneurs
Up to 5 Lakhs 3
Up to 20 Lakhs 4
Up to 40 Lakhs 3
The sample had five women who were the sole proprietor of their firm, and the
remaining five had been in private limited and limited liability companies with a
stake (ownership) of more than 50%. Three of the women only had mentors, advisors
in their companies to support their business growth and success, and some relied on
their family to support their ambitions.
On average, the women entrepreneurs had around 20 stakeholders working with
them that included employees and vendors. Most of the women had women represen
tation in stakeholders ranging from an average of 40% up to 60% being women and
the rest being men. Around 60% of women preferred working with women as they
believe it is easier for them to understand and work further with women. Further, all
the women entrepreneurs had a decent level of education (Table 12.5).
The ten women entrepreneurs have an average work experience of 12 years and
had multiple tenures of being involved in corporate, NGO, and academic work. Four
of the women entrepreneurs had an opportunistic ambition of starting their enter
prises, while the remaining six chose to become entrepreneurs due to need-based and
personal reasons, including better work-life balance to balance out other priorities in
life. The responses are summarized in Table 12.6.
TABLE 12.5
Education profiling of the ten women
entrepreneurs
Education Women Entrepreneurs
Graduate 2
Post Graduate 8
TABLE 12.6
Data collected from ten women entrepreneurs
Variable Summary of Responses
What is social - It is the belief created in the company and the culture to create an inclusive
sustainability way of working. Thus it means practices to include vendors, suppliers, and
for you? above all, the customers.
- Not validating anybody’s qualification and supporting through skill
development and feedback, especially when working with labor.
- Encouraging stakeholders to become more honest and love their work.
- Supporting to create leaders and imparting training to support.
- Fair compensation for all irrespective of the work they do.
- Not choosing a particular gender and having a fair process to assess for
opportunities.
- Inclusivity also means grassroots-level changes.
- Simplifying the complicated jargon for supporting skill development.
(Continued)
TABLE 12.6 (Continued )

What do you - Quality of service.
think are your - Different priorities and different needs of each team member. It is challenging
challenges to create cohesiveness for inclusivity.
with respect to - Mindset and priorities are not aligned and are indeed a challenge while
social managing different stakeholders, customers, and employees.
sustainability? - Not much clarity about social sustainability and steps/policies measures to be
taken at a small organization level.
- The cost of sustainability increases the overall cost of business and can be
difficult to manage at times.
- Lack of awareness at the grassroots level and among different stakeholders.
Priority is always for economic sustainability.
- For a small organization building, self-sufficiency can be a challenge. And
bringing a change can be tough.
- Creating and building a strong supply chain with social sustainability
embedded in it can be a challenge.
- Need for more investment to tackle the challenges specifically concerning
scaling up.
Social fair labor Employment
practices - Team-appropriate decision involving all and relevant stakeholders.
including - Supporting individual goals of different people on the team.
- Employment in - A leader entails creating an inclusive culture with policy support.
the supply - Measuring and monitoring progress in improving and supporting development as
chain. and when needed.
- Labor and Labor and Management Relations
management - Culture of inclusiveness through coaching, motivation, and encouragement.
relations. - Being available as a founder and leader to lead by example and support
- Occupational stakeholders.
health and - Regular engagement to not let complacency set in.
safety training - Eight women entrepreneurs agreed that they do not have written policy or SOP
and education. but have a common knowledge with which they work to be socially sustainable.
- Diversity and The founder and the leading team are the torchbearers of social sustainability in
equal the organization.
opportunity. - Only three women entrepreneurs emphasized minimal SOPs to support workflow
and culture, but majorly with all the women entrepreneurs, there is no policy to
support the decision-making.
Occupational Health and Safety
- A healthy and engaging work atmosphere with suitable training to up-skill
through in-house and online learning avenues.
- Working with empathy to understand, learn, and engage.
- Women entrepreneurs emphasized their focus on women (nine) friendly and
disable friendly (four) policies to create structures, processes for an inclusive
workplace.
Training and education, Diversity and equal opportunity.
- Policy framework for fair compensation, incentives that include a focus on gender
diversity and respect for all.
- Equal opportunity to all the stakeholders that includes customers, employees, and
vendors.
- Training, education, and working to create a basic SOP level at all levels of
engagement for greater clarity.
(Continued)

Social-human Investment
rights - Almost all the women entrepreneurs accepted that investment in their enterprises
practices is their own. And raising investment solely for women enterprises is tough.
Investment - Only three women entrepreneurs had wanted to raise capital for their plans.
Non- Non-discrimination
discrimination - Nurturing youth, women, and creating opportunities based on merit has been the
Freedom of focus of all women entrepreneurs.
association and
Freedom of association and collective bargaining
collective
- Collaboration and synergies are explored for more meaningful work.
bargaining
- Building a network for oneself and to support others with greater synergies.
Child labor in
- Network and mentors support to understand when and how to utilize strategy or
the supply
utilize someone’s skill to enhance value addition
chain, forced/
compulsory Child labor in the supply chain, forced/compulsory labor
labor - Child labor/forced labor is something all women entrepreneurs felt strongly
Security against.
practices - Two of the women entrepreneurs also shared their initiatives wherein they created
child care centers in their offices/factories to support women working there.
Security practices
- Security practices are through fairness and creating a culture wherein feedback
and complaints are taken seriously by the founder entrepreneurs.
- They have clauses and complete awareness for women’s safety, including
escalation for misconduct and a grievance mechanism.
Social-Society Society related to local communities
Society related - Women entrepreneurs in the sample had been working in a small business set-up
to local and, hence, involved local communities like employees and vendors.
communities Supplier assessment for impacts on society
Anti-corruption - Due diligence is for supplier assessments as per the product/service need. Six of
practices the women entrepreneurs agreed on this, and the rest had no structured process for
Public policy, supplier assessment.
Anti-competitive - Equal opportunity irrespective of gender is worked on with vendors and suppliers.
behavior, and Eight of the women entrepreneurs agreed on this and stressed long-term
compliance of relationships with their vendors with due engagement strategy.
laws
Anti-competitive behavior, and compliance of laws,
Supplier
- All women entrepreneurs agreed that they work as per the law of the land and
assessment for
follow healthier practices by focusing on their customers to manage the
impacts on
competition. Compliance with law, including financial, is very important for them.
society,
- Two of the women entrepreneurs emphasized that they do not bribe as a matter of
Grievance
policy or principle. At times, it is difficult for them, but this is how they work.
mechanisms for
impacts on Grievance mechanisms for impacts on society
society - The grievance mechanism followed is customer complaints about internal and
external customers.
- A systemized feedback process is utilized by only two women entrepreneurs.
Others did not have much information or process and usually followed a reactive
way to handle grievances.
(Continued)

Social-product For product responsibility related to customer’s health and safety
responsibility - Social product responsibility for two of the women entrepreneurs means trying to
For product include people with different abilities like handicapped, blind, etc. Creating
responsibility products with specific designs to increase customer trust as per need. The rest did
related to not have many thoughts on product responsibility, but its quality and services were
customer’s essential to all of them.
health and Product and service labeling
safety - Product and service labeling includes maintaining the quality of products and
Product and customer experience. Six of the women entrepreneurs emphasized this.
service labeling
Marketing communication
Marketing
- Marketing communication works to bring transparency to let internal/external
communication
customers know about the product/service and what to expect from the company
Customer
at different times. Six of the women entrepreneurs were aware and did emphasize
privacy
the same in their organizations.
Customer Privacy
- Only two of the women entrepreneurs emphasized the importance of GDPR and
its importance, including not collecting data that is not required.
- Confidentially and maintaining client information is vital to all women
entrepreneurs. So no customer information is shared. NDAs are signed in
consulting-based work.
DISCUSSION
Social sustainability for women entrepreneurs in India is a valuable addition to
stakeholders, including employees, vendors, and customers. Equal opportunity, fair
labor practices, customer privacy, and product responsibility are essential for most
respondents and are taken care of through decisions and various practices.
Women entrepreneurs in the research are working through small organizations,
and they guide their organizations through their leadership qualities, sense of respon
sible behavior with prior experience, and education. The majority of women in the
study (6 out of 10) chose entrepreneurship due to need-based and personal reasons,
including better work-life balance to balance other life priorities. So small organiza
tions are a norm, and also their needs; intention limits their ambition to further scale
up. Four of the women entrepreneurs had an opportunistic ambition for setting up
their enterprises.
Most women entrepreneurs emphasize quality and enhance their employees’ skills
and focus on training to up-skill through in-house and online learning avenues. Women
entrepreneurs emphasized their focus on women (9 of 10) friendly and disable friendly
(4 of 10) policies to create structures and processes for an inclusive workplace.
Most women entrepreneurs did not have any concrete SOP, and lack of concrete
policies hinders the clarity they seek to progress and create more avenues for growth.
Also, Women have to deal with prevalent prejudices with stakeholders and society.
Many of the women entrepreneurs (7 of 10) do not have mentors and advisory to firm
up their growth and sustenance plans.
Personal and prior experience, network, and exposure do affect women entrepre
neurs’ decisions and hence practices. For instance, Ms. Romita Ghosh of Medsamaan
had been a survivor of a terminal disease, which led her to start up and contribute to
the community through her organization. Through an AI (artificial intelligence) plat
form, her organization enables access to innovative, cost-effective products to health
care providers. Her policies and social sustainability in her organization are through
her own experience of access to decent education and the support she received from
others. In her words:
We work to make all our employees leaders and give the training to support. For
instance – one person is deaf. He is having just 20% hearing ability and uses gestures
to communicate. His work profile is in technical things, and we are always helping him,
so he gets better in his work. He has been given work as per his skills, and he is learning.
And it is satisfying to me.
Women entrepreneurs are giving jobs to the people, thus involving the local com
munity, marginalized people, and supporting them by enhancing their skills. Women
entrepreneurs focus on quality and customer interest to make sure that their ventures
are adding value to their stakeholders. The research also elaborates that lesser women
are aware of GDPR basis compliance. However, they value their customer interest
and privacy and ensure the same through the organizations they are working with.
Marketing communication is also an arena where the majority of the women entre
preneurs (6 of 10) had been focused. They use it to bring transparency to let internal/
external customers know about the product/service and what to expect from the com
pany at different times. It is a promising avenue to assure engagement with stake
holders needed for growth.
Women entrepreneurs also asserted that the challenges they face in their organiza
tions for more growth and success are a lot to people’s mindset; often, the customers,
vendors, and other stakeholders find it difficult to accept the change the women
entrepreneurs aspire for. So building a self-sufficient organization and efficient sup
ply chain is a challenge for them. Women entrepreneurs also asserted for lack of
clarity on objectives, policies, and the social cost of business to enhance social sus
tainability. They acknowledge that there is a lack of awareness at the grassroots level.
Furthermore, amidst different stakeholders, priority is always for economic sustain
ability. Processes and support through mentors, advisors including financial support
too are a challenge for women entrepreneurs.
CONCLUSION
Women entrepreneurs support the social fabric of a country and contribute to the
economy and GDP through additional opportunities and livelihood. Women entre
preneurs support social sustainability through initiatives that give equal opportunities
based on merit, thus involving the local communities for a better tomorrow.
In India, women work with dual responsibilities of managing their homes
along with work. Being the caretakers and nurturers, they have the unique ability to
empathize with people and, through their work, transform their own lives and many
others, including their employees, customers, and all other stakeholders.
Women entrepreneurs with good education, access to networks, family support,
and peer groups are creating a difference through their enterprises. Many women
have given up their corporate life to follow their passion. Others have taken up entre
preneurship for a better work-life balance, including catering to the needs of children
and elderly healthcare. The women entrepreneurs are torchbearers of social sustain
ability in a small-scale setup where they also guide their ship out of entrepreneur
ship’s choppier waters. Their enterprises are creating opportunities for them and
many others. Skill development and creating an unbiased workplace is an outcome of
women entrepreneurship. Women entrepreneurs are giving employment to the local
communities following greater product responsibility practices, customer intimacy
with fair business practices involving local communities.
Women entrepreneurs’ endeavors are working for improved skills and living stan
dards of the various stakeholders. However, they still have a long way to go in terms
of profit, people, and processes, especially for small businesses in India. Through
their work and in their organizations, these women entrepreneurs are creating cul
ture, but it is usually founder-driven. Most of these smaller enterprises lack well-
defined processes to create scale and growth for more opportunities for people.
Nevertheless, this small niche of woman entrepreneurs in businesses creates socially
sustainable development through their focus on greater gender diversity, fair labor
practices, human rights, and product responsibilities, leading to inclusive and respon
sible development.
LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH
The sample size limits this research. It is qualitative research to provide evidence for
social sustainability through woman entrepreneurs in India. It can be validated
through a more comprehensive follow-up quantitative research that also considers
the 360-degree point of view of all the stakeholders along with a larger sample.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I am thankful to all the respondents in the research who shared their practices, deci
sions, and journey with me. I am especially indebted to Ms. Romita Ghosh of
Medsamaan for her kind gesture to let me quote her.
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s40497-016-0055-x
13 Leveraging on
Demographics Insights
of Online Shoppers for
Netpreneurs
Deepak Halan
Apeejay Stya University, India
CONTENTS
Method�� 188
Data Collection and Analysis�� 188
Findings and Discussion�� 188
Respondent Profile�� 188
Nonparametric Test Analysis Results�� 189
Gender-Wise Significant Differences�� 189
Age-wise Significant Differences�� 190
Recommendations and Managerial Implications�� 192
Ease of Transaction Related�� 192
Trust Related�� 192
Subjective Norms Related�� 193
INTRODUCTION
This study aims to provide focused insights to enable netpreneurs to understand their
current and potential customers demographically to retain and attract them, respec-
tively. In 2018, sales volume of e-commerce entrepreneurs, or “netpreneurs”, touched
2.93 trillion dollars, accounting for 12.2% of the global retail sales volume (Lipsman,
2019). Online retailing has been growing rapidly across the globe. Further, COVID-19
increased online shopping usage globally, given the need for social distancing. It also
led to a considerable rise in the number of first-time users, i.e., those who had never
ever shopped online before due to certain inhibiting factors, complete ignorance
about online shopping, or lack of a device or data plan. In India, most Indians con-
tinue to have more faith in the neighborhood brick-and-mortar stores for shopping.
DOI: 10.1201/9781003097945-13 185

They prefer touching and feeling the products and negotiating discounts over the
counter before buying (Halan, 2020; Sreekumar et al., 2018).
With fierce competition in today’s B2C e-commerce market, an increasing num-
ber of netpreneurs face operating profitability issues. E-tailers have resorted to “deep
discounting” and have been subject to various governments’ investigations to find
out whether their pricing is predatory. For example, the Indian government has noti-
fied new rules for e-commerce companies in July 2020 wherein e-tailers are not
allowed to “manipulate the price” of the goods and services offered on their plat-
forms to gain unreasonable profit. Moreover, many Indian shoppers known to be
cost-conscious and conservative as a part of their value system are generally not
attracted to making quick decisions based on promotions and advertisements (Halan,
2020). Therefore e-tailers are now working harder on improving customer experi-
ence to achieve higher loyalty levels. They depend less on discounts and trying to
enhance experience basis product variety, personalized services, convenience in
order fulfillment, post-purchase engagement, and more. For example, Jabong, a key
fashion e-tailer in India, collects huge volumes of shoppers’ data such as which prod-
ucts they browse, what they drop out of their cart, what they finally buy, etc., from the
thousands of customers visiting its site every day. Slicing and dicing this data enables
e-tailers to push what customers are buying instead of firing in all directions. This is
important, given the very high number of SKUs (Stock Keeping Units) and brands
typically associated with e-marketplaces. Paytm has developed several virtual brand
stores and online flea markets. Lamoda, the Russia-based fashion e-tailer, has trained
its delivery staff to provide fashion consultancy and even wait for 15 minutes after
delivery, giving time for customers to experience the clothes and accessories and
return them at the doorstep if found unsuitable. iPhone users can walk into Apple
stores and pay via an app on their own, avoiding payment counter queues simply by
scanning the barcodes of the products they wish to buy.
Given this context, it becomes even more critical for e-tailers to gain data and
sharp insights to better address shoppers’ requirements and expectations, reposition
themselves to increase loyalty, and attract potential customers. Moreover, with fierce
competition in today’s B2C e-commerce market, more and more e-tailers encounter
issues in running a profitable business. Netpreneurs have been turning to “Big Data”,
or data about almost all facets of consumers that would help them in predictive ana-
lytics, i.e., predicting consumer behavior – what they are doing and how they are
likely to behave in the future. Big Data comprises online text, videos, useful data,
social media data, website analytics, transaction data, etc. On the other hand, “Small
Big Data” consists of multiple survey datasets to enable richer data analyses
(Warshaw, 2016). Depending on the nature of the research questions asked, the best
method to get the answers consists of combining the two types of data. Big Data can
help us gauge behaviors and tell us the “what”, while surveys can measure attitudes
and opinions and throw light on the “why”. Surveys such as the one that insights
provided in this chapter are based on can be used to check the quality of Big Data and
vice versa. The current buzzword is “rich data” – “to emphasize the importance of a
mindset that focuses on not the sheer size of data but their substance and utility”
(Callegaro and Yang, 2018). Big Data and survey research are best used together to
provide richer data. This chapter details a survey undertaken to gain insights to
Leveraging on Demographics Insights of Online Shoppers for Netpreneurs 187
understand shoppers’ requirements and expectations better so that e-tailers can repo-
sition themselves to increase loyalty and attract potential customers.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The existing literature was studied to understand the studies already carried out on
consumer demographics’ influence on online shopping intention and to build further
upon them. As per Wu (2003), attitude towards online shopping had a significant
relationship with consumer demographics such as gender, age, occupation, educa-
tion, and income. Richa (2012) concluded that shopping preferences are consider-
ably influenced by demographic factors such as age, income, marital status, number
of family members, and gender. Lubis (2018) argued that online shopping prefer-
ences are affected by “the demographic and proprietary aspects of an online shop-
ping app”. Seock and Bailey (2008) investigated the relationships between shopping
orientations and searches for information about and purchases of apparel products
online and the differences by gender. Mpinganjira (2014) found that females’ motives
are more hedonic during online shopping, while males’ motives were more utilitarian
and task-oriented. Gerrard et al. (2006) opined that in online shopping, since the IT
(information technology) knowledge of younger buyers is generally higher than that
of older ones, the younger buyers are more likely to perceive the threat as low and
have higher adoption likelihood.
With the outbreak of COVID-19, many senior citizens shifted to online shopping
safety that they never considered before (Pantano et al., 2020). Lian and Yen (2014)
concluded that older people’s use of the Internet is growing at a considerable rate;
however, past studies have focused mainly on the youth. To bridge the gap, they
studied the accelerating and inhibiting factors influencing older consumers’ intention
to shop online by integrating the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology
(UTAUT) and innovation resistance theory. Gong et al. (2013) studied online shop-
ping intentions based on Fishbein and Ajzen’s theory of reasoned action (TRA),
which propounds that beliefs affect attitudes, which lead to intentions, and ultimately
to behaviors. The independent variables included demographics and perceived risk.
Some studies (Chang and Chen, 2009; Park and Kim, 2003) reported that cus-
tomer interface quality positively influenced satisfaction, which affected loyalty.
Verhoef and Langerak (2001) concluded that relative benefit in terms of physical
effort or perceived compatibility in terms of time pressure relates positively to inten-
tion to adopt grocery shopping via websites. Chang and Chen (2009) and Park and
Kim (2003) investigated that the perceived security of the e-tailer’s website leads to
satisfaction and acts as a switching barrier. Khalifa and Liu (2007) suggested that
though the effect of “security, convenience, and cost savings are comparatively
small”, it is significant. Both Khalifa and Liu (2007) and Bhattacherjee (2001)
reported that perceived usefulness and “online shopping satisfaction have significant
positive effects on online repurchase intention”. Chang and Chen (2009) and Chang
and Wang (2011) found that online shopping service or “interface quality” impacts
repeat purchase through satisfaction. Khalifa and Liu (2007) debated that “online
shopping habit and experience”, two different constructs, “positively moderate the
relationship between satisfaction and repurchase intention”.
METHOD
Data Collection and Analysis
A quantitative survey was undertaken to gain insights into online shopping behav-
ior. The instrument was developed based on exploratory and secondary research. It
was closely examined by experts as well as piloted amongst diverse target respon-
dents. Scale items for “trust” and “perceived ease of use” were adapted from Chang
and Chen (2009) and Park and Kim (2003), and subjective norm and behavioral
intention from Lin (2007). The adaptation was based on the Indian environment
(Chhabra, 2018a) and the influencers of behavior in it. The constructs for “easy &
fast returns”, “perceived usefulness (money saved)”, and “perceived usefulness
(time saved)” was based on desk research, exploratory qualitative research, and
expert opinion.
The target audience was defined as those who were 18 years or older, had shopped
online, off, and on or frequently in at least the last six months to purchase a tangible
product. Convenience sampling was used to select online shoppers largely via social
media contacts. Extensive secondary research was conducted by referring to several
national and international academic journals, newspaper articles, books, websites,
and reports. The final set of variables to measure online shopping behavior was short-
listed based on qualitative exploratory surveys and expert opinion insights. The sur-
vey instrument consisted of questions related to respondents’ demographics, general
online shopping behavior, attitude, subjective norm, trust, “perceived service quality,
perceived usefulness, ease of use”, and behavioral intentions using nominal and
interval scales (“a 7 point scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree”).
Respondents were asked to think about the specific online shopping site they had
visited most in the last six months. The majority of the questions were based on shop-
ping experience on “this site”. The target sample size of 500 was achieved after
thousands of questionnaires were distributed. A total of 578 questionnaires were
returned, out of which 500 were usable valid responses. After data checking and
cleaning, the data were analyzed quantitatively using the SPSS software package.
Univariate analysis was followed by nonparametric test analysis. The Mann-Whitney
U test was applied to compare differences if there were only two independent groups,
i.e., to find a significant gender difference. In the case of independent variables (such
as age and occupation) that were divided into more than two groups, the “Kruskal-
Wallis H test” was used, and a “post hoc analysis” was performed to see which pairs
of groups differ significantly.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

Respondent Profile
Out of the 500 respondents surveyed, both genders were almost in equal proportion.
Nearly 58% of the respondents were in the range of 18 to 29 years of age, as evident
from Table 13.1. Nearly half of them were students, with the next highest occupation
segment being of those in service at about 27%. As inferred from Table 13.2, Amazon
emerged as the most visited site for almost half the respondents in the last six months.
TABLE 13.1
Profile of online shoppers by age
Sample %
18–21 132 26.4
22–29 156 31.2
30–39 94 18.8
40 & above 118 23.6
Total 500 100
TABLE 13.2
Profile of online shoppers by most
visited site in last six months
Sample %
Amazon 246 49.2
Paytm 40 8.0
Flipkart 99 19.8
Myntra 63 12.6
Others 52 10.4
Total 500 100
Clothes and apparel emerged as the most-purchased product category (34%) fol-
lowed by computers, mobile, and accessories at 15.8%.
Nonparametric Test Analysis Results

In all, there were almost 50 parameters, and nonparametric tests were conducted on
each to investigate significant difference by gender and age.
GENDER-WISE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES

Findings as shown in Table 13.3 highlight that in comparison with males, the agree-
ment that their most visited sites’ customer care is helpful, and that the site cares for
and invests in its customers, is higher amongst females. This can be attributed to
females finding it easier to locate information and hence depending less on customer
care. This finding is supported by studies conducted by Van Slyke et al. (2002), who
suggested that women go more by trustworthiness while men tend to focus more on
the value gained, and by Seock and Bailey (2008), who found that women tend to
visit several sites but end up shopping from one they are emotionally more attached
to. Rodgers and Harris (2003) confirmed that women being more cynical about
e-commerce vis-à-vis men were emotionally less satisfied with online shopping. As
evident from the data, the higher satisfaction levels amongst females translate into
higher loyalty and advocacy (Chhabra, 2018b).
TABLE 13.3
Gender-wise significant differences – for most visited site
Mean – Males Mean – Females
Variable (N = 249) (N = 251) Significance
1 . Customer care is very helpful 4.92 5.21 .030
2. Information required for shopping is 4.38 4.89 .003
difficult to locate
3. **Family feels this is not the right site for 4.71 5.36 .002
online shopping
4. **Mass media reports have not 2.94 3.25 .008
influenced me to try this site
5. Cares and invests on its customers 5.38 5.67 .016
6. **Delivers spurious or fake products 5.43 5.64 .000
7. Plan to shop on this site again 5.86 6.19 .001
8. Intend to use this site within the near 5.89 6.09 .036
future
9. Will recommend this site to others 5.86 6.08 .015
** Has been reverse coded.
AGE-WISE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES

In terms of perception on the suitability of payment options offered, there is a signifi-
cant difference between 18- to 21-year-olds and the other three age groups, i.e., 22-
to 29-year-olds, 30- to 39-year-olds, and 40 years and older, as shown in Table 13.4.
Perhaps the youngest group, being more technology savvy, has higher awareness
levels of various payment options such as PayPal, Samsung Pay, Google Pay, etc.
The payment options are limited to debit/credit/gift card, COD, EMI, and net bank-
ing on most sites. While more payment options mean a higher processing fee, sites
offer a wider range of payment options to enhance the shopping experience. The
18- to 21-year-old group’s agreement level on their “most visited site”, saving them
time vis-à-vis other sites, is also lower than the other age groups. Perhaps this can be
attributed to a more negative perception amongst the 18- to 21-year-olds on interac-
tion speed and ease of locating information. The need for speed is known to generally
decrease as age increases, while attention spans are generally known to increase with
age. Schiffman and Kanuk (2003) argued that “young age is more sensitive to inno-
vation”, so the youth are more active in using online shopping innovation. While
younger users are more likely to embrace new technological tools and find them
easier to use (Liébana-Cabanillas et al., 2014), given that today most consumers have
a smartphone and are online, “trial and error in everyday use as well as learning that
occurs every time makes age no longer a limitation in the use of technology” (Lubis,
2018).
There is a significant difference between the oldest and three age groups on
whether their most visited site offers useful and genuine customer reviews. The latter
has a more favorable opinion. Younger shoppers are known to search for more prod-
ucts, browse more sites, and are better positioned to establish credibility of reviews.
TABLE 13.4
Age-wise significant differences – for most visited site
Mean Mean Mean Mean
18–21 22–29 30–39 40 and above
Variable (N = 132) (N = 156) (N = 94) (N = 118) Significance
1. Offers suitable payment 6.11 6.36 6.35 6.47 .005
options
2. Ordered items will arrive 5.70 5.96 6.16 5.87 .010
safely
3. Saves me time as 5.11 5.37 5.65 5.55 .020
compared to other sites
4. Rewards program that 4.34 4.27 3.47 3.61 .001
results in considerable
savings
5. High interaction speed 5.07 5.22 5.77 5.73 .004
6. “People who are 4.90 4.78 3.89 4.50 .002
important to me”
encourage me to use this
site
7. Classmates and friends 5.43 5.02 4.80 4.47 .011
feel this is the right site
for online shopping
8. After watching the 4.93 4.78 4.20 4.44 .008
advertisements on
various media, I was
tempted to try this site
9. Is free from errors and 5.06 5.17 5.67 5.31 .010
contains accurate, current
and complete
information
10. Offers useful and 5.43 5.46 5.61 4.78 .000
genuine customer
reviews
11. **Information required 4.40 4.35 4.67 5.24 .002
for shopping is difficult
to locate
12. **Family feels this is 4.79 4.60 5.31 5.68 .001
not the right site for
online shopping
13. **Delivers spurious or 5.45 5.35 5.62 5.81 .010
fake products
** Has been reverse coded.
In comparison, older shoppers are more likely to trust reviews only if they have been
independently verified and are recent. As consumers grow older, their cumulative
understanding makes their shopping more focused on certain brands. It makes them
more confident, which can “reduce product risk and the need for conducting pre-
purchase information searches” (Zhou et al., 2007). However, Wu (2003) found that
significantly different attitudes with respect to online shopping existed between the
lower and higher age groups. Shoppers in the 21–25 and 36–40 age groups had a
more optimistic attitude toward buying online vis-à-vis the older groups.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS

E-commerce has emerged as a significant marketing and sales channel complement-
ing the traditional brick-and-mortar channels. The findings from this study will help
e-tailers to understand their shoppers’ characteristics better and use them to meet
consumers’ needs and expectations more effectively. The following are the key rec-
ommendations and managerial implications, based on the insights gained:
Ease of Transaction Related

• Ease of use is an important aspect that directly shapes consumer attitude,
impacting loyalty and advocacy. If using the online shopping site is trouble-
free and straightforward, the shoppers need not expend time and energy
struggling with complex systems. They end up enjoying the shopping expe-
rience more. For online shoppers, ease of use means the online retail web-
sites can be steered through effortlessly, all the information for shopping on
a given site is sufficient, and the interaction speed is high. E-tailers who have
young adults (more so the 18- to 21-year-olds) as target audience must
ensure high interaction speed and ease in locating information, as the need
for speed is relatively higher in this age group. On the other hand, attention
spans are lower.
• Value for money (VFM) could become an essential factor for preferring online
retailers vis-à-vis brick-and-mortar retailers. E-tailers need to provide attrac-
tive offers and deals from time to time. This will create a more positive attitude
and incentivize online shoppers to revisit the site and recommend others. Since
women go more by trustworthiness and assurance aspects while men tend to
focus more on the value gained through the purchase, e-tailers who are selling
more to men need to lay even greater emphasis on VFM.
Trust Related
• Trust is an important antecedent of loyalty and advocacy, and it also influences
attitude. The higher the security for transmitting sensitive information, the
greater the freedom from errors, inaccuracies, and incomplete on-site informa-
tion, and the greater the authenticity of customer reviews, the higher the trust
levels. Therefore, e-tailers must ensure that they use the latest cybersecurity
technologies, keep information on their site updated 24/7, and ensure that cus-
tomer reviews are not forged. Older shoppers are more likely to doubt the use-
fulness and credibility of customer reviews. Hence, netpreneurs with a
considerable number of older shoppers would need independent verification of
the reviews to raise trust levels in their site. Female shoppers can be convinced
more by trustworthiness and assurance aspects, vis-à-vis male shoppers.
Subjective Norms Related

• This study also suggests that improving the site’s image perception via the
influence of media and the influence of people/reference groups, i.e., relatives,
classmates, and friends, is likely to increase site loyalty and advocacy indi-
rectly. As age increases, agreement with classmates and friends decreases;
while on the other hand, family opinion begins to matter more. E-tailers need
to take initiatives, have unique selling propositions, and good public relations
skills to ensure news reports and positive word of mouth, indicating that their
site is suitable for online shopping.
Both Big Data, such as transactional data and surveys, complement each other in
enabling netpreneurs to gain a deeper understanding of their shoppers’ characteris-
tics and demographics. Big Data can help us gauge behaviors and tell us the “what”,
while surveys can measure attitudes and opinions and throw light on the “why”. For
example, web analytics and transaction data, which are key sources of Big Data, may
tell us that, on average, females spend less time per online shopping transaction vis-
à-vis males on a given site. On the other hand, a research survey, such as the one
discussed in this chapter, provides a focused insight that females find it easier to
locate information while shopping on the same given site, vis-à-vis males, and hence
depend less on customer care, which then translates into a more positive perception,
in comparison to males, that the site cares about the customer support they are being
given. Insights from this survey provide focused recommendations to enable netpre-
neurs to improve the shopping experience, retain existing customers, and attract
potential ones. Surveys can be used to check the quality of Big Data and vice versa
and are best used together with big data to provide “rich data”.
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14 Study on the
Effectiveness of Social
Networks in Persuading
Entrepreneurial
Initiatives with
Reference to College
Students in Chennai
V. Jayanthi
Vels Institute of Science, Technology & Advanced Studies,
India
S. Subbulakshmi
S.D.N.B. Vaishnav College, India
CONTENTS
Review of Literature............................................................................................... 197
Hypotheses�� 199
Conceptual Framework�� 199
Entrepreneurial Potential Model (EPM)�� 200
Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)�� 200
Techno Entrepreneurial Model (TEM)�� 200
Research Model�� 201
Analysis and Interpretations�� 204
General Findings�� 204
Percentage Analysis�� 204
Structural Equation Model�� 204
Measurement Development�� 204
Descriptive Statistics Correlation and Reliability Coefficient�� 204
DOI: 10.1201/9781003097945-14 195

Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)�� 206

Model Validity�� 207
Implications of the Study�� 210
Suggestions�� 210
INTRODUCTION
We live in a world of Internet technology (Tripathi et al., 2018). Social networks have
changed the way we think, act, and even eat. The acceptance of IT-driven services
was studied from various perspectives (Tripathi et al., 2019). Many types of research
were done to study the influence of technology on entrepreneurial intention in vari-
ous countries. Not much such investigation was done in India. We, therefore, indulge
in the exploration of the influence of social media in pursuing the person with entre-
preneurial desire and capability into the entrepreneurial intention.
Entrepreneurs are considered the spine of any economy (Karmarkar et al., 2014).
As to the present situation, the doused economic condition can be lifted only by the
endeavors of small-scale entrepreneurs (Chhabra, 2018). The students are the loom-
ing business magnets. The students in the present situation are anxious to start a new
venture as there are fewer job openings in the country due to the global pandemic.
The academic segment has a vital role in bringing more start-ups, patents, and
licenses into the business world to haul the drenched economy. The increase in uni-
versity licensing, patenting, and start-up creation in the US has also been observed
in many countries in Europe and Asia and in Australia, Canada, and Israel (Grimaldi
et al., 2011). Entrepreneurship is considered an emerging field among researchers
and has created interest in academia and among policymakers (Shane &
Venkataraman, 2000). A cross-cultural study was conducted in four countries and
found that university students’ attitude differs significantly as to their perception of
entrepreneurship (Heuer & Kolvereid, 2014). A study was conducted to determine
whether entrepreneurial education influences entrepreneurship intention and found
that personal attitude and entrepreneurial capacity are the significant influencers
(Anwar & Saleem, 2018). The trends in business have undergone numerous modifi-
cations over the decades (Chhabra & Karmarkar, 2016). The recent change in the
business trend is that social media usage has the power to change the phenomena and
also lasts long. Social media undoubtedly opened uploads of prospects to the young-
sters, especially college students (Singh & Chhabra, 2020). Entrepreneurs regard
social media as a helpful tool to tap opportunities from unknown horizons which
were not accessible in the pre-social media era (Park & Sung, 2017). The burying
behavior of new-generation buyers, especially women, has changed due to social
media usage and is taken advantage of by the innovative techno sellers. It is the para-
mount obligation of the government to provide all the necessary facilities and moti-
vate them. The government has to abridge the measures to persuade the students to
bring out their flair into reality. A cell has to be introduced predominantly for stu-
dents to sway their proposal.
Study on the Effectiveness of Social Networks 197
TABLE 14.1
Social networking sites
Social Account Holders
Networking Year as of 30 April
S.NO. Sites Established Usage Purpose 2020
1. Facebook 2004 Connecting people all over the 1.59 billion users
world both for business and
non-business.
2. Twitter 2006 Used to release news, answer 320 million users
queries, and reach the targeted
audience.
3. YouTube 2005 Most popular video-based social 1 billion website
media website. visitors
4. Instagram 2010 Mainly utilized to promote travel, 400 million active
fashion, food, art, etc. users.
5. LinkedIn 2003 Used for professional networking 400 million
for business. registered users.
Source: Hampton et al. (2011).
The main purpose of this study is to bring out the perceptions of the student com-
munity in the present context and evaluate the effect and role of social media in per-
suading the entrepreneurial intention of students from various strata. A new model is
proposed to test the consequence of social media usage on potential entrepreneurs
(Table 14.1).
The social media sites listed in Table 14.1 are top-rated among the youth popula-
tion, which catch the major hours in a day. Some of the young adults are even addicted
to social media. Some of the adolescent innovators use the same social media to
launch and promote their novel ideas. This chapter examines the impact of social
media on the entrepreneurial initiative.
Objectives
• To craft a suitable model to study the impact of social media on entrepreneurial
traits.
• To suggest ways and means to improve students’ entrepreneurial initiatives
through social networking sites in colleges in Chennai.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
• Davis (1989) introduced the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in 1989.
Davis developed and validated a new scale and new variables, namely per-
ceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, which are put forward to be the
determinants of user acceptance of Internet services. Definitions of these two
variables were used to develop scale items that were pre-tested for content
validity and then tested for reliability and construct validity in two studies
involving a total of 152 users and four application programs. The reliability of
usefulness was .98, and the ease of use was .94. The scale exhibited high dis-
crimination and factorial validity. When compared to the ease of use, useful-
ness had a greater correlation with user behavior.
• Venkatesh et al. (2001) developed an extension of the TAM, which explained
perceived usefulness and usage intention in terms of social influence and cog-
nitive instrumental processes. The TAM 2 studied the implications of voluntary
usage and mandatory usage. The extended model was strongly supported for
all organizations, concluding that both social influence processes and cognitive
instrumental processes significantly influenced user acceptance.
• Shang Gao et a1. (2011) have studied the user perception on mobile service
acceptance. The authors have developed a survey instrument based on existing
scales that might fit the construct definitions. A pilot study was also conducted
by distributing the survey to 25 users of a mobile service called Mobile Student
Information Systems (MSIS). TAM constructs and predicts user adoption of
mobile services through context, trust, personal initiatives, and characteristics.
Furthermore, the researchers have validated their instrument by using reliabil-
ity assessment techniques and confirmatory factor analysis. The findings of
this study provide insight for mobile service providers and help them in assess-
ing customer reactions to mobile services. This study showed that the reliabili-
ties of all the scales in this survey instrument were above the target acceptance
level.
• Sušanj et al. (2015) examined the impact of perceived entrepreneurial desir-
ability and perceived entrepreneurial self-efficacy on entrepreneurial intention.
The study is based mainly on Krueger and Brazeal’s (1994) study. Data were
collected from undergraduate students of business and non-business orienta-
tion to compare the various entrepreneurship characteristics within SEM. This
study shows that the mediating effect was stronger for the business-oriented
groups than the non-business orientation group. The amount of explained vari-
ance of all constructs (except entrepreneurial propensity) is also larger in busi-
ness students than non-business students. This survey model assumes and
concludes that entrepreneurship is focused on a planned activity. Hence, inten-
tion to become an entrepreneur is its most significant predictor (Chhabra &
Goyal, 2019).
• Rahman et al. (2017) examined the influence of the Technology Readiness
Index (TRI) 2.0’s four indicators (optimism, innovativeness, discomfort, and
insecurity) on entrepreneurs’ Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) and Perceived
Usefulness (PU) of technology in Bangladesh. The study intends to state that
micro-entrepreneurs from the marginalized group are optimistic about the
technology. This study has its focus on the marginalized who can handle
technology. This study concludes and contributes towards better understand-
ing of how technology figures the market and its impact on societal develop-
ment. This research study wraps up that the marginalized are ready to use
technology; using technology, they can change their future and their living
standard.
• Anwar and Saleem (2018) analyzed characteristics of the entrepreneurially

inclined and not inclined students in India. The authors studied the entrepre-
neurial characteristics, namely risk-taking, innovativeness, locus of control,
need for achievement, self-efficacy, and tolerance for ambiguity. The t-test
conducted proved that students with entrepreneurial inclination have a higher
risk-taking propensity, innovativeness, locus of control need for achievement,
and tolerance for ambiguity. There is not much difference as far as self-efficacy
is concerned between students with or without inclination (Table 14.2).
HYPOTHESES
TABLE 14.2
Regression analysis
S.No. Null Hypothesis Alternate Hypothesis
1 Perceived desirability does not mediate the Perceived desirability mediates the
Entrepreneurial Capacity towards Entrepreneurial Entrepreneurial Capacity towards
Intention (H01). Entrepreneurial Intention (H11).
2 Perceived desirability does not mediate the Perceived desirability mediates the
Entrepreneurial Attraction towards Entrepreneurial Entrepreneurial Attraction towards
3 Perceived feasibility does not mediate the Perceived feasibility mediates the
Entrepreneurial Capacity towards Entrepreneurial Entrepreneurial Capacity towards
4 Perceived feasibility does not mediate the Perceived feasibility mediates the
Entrepreneurial Attraction towards Entrepreneurial Entrepreneurial Attraction towards
The study attempts to explore social media impact on entrepreneurial traits. A well-
structured questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree
to strongly agree. The convenient sampling method was adopted by way of collecting
primary data through WhatsApp and mail. The questionnaire had two sections. The
first part focused on the respondents’ background. The second part covered four
questions on perceived desirability, entrepreneurial attraction, and entrepreneurial
intention – three questions each for perceived feasibility and entrepreneurial capac-
ity. Due to lockdown, the authors could reach out to students only through an online
survey, WhatsApp, and mail. The Cronbach’s alpha was more than 0.9, conforming
to internal consistency.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
The study is based mainly on a combination of two models, namely Krueger and
Brazeal’s (1994) Entrepreneurial Potential Model and the Extended Technology
Acceptance Model. The first model assumes that entrepreneurship is a planned
activity, so intention to become an entrepreneur is its most significant predictor. The

study is intended to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of entrepreneurial charac-
teristics such as Entrepreneurial Capacity (EC) and Entrepreneurial Attraction (EA)
on Entrepreneurial Intention (EI). The second model is an extension of TAM by
including a mediating factor, namely attitude. Here, the attitude of students’ Perceived
Desirability and Perceived Feasibility towards social media usage for their perspec-
tive business is taken for SWOT. Perceived Desirability (PD) and Perceived
Feasibility (FS) are scrutinized as mediating variables.
Entrepreneurial Potential Model (EPM)

Entrepreneurial capacity refers to having practical knowledge of starting a firm
which the person would have acquired through working knowledge or by induce-
ment by others such as family and friends. Entrepreneurial attraction refers to the
degree to which the person is attracted to starting a business independently. It has
the foundation of internal standards of attraction, non-lucrative career options,
social pressures, or shore up given by the government to the self-employed peo-
ple. The plain Entrepreneurial Capacity and Entrepreneurial Attraction do not
become active unless it is intended. Entrepreneurial intention is the summit to be
achieved.
Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)

TAM is one of the most influential models widely used in the studies of the deter-
minants’ IT acceptance. It is not easy to directly measure IT, contributor, because
of its hidden and intangible benefits (Mao & Palvia, 2001) researchers have devel-
oped other measures, such as technology acceptance, which directly relates to IT
usage. Therefore, it is important for the implementers to fully understand the deter-
minants of IT acceptance as they need to plan effectively for it. TAM (Davis, 1989)
was derived from the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975)
a powerful explanation for user acceptance and usage behavior of information
technology.
Techno Entrepreneurial Model (TEM)

The proposed model is a combination of TAM and EPM, which verifies the effec-
tiveness of social media usage in persuading entrepreneurial capacity and entrepre-
neurial attraction towards entrepreneurial intention. The variables, namely Perceived
Desirability and Perceived Feasibility relating to social media usage, are initiated.
The Perceived Desirability in this study relegated to the one’s aspiration to use
social networking in the impending business to fetch slacken atmosphere in the
trade. The Perceived Feasibility in this study is consigned to one’s own placate and
practicality in using social media in the imminent business. It examines how the
pinnacle is achieved through gathering all the acquaintances and using all the
resources that are accessible in the high-tech world (Tables 14.3, 14.4, and 14.5;
Figures 14.1 and 14.2).
TABLE 14.3
Researches on acceptance of Internet-based IT applications using TAM and
entrepreneurial potentials
Predictor/
Authors Sample Unit Study Result
Jahangir and Individual Electronic banking Perceived usefulness, perceived
Begum (2008) usage case of use.
Security and privacy have a direct
relationship to customer
adaption mediated by customer
attitude.
Nath et al. (2013) Bank employee Electronic banking Social influence enhances
adoption perceived usefulness. Computer
self-efficacy and technology
facility influence the perceived
case of use that inrush influence
perceived usefulness, which has
a significant effect on behavior
intention and usage behavior.
Liñán and Chen Individuals in Entrepreneurial Personal Attraction and Perceived

(2006) Spain and Taiwan potential Social Norms promote
entrepreneurship.
Ajjan et al. (2015) Students in Egypt Social media usage Social media self-efficacy is a
and United States to support new factor that acts as a
entrepreneurship predictor of entrepreneurial
intention.
Mueller et al. Students from nine Role of culture in Some cultures are conducive for
(2002) countries persuading entrepreneurship.
entrepreneurship.
Research Model
TABLE 14.4
Summary of theoretical models
Model Theoretical Model
Techno Entrepreneurial Paths from Entrepreneurial Capacity and Entrepreneurial Attraction
Model to Perceived Desirability and Perceived Feasibility.
Perceived Desirability and Perceived Feasibility to Entrepreneurial
Intention.
Revised Techno Paths from Entrepreneurial Capacity and Entrepreneurial Attraction
Entrepreneurial Model to Perceived Desirability, Perceived Feasibility, and Entrepreneurial
Intention.
Perceived Desirability and Perceived Feasibility to Entrepreneurial
Intention.
TABLE 14.5
Theoretical framework
Factor Variable Source
Perceived Desirability PD1 Using social media networking Dissanayake (2013)
for my business is much more
desirable for me.
PD3 I would enjoy personal
satisfaction in using social
media network innovation in
my business
PD3 Using social networking would
increase the quality of work in
my business.
PD4 Using social networking would
result in a more relaxed
working environment in my
business.
Perceived Feasibility PF1 I feel comfortable using social Dissanayake (2013)
networking for my business.
PF2 It would be very feasible for
me to use social networking in
my business.
PF3 It would be practical for me to
use social networking for my
business.
Entrepreneurial EA1 Being an entrepreneur implies Liñán and Chen
Attraction more advantages than (2006)
disadvantages to me.
EA2 If I had opportunities and
resources, I would like to start
a firm.
EA3 Being an entrepreneur would
entail great satisfaction for
me.
EA4 Among various options,
I would rather be an
entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurial EI1 I am ready to make anything to Liñán and Chen
Intention be an entrepreneur. (2006)
EI2 My professional goal is to
become an entrepreneur.
EI3 I am determined to create a
firm in the future.
EI4 I have a strong intention to start
a firm someday.
Entrepreneurial EC1 I am prepared to start a new Liñán and Chen
Capacity firm. (2006)
EC2 I know the necessary practical
details to start a firm.
EC3 I know how to develop an
entrepreneurial project.
FIGURE 14.1 Techno Entrepreneurial Model (without mediation). Source: Krueger and
Brazeal (1994); Davis (1989).
FIGURE 14.2 Revised Techno Entrepreneurial Model (with mediation). Source: Krueger
and Brazeal (1994).
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS

The data analysis was done using MS Excel, IBM SPSS 23, and IBM AMOS.
General Findings
Percentage Analysis
• 56% are male, and 44% are female respondents.
• 37% of the respondents are from a business family.
• 31% of the respondents belong to the group with less than Rs.20,000 income,
and 24% belong to more than the Rs 50,000 group.
• 39% belong to an urban area, 36% to semi-urban, and 25% belong to a rural area.
Structural Equation Model

SEM is a statistical technique for testing and estimating causal relations using statis-
tical data and qualitative causal assumptions. SEM can examine a series of depen-
dence relationships simultaneously. It is particularly useful in testing theories
equations that contain multiple equations involving dependence relationships.
Measurement Development
The measurement items used in this research are adopted based on a literature review.
A five-point Likert scale ranging from (1) strongly disagrees to (5) strongly agree
was used to measure each construct, given as follows.
Descriptive Statistics Correlation and Reliability Coefficient
The mean, standard deviation, and reliability coefficients for the different constructs
are computed. Reliability is a measure of the degree to which a set of indicators of a
latent construct is internally consistent. Correlation analysis was conducted on all
variables to explore the relationship between the variables (Table 14.6).
Descriptive statistics and Alpha values of Entrepreneurial Capacity, Entrepreneurial
Attraction, Perceived Desirability, Perceived Feasibility, and Entrepreneurial
Intention are programmed in Table 14.6.
The mean score of EC1, EC2, and EC3 is above 3.50, which indicates that their
capability to become entrepreneurs through the SD is high. The mean goodness score
of EA1, EA2, EA3, and EA4 are all above 3.6, although the standard deviation indi-
cates that students have the Attraction towards Entrepreneurship. The mean goodness
score of PD1, PD2, PD3, and PD4 are all above 3.7, and the standard deviation is not
high, indicating that students desire to use the social network for their upcoming
business. The mean goodness score of PF1, PF2, and PF3are all above 3.8, and the
standard deviation is within the range, which signifies the students’ acceptance of
the feasibility of social network usage for their business. The mean goodness
score of EI1, EI2, EI3, and EI4 are all above 3.6; although the standard deviation is
high, this indicates that students have the intention to start a business of their own.
The Cronbach’s Coefficient Alpha values of all the constructs exceed .75, which
proves the internal consistency of the items (Table 14.7).
TABLE 14.6
Descriptive statistics and Cronbach’s Coefficient Alpha
Constructs Items Mean Standard Deviation Alpha
Entrepreneurial Capacity (EC) EC1 3.50 1.003
EC2 3.82 .942 .750
EC3 3.81 .962
Entrepreneurial Attraction (EA) EA1 3.81 .982
EA2 3.89 .938
.895
EA3 3.63 .836
EA4 3.79 .974
Perceived Desirability (PD) PD1 3.74 .958
PD2 3.82 .801
.856
PD3 3.88 .766
PD4 3.80 .994
Perceived Feasibility (PF) PF1 3.85 .751
PF2 3.88 .821 .876
PF3 3.80 .844
Entrepreneurial Intention (EI) EI1 3.81 1.047
EI2 3.89 1.074
EI3 3.63 .924 .859
EI4 3.79 1.000
Source: Computed data.
TABLE 14.7
Correlation matrix
Entrepreneurial Entrepreneurial Perceived Perceived Entrepreneurial
Variables Capacity Attraction Desirability Feasibility Intention
Entrepreneurial – .966 .734 .697 .256
Capacity
Entrepreneurial – – .833 .814 .357
Attraction
Perceived .927 .155
Desirability
Perceived .187
Feasibility
Entrepreneurial
Intention

The Entrepreneurial Capacity, Entrepreneurial Attraction, Perceived Desirability,

Perceived Feasibility, and Entrepreneurial Intention are all positively correlated.
Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)

Confirmatory Factor Analysis is a multivariate technique used to provide a series of
relationships such as Convergent Validity and Discriminant Validity that suggest how
the measured variables represent a latent construct that is not measured directly
(Table 14.8).
Table 14.8 displays the standardized loadings are ranging from .46 to .97. The
estimates are nearer to and above the .5 and evidence the convergent validity. The
Composite Reliability of Entrepreneurial Capacity, Entrepreneurial Attraction,
Perceived Desirability, Perceived Feasibility, and Entrepreneurial Intention are
.75,.895, 856, .876, and .859 are all in the acceptable range (Hair et al. 2016). The
AVE estimates range from 52% to 72%. The Average Variable Extracted is all above
the thumb rule, which is .50 (50%) (Hair et al., 2016) and also less than the value of
Composite Reliability (CR>AVE). The above evidence supports the construct valid-
ity of the model.
TABLE 14.8
Factor Loadings, Composite Reliability, Average Variance Extracted, Maximum
Shared Variance, and Average Shared Variance
Construct Item Factor Loadings CR AVE MSV ASV
Entrepreneurial Capacity (EC) EC1 .465 .750 .525 .421 .279
EC2 .801
EC3 .848
Entrepreneurial Attraction (EA) EA1 .849 .895 .701 .697 .474
EA2 .978
EA3 .657
EA4 .835
Perceived Desirability (PD) PD1 .867 .856 .645 .573 .398
PD2 .853
PD3 .810
PD4 .668
Perceived Feasibility (PF) PF1 .918 .876 .721 .710 .507
PF2 .689
PF3 .920
Entrepreneurial Intention (EI) EI1 .664 .859 .613 .471 .373
EI2 .827
EI3 .818
EI4 .812

Note: CR – Composite Reliability, AVE – Average Variable Extracted, MSV – Maximum Shared
Variance, and ASV – Average Shared Variance.
The MSV values ranged from .42 to .71, which are all less than the AVE of that
particular construct. The ASV values ranged between .27 and.50, which are all less
than the AVE of the construct (MSV < AVE > ASV). These tests indicate that the
discriminant validity is upheld for the measurement model.
Model Validity
The model validity is assessed through chi-square value, normed chi-square value,
and p-value. The other fit indexes such as Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Goodness of
Fit Index (GFI), Normed Fit Index (NFI), Standard Root Mean Square Residual
(SRMR), and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) are also used in
judging the model Fit (Table 14.9).
The Techno Entrepreneurial Model examines whether the Perceived Desirability
and Perceived feasibility mediate the relationship between the Entrepreneurial
Capacity and Entrepreneurial Attraction to Entrepreneurial Intention (ᵡ2= 170.876,
df. = 112, and p > .05). The CFI, GFI, and NFI are all above .80, and SRMR (.048)
and RMSEA value (.06) are all in the acceptable range (Hair et al., 2016).
The Techno Entrepreneurial Model is then compared to the Revised Techno
Entrepreneurial Model, which studies both the direct and mediating relationship
between the Entrepreneurial Capacity and Entrepreneurial Attraction to
Entrepreneurial Intention (ᵡ2 = 170.424, df. = 110, and p < .05). The CFI, GFI, and
NFI are all above .80, with SRMR at .038 and RMSEA value at .063. (Hair et al.,
2016).
TABLE 14.9
Model fit index
Techno Entrepreneurial Revised Techno
Absolute Measures Model Entrepreneurial Model
Chi-Square 170.876 170.424
Df 112 110
Chi-Square/df 1.526 1.54
P-value .149 .000
CFI .971 .970
SRMR .048 .038
GFI .888 .888
NFI .922 .922
RMSEA .06 .063
Source: Computed data

Note: Df– degrees of freedom; p-value – probability; CFI– Comparative Fit Index;
SRMR– Standard Root Mean Square Residual; GFI– Goodness Fit Index; NFI–
Normed Fit Index; RMSEA– Root Mean Square Error of Approximation.
TABLE 14.10
Path analysis (standardized coefficients)
Techno Entrepreneurial Revised Techno
Path Model Entrepreneurial Model
Entrepreneurial Capacity → Perceived .654 .294
Desirability
Entrepreneurial Capacity → Perceived .856 .439
Feasibility
Entrepreneurial Attraction → Perceived .115 .472
Desirability
Entrepreneurial Attraction → Perceived −.127 .131
Feasibility
Perceived Desirability → Entrepreneurial .414 .277
Intention
Perceived Feasibility → Entrepreneurial .317 .185
Intention
Entrepreneurial Capacity -→ Entrepreneurial .081
Intention
Entrepreneurial Attraction → Entrepreneurial .259
Intention
The data fits well with both models and, on the comparison, fits the Techno
Entrepreneurial Model far better (p > .05 and Chi Sq/df = 1.52) (Table 14.10).
From Table 14.10, given the pattern of impact for the parameter estimates within
the Techno Entrepreneurial Model, the regression weight of path analysis from
Entrepreneurial Attraction to Entrepreneurial Intention is found to be negative, and
all other path coefficients are in the hypothesized (positive) direction.
In the Revised Techno Entrepreneurial Model, the regression weights of path
analysis are all in the hypothesized (positive) direction. The path coefficients in
Techno Entrepreneurial Model are found to be more significant than in the Revised
Techno Entrepreneurial Model. Entrepreneurial Attraction to Perceived Feasibility
was improved in the Revised Techno Entrepreneurial Model from negative (−.127) to
positive (.131), which implies that perceived feasibility is not mediating the
Entrepreneurial Attraction to Entrepreneurial Intention. The Perceived Feasibility
acts only as a suppressant on Entrepreneurial Attraction. Entrepreneurial Attraction
to Perceived Desirability has been improved in the Revised Techno Entrepreneurial
Model. Henceforth, the Perceived desirability partially mediates both the
Entrepreneurial Capacity and the Entrepreneurial Attraction to Entrepreneurial
Intention (Figure 14.3 and Table 14.11).
FIGURE 14.3 Techno Entrepreneurial Model.
TABLE 14.11
Result of hypotheses
S.No. Null Hypothesis Alternate Hypothesis Result
1 Perceived desirability does not Perceived desirability Alternate
mediate the Entrepreneurial mediates the Entrepreneurial hypothesis
Capacity towards Capacity towards is accepted
Entrepreneurial Intention. (H01) Entrepreneurial
Intention. (H11)
2 Perceived desirability does not Perceived desirability Alternate
mediate the Entrepreneurial mediates the Entrepreneurial hypothesis
Attraction towards Attraction towards is accepted
Intention. (H12)
3 Perceived feasibility does not Perceived feasibility mediates Alternate
mediate the Entrepreneurial the Entrepreneurial Capacity hypothesis
Capacity towards towards Entrepreneurial is accepted
Entrepreneurial Intention. (H03) Intention. (H13)
4 Perceived feasibility does not Perceived feasibility mediates Null
mediate the Entrepreneurial the Entrepreneurial hypothesis
Attraction towards Attraction towards is accepted
Intention. (H14)
IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY

• The mere Entrepreneurial Attraction does not lead to Entrepreneurial Initiative.
• The Entrepreneurial Capacity tied with the desire and feasibility of social
media usage shows the way to Entrepreneurial Initiative.
• The Perceived Desirability acts as a catalyst more than the Perceived Feasibility
in bringing the pinnacle of the business.
SUGGESTIONS
• Entrepreneurial education should be initiated from the school level.
• Compulsory skill education is to be introduced in colleges.
• Cultural change is to be kicked off to encourage the entrepreneurs.
• The students have to be trained to use social media constructively.
• The cybersecurity guidance has to be issued to the students.
• The girls have to be specially educated on cybersecurity.
• The students with innovative designs are to be identified by the higher educa-
tion institutions and encouraged further.
• The education program should be framed in such a way as to boost self-esteem
or self-respect.
CONCLUSION
This chapter attempted to bring out students’ perceptions of entrepreneurial initia-
tives and their aspiration to use social media to develop their business. Many such
aspects that encourage the students to fire up a new business inspiration are to be
researched and brought to light. The authors are hopeful that the study has thrown
light on college students’ perceptions of entrepreneurship and social media usage for
promoting various business activities. The Techno Entrepreneurial Model will cer-
tainly be supportive in investigating the young and budding entrepreneurs. It is the
policymakers’ sense of duty to encourage the young entrepreneurs to come with
creative proposals and facilitate them financially and morally.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
First and foremost, I bow my head and thank the Almighty for showering his bless-
ings throughout the journey and giving us enough strength and team spirit to com-
plete the work successfully.
An honorable mention is made herein that our families and friends have rendered
wholehearted support in completing this work. But for their laudable encouragement,
this work would not have been completed successfully.
We express our deep sense of gratitude to our management (VISTAS and SDNB
Vaishnav College) who encouraged us to get this chapter writing done. We take this
opportunity to place on record our thanks to the students (respondents) of various
colleges for their overwhelming support to this chapter. And our sincere thanks to the
Editors.
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15 Curbing Inconsistencies
Through Financial
Bootstrapping
Study of Indian Startups
Ecosystem
Anju Singla and Prihana Vasishta
Punjab Engineering College (Deemed to be University),
India
CONTENTS
Review of Literature�� 214
Bootstrapping Finance�� 214
Bootstrapping Techniques�� 215
Need and Objectives�� 216
Methodology�� 217
Result and Discussion�� 217
Advanced States�� 217
Intermediate States�� 220
Beginner States�� 220
Overview: Seven-Pillar Framework�� 220
Startup Policy and Implementation�� 220
Incubation Support�� 220
Seed Funding Support�� 221
Funding Support, Angel and Venture Funding�� 221
Simplified Regulations�� 221
Easing Public Procurement�� 221
Awareness and Outreach�� 222
Inconsistencies in Distribution of Startups Across India�� 222
Type I Inconsistencies�� 222
Type II Inconsistencies�� 223
Northeastern States��223
Challenges and Chances�� 224
Payments That Have to Be Made to the Suppliers�� 224
Finding a Suitable Business Model�� 224
DOI: 10.1201/9781003097945-15 213

Acquisition of Capital Equipment�� 224

The Requirement of Funds for One-Time Startup Expense�� 225
Acquiring Office Deposit, Equipment, and Furnishing�� 225
Recommendations and Implications�� 225
For Policymakers�� 225
For Entrepreneurs�� 226
INTRODUCTION
In developing economies where job openings are insufficient and several urban resi-
dents are growing, entrepreneurial economic activities contribute significantly to
employment generation and poverty reduction (Khan & Quaddus, 2017; Williams &
Shahid, 2016). Due to the tremendous growth of startups in India, companies cre-
ated 3.9–4.3 lakh direct jobs and over 1.5–1.6 lakh indirect jobs annually from 2009
to 2019 (NASSCOM, 2019). The report states India is the world’s third-largest
startup hub. The Indian government has also initiated various schemes and
reforms to promote and grow entrepreneurship and skill development, such as the
Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Credit Support
Scheme, Start-up India, and Make in India, etc. (Chhabra, 2018). According to the
Global Entrepreneurship Report, India’s Global Entrepreneurship Index ranking
improved from 104 in 2014–15 to 68 in 2017–18 (Chhabra & Karmarkar, 2016b).
Despite such considerable growth and the benefits provided by the Indian market,
almost 50% of startups die before the seed-stage investment (NASSCOM, 2017).
One of the many reasons for the failure is entrepreneurs’ reluctance to finance their
innovations or use follow-on funding at later stages (Majumdar, 2020). Any access
to funding (internal or external) alleviates financial constraints for both the nascent
entrepreneurs’ startup investment and their business’s subsequent growth. Even
though the financial resource constraint remains constant everywhere, research
regarding the methods or techniques through which entrepreneurs can transform
these resource constraints into opportunities is not well researched.
The question is, why do some firms grow and others do not? Why are a tiny pro-
portion of them able to convert themselves into operational ventures among all
nascent entrepreneurial ventures? Furthermore, what can be done about it? While
raising money for the startup, bootstrap financing is one of the most inexpensive
routes for an entrepreneur. Some of the startups, such as GrabOn, Gxpress, Wingify,
FusionCharts, Zerodha, and Appointy, have been on the bootstrap road for many
years and have managed to scale excellent heights.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Bootstrapping Finance
Bhide (1992) defined bootstrapping finance as “launching new ventures with modest
personal funds.” As he highlighted the potential of financial bootstrapping of new
and small businesses, the definition provided a narrow scope as only personal funds
Curbing Inconsistencies Through Financial Bootstrapping 215
were considered. While researches in the 1990s revealed that there were other
motives apart from lack of capital for the use of bootstrapping techniques, soon
enough, this deduction was criticized, where the results showed that bootstrapping
methods were meant to be employed only when external finance was not available
(Bhide, 1992; Van Auken et al., 1998). As the business environment kept advancing,
the definition of bootstrapping also kept evolving. Van Osnabrugge and Robinson
(2000) referred to it as “the highly creative acquisition and use of resources without
raising equity from traditional sources.”
Similarly, it was described by Winborg and Landstrom (2001) as “methods for
meeting the need for resources without relying on long-term external finance from
the debt holder and new owners.” This reduces the fixed liability of interest on the
debt and lowers the burden of paying debt within a specified period. Ebben and
Johnson (2006) stated bootstrapping as a combination of methods that reduce overall
capital requirements, improve cash flow, and take advantage of personal financing
sources. All researchers focused on one common thing: the generation of capital and
cutting of cost through bootstrapping techniques for the sustainability of the startups.
In the late 2000s, the researchers’ attention turned to the different bootstrapping tech-
niques applied by entrepreneurs in their day-to-day business, their motive, and the
success rate behind applying those bootstrapping techniques. Winborg (2009) found
that where there is a shortage of funding, nascent startups use financial bootstrapping
techniques to reduce costs.
Bootstrapping Techniques
Entrepreneurs have improved and enlarged the effective use of their resources regu-
larly by exercising various bootstrapping techniques, which have been beneficial at
any stage of company development. Researches have shown a bootstrapping tech-
nique as simple as personal resources provide a business with long-term working
capital in personal savings that have supported many young companies (Bhide, 1992;
Van Auken & Neeley, 1996). Bill Gates started his business by funding himself
through personal savings in the starting years and came up with Microsoft. Use of a
personal credit card of the owner or a personal loan for business use, directly incor-
porating personal properties into company operations and forgiving any personal
salary, especially during the earlier stages of the startup, all come under the scope of
personal resources as a bootstrapping technique (Schofield, 2015; Van Auken &
Neeley, 1996; Whittemore, 1993; Winborg & Landstrom, 2001). Friends, families,
and colleagues as a bootstrapping technique have always been a significant source of
entrepreneurial funding, psychological and emotional encouragement, and inspira-
tion, particularly when the situation did not seem very promising (Vesper, 1990).
Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Technologies, received a thousand dollars from his
family to start up his business, which presently has turned into billions. This highly
practiced bootstrapping technique confirms that more than 50% of entrepreneurs are
estimated to receive financing from at least one of these three sources (Daniels et al.,
2016). Similar research in India showed that SMEs’ primary bootstrapping technique
is loans from friends and relatives (Shripria et al., 2020). It has also been observed
that startups in their growth phase are strongly dependent on cash management
techniques, mainly trade credits (Allen et al., 2006). Fundamentally, cash manage-
ment techniques have also been considered essential bootstrapping techniques. It
leads to productive use of businesses’ assets by delayed cash outflows, rapid cash
inflows, and improved efficiency of assets (Neeley, 2003). Leasing is another tech-
nique to get maximum productivity and use the machinery, facilities, and vehicles
without any cost of purchasing those properties (Winborg & Landstrom, 2001).
A study by Shripria et al. (2020) on Indian SMEs analyzed that leasing the equip-
ment instead of purchasing it stands at ninth place out of the 25 bootstrap financing
techniques. According to Helleboogh et al. (2010), outsourcing is an essential aspect
of joint utilization of resources. In the case of nascent startups, production or manu-
facturing, sub-assembly, distribution, and customer support are outsourced by
entrepreneurs. WeWork, an Indian company, follows a coworking business model
providing a shared workspace with printers, private phone booths, 24/7 building
access, mail and package handling, internet, and IT support. Recently, Alvarado and
Mora-Esquivel (2020) performed exploratory research among small businesses in
Costa Rica on financial bootstrapping. The study identified financial bootstrapping
techniques primarily related to the customers and owners who facilitate the joint
utilization of facilities and other assets widely used by startups. The findings of this
study indicate that Costa Rican small business managers are researching and using a
wide variety of different approaches to access financial capital, rather than merely
using what entrepreneurs are familiar with (e.g., credit from family or friends).
The reviewed literature reveals that financial bootstrapping techniques play a cat-
alyst role in the growth of the economy through supporting the budding startups and
ensuring their survival.
NEED AND OBJECTIVES

Despite the favorable startup ecosystem in India, approximately 90% of startups fail
within the first five years (Chhabra & Goyal, 2019; Chhabra & Karmarkar, 2016a).
About 65% of the startups fail due to insufficient funds (The IBM Institute for Business
Value, 2016). Regardless of having high profitability and interest-paying potential,
younger SMEs in India have less accessibility to debt (Kumar & Rao, 2016). RBI
Report (2019) shows the availability of institutional funds (SIDBI, NBFC, NABARD)
for startups is negligible. In contrast, Friends and Family (42.9%) remains the only
primary finance source in the current Indian entrepreneurial scenario (Figure 15.1).
Allen et al. (2006) also found that the major bootstrap financing techniques tapped
by Indian companies were borrowing from family and friends, using internally gen-
erated funds and trade credits. Given the limitations of access to institutional finance
for nascent startups, bootstrapping techniques need to be explored as a way of access-
ing capital apart from just borrowing from friends and family. Hence, the present
study attempts:
• To analyze the seven-pillar framework for identifying the inconsistencies in the

Indian startup ecosystem.
• To suggest the best possible bootstrapping techniques in regard to various chal-
lenges faced by Indian entrepreneurs.
50
45 42.9
40
35
30
25
20 17
15 11.3 9.7
10 7
3.5 2.2 1.7 1.7
5 0.6 0.5 0.5
0
FIGURE 15.1 Source of funds (percent share of the total number of participating firms).
Source: RBI Report (2019).
METHODOLOGY
To find the inconsistencies, the seven-pillar framework was studied for 34 states and
union territories. The State Startup Ranking Framework was introduced by the
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in February 2018. The
framework covered broad categories of seven startup support pillars, viz., Startup
Policy and Implementation, Incubation Support, Seed Funding Support, Funding
Support, Simplified Regulations, Easing Public Procurement Awareness and
Outreach. The report provided the list of states having exemplary performance spe-
cific to each pillar. The various states’ scoring concerning each pillar was done
dichotomously (state present in the exemplary list was given a one score, otherwise,
a zero). States’ aggregate score out of seven was determined by the number of pillars
in which the state has shown exemplary performance. Further, states were classified
into customized clusters based on their aggregate scores, and inconsistencies were
marked by generating and comparing the heat map of the number of startups in India
with the heat map of startup support being provided by the Government based on the
seven pillars.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Table 15.1 shows the dichotomous scoring of states and UTs associated with each
pillar. The mapping of seven pillars based on exemplary performance brings us to the
aggregate points of each state.
On basis scoring, the states were classified into three clusters.
Advanced States
The cluster includes states with an aggregate score of 4 and above: Andhra Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, and Odisha.
218
TABLE 15.1
Mapping seven pillars of startup ecosystem based on exemplary performance of each state
Startup policy Seed Funding support Awareness Total
and Incubation funding angel and venture Simplified Easing public and Score
State implementation support support funding regulations procurement outreach (out of 7)
Chandigarh × × × × × × × 0
Delhi × ◽ × × × × × 1
Haryana × ◽ × × ◽ × × 2
Himachal Pradesh × × × × ◽ × × 1
Jammu Kashmir × × ◽ × × × × 1
Punjab × × × × × × × 0
Rajasthan ◽ × ◽ ◽ × × × 3
Uttarakhand × × × × × × × 0
Chhattisgarh ◽ × × ◽ ◽ ◽ ◽ 6
Madhya Pradesh ◽ ◽ × × × × × 2
Uttar Pradesh × ◽ × × × × × 1
Bihar × × ◽ × × × × 1
Jharkhand ◽ × × ◽ ◽ × × 3
Entrepreneurship and Big Data

Odisha ◽ ◽ ◽ × ◽ ◽ ◽ 6
West Bengal × × × × × × × 0
Arunachal Pradesh × × × × × × × 0
Assam × × × × × × × 0
Manipur × × × × × × × 0
Meghalaya × × × × × × × 0
Mizoram × × × × × × × 0
Nagaland × × × × × × × 0
(Continued)
Curbing Inconsistencies Through Financial Bootstrapping
Sikkim × × × × × × × 0
Tripura × × × × × × × 0
Goa × × × × × × × 0
Gujarat ◽ ◽ ◽ ◽ ◽ ◽ ◽ 7
Maharashtra × × × × × × × 0
Andaman & × × × × × × × 0
Nicobar Islands
Andhra Pradesh ◽ ◽ × × ◽ × ◽ 4
Karnataka ◽ ◽ ◽ ◽ ◽ × ◽ 6
Kerala ◽ ◽ ◽ ◽ × × ◽ 5
Puducherry × × × × × × × 0
Lakshadweep × × × × × × × 0
Tamil Nadu × × ◽ × × × × 1
Telangana × ◽ × × × × ◽ 2
Source: Compiled by authors from State Startup Ranking Report (2018).
219
Intermediate States
The cluster takes account of states with an aggregate score between 0 and 4:
Telangana, Jammu Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Jharkhand, West Bengal,
Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh form a
part of this cluster.
Beginner States
This cluster includes states which did not make it to the exemplary lists even once.
The states are Chandigarh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim,
Tripura, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Goa, Assam, and Punjab.
OVERVIEW: SEVEN-PILLAR FRAMEWORK

All elements of the seven-pillar framework are critical factors that bring out the dif-
ferences in the states’ startup ecosystem. The overview of the differences would help
identify good practices and encourage states to learn from one another.
STARTUP POLICY AND IMPLEMENTATION

Several national startup policies and initiatives are making a significant impact on
the ground (Chhabra et al., 2020; Kumar and Chhabra, 2021). Small Industries
Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has provided funding support for innovation-
driven startups and has backed 75 startups (NASSCOM, 2018). Karnataka col-
laborated with companies and service providers to develop a startup, Karnataka
Booster Kitto, that motivates young startups through a range of tech tools and
services like mentorship, virtual telephony, and cloud computing at an affordable
price. Telangana established an extensive network of over 100 Startup mentors
from business, academia, and the government. States like Andhra Pradesh,
Gujarat, and Maharashtra established innovation societies responsible for over-
seeing state-based startup initiatives. Improved online registration platform and
query resolution system would result in effective implementation of startup
policies.
INCUBATION SUPPORT
The Government of India launched the Atal Incubation policy to provide INR 1.5
crore financial support to set up incubation centers wherein, for a cumulative dura-
tion of five years, the mission would include a grant-in-aid to Rs. 10 crores to cover
the capital and financial costs for creating Atal Incubation Cell (State Startup Ranking
Report, 2018). As of 2019, there were 13 central government ministries and depart-
ments that were supporting incubators. Growing incubation support encourages
young entrepreneurs with creative ideas to create a prototype at an affordable cost
(Majumdar, 2020).
SEED FUNDING SUPPORT

The startup policy (2015–20) of Karnataka provides seed funding under the
“Idea2PoC” scheme. Similarly, Rajasthan Startup Policy 2015 includes seed funding
in the form of monthly sustenance allowance under the “Assistance for Startup at
Idea or prototype stage.” Gujarat provides seed funding in the form of sustenance
allowance, marketing assistance, and product development assistance. Also, J&K has
introduced the Seed Capital Fund Scheme under which seed money is given to eli-
gible prospective entrepreneurs to kick-start their business. Despite these initiatives,
seed-stage funding fell by 21%, and the number of seed-stage deals declined by 18%
in the first eight months of the year even though overall annual funding growth was
108% year over year (NASSCOM, 2018). Service-based startups like Flipkart, Quikr,
Sulekha, Ola, Yatra, and POPxo are ruling the market compared to the product-based
ones. In the recent past, some states decided to lower the seed funding provided to the
ventures in the service sector and focus more on the manufacturing sector. The gov-
ernment should develop policies to provide enough seed funding to ventures in the
manufacturing sector to succeed in Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat.
FUNDING SUPPORT, ANGEL AND VENTURE FUNDING

When a venture hits a particular maturity stage, the entrepreneurs are willing to
obtain additional capital to keep the company operational. To supplement this, the
Chhattisgarh government approved 36 Angel Fund (36AF) for early-stage funding in
startups. The Venture Park Incubation Centre in Patna was founded by Bihar
Industries Association (BIA) in partnership with the Indian Angel Network. To pro-
vide sustained support to the startups, the Government of Gujarat, Karnataka, UP,
Bihar, Kerala, and Rajasthan has operationalized funds for investing in venture funds
that invest in startups in various sectors. Apart from funding, the investors also pro-
vide feedback based on their own experience, which adds more expertise to the eco-
system and actively helps this evolution (Majumdar, 2020).
SIMPLIFIED REGULATIONS
Simplified regulations ensure the growth of the Indian startup ecosystem and its smooth
functioning. The Startup India website (https://www.startupindia.gov.in/) shows that
28 states in India established an online portal for promoting self-certification or cer-
tification by third parties in compliance with all relevant state labor laws. Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand, Odisha, Karnataka, and Gujarat focus on supporting startups working in
new or disruptive areas or technologies.
EASING PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry initiated the Government eMarketplace
(GeM), an online marketplace to support various startups. The platform exempts
startups from the requirements of any turnover, previous experience, and earnest
money deposit submission, thereby giving young entrepreneurs equal opportunities.
Better implementation structure of the GeM portal and making it accessible and easy
to handle are the need of the hour.
AWARENESS AND OUTREACH

Various states like Chhattisgarh, Punjab, and Gujarat regularly organize and partici-
pate in events to give startups a forum to showcase their innovations, products, and
services. Gujarat sponsored large-scale summits such as Vibrant Gujarat Startup
Summit 2016 to provide a platform for startups to put forward their viable and cre-
ative solutions. The Government of India has set up MHRD Innovation Cell (MIC)
and Institution’s Innovation Councils (IIC) under this cell in many higher education
institutions (HEIs) throughout the country to promote innovations and convert those
innovations into startups.
The main objective of the seven pillars of the startup support system is the survival
of businesses in India. The discussion of the seven pillars points out that state govern-
ments should work on all the elements. As literature shows that most startups fail due
to lack of funds, the need of the hour is to create and upgrade the startup ecosystem.
Moreover, that raises a need to study the inconsistencies prevailing in the Indian
startup ecosystem.
INCONSISTENCIES IN DISTRIBUTION OF STARTUPS ACROSS

INDIA
As India’s startup culture is growing, the government is coming up with various
incentives, subsidies, and policies. DIPP across the country examined a total of
14,565 startups. The largest number of startups is in Maharashtra (2,787), followed
by Karnataka (2,107), Delhi (1,949), Uttar Pradesh (1,201), Haryana (765), and
Gujarat (764) (State Startup Ranking Report, 2018). State mapping shows that states
like Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana, with a huge number of startups,
are not covered in the advanced level states. In contrast, the advanced level states like
Chhattisgarh and Odisha are not performing well with respect to the overall startup
ecosystem. The heat maps in Figure 15.2 were generated to study the various incon-
sistencies in the number of startups in India (Figure 15.2a) and startup support being
provided by the government based on the seven pillars (Figure 15.2b).
Type I Inconsistencies
Type I inconsistency can be seen in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Chennai, where states
have many startups being formed but still are not considered on exemplary perfor-
mance lists. The inconsistencies in these states exist because startups’ growth is in
only one or two major cities and not in the overall state. Significant startup activity
takes place at Mumbai (Maharashtra), Gurgaon (Haryana), and Chennai (Tamil
Nadu). Although these cities have the maximum number of startups, their respective
states do not have a place in the exemplary lists. The respective states need to formu-
late a startup environment, focusing beyond Mumbai, Pune, Gurugram, and Chennai
to encourage entrepreneurship.
FIGURE 15.2 Heat map showing distribution of startups across India (State Startup Ranking
Report, 2018) vs. heat map generated from the startup ecosystem scoring.
Type II Inconsistencies
Type II inconsistencies can be seen in Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Chattisgarh.
Despite the number of startups being less, these states find a position in the exem-
plary performance lists. Various institutional voids, lack of education, traditional cul-
ture, and social attitudes result in lower social acceptance for entrepreneurial
activities. Hence, there is a need to create the importance of entrepreneurial activities
and the creation of industrial bases like technology parks, special economic zones,
and industrial hubs in various fields.
Northeastern States
Apart from these inconsistencies, the heat map shows that both the parameters are
not up to the mark in northeastern states. At the same time, the Indian government
has prioritized infrastructure projects to connect the Northeast to the rest of the coun-
try, a disconnect remains. Budding entrepreneurs cannot register their companies in
Sikkim. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has taken up with Sikkim’s government
on the applicability of the Companies Act 2013 in Sikkim. Digital connectivity
remains an issue of vital importance in many parts of the region. Even though there
are various institutional voids, potential opportunities for northeastern states can be
seen through several institutes in the region, such as IIT Guwahati and IIM Shillong
that have set up their incubation centers by providing mentors and accelerators.
There is a need to remove the inconsistencies in various states for a better entre-
preneurial ecosystem. As bootstrapping finance allows the entrepreneurs to make
their own choices and expand their enterprise on their terms, it is one of the best
solutions to fill the gap of the inconsistencies that various entrepreneurs face in dif-
ferent states.
CHALLENGES AND CHANCES

Through reviewed literature, significant entrepreneurial challenges faced in the
Indian startup ecosystem were extracted out. A bootstrap financing cluster, as given
by Winborg and Landstrom (2001), has been assigned to each problem to resolve the
obstacle. Furthermore, the recommendations are mapped to curb these challenges
specifically in context to the Indian startups.
Payments That Have to Be Made to the Suppliers

Bootstrap cluster: delaying payments
In short-term payments, suppliers usually extend credit for 30 to 90 days to trust-
worthy and regular customers. A successful approach may entail negotiating with
suppliers on specific terms, such as extending the average payment period (Schinck &
Sarkar, 2012). Factoring as a bootstrapping technique, growing at a moderate pace,
is another primary technique in case the startup deals with long-term receivables.
Factoring provides immediate cash injection, which further improves the company’s
working capital.
Finding a Suitable Business Model

Bootstrap cluster: minimizing accounts receivable
The business model lays down guidelines if potential customers have to pay for it
in advance in the form of a pre-launch booking of the product/service. Techniques to
cover up these early payments include speeding up the invoicing, interest rates on
outstanding transactions, or termination of contractual agreements with late payers to
ensure the company’s best interest (Winborg & Landstrom, 2001). Incorporating
proper guidelines regarding minimizing account receivables forms a major part of a
good business model of the startup.
Acquisition of Capital Equipment

Bootstrap cluster: minimizing investments
For entrepreneurs who seek efficiency with minimum resources in hand, in the
Indian scenario, lease financing is one of the best bootstrapping solutions in this case.
Other approaches involve purchasing used equipment at a reduced cost, requesting a
substantial cash discount, or even recruiting temporary employees (Schinck &
Sarkar, 2012). All these techniques would help an entrepreneur to acquire the required
resources at minimum cost.
The Requirement of Funds for One-Time Startup Expense

Bootstrap cluster: private-owner financing
Bootstrapping techniques under private-owner financing clusters strengthen the
ability of the entrepreneurs to raise capital. Expenses have to be met out of an entre-
preneur’s pocket or by admitting a co-founder who can share the financial risk if the
entrepreneur is concerned that his business idea would not attract crowdfunding if it
is not novel. An entrepreneur may go for the FFF route (Family, Friends, and Fools)
to work with low or no salary or providing free work to reduce costs (Schinck &
Sarkar, 2012).
Acquiring Office Deposit, Equipment, and Furnishing

Bootstrap cluster: sharing resources with other businesses
Sharing of resources are either linked to physical space or to a wide variety of
products and facilities, often even sharing of human resources (Neeley, 2003).
Partnerships, collaborations, and coworking space are major bootstrapping solutions
and emerging trends in India to curb this challenge. Sharing resources with other
businesses would help the nascent startups who have insufficient resources initially.
Vanacker et al. (2011) reported a positive impact on value-added approaches relat-
ing to utilizing funds from owners, government incentives, temporary staff recruit-
ing, minimization of accounts receivable, running the business from home, informal
investments from family or friends, joint purchases, sharing premises, minimizing
expenditures, and delaying payments. Although different bootstrapping strategies
have been provided as solutions to unique challenges, employing a mix of various
techniques with different magnitude would be the most effective way of achieving
success and minimizing the risk.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

For Policymakers
The study’s findings provide insights to policymakers for creating awareness among
the budding and existing entrepreneurs about the various bootstrapping techniques
for their sustainability. Financial literacy would contribute a lot in this direction.
Separate bootstrap financing modules and their implication should be introduced for
entrepreneurs. Discussion from the seven-pillar review also points out some essential
policy implementation steps that state governments should take to strengthen a par-
ticular pillar individually. Further, through the analysis, apart from the kind of sup-
port defined in the seven pillars, mentorship is also an essential aspect for budding
entrepreneurs, which is not easily accessible in the present scenario. Mentorship
should be made available to entrepreneurs continuously. Evolving the seven pillars of
the startup ecosystem by proper policy implementation would make the entrepre-
neurship environment proactive by giving entrepreneurs trust and nurturing their
development. The success rate of startups would increase with bootstrap financing,
which would further increase self-employability in society.
For Entrepreneurs
The study suggests several real-world policy setting implementations to raise aware-
ness about how entrepreneurs should develop entrepreneurial finance and capital by
being more familiar with the different bootstrapping approaches. Nascent startups
who still believe in keeping an entire stake in the enterprise and growing organically
for survival should focus on the latest innovative bootstrapping techniques emerging
in recent times, such as accelerators, angel investors, crowdfunding, and peer-to-peer
lending. Since numerous financial bootstrapping techniques reduce resource con-
straints and improve firm performance, choosing the best bootstrapping method
related to better firm performance is essential for young entrepreneurs. Using a mix-
ture of different bootstrapping techniques with efficacy can further improve the ease
of doing business standards. The chapter also provides insight and motivates the
budding and existing entrepreneurs to use various bootstrapping techniques to
remove obstacles and gain a higher growth level.
CONCLUSION
Using original and innovative bootstrapping methods leads to minimizing the amount
of external finance (financial market transactions or outside financers), and it also
allows entrepreneurs to access resources that are not self-owned at little or no cost.
There have been many policies to encourage a startup culture at all levels of govern-
ment, business, and education. However, there are still a lot of challenges startups
have to face every day. The paper identified various inconsistencies in the Indian
startup ecosystem. The reviewed literature shows that entrepreneurs’ challenges due
to these inconsistencies would be curbed out through various financial bootstrapping
techniques. The government and the entrepreneurs should consider these bootstrap-
ping techniques in India as they prove to provide a genuinely profitable boost for the
economy.
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16 Repurposing the Role of
Entrepreneurs in the
Havoc of COVID-19
Manpreet Arora and Roshan Lal Sharma
Central University of Himachal Pradesh, India
CONTENTS
Methodology and Research Questions�� 232
Entrepreneurship: Literature Review Concerning Its Meaning and Relevance�� 233
Role of Entrepreneurs�� 236
Entrepreneurial Innovations During Pandemics�� 239
Use of Big Data in Entrepreneurial Ventures�� 240
Dealing with the Situation and the Way Forward�� 241
Concluding Remarks�� 245
Additional Readings�� 249
INTRODUCTION
Over the last decade, the corporate world has witnessed a paradigm shift in various
sectors in almost every world economy (Chhabra & Karmarkar, 2016a). From the
highest pressure of inflation in some developing nations to depression in economies
like the United States, the whole world has just survived through ups and downs in
global economic trends. Added to the economic shocks, the Indian economy experi-
enced an unimaginable decision of demonetization, followed by a major shift in taxa-
tion policy, as the traditional taxation system gave way to GST (Chhabra et al., 2020).
Simultaneously, China also emerged as a superpower, and different countries of the
world started looking forward to doing business with this giant economic player.
While many of the economies were in the process of devising ways to come to terms
with economic shocks, no one had thought of the spread of COVID-19, which was
later termed as a pandemic. The world has faced many infectious diseases in the past,
but it becomes the worst-case scenario when a pandemic occurs. According to the
experts’ definitions, ‘when any disease spreads beyond the borders of a country, it is
termed as a pandemic’. Humanity has been a witness to several such diseases where
the consequences had been devastating. Diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, leprosy,
influenza, plague, cholera, measles, typhoid fever, smallpox, AIDS, the Russian,
Spanish and Asian flus, HIV-AIDS, and then SARS, MERS, and finally COVID-19,
DOI: 10.1201/9781003097945-16 229
all have changed humanity’s total approach to life. On March 11, 2020, WHO offi-
cially announced that the COVID-19 virus was a pandemic, and it had spread to 114
countries in a matter of a few months. The first case was reported in China on
November 17, 2019 (WHO). By mid-March, it spread globally to more than 163
countries.
Global economic activities came to a standstill. Whether medium or large scale,
most of the businesses were forced to reduce operations, and some of them had to
face the worst shutdown scenarios. A rapid increase in the number of people was also
seen who lost their jobs. The International Monetary Fund termed it to be a ‘Great
Lockdown’. The chief economist of the IMF termed it to be a ‘Truly Global Crisis’.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 26 million jobs were lost
from February 2020 to April 2020.
The unemployment rate of China, as per the National Bureau of Statistics of
China, was 5.9% in May 2020. The Australian Bureau of Stats revealed an unem-
ployment rate of 5.2%, while Statistics Korea revealed the unemployment rate of
3.8%. Money experts believe that the situation can become worse in many of these
economics. The two largest economies globally, i.e., the United States and China,
where the service industry is a major growth source, witnessed a sharp downward
trend in retail sales as COVID-19 spread. The US Census Bureau reported a nega-
tive rate of −6.2% in the sale of all consumer goods. Simultaneously, the National
Bureau of Statistics of China showed a negative trend of −15.8% of sales in all
consumer goods.
As there was a greater spread of coronavirus, the countries across the globe
imposed the lockdown measures, and a large number of manufacturing firms were
miscued. Many big industrial manufacturing hubs were forced to close down tempo-
rarily. This was not enough; a drastic fall in demand for goods across the global
markets has worsened manufacturers’ scenarios. The WTO has predicted that across
the globe, the economies were expected to receive a setback of double-digit decline
in exports and imports in 2020. OECD forecast that ‘annual global GDP growth is
projected to drop 24% in 2020 as a whole, from an already weak 2.9% in 2019’
(OECD, Interim Economic Assessment, 2020 Report, Table 16.1). The OECD
interim report also states that there has been an adverse effect of the pandemic on the
financial, tourism, and travel sectors. However, it has also left a deep impact on
everybody’s confidence. The supply chains have been disrupted. Those economies
that were connected with/dependent on China have witnessed a drastic fall in the
production and supply chain activities.
The OECD has already stated that the Global Economic Prospects are quite sub-
dued and remain very uncertain due to the coronavirus outbreak. COVID-19 has
brought much human suffering and has led to high economic disruption across the
globe. Not only a sizeable contraction in production activities was done by the manu-
facturers due to the outbreak; the situation was further worsened due to border clo-
sures and cancellation of flights and sea routes for opting the containment measures.
OECD projected that economic growth may pick up in the coming years if the
effects of coronavirus started to fade. At that point, output will gradually recover.
Countries will have to adopt the policy of low-interest rates as a cushion for
demand. A wise thought of fiscal policies will also help Asian economies to
Repurposing the Role of Entrepreneurs 231
TABLE 16.1
OECD Interim Economic Assessment Coronavirus: The world economy at risk,
March 2, 2020
OECD Interim Economic Outlook Forecasts, 2 March 2020
Real GDP growth
Year-on-year % change
2019 2020 2021
Difference Difference
Interim EO from Interim EO from
projections November EO projections November EO
World 2.9 2.4 −0.5 3.3 0.3
G 201,2 3.1 2.7 −0.5 3.5 0.2
Australia 1.7 1.8 −0.5 2.6 0.3
Canada 1.6 1.3 −0.3 1.9 0.2
Euro Area 1.2 0.8 −0.3 1.2 0.0
Germany 0.6 0.3 −0.1 0.9 0.0
France 1.3 0.9 −0.3 1.4 0.2
Italy 0.2 0.0 −0.4 0.5 0.0
Japan 0.7 0.2 −0.4 0.7 0.0
Korea 2.0 2.0 −0.3 2.3 0.0
Mexico −0.1 0.7 −0.5 1.4 −0.2
Turkey 0.9 2.7 −0.3 3.3 0.1
United Kingdom 1.4 0.8 −0.2 0.8 −0.4
United states 2.3 1.9 −0.1 2.1 0.1
Argentina −2.7 −2.0 −0.3 0.7 0.0
Brazil 1.1 1.7 0.0 1.8 0.0
China 6.1 4.9 −0.8 6.4 0.9
India 4.9 5.1 −1.1 5.6 −0.8
Indonesia 5.0 4.8 −0.2 5.1 0.0
Russia 1.0 1.2 −0.4 1.3 −0.1
Saudi Arabia 0.0 1.4 0.0 1.9 0.5
South Africa 0.3 0.6 −0.6 1.0 −0.3
Note: Projection based on information available up to February 28. Difference from November 2019
Economic outlook in percentage points, based on rounded figures.
1. Aggregate using moving nominal GDP weights at purchasing power parities.

2. The European Union is a full member of the G20, but the G20 aggregate only includes countries
that are also members in their own right.
3. Fiscal years, starting in April.
Source: Assessment, O. I. E. (2020).
create a balance between demand and supply. The impacts of this world reces-
sion have been deep and alarming.
In such a scenario when the unemployment rate has increased a lot in many coun-
tries, production of many products has come to a standstill, and the economies need
a revival strategy. Many countries have opened lockdowns, and efforts worldwide are
going on to set things back on the right track. The solution to many factors in this
crisis lies in entrepreneurial momentum, though carefully planned and well thought
over. Entrepreneurship is regarded as a key driver of bringing structural changes in
an economy. Various aspects of growth are associated with entrepreneurship which
can ultimately become a driving force to help people get rid of poverty and inequal-
ity. Entrepreneurship has the potential to contribute towards development (Naudé,
2010). Literature suggests that a relationship exists in the ‘entrepreneurial environ-
ment’ and the different stages/phases of the development of an economy (Martínez-
Fierro, Biedma-Ferrer, & Ruiz-Navarro, 2016). Authors have identified certain
variables for a group of countries where they act as ‘facilitators’ or ‘obstacles’ for an
economy at a different development level. Therefore, every country has its obstacles
and facilitators in dealing with a pandemic or any crises. COVID-19 has posed cer-
tain grave challenges which vary from nation to nation. Some economies are ‘factor
driven’ whereas others are ‘efficiency driven’, and some are ‘innovation driven’ as
well (Acs, Desai, & Hessels, 2008). Various types of government/institutional
arrangements affect entrepreneurial activities positively or negatively. In such a situ-
ation, innovation-driven countries can use entrepreneurs’ potential to face the crises
for which their role needs to be reassessed, redefined, and repurposed.
Economies like Russia relied on the SME sector while following systematic tran-
sition (Chepurenko, 2010). Though the ‘entrepreneurship and SME policy in Russia
remained reactive than proactive’, ‘productive entrepreneurship’ is the need of the
hour that the economies’ governments should support. At this point, when countries
across the globe, one way or another, are going through a transition, they must focus
on sustainable practices of entrepreneurship. Developing countries have received a
considerable shock due to the pandemic, and the socio-economic impacts on econo-
mies like Africa have been considerable (Olayide, 2020). ‘Poor data systems and
insufficient social safety’ are some of the key characteristics causing lockdowns to be
inefficient to control the pandemic in such countries. Olayide further observes that
investment in ‘infrastructure’ and ‘pharmaceuticals’ can help tackle the problems
and thereby indicate the need for entrepreneurial interventions.
Brannen, Ahmed, and Newton (2020), analyzed the macro trends of the medium
to long term in the COVID-19 era and found it highly disruptive. According to the
authors, the ‘unevenness’ and ‘unpredictability’ in the scenario due to the pandemic
‘will define the challenges ahead’. The author clearly states thus: ‘Covid-19 marks
the start of an era of continuous, rapid change’. Caballero-Anthony, Teng, and
Montesclaros (2020) consider the pandemic to a ‘once in a lifetime crisis’ that has
affected the well-being and security of people drastically and can have ‘long lasting’
consequences. The authors also foresee food crises in Asia if there is a lack of policy
and planning at governments’ levels. This indicates challenges as well as opportuni-
ties for the entrepreneurs.
METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This chapter seeks to employ qualitative methodology to conceptually argue as to
how entrepreneurs’ crucial role becomes in time of pandemics such as COVID-19.
To structure the chapter better, firstly, various dimensions of entrepreneurship have
been discussed with the help of an exhaustive literature review followed by a concep-
tual overview of the role of entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial innovation, technological
advancement, Big Data, and analytics to eventually prove how crucial innovative
entrepreneurial endeavors are in coming to terms with today’s crisis-ridden world.
The following questions will be explored in the course of the discussion of this chap-
ter. (a) Do crippling and devastating pandemics like COVID-19 offer any scope of
recovery for the suffering humanity? (b) How does the notion of entrepreneurship
become extremely important in such devastating scenarios, and how do the entrepre-
neurs, with a remarkable capacity to lead and persuade the suffering masses to
become extraordinarily relevant, give a new direction to the world thrown out of
gear? (c) How do we repurpose and redefine the role of entrepreneurs to deal with the
crisis-ridden situation with the help of innovative entrepreneurship, use of techno-
logical advancement, and Big Data to overcome a feeling of despair, anguish, and
negativity caused by the crumbling of economic and psychological edifice across the
globe today?
ENTREPRENEURSHIP: LITERATURE REVIEW CONCERNING ITS

MEANING AND RELEVANCE
Entrepreneurship is essential to all economies (Chhabra & Karmarkar, 2016b;
Kshetri, 2009; Lazonick, 2008; Ovaska & Sobel, 2005; Schramm, 2004), and there is
considerable literature corroborating this fact. It is regarded as an important activity
for every type of economy, be it developing or developed (Adenutsi, 2009; Toma,
Grigore, & Marinescu, 2014). The empirical evidence proves that through entrepre-
neurship, the standard of living increases (Dhaliwal, 2016), per capita income
increases (Bruton, Ahlstrom, & Si, 2015), and it helps create wealth (Quadrini, 1999)
and thus solves multiple problems in an economy (Estrin, Meyer, & Bytchkova,
2006; Karmarkar et al., 2014). Entrepreneurs can drive innovation (Okpara, 2007)
and develop new products or services for the masses (Copeland & Savoia, 2011).
They can make a meaningful contribution to society. They can add to the most
dynamic, vibrant, and static economies with novel ideas and innovative abilities
(Bessant & Tidd 2007). Researchers across the world regard entrepreneurship as an
indispensable engine for promoting and boosting growth (Acs & Audretsch, 2005).
It helps promote innovation, which contributes to creating newer opportunities for
the population in the form of ‘employment opportunities’ (Momani, 2017) and
reduction of poverty. Many governments across the globe regard entrepreneurship to
be an important activity for women empowerment (Ramadani, Gërguri-Rashiti, &
Fayolle, 2015), for reduction of inequalities (Pathak & Muralidharan, 2018), to pro-
mote productivity (McMillan, 2004), and to solve problems like sustainable goals
(Youssef, Boubaker, & Omri, 2018), climate control (Green, 2017), promoting infor-
mation channels (Chell & Baines, 2000) and solving even Big Data issues (Obschonka
& Audretsch, 2019). It is through entrepreneurial intentions only that we get solu-
tions to the problems of the economy as these intentions promote entrepreneurial
activities (Vuorio, Puumalainen, & Fellnhofer, 2018).
In the present era of the COVID-19 pandemic, where global trade is at a halt,
imports and exports are negligible as many countries have imposed lockdown
measures to stop the spread of infectious disease, and the demand of the economy is
dependent on the entrepreneurial activities within the country. The most formidable
challenges to the world’s problems are solved through entrepreneurship (Fadaee &
Abd Alzahrh, 2014). The motivations, ambitions, and national conditions of coun-
tries like India are pushing the entrepreneurial activities in the country. All around the
world, the concept of entrepreneurship has gained the spotlight. Governments are
emphasizing the policy frameworks relating to entrepreneurial activities and are get-
ting prime attention. Various mechanisms like promoting entrepreneurial education,
giving thrust to local produce, providing subsidies and other incentives to start-ups,
and providing microfinance are important measures that ultimately lead to entrepre-
neurial activities, whether big or small.
The entrepreneurial ecosystem and studying its interplay with the factors around
it are essential aspects that lead to the creation and analysis of information used to
promote entrepreneurial activities to promote growth and development in a country.
Great recessions have resulted in many business closings and foreclosures, and they
always lead to a decrease in potential business income and wealth. Moreover, reces-
sions restrict the opportunities in the wage sector, leading to ambiguities in business
ventures. The literature also suggests that local labor market conditions play a deter-
minant role in deciding about entrepreneurial ventures (Karra, Phillips, & Tracey,
2008). Recessions or depressions may negatively affect business start-ups but may
show some negative trends in demand and supply. Thus, it is ultimately the entrepre-
neurs who take up the task of a revival of an economy. After the phase of recession,
a rapid rise in the number of unemployment cases and layoffs, a boost in entrepre-
neurial activity is the only solution to get out of the trap of economic imbalances. It
is termed as necessity entrepreneurship which can respond to the challenges thrown
by the situation close at hand.
Though the motivations of such business ventures are different, with the efforts of
entrepreneurs, the success of these ventures can lead a particular economy to rise up
from a drastically abysmal situation to a positive one with a promise of a better
future. The literature provides evidence that entrepreneurs develop certain leadership
qualities, especially in crises (Brouwer, 2000). Otherwise, also, they exhibit leader-
ship qualities and skills in different arenas of life. Ulvenblad and Cederholm
Björklund (2018) conducted a study on the agricultural entrepreneurs of Sweden and
found that if leadership development programs are offered to entrepreneurs, they
benefit a lot from that. Further leadership competencies are complementary to entre-
preneurs as knowledge transfer and dissemination of information can have a benefi-
cial effect on industry leadership. It leads the way to manage larger units better, apply
innovative techniques, and respond positively to dynamic business environment
situations.
Bruce, Malcolm, and O’Neill (2017) believe that creative industries help drive the
economic growth in a country. Various organizations these days contribute to the
development of the country by successfully contributing to the industry. The growing
use of digital content, the rapid pace of development of new digital platforms, and
emerging digital technologies are making the digital industry an important catalyst in
the growth of an economy. Undoubtedly, the role of entrepreneurs in this industry to
manage and use Big Data cannot be undermined. Many structured or unstructured
data where the velocity and volume are relatively high needs to be managed and
associated with Big Data. Suppose such data is used effectively in any sector of the
economy. In that case, it can provide helpful insights to get a forward-looking
approach, especially in times of rapid change and uncertainty.
Si, Ahlstrom, Wei, and Cullen (2020) attribute entrepreneurial activities to be the
essential pillars for alleviating poverty through entrepreneurship and innovation. The
widespread economic growth enables people to get over extreme poverty by provid-
ing them with employment opportunities and new venture creation. The initiatives of
new venture creation, start-ups, and businesses’ development are the core entrepre-
neurial activities that lead to any economic development. New technology develop-
ment and the creation of new techniques solve an economy’s central problems and
contribute towards technological independence and strengthening the pace of eco-
nomic growth. Entrepreneurial intentions can lead to dramatic progress in under-
standing the key factors associated with the alleviation of poverty. Fitzgerald and
Muske (2016) analyze the family businesses which contribute to the economies.
They regard such family businesses as crucial for any economy and term them as
small businesses or entrepreneurial ventures. Their empirical studies indicate that
there is a huge importance of such entrepreneurs in economic development as they
make important contributions to the long-term sustainability of the community and
their economic sector.
Ulvenblad and Cederholm Björklund (2018) studied the concept of leadership
with agricultural entrepreneurs. Their findings suggest that the leadership competen-
cies of the entrepreneurs can be enhanced by proper training. Role transformation
can help them contribute to society and emerge as catalysts in the development of
economies. Fortunato and Alter (2015) have tried to establish a relationship between
entrepreneurship and community development. According to them, there can be
complex and varied ways by which entrepreneurs can benefit their communities.
According to them, the community entrepreneurship development program as a strat-
egy can produce benefits that go beyond economic growth.
Lubberink, Blok, Ophem, Velde, and Omta (2018) propagate in their study that
social entrepreneurs have an inherent capacity to develop important innovative solu-
tions for every complex societal problem/issue. They explore diverse approaches fol-
lowed by social entrepreneurs for developing certain innovations which are beneficial
for society. They can assume the problem-solving role for the society, which fosters
innovation and brings about change in the society.
Planko, Cramer, Hekkert, and Chappin (2017) believe that technological sustain-
ability is important for the growth of every economy. The technological innovation
systems can provide us with valuable insights that can stimulate the entrepreneur to
choose the path of development by adopting various innovative technologies based
on sustainability. Societies constantly change and transition towards more sustain-
able practices. The entrepreneur can adopt sustainable practices by taking care of
various problems in society. Unsustainable technologies can lead to drastic situa-
tions; therefore, every entrepreneur should try to focus on various technological
innovations that fulfill sustainable goals over a period of time. Driving forces of
innovative actions are often those entrepreneurs who try to implement various sus-
tainable technology practices in their processes of venture creation and new product
development. Entrepreneurs can trigger various social changes, and with various
research collaborations of product development, they can achieve growth for the
society by creating employment opportunities, reduction of unemployment, and,
finally, the optimum utilization of resources (Kressel & Lento, 2012; Okpara, 2007;
Soete & Stephan, 2004; Kerr, 2013). They must adopt sustainable strategic actions
and policies for constructing a supportive information system around the technology
they can utilize to increase the chances of successful implementation of technology
for the betterment of society. An entrepreneur is regarded as someone who special-
izes in taking responsibilities and who can take judgmental decisions to the effect to
start new start-ups and contribute immensely towards the achievement of economic
goals of a country (Kefela, 2011). The economic goals and various socio-cultural
issues are also followed and well pursued by the entrepreneur in this direction.
ROLE OF ENTREPRENEURS
We have considerable literature that shows how crucial the entrepreneurs’ role can be
in varied, challenging/difficult situations. McMillan and Woodruff (2002) opine that
in transition economies, entrepreneurs are indispensable and that in economic transi-
tion, entrepreneurs act as reformers. The authors have propounded that in transition
economies, entrepreneurs try to find new ways of doing business and are responsible
for creating various types of jobs in the economies. In transition economies, creating
jobs has been the most important activity that an entrepreneur can undertake in wel-
fare. According to Baumol, Strom, and Sheshinski (2007), innovation-driven entre-
preneurs play a very dominant role in transforming industrial sectors. There can be
so many types of entrepreneurs who can have a deep impact on the development of
an economy. For example, innovative entrepreneurs account for a tiny portion of the
entire population but still have an extraordinary economic impact on the country.
They are as much responsible for developing new technology as for creating new
jobs and can revitalize the territories of a country. The basic premise of any entrepre-
neurial activity in innovation-driven entrepreneurship is the spillover of knowledge
which can contribute to a great extent to the innovation and economic development
of a country. Therefore, every economy should try to invest in knowledge-driven
activities. The role played by an innovative entrepreneur can be very tiny. However,
it is quite an influential segment of the entrepreneurs, which is crucial for the eco-
nomic development of a country (González-Pernía, Jung, & Peña, 2015).
Liguori and Pittz (2020) contend that COVID-19 has started affecting small busi-
nesses worldwide, and they express a concern that the pandemic has proven the worst
for small businesses and their employees. For combating the negative effects of the
pandemic, small business owners should try to opt for certain practical, tactical strat-
egies to deal with uncertainty and risk. The authors suggest that to minimize the
financial and psychological effects of a pandemic, small business owners should try
to enhance the collaborative efforts so that the innovative mindset of the business
takes the lead. They should try to maintain a keen eye on the needs and desires of the
customer to sustain in the market. The entrepreneurs can respond to the customers’
needs very quickly and have shown that new opportunities can be exploited in a con-
cise period. Small business owners can create numerous possibilities of engaging
with customers so their efforts are market-driven, especially during a pandemic. It

can be positively utilized to connect with the customer base and create certain stron-
ger community ties that can help them improve their skill sets and ultimately lead
them towards innovation. The authors also suggest that value creation and resource
utilization for long-term goals are the essence of entrepreneurship. They should use
their tactics for small businesses to take care of the current environment caused by
COVID-19.
Ratten (2020) believes that entrepreneurship is dependent upon cultural, social,
and lifestyle factors. Therefore, in order to make any societal change, we need to
understand entrepreneurship holistically. Culture, lifestyle, and social entrepreneur-
ship are the factors that need to be focused on exploring various problems associated
with the economy. We need to focus more on various social changes that appear in
the economy, thereby affecting the entrepreneurs. The solution for them lies in focus-
ing on certain social demographics and lifestyle changes coming into the lives of
people. Entrepreneurship is regarded as a novel recombination of various ‘products,
services and processes’. Thus, to understand the concept of entrepreneurship, certain
cultural and lifestyle factors should also be explored to understand the nature of
entrepreneurial activity surfacing during the present COVID-19 times. Cultural
entrepreneurship is often associated with storytelling, and hence to understand cus-
tomers’ mentality during the pandemic, the study of cultural factors can be of
immense help. The narratives given by the survivors and the problem-facing people
in the market can help the entrepreneurs understand market opportunities. The entre-
preneurs’ various products and services are influenced by the cultural heritage of
people at international levels. Innovation is the key to the novelty offered in products
in the marketplace, and that is why entrepreneurs are the drivers. The authors’ inter-
esting aspect is that culture can be related to ‘technology trends too’. Highlighting
the fact that the lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a significant
need to work from home as social distancing requirements became inevitable, the
author regards culture as a driving force for technology use. In such a scenario, the
need for databases, management information systems, Big Data, and advancement in
technology gains tremendous significance.
Quite obviously, cultural shifts are based on the cultural needs of people, and as a
result of these, certain environmental changes take place. Another aspect related to
culture affecting entrepreneurial activity is lifestyle entrepreneurship. Lifestyle
entrepreneurs are not only interested in financial gains from entrepreneurial ventures.
However, they are more interested in turning their ideas or hobbies into business
ventures so that they can pursue their hobbies as entrepreneurial opportunities. The
main purpose of the business activity is to gain a competitive advantage by exploiting
the market opportunity. Lifestyle entrepreneurs are very much different from conven-
tional/traditional entrepreneurs as they focus mainly on personal situations and try to
hit the opportunity available through the economic activity that is available/tappable
in the market scenario. Lifestyle entrepreneurs try to bridge the gap between social
and economic goals by pursuing their hobbies.
This type of entrepreneurship is also affected by cultural conditions prevalent in a
particular society, economy, or life situation. During pandemics in many countries, it
has also been seen that many people turn out to be entrepreneurs by pursuing their
hobbies like cooking and delivering home food. They integrate the resources from
multiple resources, including their family and friends, and try to get the most from
the opportunity available in the situation. If the venture becomes successful later on,
they try to seek help through government subsidies or plans. The sole aim of lifestyle
entrepreneurs is to focus on the service, which is how they ultimately help in value
creation.
As Tudy (2021) observed, while many people worldwide lost their jobs during the
pandemic, some people in the Philippines paid great attention to freelancing. The
authors tried to analyze the experiences of professionals who turned into freelancers
and focused during the pandemic on working from home. Many of the professionals
left their previous jobs to be freelancers, and some of them opted to be freelancers
voluntarily who were not professionals. The study revealed certain challenges faced
by these freelancers, like ‘distractions at home’, ‘recognition’, etc. However, there
were advantages, such as freedom, more time with the family, and flexibility.
Freelancing has helped the economy to create alternative employment opportunities,
whether the people are professionals or not. This phenomenon of online freelancers
has been of enormous help in tackling unemployment in the Philippines.
Gerritsen and colleagues (2020), in their study, noted that in New Zealand, gro-
cery shopping was severely hit, thereby affecting economic activity badly. Unhealthy
diet patterns were observed during the lockdown. A drastic effect on shopping, cook-
ing, and eating behaviors was noticed, indicating that the pandemic had a negative
effect on all kinds of businesses.
Liguori and Bendickson (2020) draw our attention towards solving the Sustainable
Development Goals proposed by the United Nations and stimulating economies. The
most important driving force in achieving these goals is entrepreneurial ecosystems.
The key force in entrepreneurship (Liguori & Bendickson, 2020) can ultimately help
in value creation via realizing the entrepreneurs’ full potential. The power of devel-
opment is associated directly with entrepreneurship. During the pandemic, many
small businesses were forced to use digital technologies. The evidence proves that
technology can help gain a competitive advantage over rivals even during the lock-
down. Simultaneously, it may prove to be a means for survival for many businesses.
Many technological aspects that were earlier considered to be good to have in busi-
ness became critical during the pandemic for some businesses to survive. The adapta-
tion of technology in businesses can help small and medium-scale businesses
overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic (Akpan, Soopramanien, & Kwak,
2020a).
Akpan, Udoh, and Adebisi (2020b) opine that small and medium-scale enterprises
face a lot of hindrances in adopting digital technologies in developing economies.
Developing economies still have a long way to succeed in terms of adopting advanced
technologies to improve various kinds of operations and processes. Those technolo-
gies and innovations which appear to be new in developing nations were used by
developed economies long ago. To quote the author, ‘Most state-of-the-art technolo-
gies, including cloud computing, “big data”, and predictive analytics that can improve
operations and strategic decisions, are yet to make inroads in most EMDEs (Emerging
Markets and Developing Economies)’. The small and emerging markets have still
not become self-sufficient to use advanced technologies like ‘state-of-the-art
technologies’, cloud computing, Big Data, and other advanced software that can
prove helpful in operational and strategic decisions of the organizations. The author
emphasizes that in the new normal imposed by COVID-19 to face global competi-
tion, advanced technologies like Big Data are extremely important.
ENTREPRENEURIAL INNOVATIONS DURING PANDEMICS

COVID-19 drastically affected the whole world and posed several grave challenges
to the governments of various countries and entrepreneurs. However, on the brighter
side, there are always hidden opportunities in such situations too. Various types of
innovations have already been launched to deal with various challenges posed by this
pandemic. COVID-19 has given entrepreneurs ample opportunities for innovation
which are quite varied. It has allowed them to bring about certain badly needed
changes in the society. Now the organizations focus on survival and need-based
entrepreneurs; therefore, enterprises have mushroomed. Individuals are forced to
adopt entrepreneurship as their profession in order to deal with their unemployment
situation. Earlier, an entrepreneur’s work tended to be less lucrative than jobs in mul-
tinational businesses because of the risk factor and level of uncertainty involved.
Now, the pandemic has taught us to survive in an environment where nobody thinks
about taking a risk or opting to grow; it is about bare survival and existence in the
hope to excel in the future.
Innovations are always hard to predict, and we have come across various kinds of
innovations during this pandemic. It is only now, after COVID-19 struck the world,
that with the help of technology, everything is being done through online mode/s.
Digital players like Zoom, Webex, GoToMeeting, and Google Apps have benefited a
lot from the current situation. Entrepreneurs have been termed as catalysts of innova-
tion driving economic growth. Only entrepreneurs can take up the global challenges
and deal with the situation with the combination of ambition, investment, creativity,
and innovation. Any entrepreneur can contribute immensely to solve the issues prev-
alent in the social and economic environment of a country. Undoubtedly, the pan-
demic has increased the importance of entrepreneurship as well as innovation. Every
crisis brings various challenges as well as threats to the entrepreneurs and their orga-
nizations. Whether a crisis is caused by natural disaster or any economic breakdown
has certain consequences for the nations that require strategic planning and action.
It is the entrepreneur only who has to come up and solve the problems. The entre-
preneurs can strive and look forward in times of uncertainties, disasters, and
disruptions.
COVID-19 drastically influenced the self-employed, small-scale entrepreneurs in
a developing country like India. Some of them had to temporarily close their busi-
nesses due to various restrictions imposed by the government. Nevertheless, that
does not imply that restrictions will remain forever, as now, including in India, vari-
ous world economies are unlocking their economic and business activities. It is the
need of the hour to bring the economy back on track and find certain innovative solu-
tions in all aspects of the various entrepreneurial ventures to deal with the disruption
caused by the pandemic. Whenever a crisis occurs, it takes a little time to think about
how that situation can be dealt with innovatively. It may so happen that for some
time, the pandemic influences the traditional entrepreneurial decision-making pro-

cesses. However, the well-being of society depends mainly on entrepreneurial inten-
tions, their ability to take risks and come up with innovative solutions to problems.
Entrepreneurs help to build the society in times of crises. During this pandemic, we
have learned how advanced healthcare systems are needed throughout the world in
which technology plays a vital role. Thus, technological innovations are the need of
the hour, as technology plays a major role in the well-being of humanity.
During the COVID-19 crisis, entrepreneurs were expected to rise to the occasion
via facing challenges of diverse sorts in economic, social, and educational fields, and
the health sector. Businesses will undoubtedly play a key role in helping society
come out of the economic crisis and creating various innovations that would shape it
after the crisis is over. To a considerable extent, the damage was caused to the entre-
preneurial ventures because of restrictions on people’s movement, but this phase was
temporary. We have already witnessed a gradual shift in various traditional practices
to the modern applications during this pandemic, like the use of virtual forms of com-
munication to fulfill the desire for personal and professional communication. The
closure of various businesses, especially the ones where public gatherings were more
critical, has been a temporary phase. These are short-term impacts that can cause a
little disruption in society. The long-term impact cannot be associated with postpon-
ing certain activities up to a certain point in time. Consumers have been at one point
postponing the decision to buy something, but the demand for various products has
to increase shortly undoubtedly.
USE OF BIG DATA IN ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURES

During the current pandemic, artificial intelligence has considerably increased, as
now, with the help of machine learning, various socio-economic problems can be
addressed by analyzing large datasets. Various applications using Big Data in the
environment, agriculture, climate control, etc., can be tackled by analyzing large
datasets. These fields have implications for entrepreneurial opportunities and can be
successfully utilized to push entrepreneurial activity to a new level and remove the
economy’s central problems. Hansen (2019), in his empirical study on Beijing-based
entrepreneurs, ‘explores digital entrepreneurship and the impact of digitalization on
the entrepreneurial environment in Beijing’. The author highlights that various gov-
ernment initiatives and digitalization have re-energized entrepreneurial activity in
China, which has helped provide greater prospects for economic actions. Rowley
(2020)found that various companies are now using Big Data and related techniques
in the field of data analytics. These techniques are being extensively used in compa-
nies to handle various challenges posed by a dynamic business environment. The use
of Big Data and analytics is helping entrepreneurs to develop the capabilities of their
organizations. Big Data and various flourishing analytic techniques can help entre-
preneurs in making ‘intelligent decisions’. The authors strongly assert that during the
present phase of human existence, where Big Data and analytical techniques are
extensively used, they have ‘stimulated entrepreneurship’. It has also given rise to
data entrepreneurs, resulting in drastic changes in entrepreneurial activities amongst
firms.
For instance, Obschonka and Audretsch (2019) reflect on the role that ‘Artificial
Intelligence and Big data’ play in the area of entrepreneurship. According to von
Bloh, Broekel, Özgun, and Sternberg (2020), there is a high potential for Big Data
approaches to be used in news reporting and entrepreneurial activity in the region. In
the past, evidence in the literature has shown that entrepreneurs do not assume
‘social, environmental and sustainable responsibilities’ as their vital responsibility.
Various social as well as environmental issues sometimes remained unresolved con-
cerning entrepreneurship. Zeng (2018), through his study, concluded that the pri-
mary motivation for traditional entrepreneurship lies only in economic achievements.
The author contends that ecologically sustainable entrepreneurship, with Big Data’s
help, can focus on dealing with the negative issues. With the help of Big Data net-
work systems, the path of ecologically sustainable entrepreneurship can be
fostered.
DEALING WITH THE SITUATION AND THE WAY FORWARD

In view of the previous discussion, how well we can deal with this temporary situa-
tion and how entrepreneurs can be prepared to deal with its long-term dimensions are
important aspects to be reflected upon. All over the world, we have observed how
various firms have initially responded to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pan-
demic by cutting their cost, as some of them have also started engaging with new
entrepreneurial activities to increase the cash generation activity to a maximum pos-
sible extent. Various companies can be seen now adding to their product lines hand
sanitizers and other disinfectants that can be used for the well-being of human beings
across the globe. Fashion Hubs like Zara have come up with various innovative solu-
tions like protective clothes, gowns, face masks, and other supplies for individuals
and hospitals. Many other organizations that have been dealing with different busi-
nesses, such as aviation and the hotel industry, are lending support to hospitals by
providing their workforce to them in order not only to assist the employees but also
to keep them engaged in various activities. Companies like Philips have added venti-
lators to their product lines because it has allowed them to cater to the market. Ford
has started to produce life-saving medical equipment by using innovative technology
solutions in the automobile industry. Examples of these industries prove that entre-
preneurs can bring out innovative solutions at the time of crisis also. They are earning
profits out of it and helping in creating employment opportunities in society and
thereby responding creatively to challenges posed by the pandemic and thus being
socially responsible as entrepreneurs. Such actions during the crisis can also help
them to create their brand image to a positive forefront.
By and large, entrepreneurs tend to come out of their comfort zones as they face
external pressures and eventually become creative problem-solvers. Many big busi-
ness houses have come up with major donations in various sectors. Development of
hospitals, providing medical equipment, and contributing to society in various phil-
anthropic activities needed at the time of crisis are all done by entrepreneurs.
Consumers always remember the contribution made by the companies towards soci-
ety in times of crisis. For their actions, they are always remembered, and when the
economy returns to normalcy, they benefit at that time. Even more, those companies
that treated their employees well at the time of crisis will undoubtedly get more loyal
managers who can help them attract talent and build up a force of loyal employees.
This pandemic has allowed various sectors of the economy, which are likely to
grow at a relatively faster pace. Dynamic new technologies have been providing end-
less opportunities because innovations tend to transform the effects of the crisis in a
positive way. Service businesses require even more innovation so that the services
could be provided at the doorstep of the consumers taking care of their health and
other issues caused by the pandemic. Online businesses have again received a boost,
and local entrepreneurs are getting the opportunity to sell their products on such
platforms, helping them reach their customers quickly. Platforms like Amazon have
gained a lot during this pandemic. Recently, Amazon admitted that many entrepre-
neurs became millionaires through their Three-Day Prime Sale. The healthcare sec-
tor is the one that is going to give abundant opportunities to various entrepreneurial
ventures. Health-related smartphone apps are growing at a rapid pace. The concept
of artificial intelligence is being used on various platforms, especially in hospitals, to
meet the pandemic demand. Earlier, artificial intelligence was thought to be a source
of technology for entertainment only. However, now the role has shifted, becoming
an important aspect of the healthcare industry. It is also going to establish its roots in
aviation as well as the hotel industry. People with technical knowledge and expertise
have a greater opportunity to emerge as entrepreneurs with their innovative solutions
to the problems around the crisis. The area of technical training and maintenance is
also being swept over by artificial intelligence these days. The use of Big Data and
bringing out insights for taking various strategic decisions in entrepreneurship will
play a major role in times to come. Only those companies will be treated as compe-
tent who will have the ability to move quickly during this time of crisis and visualize
the future better than their competitors. Companies can gain a strategic advantage
over their competitors at the time of the pandemic only if they work upon various
innovative solutions at a lower cost.
Artificial intelligence and the ability to build up reliable and up-to-date logistic
infrastructure for providing the goods at the doorstep of consumers can play an
important role in this regard. Almost everybody, be it businesses or individuals, is
becoming accustomed to this ‘new normal’ where things are safer to buy/procure
online. The use of technology thus has gained momentum to a great extent. The con-
sumers’ established habits have now been broken as normal life stands disrupted, and
a change in attitude and expectation can be seen around us. Earlier, many people
were uncomfortable using technology or digital platforms for either doing financial
activities or using online websites for ordering stuff for home delivery or using inter-
active modes through video meetings/conferencing in place of face-to-face
meetings.
Now there is a gradual shift in the attitudinal tendencies of consumers. This ‘new
normal’ has shown people that online and offline modes of doing business will be the
new future. It is more likely that the use of technology in our future will be quite
high. The post-pandemic future will be different as it will create a long-lasting effect
on human minds and the way of living life. Various entrepreneurial initiatives pres-
ently have already shown us the signs of change where we can expect a better future
due to the entrepreneurs’ risk-taking abilities in various sectors of the economy.
A new form of entrepreneurs is expected to emerge during and after this crisis: the
digital entrepreneurs. They are the ones who will help us adopt the ‘new normal’ of
life, and it would be based on digital technology and Big Data. It is evident and indis-
pensable for us to adopt technology in our day-to-day lives. Therefore, Big Data
solutions will play a dominant role in making various strategic decisions concerning
businesses. These entrepreneurs can leverage the benefits of technology for their
organization and society at large. Leveraging digital tools has become indispensable
for entrepreneurs to survive the ongoing crisis. Interestingly, every society’s digital
transformation has gained momentum, which was never expected earlier.
Only digital tools may give us a ray of hope to survive this crisis. Historical evi-
dence indicates that in a time of crisis, businesses may have to suspend operations for
the short term. However, they always come up with long-lasting, durable, sustain-
able, and feasible solutions to society’s problems. Ten years back, nobody would
have ever thought of drastic use of technology in day-to-day life, but now, even small
children are being taught using digital modes. Learning to use gadgets, get an educa-
tion, and create contact with teachers is a new normal in the education sector. This,
too, has given entrepreneurs opportunities to innovate. It is a transformative moment
for every type of industry in the world. Transformations are bound to occur, and they
are meant to happen; the thing is that their pace has become a little faster. The unprec-
edented public health crisis has forced us to adopt new ways of life, new ways of
dealing with situations and of doing things, and ultimately the newer options have
also started giving us hope. The concept of shared value creation is emerging in the
time of crisis. Entrepreneurs across the globe are facing challenges, and many entre-
preneurs have changed their perspectives of doing business. Large multinational
companies are adopting small and medium-scale enterprises. Big giants like Alibaba
have come up with various innovative solutions where contactless delivery options
are being given to their consumers. Many IT solution companies with online collabo-
rations and new communication-enabled practices have launched certain features to
enable their millions of workers to work from home. The current pandemic laid quite
a severe impact on various economies of the world. Simultaneously, the digital world
has proven to be instrumental and essential in the battle against COVID-19. Those
people who already embraced technology benefited greatly; nevertheless, they were
able to fast-track the business in a very easy and modest manner in a time of crisis.
Therefore, to survive in this new normal, the digital tools and effective use of Big
Data models are becoming survival tools. Dealing with digital technology and having
the acumen to better leverage the digital economy is coming up as solutions to the
community’s problems to survive the crisis.
Companies like Infosys, Tata, and Reliance have already started efforts to combat
the issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In times of pandemic, the urgent need
to be digital has accelerated digital transformation in every sector of the economy.
There has been a gradual shift in consumers’ attitudes and entrepreneurs and can
certainly be perceived as long-lasting. No business can survive without leveraging
digital tools and innovation during this pandemic. New consumer behavior can be
analyzed properly for strategic decision-making only by the use of Big Data solu-
tions. The entrepreneurial ecosystem and its variables are now being redefined. We
have seen a clear departure from the traditional business models to the focus on shared
value creation in every field. Online business apps, cashless modes of payments, and
new ways of doing business have replaced the traditional forms of activities done by
the consumers and business houses. The entrepreneurial ecosystem is adopting the
variables like information technology, digital technology, and Big Data in a big way.
It surely is a sign of positive change for the future of businesses and humanity.
During this pandemic, government has to play a very important role in developing
opportunities for entrepreneurs. Investments should be made in ‘workforce training
and capacity building for jobs’, especially in the ‘manufacturing and services sec-
tors’ (De Ávila, Miranda, Bozmoski, Sadurní, Bolaños, and Paiz, 2020). There is an
urgent need to take care of global demands, and partnering with the private sector is
equally important for combating the pandemic’s pressures. So, whatever the recovery
and resilience efforts there are from an economy, it should not be detrimental to
action institutions or policies. The global economic order has significantly changed
the ‘trade policies’ and ‘technology adoption’. The ‘adoption strategies’ should be
well thought of, planned, and appropriately executed to get the best benefits from
‘recovery and resilience’ (Bansal, Burman, Chaudhuri, Prabhakar, Raghavan, & Rai,
2020). In recovery and resilience strategies across the globe, ‘access to internet’ has
been identified as an important challenge (Revel, 2020).
Gerstel and Goodman (2020) believe that the COVID-19 pandemic is so devastat-
ing that it has caused ‘economic disruptions and uncertainty’ which are not seen
since the Great Depression. Thereby, a strong need is seen to rethink, revise, and
reconsider the role of the public and private sectors. Government has to play an
important role in fostering and promoting innovation, especially in the field of tech-
nology. Center et al. (2020) aptly say that ‘Periods of disorder like today naturally
give rise to questions about how past orders came about, why they broke down, and
most importantly, how they are replaced’.
Undoubtedly, entrepreneurial activity has to bounce back to save the economies
from the crises. However, the challenges are many, in addition to manufacturing
delays, falling demand, human resource allocations, etc. Further, the activities are
hampered due to ‘logistical constraints as well as constraints in suppliers’ production
and reliability’ (Meester & Ooijens, 2020). Despite all these challenges, the pan-
demic has given certain countries opportunities to cut down on oil and gas prices.
Some countries like Turkey could recoup their balance of payment position due to a
fall in prices. Further, sectors like energy can attract more entrepreneurial opportuni-
ties (Miel, 2020). To foster economic growth during and after the pandemic, coun-
tries will have to consider their regulatory framework deeply.
To boost entrepreneurial activity, the ease in the process of registration of the firm,
tax rates and tax structure, labor-related laws, and ease in acquiring technology will
play an important role in boosting the entrepreneurial activity in economies (Lewis,
2019). The literature also suggests the crucial role of social entrepreneurs in facing
the challenges posed by epidemics in the past (Kahn, 2016). In a nutshell, competi-
tion and consumer protection authorities will have to redefine their role to protect the
rights of consumers, which can help address the short-term challenges posed by the
pandemic. A repurposed role of entrepreneurs is surely going to play an important
part in developing sustainable recovery practices across the globe, which can posi-
tively affect economies’ long-term development goals across the world (Tyrie, 2020).
CONCLUDING REMARKS
To sum up, it can be indubitably claimed that entrepreneurs are the lifelines to resus-
citate the economy of a country that has slid down to the extent that its revival seems
impossible. Entrepreneurs are entrepreneurs because self-motivation, self-activation,
self-propulsion, and self-reconstruction run in their veins. They are the ones who do
not believe in getting stuck with the seamier side of life or any situation. They can
utilize their potential in the best possible manner, even under hostile and daunting
circumstances. For instance, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a situation charac-
terized by hopelessness, despair, negativity, pessimism, and lack of spirit to recon-
struct and rebuild the socio-cultural, economic, political, and psychological fabric
worldwide. In this sense, the situation during the pandemic has been excessively
demanding. In such a challenging scenario, entrepreneurs can become harbingers of
transformation in the way we think about the new normal caused by the coronavirus.
Entrepreneurs are the real leaders who, besides ensuring growth in the economic
arena, can also pave the way for lifting the sagging morale of a whole range of busi-
nesses. They know how a situation is to be dealt with, i.e., financially, technologi-
cally, and from the viewpoint of stirring the market. The result is that the production
sector may boom, and demand for the goods may rise. They also know how to address
issues concerning strengthening the already-existing infrastructure by rebuilding it
should the need arise.
Moreover, they also have the expertise as well as the resources to build infrastruc-
ture anew wherever required. They also have profound awareness about how they
have to connect with the community and society at large. That is why true entrepre-
neurs take particular care in connecting with localities and communities, keeping in
mind the considerations about CSR. In the crises-ridden world of today, because of
the COVID-19 pandemic, entrepreneurs need to reassess, reevaluate, repurpose, and
redefine their role so that the world around us, which seems to have crumbled because
of the COVID-19 pandemic, maybe reconstructed to provide succor to the suffering
masses.
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17 Business and Financial
Management
Sustainability of a
Small-Medium Enterprise
A Case Study of Rohaya and
Abu Bakar Enterprise,
Penang, Malaysia
Rohani Yusof, Mohd Hafiz Abdul Halim,
Yuslina Abdul Ghani, and Zuhairah Abdul Hadi
Seberang Perai Polytechnic, Malaysia
CONTENTS
Business History and Milestone�� 252
Organizational Structure of Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise�� 252
Performance Development of Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise�� 252
Entrepreneurship Characteristics and Business Sustainability�� 254
Company Financial Management�� 256
Challenges�� 258
Learning Strategies�� 258
Case Study Questions: Trigger��260
Part A: Introduction�� 260
Part B: Analyzing Problems�� 260
Part C: Decision Making�� 260
Part D: Conclusions�� 260
Appendix A: Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise Profile�� 262
Appendix B: Rohaya & Abu Bakar Business Catalogue�� 263
Appendix C: Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise Organizational Chart��264
Appendix D: Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise SWOT Analysis............................ 264
Appendix E: Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise Financial Statement�� 265
Appendix F: Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise Balance Sheet�� 266
DOI: 10.1201/9781003097945-17 251

BUSINESS HISTORY AND MILESTONE

In 1985, with capital of RM50 (±USD200), Mr. Abu Bakar bin Ayub initiated a
home-production chili sauce business, registered under the name Perniagaan Abu
Bakar bin Ayob (Abu Bakar bin Ayob Enterprise). He later changed his business
name in 1991 to Perniagaan Rohaya dan Abu Bakar (Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise)
using his name and his wife’s, which has been used since (refer to Appendix A shows
the profile of Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise).
In the early days of his involvement in the chili sauce manufacturing industry, he
and his wife cooked and manufactured their chili sauce only at their home in
Permatang, Batu, Penang. Using only regular kitchen appliances and with no help
from anyone else, they managed to produce a capacity of only three dozen bottles per
day. The increase in customers’ demand from day to day resulted in the growth of his
business operations. It has become a well-known sauce manufacturer with the brands
‘Rohaya’ and ‘Munirah’, especially in Penang and other states in Peninsular
Malaysia. Additional capital obtained as a loan from some financial institutions and
support from government agencies for research and development (R&D) purposes
has increased the sales volume in line with its market growth. The product line
includes chili sauce, oyster sauce, black pepper sauce, tomato sauce, burger sauce,
soy sauce, and many others (refer to Appendix B for the business catalog), prepared
not only for retail but also for retail for wholesale consumers as well.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF ROHAYA & ABU BAKAR

ENTERPRISE
Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise is owned by Mr. Abu Bakarbin Ayub. It is currently
managed by the Administration and Accounting Manager, Mr. Muhamad Zaki bin
Rafiee, who also performs duties as Business Development Manager. Mr. Muhamad
Zaki’s job scope included monitoring quality assurance, human resources, account-
ing, and procurement. As for the operation department, Mrs. Rapeesa Binti Yoube
was appointed as Production Manager; her job scope includes supervising and moni-
toring the Kitchen Operation, Filling Operation, and Packaging Operation. The
Marketing and Logistics Division is managed by Mr. Kamaruddin bin Abdul Wahab,
who monitors the retail and wholesale markets and engages in customer service. To
date, 25 employees help further to strengthen the operations of Rohaya & Abu Bakar
Enterprise. Refer to Appendix C to see the organizational charts of Rohaya & Abu
Bakar Enterprise.
PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT OF ROHAYA & ABU BAKAR

ENTERPRISE
Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise have received awards and recognitions from various
agencies (Table 17.1 shows the list of recognition and collaboration certificates
received by the company). The company is committed to providing the best quality
of products for consumers from the success of R&D by the company’s owner.
To ensure the quality of the products produced, the company has collaborated with
Business and Financial Management Sustainability 253
TABLE 17.1
Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise’s awards, recognition, collaboration, and
courses
No Award / Recognition / Collaboration / Course Agency
1. Penang Bumiputera Entrepreneur Award 2008 – Second Place PERDA – Penang Regional
for Agro-based Industry Category (Anugerah Usahawan Development Authority
Bumiputera Pulau Pinang 2008 – Kedua Kategori Industri
Asas Tani)
2. Halal Certification Appreciation at SME Bank Complex SME Bank – Small Medium
Seberang Prai 1 (Penghargaan Pensijilan Halal di Kompleks Enterprise Development
SME Bank Cawangan Seberang Prai 1) Bank Malaysia Berhad
3. Development program for young entrepreneurs of logistics Seberang Perai Politechnic
services (Program pembangunan usahawan muda
berasaskan perkhidmatan logistic)
4. Development Program for young entrepreneurs (Program PERDA High Skills
pembangunan usahawan muda) Institute (PERDA-TECH)
5. MAHA 2012 Agricultural Production (Processing) MAHA 2012 – Malaysian
Competition – Second Place (Pertandingan Hasil Pertanian Agriculture, Horticulture
(Pemprosesan) MAHA 2012 – Kedua) and Agrotourism Show
2012
6. Registration No P03P1141020-011378 under the Food Act Ministry of Health of
1983 (No Pendaftaran P03P1141020-011378 dibawah Akta Malaysia
Makanan 1983)
7. Halal Certification Certificate. Reference Number JAKIM/(S)/ Department of Malaysia
(22.00)/492/2/1011-07/2008 (Sijil Pengesahan Halal. Islamic Development
Nombor Rujukan JAKIM/(S)/(22.00)/492/2/1011-07/2008) (JAKIM)
8. Registration under Section 21 of the Goods and Services Tax Royal Malaysian Customs
Act. No. CBP 000652288000 (Pendaftaran dibawah Seksyen
21 Akta Cukai Barang dan Perkhidmatan. No. CBP
000652288000)
9. MARDI Guidance Entrepreneur (Syarikat Usahawan Anak MARDI – Malaysian
Angkat MARDI) Agricultural Research and
Development Institute
10. Financial Statement Interpretation Course (Kursus SME Bank
Interprestasi Penyata Kewangan)
11. Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP) License. Account MPSP
Number 5105154420 (Lesen Majlis Perbandaran Seberang
Perai. Nombor Akaun 5105154420)
12. Certificate of Exemption from Licensing (Sijil Pengecualian Royal Malaysian Customs&
Daripada Pelesenan) Excise Department
13. Scheduled Controlled Goods Permit under the Goods Supply Ministry of Domestic Trade
Control Regulations 1974 (Permit Barang Kawalan and Consumers Affairs
Berjadual dibawah Peraturan – Peraturan Kawalan
Bekalan 1974)
14. Verification of Renewal of Registration under the Business Companies Commission of
Registration Act 1956. Registration Number PG0186134-K Malaysia
(Perakuan Pembaharuan Pendaftaran dibawah Akta
Pendaftaran Perniagaan 1956. Nombor Pendaftaran
PG0186134-K)
15. Participants in Food Industry Seminar of SKB 2007 (Seminar SME Bank
Industri Makanan Peserta SKB 2007)
(Continued)
TABLE 17.1 (Continued)

No Award / Recognition / Collaboration / Course Agency
16. Business Matching Session Between Burger Business PERDA
Operators and Burger Product Manufacturers (Sesi
Pemadanan Perniagaan Antara Peniaga-peniaga Burger dan
Pengeluar-pengeluar Produk Burger)
17. Credit & Debt Management Course (Kursus Pengurusan SME Bank
Kredit & Hutang)
various government agencies and industries and attended various courses and semi-
nars to strengthen its employees’ technical skills. It has always complied with all the
regulations and the related Acts by providing full cooperation in registering the busi-
ness with various parties to continue the business. The full cooperation of the com-
pany’s staff is very evident in the preparation of the documents and information
required by the government departments such as the Companies Commission of
Malaysia or Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM), Royal Malaysian Customs or
Kastam DiRaja Malaysia, Ministry of Health Malaysia or Kementerian Kesihatan
Malaysia, Seberang Perai City Council or Majlis Perbandaran Seberang Perai
(MPSP), Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumers Affairs or Kementerian
Perdagangan Dalam Negeri, Koperasi dan Kepenggunaan (KPDNKK), Malaysian
Agricultural Research and Development Institute or Institut Penyelidikan dan
Pembangunan Pertanian Malaysia (MARDI), and SME banks. The company is also
acting as a mentor to several educational institutions by sharing its knowledge and
expertise in entrepreneurship. Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise strongly encourage
academic visit programs or field trips from any Malaysian institution that intends to
take a closer look at the company’s operations and management.
An interview with Mr. Mohamad Zaki revealed the entrepreneurial aspects and
financial management techniques the company has been practicing in order to remain
in the industry, despite the growing competition from major local and international
brands in the market (e.g., Maggi, Kimball, Heinz, and Life). To maintain the quality
of its products in the market, the company worked on obtaining food quality assur-
ance from the Ministry of Health Malaysia and a Halal certificate from the Department
of Islamic Development Malaysia or Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM).
Since Islam is the most dominant religion in Malaysia, the Halal certificate obtained
has indirectly become the number one contributing factor to the increased of con-
sumers’/customers’ demands for this brand, alongside customers’ satisfaction.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP CHARACTERISTICS AND BUSINESS

SUSTAINABILITY
A good entrepreneur is proactive, creative, innovative, dynamic, and willing to
take risks in carrying on the business while working tirelessly to create new
markets (Chhabra, 2018; Chhabra et al., 2020; Karmarkar et al., 2014). In general,

Mr. Abu Bakar holds these characteristics. He is the type who is willing to risk and
face future business uncertainties. However, he suggests that the risks willing to be
taken must not be random; careful thought and research must be carried out in
advance to prevent entrepreneurs from taking unnecessary risks. Mr. Abu Bakar is
always sensitive to business opportunities in an environment where others may not
be aware. He also believes that to be successful, one must have an in-depth knowl-
edge of the business they plan to venture. A person must strive to obtain all the neces-
sary information about the business they plan to start. Selecting a business to start is
not about following what others have done or the trends only. An entrepreneur should
also be willing to put himself or herself in charge of everything that should be done
in the business and take the initiative to solve any problems. Such is the attitude and
practices of Mr. Abu Bakar and his management team to succeed in this highly com-
petitive business field. The success of an entrepreneur also depends on the commit-
ment given to running his or her business. A successful entrepreneur will be fully
committed to his or her business and there should not be any conflict between his or
her personal interest and business interest. Mr. Abu Bakar and his legacy are the
results of high perseverance, never giving up, and always thinking of ways and tech-
niques to grow his business.
An entrepreneur not only benefits himself or herself or his or her family but also
contributes to the economic development of the local community and the country
at large (Chhabra and Karmarkar, 2016a, 2016b). The same is true for Mr. Abu
Bakar. He has created employment opportunities for the society, thus indirectly
reducing social problems and improving both the local economy and the standard
of living. From another bigger perspective, the business has helped meet the needs
and increased the market selection. Society has needs and wants that should be met.
Entrepreneurs produce a variety of products or offer services that meet the com-
munity’s needs and wants – producing sufficient products and services by optimiz-
ing the country’s raw materials reduces the outflow of the country’s currency, and
the country’s inflation rate. Thus, in this regard, Mr. Abu Bakar has performed
entrepreneurial activities that meet the people’s need of obtaining local goods, and
this indirectly provides a positive impact on local and national economic environ-
ment. Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise’s existence can also contribute to the coun-
try’s income through import, export, and sales taxes. Ultimately, if all small and
medium enterprises (SMEs) work this way, it will help to stabilize the country’s
economy.
It is incredible how Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise has survived for almost 30
years since its inception and is still strong in the market, despite numerous competi-
tors in the industry, both from well-known international and local brands. Today,
Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise have increased their product line from chili sauce to
oyster sauce, black pepper, tomato sauce, burger sauce, and soy sauce. To increase
penetration of its product into the market, a new sauce with the brand of ‘Mr. Burn’
was introduced on top of ‘Rohaya’ and ‘Munirah’ brands.
The recent development in the food industry (Singh & Chhabra, 2020) has given
rise to the changes in the operational processes that directly impact Rohaya & Abu
Bakar Enterprise’s financial viability. The impact of these changes is managed by
Mr. Muhamad Zaki bin Rafiee, the Administration and Accounting Manager, who
also serves as the Business Development Manager. He constantly monitors every
change in manufacturing technology, especially processing machines used to make
various types of sauces (from raw materials to end product) and product packaging
activities. This ensures the efficiency of the business operations in terms of resource
utilization and the effectiveness in meeting consumers’ needs and maintaining busi-
ness sustainability.
Complying with the government policies is a must to this company. For example,
on April 1, 2015, the Goods and Service Tax (GST) was introduced by the Malaysian
government. With this new policy, all businesses registered under the Royal Malaysian
Customs must change their accounting system to a GST-friendly system. For this
reason, the management of Rohaya & Abu Bakar decided to change its accounting
system to a computer-based GST friendly system named the MYOB Accounting
System.
Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise’s management department uses the SWOT anal-
ysis technique for change management. It assists the company in the development of
business strategies for Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise. Moreover, it facilitates the
management department in handling the company’s risk management in the operat-
ing system, risk control, internal audit, external audit, corporate governance, ethics,
and information technology.
The development and success of a business organization depend largely on the
positive attitude and the employees’ high morality (Chhabra & Goyal, 2019).
However, successful work management must start with the entrepreneur himself
or herself. The beliefs and philosophies held by the entrepreneur are key to the
success of a business. A business’s viability refers to the business model and the
basis for making decisions related to the finance environment and social
concerns.
COMPANY FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Financial management is a key element that must be tightly controlled within a com-
pany. Financial leakage, especially for small companies, often happens. It can
weaken the companies’ operations to the point that some local companies have to be
closed down due to financial leakage. Therefore, good financial control and manage-
ment are necessary to maintain a business’s ability to compete with other businesses
in the market, as every business operation requires financial capital to remain in the
industry. This includes the purchase of main raw materials, machines needed for
product operations, payroll and wages, loan repayment, and other related expenses.
For local small businesses, financial problems are often a key issue in business
sustainability.
The GST system practices that began on April 1, 2015, had slightly affected
the company’s sales in 2015, with a slight drop in its monthly sales revenue. This
was due to a change in demands from local customers who feared the speculation
of rising costs of goods after implementing the GST system. The existing
customers, especially the entrepreneurs/merchants, had taken some drastic steps

in reducing product purchases and adopted a resilient strategy to align their busi-
nesses with the new system implemented in Malaysia. This is because the GST
system required businesses to purchase new equipment and recording systems
(incur costs to the businesses) to meet the government’s requirement to imple-
ment the GST system. Nonetheless, the consumers’ and customers’ confidence in
the company’s products steadily rose, reflecting a growing demand pattern after
the company entered its third term in 2015. A slight change in increasing the
company’s cost has had a significant effect on its revenue and the business’s
financial structure. This situation has opened the minds of entrepreneurs to con-
tinue analyzing market conditions and devising strategies for their greater sus-
tainability in the industry.
The GST system had also affected the business system and the recording of busi-
ness accounts. This enterprise has changed its financial recording system to MYOB,
a computer-based, GST-friendly accounting system to cope with this need. The sys-
tem helps to ease the issuing of purchase orders, invoices, inventory management,
sales receipts, and payroll of its employees, which complied with GST requirements
and the related institutions. The MYOB-integrated accounting software facilitated
the work of updating and maintaining financial records. It also helped the company
enhance the effectiveness of management and services for its existing customers and
people interested in the company’s products. It is undeniable that in an era of rapidly
evolving and ever-changing information technology, it has also impacted the account-
ing scenario. In the era of information technology and globalization, the use of
MYOB’s effective accounting software system to process data and financial informa-
tion is a key requirement of all parties seeking to maintain their businesses in line
with the government’s requirements.
Mr. Muhamad Zaki attended a series of briefings and courses related to business
development. From the knowledge gained, he applied SWOT analysis as the com-
pany’s change management technique. Having previously worked with multinational
companies, he had developed his experience and strategy-building skills before join-
ing Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise, and he applied those skills to strengthen the
company’s position in the market. He had seen how the company’s growth and
strength could be influenced by the company’s internal and external circumstances.
He also oversees the company’s management in operating systems, risk control,
internal audit, external audit, corporate governance and business ethics, and informa-
tion technology changes. In addition, he devised a number of strategies including
changing the operating location to a better location with more modern and sophisti-
cated facilities and equipment. Appendix D shows the SWOT analysis of Rohaya &
Abu Bakar Enterprise.
However, a more in-depth analysis of the return on investment and the repayment
period (Payback Period) is essential to do before deciding on a course of action, as it
can affect many aspects, especially financial costs, employee welfare, and logistics.
To maintain the company’s finances, the management department of the company
needs to be more careful in the decision-making process that involves key informa-
tion in the project initial outlay. The management must be wise in evaluating a
proposal that involves incurring a huge cost for the company. To survive in the mar-
ket is not easy. It is a challenge for the company to evaluate whether or not the factory
change strategy is the best for its financial sustainability (refer to Appendix E and
Appendix F that shows the Income Statement and Balance Sheet respectively of the
company).
Mr. Muhamad Zaki has constantly been monitoring the growth of the food
industry sector, especially today’s sauce producers, who have made changes to the
operating processes that directly impact the business’s financial viability. He also
oversees every change in manufacturing technology, especially processing
machines that produce various types of sauces, from raw material processing to
product packaging and product distribution. This oversight ensures the business
operations’ efficiency in terms of resource utilization and the effectiveness of meet-
ing customers’ needs. At the same time, in order to succeed in keeping with the
current globalization era, companies use accounting software systems that are in
line with the current requirements to process financial data and information more
efficiently.
CHALLENGES
In the context of this chapter, the researchers are trying to study how a local company
involved in the manufacturing and production of various sauces can survive for more
than 30 years in the industry despite the intense competition from other brands.
Researchers can also identify the strengths and competencies, deficiencies or weak-
nesses, opportunities, and threats to Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise (Malaysian
Bumiputera entrepreneurs).
In teaching and learning, students can use this case in calculating a company’s
financial ratios to determine the sustainability of a company to survive in the market.
It can be used in the classroom for any course related to finance. The researchers
were eager to discover to what extent financial management efficiency can enhance
a local company’s competitiveness in the market. Meanwhile, students can try to
develop a new strategy for the company to stay competitive in the market by consid-
ering the costs involved in making a decision.
LEARNING STRATEGIES
The following sections are the guideline for teachers when using this case study in
the teaching and learning process. Refer to Table 17.2 for the strategic learning for
this case study. Part A consists of the questions developed to trigger the students’
thinking, followed by Part B, which lists down the questions to guide students in
analyzing problems. Part C is used to guide students in the decision-making process,
and finally, Part D is the conclusion.
TABLE 17.2
Business and Financial Management Sustainability

Strategic learning
Level PBL Process Action Document and Record Task
1 Group Distribution Introduction to students about the Problem Based Learning (PBL) process. Semester teaching plan Facilitator
(1 hour) Provide students with a course guide. Course outline Facilitator
Define roles as facilitators and students. PBL process Facilitator
Introduce group members. Maximum three people in a group. Minutes of the first meeting
Assignment of group work. Organizational chart, Group learning
Establishment of basic group rules. directory and group rules
2 Trigger (see the Students are given a case study
question following ✓ Propose problems
Learning objectives
this table) ✓ Identify and explain the problems
(2 hours) ✓ Describe the problems
3 Brainstorming Students design a plan
(1 hour) ✓ Produce thoughtful ideas (problem-solving)
4 Learning issues ✓ Determine what needs to be learned to understand or solve problems FILA
(1 hour) ✓ Generate learning issues and action plans
✓ Identify resources
Facilitator and
5 Self-learning Obtain research resources
group learning
(4 hours) ✓ Obtain and formulate relevant information
Learning aids
✓ Produce a self-assessment checklist of criteria on what, why, and how the
problems are not solved
6 Synthesis and Discuss, develop, and justify solutions and explanations:
application ✓ Information sharing
Minutes of the second
(2 hours) ✓ Evaluate sources of information for credibility and validity (sources of criticism)
meeting
✓ Apply knowledge related to this problem
✓ Develop more learning issues, if necessary
7 Reflection and Apply and submit case study reports MS PowerPoint
feedback Individual problem-solving processes learned knowledge, solutions, and facilitators
Presentation of rubric form Facilitator
(2 hours) ✓ Comprehensive explanation and/or demonstration of real-world problems
Students raise questions about what they want to know more about Question-and-answer session Facilitator and
Feedback from facilitator Reflection group learning
Resubmit the reports after receiving feedback from the facilitator MS PowerPoint
259
Conduct feedback with group mates Minutes of the third meeting Group learning
CASE STUDY QUESTIONS: TRIGGER

Part A: Introduction
1. Define entrepreneur.
2. What entrepreneurial traits does Mr. Abu Bakar bin Ayub have?
3. What are the contributions of entrepreneurship to society and to the country?
4. State the type of business owned by Mr. Abu Bakar bin Ayub. Discuss the fea-
tures of that ownership.
5. What are the main challenges faced by the type of business operation that Mr.
Abu Bakar bin Ayub runs?
6. Based on your answer in Question 4, how can financial constraints affect that
type of business entity’s growth?
Part B: Analyzing Problems

1. What are the problems faced by Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise?
2. Identify the factors that influence the sustainability of the financial manage-
ment of Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise.
3. Calculate the financial ratios for Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise for two years
(2013 and 2014) and analyze the significant ratio changes for those two years.
4. Identify the business risks of Rohaya & Abu Bakar Enterprise.
Part C: Decision Making

1. Say you are the new Finance Manager for Rohaya & Abu Bakar Business
Enterprise. Provide strategic recommendations for the sustainability of the
company’s financial position.
2. The owners Rohaya & Abu Bakar Business Enterprise also require that you
provide preventive measures that need to be taken immediately by the top man-
agement to ensure the sustainability of financial management in the future.
Part D: Conclusions
Based on the current financial management practiced by Rohaya & Abu Bakar
Enterprise, give your opinion by justifying whether or not Rohaya & Abu Bakar
Enterprise can achieve financial sustainability.
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APPENDIX A: ROHAYA & ABU BAKAR ENTERPRISE PROFILE

APPENDIX B: ROHAYA & ABU BAKAR BUSINESS CATALOGUE

APPENDIX C: ROHAYA & ABU BAKAR ENTERPRISE

ORGANIZATIONAL CHART
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Abu Bakar Ayob
PRODUCTION
MARKETING &
MANAGER ADMINISTRATION,
LOGISTIC MANAGER
Rapeesa Yoube ACCOUNT&BUSINESS
Kamaruddin Wahab
DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Muhamad Zaki Rafiee
KITCHEN RETAIL
OPERATION MARKET
HUMAN
RESOURCE WHOLESALE
FILLING QUALITY
OPERATION OPERATION
ACCOUNT
PACKING CUSTOMER
OPERATION PROCUREMENT SERVICE
APPENDIX D: ROHAYA & ABU BAKAR ENTERPRISE SWOT ANALYSIS
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strategic planning: Planning for opening a new factory in Kubang Menerong.
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
✓ Easy to get Halal certificate and MESTI ✓ High capital – initial investment, wiring costs, and
✓ Goods are guaranteed safe PBA
✓ Easy to wash ✓ Need new employees
✓ New system is better ✓ Does not fit for all machines and stores
✓ New image for company ✓ Monthly rent
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
✓ Easy for promotion of place ✓ Cash flow – weak
✓ Dare to bargain OEM ✓ No skilled and trustworthy employees
✓ Will be frequently visited by ✓ Who wants to manage?
government employees ✓ PERDA reserves the right to take back the premise
✓ Monthly rent is increased
APPENDIX E: ROHAYA & ABU BAKAR ENTERPRISE FINANCIAL

STATEMENT
ROHAYA & ABU BAKAR ENTERPRISE (Company No. PG0186134-K)
INCOME STATEMEN FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31 2014
2014 2013
RM RM
INCOME:
Sales 3,369,412 3,822,674
LESS: COST OF GOODS SOLD

Opening Stock 80,000 75,000
Purchase – Raw Material 2,821,380 3,244,015
Packing Expenses 52,330 57,295
Less: Closing stock (77,220) (80,000)
2,876,490 3,296,310
GROSS PROFIT 492,922 526,365
OTHER INCOME-Hibah 682 658

492,922 527,022
LESS: OPERATING COST
Bank charges 204 18
Interest on leasing 1,258
Interest on hire purchase 1,753 3,822
Term loan interest –SME Bank 9,278 25,520
Donation 800 650
Depreciation 50,605 50,605
EPF & SOCSO 16,660 16,211
Insurance 2,450 2,820
License fee 500 500
Medical expenses 4,460 3,590
Petrol & toll 55,558 60,990
Transportation 61,770 60,671
Printing & stationery 5,350 6,170
Inspection fee-motor vehicle 1,400 1,400
Sundry expenses 1,776 2,244
Telephone charges 1,646 6,020
Upkeep of office 2,778 3,803
Upkeep of vehicle 2,660 3,598
Repair & maintenance machine 5,710 7,376
Road tax & insurance 2,075 2,280
Utilities charges 29,081 30,045
Salary, wages & allowance 205,730 185,271
TOTAL OPERATING COST 462,244 474,862
NET PROFIT 31,360 52,160

APPENDIX F: ROHAYA & ABU BAKAR ENTERPRISE BALANCE SHEET

ROHAYA & ABU BAKAR ENTERPRISE (Company No. PG0186134-K)
BALANCE SHEET AS AT DECEMBER 31 2014
2014 2013
Note RM RM
NON-CURRENT ASSET
Property, plant and equipment 1 79,450 130,055
CURRENT ASSETS
Inventories Investment 77,220 80,000
Trade Debtors 567,760 692,729
Other Debtors & Deposit 90,350 75,450
Bank Balance-Affin Bank Berhad 54,034 7,947
Cash in hand 10,150 14,165
799,514 870,291
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Hire Purchase Payable 14,747 13,456
Trade Creditors 96,556 105,050
Other Creditors and Accruals 9,998 8,880
121,301 127,386
Net Current Assets/ (Liabilities) 678,213 872,960
757,663 872,960
FINANCED BY:-
Owner Equity 746,044 693,884
Current Year Earnings 31,360 52,160
777,404 746,044
Less: Drawings (128,623) 11,953
648,781 757,997
LONG TERM LIABILITY
Term Loan: SME Bank 93,048 83,770
Hire Purchase Payable 15,834 31,193
108,882 114,962
757,663 872,960
18 Sustainable Enterprise
Development
A Review of Training
Topologies for Entrepreneurs
Zahid Hussain Bhat
Cluster University, India
Riyaz Ahmad Rainayee

University of Kashmir, India
Meghna Chhabra
Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and
Studies, India
CONTENTS
Role of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)�� 268
Sustainable Enterprise Development�� 269
The Rationale of the Study�� 270
HR as a Competitive Advantage�� 272
The Importance of Training and Skill Development in Small Business�� 274
Training Methods for SMEs�� 276
Conclusions�� 279
INTRODUCTION
The term entrepreneurship refers to an individual’s ability to put into action an idea
that combines such attributes as ingenuity, creativity, risk-taking, innovation, and the
ability to organize and carry out the activities to achieve the objectives proposed
(Chhabra et al., 2020). The field of entrepreneurship is a complex one that faces con-
siderable barriers that challenge its reliability as a distinct field of study (Cassell et al.
2002; Chhabra & Goyal, 2019). Acs et al.(2008) offered a potentially defining crite-
rion of entrepreneurship, ‘attainment of beginnings’, in line with the early definition
of ‘entrepreneurship’ by Schumpeter (1951). This simply consists of doing things not
DOI: 10.1201/9781003097945-18 267

usually done in the course of the usual business routine. The conventional concept of
entrepreneurship focuses on the entrepreneur’s characteristics and functions by con-
sidering entrepreneurs, their inspiration, and their entrepreneurial qualities
(Karmarkar et al., 2014). An entrepreneur is an economic agent, in the modern sense
of market economy, assuming artistic and assertive behavior by actively taking eco-
nomic risks to create new ventures. Entrepreneurs are businesspeople who create,
develop, and manage a company for this purpose, sacrificing time, energy, and
resources (Chhabra, 2018a).
Academics are of the opinion that entrepreneurship is essential for the economy
because it provides a platform for creativity, employment generation, and economic
prosperity (Van Stel, 2006). Having an innate potential for economic growth, entre-
preneurship is essential as an efficient means to fight unemployment and poverty in
developing countries like India (Chhabra, 2018b). Accordingly, there is an expanding
body of literature documenting entrepreneurship’s potential contribution from gener-
ating employment to reducing poverty to creativity; entrepreneurship is associated
with several pressing worldwide economic imperatives (van Praag & Versloot, 2007;
Bandiera et al., 2012; Miranda & Miranda, 2018). Researchers have begun exploring
growth in the economy and its possible links to alleviating poverty through entrepre-
neurship and advancing new technologies and new methods in recent years (Bloom
et al., 2016; McCloskey, 2017; Sutter, Bruton, & Chen, 2019). Scientists are becom-
ing increasingly conscious that entrepreneurship will provide a large fraction of the
worldwide answer to poverty (Miranda & Miranda, 2018; Sutter et al., 2019; Steven
et al., 2020).
ROLE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES (SMES)

In almost all countries, the importance of enterprise as the key driver of growth and
employment is central to the cycle of economic activity and development process
(Chhabra & Karmarkar, 2016a). Enterprises, driven by the quest for profit, are inno-
vating, investing, and generating employment and wage revenue. Small and medium-
sized enterprises (SMEs) are major players in the current economic development
(Chhabra & Karmarkar, 2016b). SMEs are becoming increasingly visible as essential
players in the economy today. SMEs are essential to all communities, whether they
seek to expand from low-income status to transform or seek to compete in highly
innovative globalized markets as diversified modern economies. Enterprises and
entrepreneurship is a critical catalyst to growth and change everywhere by ensuring
that markets remain diverse and competitive.
SMEs are considered a panacea for various economic problems, such as unem-
ployment, income deprivation, inequality of income, and economic disparities for a
capital-constrained developing country like India (Kumar & Chhabra, 2021). The
SME sector has often considered the economy’s bulwark as it contributes 30 percent
of GDP and 48 percent of India’s exports (https://msme.gov.in/). SMEs have played
a major role in maintaining democratic objectives such as income equality and bal-
ancing regional development as planners expected shortly after independence.
Compared to smaller firms, where the effects of economic development are more
evident, large companies’ trickle-down effects are minimal (Chhabra & Goyal,
Sustainable Enterprise Development 269
TABLE 18.1
Present ceilings on investment and turnover
Classification Investment Turnover
Micro Up to ₹1 Crore Up to ₹5 Crore
Small Up to ₹10 Crore Up to ₹50 Crore
Medium Up to ₹20 Crore Up to ₹100 Crore
Source: Economic Relief Package, Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan.
2019). Although big businesses have mainly produced wealth islands in the oceans of
deprivation, smaller businesses have achieved the socialist goals of providing equi-
table growth and balanced economic development considerably.
SMEs have helped industrialize urban and rural areas, thereby reducing regional
imbalances and ensuring a fairer distribution of national earnings. The industrialized
urban area had approximately 8.57 lac enterprises account for 54.77 percent of the
total working enterprises in the SME sector. In contrast, in the rural areas, 7.07 lac
enterprises account for 45.23 percent of the total working enterprises (https://msme.
gov.in/). Based on investments in plant and machinery, the Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSME) Development Act 2006 (https://msme.gov.in/) categorizes
enterprises into micro, small, and medium enterprises. As a part of the relief mea-
sures under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan (https://static.pib.gov.in/), the definition
of micro, small, and medium enterprises has been altered to provide them greater
support and benefits. The earlier definition of MSMEs was based on investments in
plants and machinery or equipment.
In contrast, MSMEs are now defined in a composite manner, taking both invest-
ment and turnover into account. The current definition has taken away the existing
difference between manufacturing and services sector units. The present ceiling on
investment and turnover to be classified as micro, small, or medium enterprises is as
appears in Table 18.1.
SUSTAINABLE ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT

SMEs have made a vital contribution to the country’s economic development and
have provided a solid foundation for India’s industrial development. However, it is
increasingly becoming difficult to ensure their sustainable growth in upholding their
strategic advantage and adaptability to the complexities of flexibility and promptness
of individual businesses. The modern state of the economy’s downturn and the tight
constraints of the competitive climate compel firms to hunt for permanent methods
to promote a transition to contemporary problems and find means to support enter-
prises’ stability and development. In view of the challenges faced by domestic busi-
nesses, research in the area of sustainable growth is gaining in importance. Sustainable
development study at the business level has also drawn interest because of entrepre-
neurs’ ambitions to work effectively in the long term.
The most accepted concept of sustainable development is that suggested by the

United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (UNWCED):
‘Sustainable development is a development that meets the needs of the present with-
out compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’
(Imperatives, 1987). Defining sustainable enterprise development implies that its
long-term development strategy can ensure a balanced chord of financial, environ-
mental, and social aspects. Sustainable businesses recognize both the business-
related economic and social interests of individuals and the effect on the environment
(Tolstykh et al., 2020). The definition of sustainable enterprise development has vari-
ous approaches (Zu, 2014; Wirtenberg et al., 2018).
Modern researchers’ key positions appear to align with:
a. Provision of innovation and project orientation;

b. Balance of economic and environmental indicators;
c. Principles of social responsibility to employees and society;
d. Natural ecological integrity through the recovery of maintenance costs and the
measurement of the company’s effect on the environment’s health.
The COVID-19 pandemic has generated enormous uncertainty around the world
(Baker et al. 2020). The pandemic scenario, which caused many businesses to recon-
struct their target growth vectors, considering their employees and their clients’ wel-
fare, has increased the social element of the business development strategy.
New problems only for small companies or those still in the crisis stage are impos-
sible to reflect. In addition to new business models, SMEs need to be modernized for
competition and economic development under new world trade laws and faster tech-
nical developments, including the broader use of information technology. Several
programs, including better support initiatives and budgetary schemes, have been
introduced by the government from time to time to support and promote SMEs.
Under the emerging foreign trade regime, technological advances are becoming
increasingly critical of SMEs’ sustainability and survival. International business pol-
icies need to be implemented by SMEs following the goals and strategies and the
global operations management of transnational companies and big firms. The fruitful
synthesis of ideas and the potential to incorporate them successfully exposes the core
of management skills and is the key factor in achieving sustainable business growth.
In my view, this can be accomplished by developing core management abilities,
which have been evident because of expertise acquired from their experience through
the application of knowledge and personnel skills.
Summarizing scholars’ roles, this analysis covers the sustainable growth of an indi-
vidual enterprise as a balanced development, where goals are integrated and synchro-
nized in compliance with the principle of a triad: technical, environmental, and social.
THE RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

The theory of gaining a competitive edge in small and medium-sized enterprises
through human resources (HR) is based on the assumption that competitive advan-
tage is the cornerstone of a business plan involving HR expertise, resources, and
decisions that allow an organization to capitalize on marketplace opportunities. As

businesses expand, the loose and informal management forms that led them to suc-
cess at the start-up stage become ineffective, the original structures become strained,
and profits decrease. Smaller companies’ lack of growth and desire to participate in
externally funded training programs are at the root of the policy challenge. Although
policymakers acknowledge the fundamental role of SMEs in economic development,
they also recognize their weaknesses. Training has a prominent role among the many
steps for SME development that have been undertaken, particularly the role in foster-
ing entrepreneurial growth. Research findings show that SMEs are not aware of their
training needs, nor do they respond adequately to the training initiatives and offer-
ings provided by the universities or the government, even in developed countries.
A large number of academic studies concerning SME training have been carried
out. Research studies examining government-sponsored training programs were con-
ducted, and the results show that most of them struggle to achieve the desired goals
for which the training program was administered (Reid & Harris, 2002; Zhou & Ma,
2018; Steven et al., 2020). The studies carried out in India to understand HR prob-
lems in the SME sector have centered on analyzing the different training practices of
the several organizations involved in delivering entrepreneurial development pro-
grams and creating entrepreneurial development programs’ (EDP) curricula. From
SMEs’ viewpoint or those of the owners/managers, no comprehensive examination
of their training and educational needs has been conducted. Recent studies (Kachkar,
2019; Zhou & Ma, 2018) suggest that small and micro-enterprises tend to be more
vulnerable to external shocks relative to medium and large firms. Lack of attention
given to creating a comprehensive business plan, targets, objectives, planning, and
budgeting for the new enterprise, and growth of people’s assets, are foremost factors
leading to the failure of many SMEs. Moreover, since small businesses face constant
change, most often undefined and difficult to predict, learning how to cope with such
change using training is crucial to the small business owner.
The cost of services, the seeming uselessness of training programs, and the over-
confidence of entrepreneurs resulting from past success and their reluctance to aban-
don their companies to participate in training programs are among the numerous
reasons entrepreneurs lack interest in SME training programs. Obviously, the previous
achievements endow the entrepreneur with the most justifiable excuse not to undergo
any training. Practical evidence, however, indicates that most owners are not fully pre-
pared to evaluate the competitive market conditions and lack the expertise to handle
human and financial capital to optimize their financial performance. Another challenge
for smaller companies is that the training offered appears to be ad hoc, is misconceived,
and happens during daily activities in the absence of a training-needs review, and
owner/managers use different forms of subjective evaluations to informally determine
the importance of the workplace training (Jones et al., 2013). Therefore, the change to
on-the-job training for managerial employees is consistent with the change in owner-
managers’ role from the management of operations to managers.
However, there is a fundamental research discrepancy relating to teaching, more
broadly within the SMEs’ context. The current research thesis focuses on this lacuna
and aims to create linkages between training and performance. Despite the constraints
imposed on SMEs, a large part of the research conducted does not examine how smaller
companies can grow and benefit from a comprehensive training approach (Glaub &
Frese, 2011; Sutter, Bruton, & Chen, 2019). Therefore, a growing concern in exploring
and addressing the in-house factors that hamper SME growth like education and train-
ing is essential. In other terms, the point is that efficient development and use of a firm’s
in-house and external experts will create a competitive advantage by developing com-
petencies that are hard to imitate. Consequently, approaches to improve the company’s
intrinsic capabilities are assumed to prove more durable and successful.
OBJECTIVES
This study’s main objective is to describe and appraise previous works related to
sustainable enterprise development training. These are:
1. To improve understanding of the concerns of a small business about their deci-

sions about training.
2. To examine the training approaches and methods and the benefits of training
and skill development in small businesses as reported in other studies.
3. To examine the human resources (HR) role as a source of competitive advan-
tage in small businesses’ pursuit for sustainability.
HR as a Competitive Advantage
Organizational researchers have come to acknowledge the value of human resources
knowledge, expertise, competencies, and skills as the strategic competitive advan-
tage source (Zhou & Ma, 2018; Steven et al., 2020). Sustainable enterprises recog-
nize individuals as strategic assets and view their employees as assets and change
agents. Human resource management can be as much, or more, a source of competi-
tive advantage for emerging businesses as it is technology or money. Although rivals
quickly introduce development, and capital is abundant for developing companies,
sound HR systems are hard to find and/or imitate. Researchers have argued that
human resources’ capability is the key to competitive advantage because it is rooted
in the members’ (inimitable) collective experience built over a (rare) period.
According to them, businesses obtain vital human capital and then develop HR pro-
grams to boost inimitable resources. This approach considers staff as a vital asset
efficiently managed from the strategic viewpoint and contributes significantly to the
organization’s success. It is, thus, seen as more of a competitive edge for organiza-
tions (Jennings & Beaver, 1997; Sutter, Bruton, & Chen, 2019).
The creation of a critical mass of professional or experienced workers can be a pos-
sible source of competitive advantage to them (Sutter, Bruton, & Chen, 2019). HR is
more likely to produce a competitive advantage among a firm’s intangible resources
because they are often really rare, which can be more difficult for competitors to copy
(Glaub & Frese, 2011). The expertise and knowledge of the employees are, in reality,
the most valuable assets of small businesses. In SMEs, the intangibles of human capi-
tal tend to be those tools. The interest in a company’s HR practices has grown primar-
ily due to the eroding of many of the conventional sources of competitive advantage
that businesses have relied on, such as patents, access to capital, and market expan-
sion. Such assets do not differentiate companies as they once did. As a competitive
advantage source, businesses are increasingly dependent on their human assets – the
expertise, skills, and capabilities of the workforce (Jennings & Beaver, 1997).
SMEs will have to continuously update their digital technology to address com-
plex challenges like the one faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Especially as
times seem normal, and social distance is still the primary rule, human resource
development (HRD) practitioners’ core task remains to make it possible for workers
to participate in more effective work. The goal here is that the workers must be pre-
pared and accustomed to any unprecedented situation. Besides, it is similarly neces-
sary to focus on sufficient workforce protection to keep the company going.
Businesses make it easier for their staff to show transparency, promote connectivity,
and show compassion by deeper interaction with them across digital channels.
Employers not only encourage but also facilitate virtual learning and development
(Hasan, 2020). In the wake of this pandemic, companies also have launched guidance
portals and assistance services to remain linked with their employees (Ravichandar,
2020). Both of these programs that employers take specifically demonstrate their
concern for their workers; they need to boost their confidence and stand by them to
respond to the new normal. It was the confidence of the workers in the organizations
and the assistance provided by Indian employers which helped them to remain strong
and display productivity.
The roles of management, compassion, technology, training, and development are
crucial and will profoundly contribute to overcoming this crisis. In addition, India’s
response to COVID-19 from many sectors is equally important facing identical or
unfavorable conditions. For instance, sectors such as SMEs, tourism and hospitality,
transportation, automation, and real estate are among those badly impacted. Under
these conditions, while the reaction was swift, the consequences that followed,
including emphasizing human resources, need to be discussed. At this point, HRD
practitioners in companies need to be mindful of employee contact with other work-
ers (face-to-face or virtual) and to reconsider their approaches to training and devel-
opment as they may be an acceptable match to currently fulfill organizational
requirements but may require adjustments. It is therefore essential to revisit compe-
tencies and capabilities. To meet the complexities of the evolving situation in the
middle of the crisis, upskilling and reskilling are critical in today’s context.
In order to become the right match for the enterprise, SMEs need to familiarize
their staff with the need for upskilling and supply them with training and develop-
ment programs. In reality, enterprises now have to embrace e-learning, virtual educa-
tion, webcasts, virtual training and development services, and certifications. The
innovation processes that can be applied to build solutions for the workforce to
remain socially linked, reduce burnout, achieve work-life balance, etc., need to be
identified by HRD practitioners. This condition has created an option to reconsider
job aspects from different backgrounds, including individuals and enterprises. It has
essentially been an eye-opener when learning about the pandemic, as organizations
now need to recognize various emergency scenarios to ensure that their employees
are fully aware of and trained to find effective approaches. The decisions related to
training, infrastructural assistance, and workplace culture must also be balanced with
the emergency context, so there is a connection between workers and other policy-
makers and paves the way for enhanced learning to sustain development.
The Importance of Training and Skill Development in Small Business

The fundamental means to attract the interest of small businesses in training could be
in providing them with ample proof of the association between training and an
upsurge in workforce skills and increased organizational performance. While it is a
fact that business owners want their enterprise to be successful and regularly strive
towards that aim, the biggest irony is that most small business owners are inade-
quately prepared to cope with the ongoing and unremitting problems facing business
today. Although much of what happens appears to be role-specific, preparation is a
significant factor for both competitive performance and business strategy. Small
companies, regardless of the scale of operations or services rendered, are gradually
using training to strengthen their operational capacities (Sullivan, 2000). Usually,
training has helped facilitate effective strategy execution by acquainting the work-
force with the necessary knowledge and skills needed to carry out their jobs. The
rapid changes in the marketplace, particularly the dynamic information economy,
require learning new knowledge for small businesses to remain advanced and retain
the possible competitive advantage (Jennings & Beaver, 1997).
Aragon-Sanchez et al. (2003) noted that an enterprise’s workforce has its own
specific set of skills, knowledge, attitudes, and organizational knowledge that can
potentially be employed to allow competitiveness to be achieved. Thus, human
resource training is necessary to have adequately competent, versatile, equipped, and
enthused staff. A learned and trained workforce is indispensable for SMEs’ growth
and success and vital for attaining a global competitive advantage. For some time,
training has also been known as a successful way of minimizing small businesses’
failure (Sutter, Bruton, & Chen, 2019). In addition, education and training in entre-
preneurship are useful opportunities to improve small business owners’ management
skills, which are considered necessary for SMEs’ development and success (Zainol
et al., 2017; Sutter, Bruton, & Chen, 2019). Kachkar (2019) opined that training
would assist small and medium-sized businesses in their efforts to solve problems,
reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve. Also, enterprises investing in the
workforce’s training and performance appraisal are more likely to benefit from low
employee turnover. Cassell et al. (2002) indicated that training should be recom-
mended to present a strategic approach to the challenges of a firm, while Steven et al.
(2020) suggested that the demand for training is associated with an improvement
in the operations of a business, thereby reducing costs and improving protocol
knowledge.
Prior research has established affirmative effects on business performance from
training through e-learning, in-house training, and training at the workplace (Jones
et al., 2013; McCloskey, 2017; Mustafa et al., 2018). It is generally acknowledged
that micro-enterprise growth initiatives are regarded as playing a major role in grow-
ing entrepreneurial skills and success in the enterprise. Such systems are developed
primarily to help micro-entrepreneurs perform business tasks better (Al Mamun
et al., 2019). Accordingly, an empirical study by Zainol et al. (2017) on women entre-
preneurs in Malaysia established that entrepreneurs who attended training programs
showed an increase in their entrepreneurial skills. Recent research involving small
entrepreneurs from Kelantan (Mustafa et al., 2018) found that the duration of time
spent on training programs had a positive impact on domestic income and lowered
their financial susceptibility. Mainly with regards to micro-enterprises, the duration
of training sessions, training hours received, and attendance in debates showed a
noteworthy influence on the enterprise (Mustafa et al., 2018). Throughout the times,
training has evolved and extended its aims and features to respond to the changes in
organizations, job climate, and individual needs, providing not only a means of
improving individual skills but a tactical resource for controlling outcomes of the
enterprise (Reid & Harris, 2002; Kraiger, 2014; Bell et al., 2017).
Therefore, it can be seen that a wide literature upholds the claim that training has
a positive impact on enterprise efficiency through improved performance and
increased economic returns. Employee training is also widely recognized as a tool to
enhance SMEs’ efficiency through increased competitiveness and productivity, orga-
nizational performance and capabilities, company survival and development (Kotey
& Folker, 2007; Zainol et al., 2017; Zhou & Ma, 2018).
Methods of technological training keep changing. One significant shift in organi-
zational training is that job training is becoming more interactive and essential to
workers. Employees may take advantage of a range of learning strategies that theo-
retically fit their learning preferences through interactive training, access to class-
room learning, and more simulation or role-playing options. In particular, young
workers want training that involves them and helps them learn more, and technologi-
cal advances offer a training environment that can perfectly fit their learning style.
Employers can better engage their employees through evolving social media technol-
ogy, VR and artificial intelligence platforms, and new sensitive online applications.
This form of training will increase employee engagement, upon induction or
regularly.
SMEs are using emerging tools to deal with the effects of the COVID-19 pan-
demic. For example, mobile and collaborative technologies and the Internet of Things
with telecommunications networks of the next generation, Big Data analytics,
machine learning, and blockchain network. The literature shows that adequate strate-
gic adoption of information technology will improve competitiveness, performance,
and productivity (Bruque & Moyano, 2007; Kleis et al., 2012). Around the same
point, SMEs will be able to explore and comprehend the impact of emerging tech-
nologies on current and future business operations and models with the necessary
skills, culture, and expertise in the company (Kane et al., 2015). In the present busi-
ness ecosystem, most global entrepreneurs adopt cutting-edge technologies like arti-
ficial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), data-enabled systems, internet-based
businesses, etc., to become more efficient and trustworthy consumers, and stand high
over the competition. However, there is still a need more for Indian SMEs to trans-
form their traditional and conventional methods businesses into updated and contem-
porary businesses. Many SME entrepreneurs are harnessing technology to innovate
their products and services from small towns to metro cities, thereby boosting their
business and encouraging the slow MSME sector to grow faster. Though MSMEs
may have been slow to technological adoption, they are now actively embracing
technology to revamp old businesses and even start technology-based businesses
such as e-commerce and online services. It enhances MSMEs’ efficiency, reduces
costs, and expands market reach at domestic and international levels.
To widen the scope of information technology, the Ministry of MSME has been
actively working towards ways to facilitate MSMEs and assist them through all the
business cycle stages. For ease of doing business, the Ministry has launched a robust
Information and Communications Technology (ICT)-based Internet Grievances
Monitoring System portal called ‘Champions’ (www.champions.gov.in). The
‘Champions’ stands for Creation and Harmonious Application of Modern Processes
for Increasing the Output and National Strength. The ‘Champions’ portal is a combi-
nation of technologies formed to help, guide, empower, ease, and support the coun-
try’s MSME sector (https://msme.gov.in/).
TRAINING METHODS FOR SMES

Training in SMEs has been characterized as casual, relaxed, and on-the-job while hav-
ing little to no managerial development provisioning. Training is focused primarily on
textbook guidelines that involve introducing structured management practices that are
more suitable for big organizations. Training is often perceived as an unaffordable
privilege in SMEs involving course fees along with an unproductive labor cost.
Entrepreneurs have to choose between different options, from implementing proce-
dures to handling people and working in new environments, lacking the expertise and
the tools required to anticipate the consequences of their business decisions and activi-
ties. Worldwide, scholars, professionals, and governments are beginning to recognize
the role of training in providing support for entrepreneurs. From an entrepreneurial
perspective, the most important aspects of training are learning the necessary business
skills and enhancing acumen to plan, set up, and operate their businesses.
As companies move through the different phases of their growth, organizational
needs change, and the training that is required changes along with them. The skills
required by entrepreneurs develop and change over time. Entrepreneur training pro-
grams are goal-based and depend on guidance from mentors, counselors and coaches,
and networking, all of which have been shown to have direct, positive results.
Therefore different training methods are needed which take into account different
and evolving needs. Various topologies for entrepreneurs are presented in this chap-
ter which is discussed as follows:
1.
In-House Training
Kotey and Folker (2007) observed that the prevalent form of training in the SME sec-
tor was workplace-based training, defined as firms’ training to their workforce at
their workplace. The majority of published research papers indicate the relentless
demand to improve workplace capability levels to keep up with rapid technological
developments and the role of in-house training programs playing an essential role in
this context (Konings & Vanormelingen, 2015). In this regard, the literature for
developed economies typically shows positive impacts of in-house training on
employee efficiency and real wages (Konings & Vanormelingen, 2015). In-house
training could also be viewed as versatile, informal, appropriate, and easy and offered
the advantage of being of a low-cost value. Aragon-Sanchez et al. (2003) reported
positive impacts from in-house training measured as having high productivity, high
quality, low labor turnover, and financial outcomes. Chi et al. (2008) indicated that
the training criteria should be performed professionally. Nevertheless, if SMEs can-
not adequately finance the training, it should be imported from outside. Therefore,
more and more in-house training firms will be visible internally, offering appropriate
and specialized training.
2.
Mentoring
Mentoring differs from other similar types of specific help such as teaching and
coaching; in the case of mentoring, the mentor positions the mentees’ interest as a
complete priority, not as part of a collection of goals (Sullivan, 2000; Gibson, 2005).
Within the context of entrepreneurship, mentoring seeks to increase the success rate
of entrepreneurs by providing them with a deeper knowledge and insight into how
they view their inspiration to become an entrepreneur, what their emphasis is on
entrepreneurship, what they find to be the driving forces for success, and what the
main strengths are of their enterprise. As such, the mentored entrepreneur develops
its own expertise in making and implementing relevant business decisions. The men-
toring objectives and expected outcomes are typically set at the outset by both the
mentor and the entrepreneur and then updated according to changing needs. While
the learning process in mentoring is formal and less controlled, the partners’ trusting
relationship and mutual attractiveness guarantee their success (Sullivan, 2000;
Reid & Harris, 2002). The main element of mentoring is that it is a comprehensive
and long-range learning process that is continuous, is based on the individual being
mentored, is versatile in learning methods and topics, involves the key elements of a
process of total quality, is strongly linked to progress, and requires shared respect for
the people involved (Sutter, Bruton, & Chen, 2019; Steven et al., 2020)
3.
Coaching
Coaching in entrepreneurship means tutoring and providing guidance to enhance

efficiency in the business. Business entrepreneurs tend to focus on the daily issues
they encounter and have to deal with immediately and inevitably lose sight of broader,
more distant matters. Via coaching, the problems of today’s and tomorrow’s vision
are established, allowing realistic and achievable targets to be set while not losing
sight of the end goals. Coaching can thus help the entrepreneur strike a balance
between today’s demands and the needs of tomorrow. The main aim of coaching is to
recognize the entrepreneurs’ needs and talents and match them with the right tools
and strategies, i.e., the ones that are most likely to contribute to growth and success.
Coaching will enable customer entrepreneurs to identify and address real issues,
handle their major business issues with confidence, and make the necessary changes
to survival and profitability (Frese, 2009; Steven et al., 2020)
4.
Counseling and Guidance
Counseling is a domain-specific training tool for an entrepreneur or group of entrepre-

neurs in a particular field; it discusses entrepreneurs’ managerial and behavioral com-
petencies in order to assist them in establishing competitive advantages, generating
profit, and generally improving their companies through their performance (Bechard &
Toulouse, 1998). Counseling offers multiple methods to develop a business and aims to
provide entrepreneurs’ means to success. Counselors are typically qualified and spe-
cialists in the particular fields in which they are counseling; thus, entrepreneurs needing
counseling should specify the exact field, e.g., economic efficiency, strategic vision,
optimization, HR performance, etc., where they want counseling.
There are various types of counseling:
a.
One-on-one basis – a one-on-one specialist training and advice in a strong rela-
tion to the client’s needs (such as how to start a business, expand an existing
business, or write a business plan).
b.
Orientation programs – courses that assist a select group of entrepreneurs
assembled for the same purpose: assembling a detailed business solution. Such
services seek to familiarize clients with the management skills required to
drive company development or get a business off the ground.
c.
Seminars – stand-alone colloquiums or discussion groups for various entrepre-
neurs to help them cope with predefined stumbling blocks or advise them on
particular business-related matters.
d.
Workshops – expert-led interactive workshops on various business concerns
that include marketing, finance, sales, and more (Bechard & Toulouse, 1998).
5.
Learning Based on Technology
The use of technology for SME training is a potential offering to overcome the dif-
ficulties faced while imparting training such as access to training, training in inacces-
sible and far-flung areas, and medium of training; while, above all, e-learning has the
prospect to offer customized training (Frese & Keith, 2015; Steven et al., 2020).
What constitutes learning through technology depends on the various ways the mate-
rials are transmitted through. Online materials are predominantly online, while other
methods include webinars, e-content, online discussion forums, etc. With the intro-
duction of information technology in the 1990s, a significant effect on business oper-
ation mode was noted. The sooner SMEs realize the flexibility and purpose of
technology for operational jobs, strategic and tactical decisions, creation of skill, and
imparting training, the better productive use of information technology that can be
made (Cassell et al., 2002; Bell et al., 2017).
Technology-based training offers SMEs a considerable benefit of learning any-
time, anywhere (McCloskey, 2017). Using technology to impart training does not
include the use of the internet or ‘distance learning’; instead, it is an approach to
organizations and individuals to share knowledge and understand. This includes a
long array of learning technologies and strategies and includes benefits that might
appeal to an SME owner to attend a training program while on the job with time
and workload constraints. The ability to deliver training can be a distribution
method ideal for SMEs. It may add the advantages of motivating the enterprise to
invest more in training, while the training is cost-effective for the trainer and time-
independent for the owner (Birchall & Giambona, 2007; Frese & Keith, 2015;
Kachkar, 2019).
Since the trainer’s cost covers almost all training methods, those that do not have
a trainer do have the cost of the equipment to recognize (i.e., programmed instruction
and simulation). Similarly, the expense of the learning facility may be involved for
off-the-job and head-on training methods. In contrast, correspondence training meth-
ods may not demand premises but may require equipment. Irrespective of how money
gets spent, it is usually essential to use strategies that can reduce training costs.
Mentoring is one such strategy in which the trainer can train an entrepreneur at a
minimal or zero cost, and in which the entrepreneur gets the opportunity to work in
the position they are training to fill; therefore, the content of the training matches to
their future responsibility for the job. Mentoring is important for circumstances
where the training content is ideally suited to the learning method of doing and where
learners gain the comprehensive knowledge required to resolve future assignments.
This method is also best suitable for a situation where the entrepreneur’s financial
expenditure in training is limited in opting for extraordinarily time-consuming and
more formal training programs.
CONCLUSIONS
The learning and training practices of entrepreneurs are essential factors in an orga-
nization’s future success at any level. Entrepreneurs should actively seek practical
support and psychological support to build confidence in transforming their vision
into a business. Learning and learning activities in terms of sustainability, productiv-
ity, creativity, and business processes such as strategic management, decision-mak-
ing, and recruiting processes are beneficial for both the company outcomes.
Entrepreneurs can also agree on the ‘position’ of the ‘guide’ (e.g., tutor, coach, and
advisor) they wish to engage, based on their preferences and the company’s needs.
Then, entrepreneurs can ‘use’ training and learning tools to make their vision a real-
ity. Assistance in selecting an entrepreneurial path, reorganizing thoughts and ideas
on how to start and manage a business, or encouraging entrepreneurs by providing
positive reinforcement and feedback to many entrepreneurs can also be of great
importance to them.
Nevertheless, by relying too heavily on preconceived notions and developed hab-
its created by experiential learning, entrepreneurs can fall into ‘learning traps’. They
tend to rely on set situational ‘truths’ rather than be versatile. To reduce the risk of
being dependent on a mentor, coach, or consultant, entrepreneurs need to evaluate
the training activities they are participating in and choose the methods to define and
work in a versatile, open, and competitive environment. This chapter has highlighted
the essential role of training in small and medium enterprises by examining key train-
ing methods. Owners who resort to a proactive approach of imparting training to
their workforce will benefit in the form of a competitive position in the market and a
flexible staff well acquainted to deal with the changing and unpredictable factors in
India’s environment. The literature focuses on key training methods in SMEs and
illustrates the importance of training for firm performance. Suppose SMEs are to
optimize their potential for human capital. In that case, such organizational knowl-
edge requires producing through the spectrum of human resource management tech-
niques, such as training, and undoubtedly linking to the organizational objectives.
Entrepreneurship can provide a positive force to stimulate economic development

directly and, in particular, to provide fertile ground for such growth to take root in
ensuring its sustainability. The number of people working in micro-enterprises offers
a compelling case for integrating such enterprises as a single body in the formation
and policy implementation. It guides support for separate initiatives to help existing
enterprises in a well-balanced course of action for new enterprises, small and
medium-sized businesses, and larger enterprises pursuing the integrated policy goals
of labor force growth and productivity improvements. Entrepreneurship training also
needs to concentrate on manufacturing and economic growth-related areas. Providing
knowledge and strategies for resolving the death-valley era is suggested by analyzing
different strategic directions according to the venture’s development curve. Therefore,
the trainer/educator/counselor has to arrange the course to represent the program to
fit the evolving economic climate and the entrepreneur’s needs.
Furthermore, considering the industry’s competitive nature, entrepreneurs need
experts who will be able to address their problems globally. Global knowledge and
experience are required to pursue creative thinking, gaining and sharing capital,
cross-cultural skills, and innovative approaches in the face of problems. As for micro-
enterprise owners working in the present dynamic environment, the current study
implies seeking ways to find training programs for growth and development, includ-
ing developing entrepreneurial skills to cope with the dynamism. This review offers
a much-needed substantiating capability of adequate training in delivering positive
results for SMEs.
Appropriate systems and support personnel should be in place at the SME level
to ensure that equipment remains available to ensure the continuity of all business
operations (within the digital platforms of the SMEs used). Post-pandemic, SMEs
would have to rethink how and when to reshape their policies by integrating crises
and contingency planning while leveraging appropriate distribution channels to
boost revenues. Practitioners should also explore how emerging technology is shift-
ing the management styles of SMEs and see the consequences of this transition for
user data security and privacy. Practitioners and managers need to look for lessons
learned from SMEs’ use of new technologies in promoting business continuity dur-
ing COVID-19.
The lessons learned from the review may complement our current knowledge and
create a richer understanding of SME training and organizational outcomes across
various contexts. This chapter contributes to a structure that is validated with system-
atic methods of research. Given that entrepreneurship training is essential for the
generation of employment and the development of countries, it is surprising that there
have been few evaluation studies. The current research emphasizes the call to evalu-
ate entrepreneurial training programs. Future research will also explore a broader
range of organizational and financial success metrics due to the training programs.
Moreover, to ensure business continuity and growth, the implementation of digital
technologies by SMEs involves a strategic reshaping of their business processes. The
effects of digital technology implementation on training, innovations, and productiv-
ity will be essential for scholars to consider. Aligning this with SMEs’ business strat-
egy in dealing with the repercussions of COVID-19 is another area for research.
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Index
A education sector, 63, 243
emerging technologies, 2, 6, 275
absolute transformation, 55–56 employment opportunities, 233, 235–236, 238,
adoption, 58, 71, 73, 75, 78–79, 88, 141, 150, 187, 241, 255
198, 244, 275 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), 26
agribusiness, 74 entrepreneur ecosystem, 6
agripreneurship, 64, 66, 71–73, 75–78 entrepreneurial capacity, 196, 200, 204, 206–210
Angel Fund, 221 entrepreneurial education, 196, 210, 234
artificial intelligence, 3, 6, 25–27, 34, 40, 42, 44, 63, entrepreneurial initiatives, 197, 210, 242
107, 139, 148, 150, 179, 240–242, 275 entrepreneurial intention, 196–200, 204–208, 233,
automation, 3, 14, 25–35, 56, 64–65, 73, 273 235, 240
Automation Anywhere (AA), 29 entrepreneurial potential model, 199–200
entrepreneurial ventures, 45, 141, 149–150, 214,
B 229, 235, 237, 239–240, 242
e-tailers, 186–187, 192–193
B2C, 60, 186 Extended Technology Acceptance Model, 199
Big data analytics, 7, 17, 42, 60–64, 275
Big data applications, 58, 60, 62, 64–65, 74
blockchain, 4, 26–27, 40, 275 F
bootstrap cluster, 224–225
family businesses, 235
bootstrapping, 95, 214–216, 223–226
farming, 61, 64–67, 71–77, 144
financial management sustainability, 251
C fiscal policies, 230
food industry, 64, 255, 258
capability, 17–21, 34, 72, 117, 196, 204, 276, 280
futuristic foresight, 45
cloud computing, 5, 65, 74, 220, 238–239
competitive advantage, 17–19, 29, 120, 172,
237–238, 270, 272, 274, 277 G
complexity, 32, 60, 78, 119
creative industries, 234 Global Business Services (GBS), 26
critical process assessment, 32 global crisis, 230
customer support, 90, 193, 216 global economic prospects, 230
cyber-physical systems (CPS), 14 goods and service tax, 256
cybersecurity, 26–27, 192, 210
H
D
healthcare, 56, 60, 63, 104–105, 138, 148, 150,
data-driven farming, 65 174, 179–180, 240, 242
Data Mining-as-a-Service (DMaaS), 19 home-production, 252
Data Science-as-a-Service (DSaaS), 19 human labor, 28
demographics, 187–188, 193, 277
digital connectivity, 223
disruption, 41, 43, 46–48
I
incubation, 5, 142, 171, 217, 220
E Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), 14–15, 20
industrial revolution 4.0, 26
e-commerce, 47, 185–186, 189, 192, 275 Industry 4.0, 14–15, 20
economic growth, 50, 150, 230, 234–235, 244, innovative entrepreneurship, 233
268, 280 institutional finance, 216
ecosystem, 5–6, 8, 40–48, 141, 143, 147, 150, International Labour Organization (ILO), 48
157, 164, 168–169, 216, 218, 220–226, 238, Internet of Things, 2, 6, 14–15, 20, 40, 56, 59–60,
243–244, 275 72, 275
285
286Index
L seven-pillar framework, 216–217, 220

shopping experience, 188, 190, 192–193
leadership qualities, 178, 234 small-medium enterprise, 251
leveraging Big Data, 40, 42, 47–48, 63 small-scale farming, 76
lifestyle entrepreneurship, 237 social business, 46, 142
light-dependent resistors (LDR), 15 social compassion, 43–44
social endeavors, 40, 44
M social entrepreneurial mechanisms, 40
social entrepreneurship, 44–47, 49–50, 138–148,
machine learning, 19–20, 27, 34, 36, 44, 60, 66, 150, 237
73, 107, 109–110, 240, 275 social innovation, 46, 150
Make in India, 214, 224 social media, 196–197, 199–202, 210
social networks, 7, 49, 129, 196
N social value creation, 40, 46
startup ecosystem, 45, 168, 220–222, 224–226
natural languages, 36 Start-up India, 214
netpreneurs, 185–186, 192–193 strategic planning, 239
structured data, 16–17, 29, 34–35, 58
O sustainable value creation, 14–15, 17–21
online shoppers, 188, 192

online shopping innovation, 190 T
tactical evaluation, 31–32
P techno entrepreneurial model, 207–208, 210
technological intervention, 48
payback period, 89–90, 257
Technology Acceptance Model, 197, 199–200
perceived desirability, 199–200, 204, 206–208,
Technology Readiness Index, 198
210
transaction data, 193
performance development, 252
transformational, 40, 115
post-COVID world, 43
travel and tourism, 64
potentia customers, 185–187, 224
pre-social media era, 196
public procurement, 217, 221 U
unstructured data, 17, 34, 58–59, 72, 77
R
raw data, 49, 56–57 V
remote inspection, 66
resource-based view, 17–18, 120, 128 value for money, 192
resource utilization, 237, 256, 258 variability, 73–74, 77
return on investment, 32, 139, 149–150, 257 velocity, 4, 8, 16, 20, 58–59, 61, 73, 235
risk-taking, 117–118, 126, 129, 199, 242, 267 venture funding, 221
Robotic Process Automation (RPA), 26–27 viable social and business paradigms, 42
virtual agent, 26–27
S
W
seed funding, 217, 221
servicepreneurship, 58 web analytics, 193

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Entrepreneurship

and Big Data

Industry 4.0, or the fourth industrial revolution, refers to interconnectivity, automa-

For more information on this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.com/Big-

and by CRC Press

CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

© 2022 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

ISBN: 978-0-367-47673-1 (hbk)

Chapter 1 Ecosystem for Entrepreneurship in a Big Data-Driven Universe.......... 1

Chapter 2 The Application and Influence of Industrial Internet of Things,

Chapter 3 Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in Global Business

Chapter 4 Social Entrepreneurship in an Era of Disruption: Converging

Chapter 5 Big Data: A Boon for Food and Servicepreneurship........................... 55

Chapter 6 Adoption of Big Data in Agripreneurship: A Panacea to the

Chapter 8 The Influential Role of Breakthrough Strategies of the Family

Chapter 9 Crucial Factors for Successful Entrepreneurial Start-ups................. 113

Chapter 10 Social Entrepreneurship.................................................................... 137

Chapter 11 Terracotta Pottery Catastrophe: Survival Issues and the Road

Chapter 12 Social Sustainability Through Women Entrepreneurs in

Chapter 13 Leveraging on Demographics Insights of Online Shoppers

Chapter 14 Study on the Effectiveness of Social Networks in

Chapter 15 Curbing Inconsistencies Through Financial Bootstrapping:

Chapter 16 Repurposing the Role of Entrepreneurs in the Havoc of COVID-19....... 229

Chapter 17 Business and Financial Management Sustainability of a

Chapter 18 Sustainable Enterprise Development: A Review of Training

Rohail Hassan, PhD, is Senior Lecturer of Corporate

Amjad Shamim is currently Program Manager for MBA in

Munish Jindal Anupama Panghal

Ghazala Khan Navneet Seth

Manmeet Bali Nag Anju Singla

Parveen Siwach Tanvi Thakkar

ROLE OF BIG DATA

Decrease expenses 49.2% 23.4%

New Avenues for innovation 44.31% 20.19%

Launch new products/services 36.1% 26.8%

Monetize Big Data- increased/new revenue 32.8% 22.0%

Accelerate new capabilities deployment 31.1% 33.4%

Transform business for the future 27.9% 23.7%

Establish a data-driven culture 27.9% 41.5%

Started and Benefits Started and no Benefits Not Started

application adjusts the temperature, humidity, and CO2 concentration to maintain a

Data driven entrepreneurs and innovators across

Internet Service Providers

FIGURE 1.2 Key players of Big Data ecosystem (OECD, 2014).

FIGURE 1.3 Entrepreneur Ecosystem in Big Data-Driven Universe.

creation process through mass production. The introduction of information commu-

INDUSTRIAL INTERNET OF THINGS (IIOT)

Big Data & Analytics

FIGURE 2.1 Technologies underpinning IIoT.

BIG DATA AND ANALYTICS INFRASTRUCTURE

• Data that is maintained in

• Data not having a

• Data in a defined format

FIGURE 2.2 Summary of the different structures of data.

THE PROPOSED SUSTAINABLE VALUE CREATION FRAMEWORK

FIGURE 2.3 Proposed framework.

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5

•Data •Data •Data •Advanced •Connecvity

developing a real-time analytics capability (Pääkkönen & Pakkala, 2020; Shahzad

Data infrastructure is a necessary component. In addition to coping with the sheer

GLOBAL BUSINESS SERVICES – THE NEW WAY OF BUSINESS

ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION (RPA) – AN INTRODUCTION

Robotic Process Automation

Generally, the utilization of RPA allows humans to focus on more value-added

•Data •Data •Data •Advanced •Connecvity

Changing the Face of Farming Through Automation�� 65

TABLE 5.2 (Continued)