The Changing Perspectives of Entrepreneurship over Time - Research Proposal Example

Research proposal: The changing perspectives of entrepreneurship over time Student Name Course Tutor Date The Changing Perspectives of Entrepreneurship over Time Introduction Entrepreneurship has been a subject of discussion over the years because of its changing nature and the practices involved. The changes have been brought about by the kind of Business opportunities and the methods of carrying out the processes (Cruikshank, 2005). The evolution of entrepreneurship has been influenced by the question of who an entrepreneur is. The current definition of an entrepreneur is quite different from the past definitions due to the evolution it has undergone (Jude, 2013). This has directly affected the definition of entrepreneurship. The changes in definition are mainly aimed at ensuring that the definition is inclusive of the modern practices of entrepreneurship. Research question The research question will be based on the topic of evolution in entrepreneurship in the terms of the definition and concepts. The following is the proposed research question that will be used during the research: The concepts of entrepreneurship have been changing over time which has affected its definition and practices, why has the definition been changing and what factors has contributed to the changes? Objectives The following will be the aims and objectives of the research on evolution of entrepreneurship. To determine the factors that has contributed to the changes in the definition and perspectives of entrepreneurship. To establish the past definitions that have been used to define what entrepreneurship is and what it is not. To compare the definitions of that have been used by different scholars in order to determine the factors that have contributed to the changes in perspective. Theme of the Research The theme of the research is evolution of entrepreneurship. Justification According to Bi-cong (2010), the evolution of entrepreneurship is of use to different stakeholders both in business and the academic field. In most cases, the diverse interpretation of entrepreneurship has led to misinterpretation of what entrepreneurship is all about. This has also impacted negatively on the policy makers who are concerned with the issues of entrepreneurship. The topic will therefore be of utmost significance in terms of obtaining a clear meaning of what entrepreneurship is all about. On the other hand, the current economic situation has seen a rise in the number of business. Toft-Kehler et al. (2013) note that most individuals are taking part in businesses allover the world. It has thus become difficult to establish who is actually an entrepreneur based on the wrong definitions that have been put in place. It is also important to note that most people who open u new businesses usually regard themselves as entrepreneurs. The situation has been worsened by some academic perspectives which are also misleading. Studying the evolving trends of entrepreneurship will thus play an important role in obtaining the true definition and hence determining what entrepreneurship entails. This is important for the policy makers and the business community as a whole (Bi-cong, 2010).. Background information The use of the term entrepreneurship dates back to the seventeenth century. Initially the term was used generally used when referring to the people who were carrying out business. This was regardless of whether the business involved innovations or not. Toft-Kehler, et al (2013) argues that the general definition could not differentiate between the ordinary businesses from the unique businesses based on innovations. The definitions have been changing over the years with different scholars coming up with their own definitions. Various definitions have been coming up at different times and Verma (2009) argues that the prevailing situation has been influential in terms of defining the concept of entrepreneurship. This is indicates that entrepreneurship is undergoing evolution which affects its definitions. Initially, the aspects of innovations as well as financial risks were not considered; emphasis was laid on the attributes of leadership. The leadership attributes were considered as most of the entrepreneurs had to portray leadership in order to steer their business to success. Currently the aspects of leadership do not count and innovation is highly regarded as compared to leadership (Romans, 2013). However, as the business processes experienced change, the definitions and the concepts of entrepreneurship also experienced changes. With the advent of technology and innovations, entrepreneurship practices and behaviour have experienced considerable changes. Policies regarding entrepreneurship have also been affected by the definitions as some policies usually targets different categories of business. In some cases, the misinterpretation has led to the wrong policies being applied to entrepreneurship. The Evolution of entrepreneurship is thus an important aspect that can be used to determine the practices and processes involved in entrepreneurship (Schwartz, 2010). The changes in the definitions of entrepreneurship also suggest that the future definitions may change depending on the practices that will be associated with entrepreneurship at the time. Literature Review The proposed literature will provides an overview of the evolution of entrepreneurship thought and practice from its start in the early 18th century to present times. The chapter will explore the early entrepreneurship thinkers and then introduce the different theories associated with it. Schwartz (2010) points out that in the early eighteenth century, entrepreneurship was mainly associated with doing business without knowing the income that may be gained from the business. The concepts of labour and production were incorporated in the definition of entrepreneurship in the early nineteenth century. This is due to the revolution that was taking place at the time. The twentieth century witnessed a lot of innovations in business as well as other areas. This led to the inclusion of innovation in terms of defining entrepreneurship. According to Bremer (2011), the use of innovations to come up with new products and services became common in the twentieth century. This completely revolutionized the perspectives that were involved in the definition of entrepreneurship. According to Schwartz (2010), innovation of new products for the purposes of improving on the existing ones or to meet certain demand was closely associated with entrepreneurship. The innovations led to the competition among companies and individuals and hence resulting to financial implications in terms of the innovations. The definition of entrepreneurship thus focused on risk taking as well as innovations. The failure of the innovation lead to the definition that entrepreneurship is a risky process as an entrepreneur may lose the investments. Currently the definition of entrepreneurship is focused on commercialization of an invention. This is because most innovations in the current setting is usually commercialized (Jude, 2013). The concepts of entrepreneurship were not associated with new products in the market. This is because the number of people who were carrying out business activities was relatively low. The perspectives of entrepreneurship were thus focused on the business activities as compared to the products that were involved. However, the profitability of the business was considered to some extent. In the nineteenth century, the concepts of doing business changed and it was focused on labour and production because the utilization of labour was on the increase in terms of doing business. According to Lofstrom et al. (2013), the industrial revolution had also brought about the concepts of productivity and hence its use in the in terms of defining entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship was mainly based on the quantity of products produced and hence the use of labour and productivity in the definition. The innovations that took place in the twentieth century played an important role in terms of changing the perspective of entrepreneurship (Bi-cong, 2010). This is because most of the people who made certain innovations were considered entrepreneurs. Most of the innovations that were made improved on the existing products and services. Entrepreneurs were thus considered based on the innovations and modifications that they made on the existing products. The perspective of entrepreneurship this witnessed a lot of changes due to the innovations and modifications of the existing products and services (Jude, 2013). A new perspective of entrepreneurship was also witnessed in the twentieth century. This was a combination of the innovation as well as the financial gains that were associated with the innovations. The opportunities were on the decrease in the twentieth century and the innovations had to be enhanced. Expenses were involved during the innovation process and hence impacting both negatively and positively on the definition of innovation. Most of the entrepreneurs had to invest heavily on the new ideas so as to come up with the products. Some of the individuals were successful while others were not. Stam et al. (2013) noted that those who were not successful suffered huge financial losses. This therefore led to the conclusion that entrepreneurship is a risk taking process. The conclusion was also based on the limited number of people who were engaged in the process as the fear of losses discouraged most people. In the twenty first century, the perception of the people also changed as more focus was placed on the commercial aspects of the innovations. In order for one to be considered as an entrepreneur, they must commercialize their innovations. Bi-cong (2010) says that the ability of an individual to come up with an innovation that will attract a high amount of profit is the current perspective of entrepreneurship. This is for the purposes of differentiating the ordinary innovations and business from entrepreneurship. The commercialization of the entrepreneurship has also seen most of the individual making huge profits and establishing huge companies (Tjipto, 2013). Methods of Data Collection and Analysis Data for this study will be sourced secondarily from the publications and online. Most preferable secondary sources for the study are journals of business venture. Data acquired involves analysis of literature published by previous researchers. Online sources will involve current reports and news on entrepreneurship, and situations in entrepreneurial sector in global economy. Data will be limited to aspects related to entrepreneurship generally in different countries of the world. Analysis of the study will be based on information acquired from review of previous literatures by different writers. Plagiarizing of works written by previous researchers will also be avoided. Any information acquired will therefore be analyzed and written according to my understanding and not in exact words of the previous researchers or authors. Design for Proposed Research Design of the proposed research will take the form of analysis with references from which conclusions will be drawn. This research involves theoretical method in carrying out feasibility studies so as to figure out how entrepreneurship perspectives have changed over time. The research is based on results in the reference and analysis of entrepreneurship as a sector. The first step of the research involves gathering literature and data from previous studies. Introduction of the proposed research will be reflected in the theme providing a background of the research. Research questions will give a clear view of the main issues in research topic other than the purpose and meaning of proposed research stated in the theme. This will be done with the view of reading and analyzing to understand the hypothesis made in the previous research. Second step of the research design involves an analysis of the status quo and existing definitions of entrepreneurship that have evolved from its earliest conceptions to current times. Step three will be based on the analysis of the differences in early and modern entrepreneurship practices. Step 4 finalizes research and involves an analysis of modern era and types of entrepreneurship that have emerged since conception of entrepreneurship in the 18th century. Conclusion Conclusions of the research will be drawn from the results and analyses section. The proposed research will generate several conclusions relevant to the research questions already discussed above. Based on the conclusions obtained, recommendations for further research in the field and for modern entrepreneurial practice shall be developed. The findings will similarly be crucial during the course of the author’s career in the business research after completion of his studies. The proposed research will play a significant role in terms of ensuring that the issues of evolution of entrepreneurship are analysed critically. According to the literature review, it is evident that the perspective of entrepreneurship has been undergoing a lot of changes. This has contributed to the changes in the definition which has resulted to different meanings. It is also evident that the definitions were based on different periods. The current definition of entrepreneurship has been based on the ability of an innovation being utilized commercially. The innovations have played an important role in terms of influencing the definition of entrepreneurship. The proposed research will aim at finding out the situations and practices that have influenced the changing nature of the concepts of entrepreneur and entrepreneurship. The analysis will help the researcher determine the existing difference between entrepreneurship and the normal business References Jude, U. (2013). Entrepreneurship and employment generation: The formal and informal sector perspectives. Archives of Applied Science Research, 5(5), 20-27. Schwartz, R. G. (2010). Entrepreneurship and the early American clock industry. Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, 12(1), 54-70. Lofstrom, M., Bates, T. & Parker, S. C. (2013). Why are some people more likely to become small-businesses owners than others: Entrepreneurship entry and industry-specific barriers. Journal of business venturing Stam, W., Arzlanian, S. &Elfring, T. (2013). Social capital of entrepreneurs and small firm performance: A meta-analysis of contextual and methodological moderators. Journal of business venturing Millan, J. M., Congregadp, E., Roman, C., Praag, M. V. &Stel, A. V. (2013).The value of an educated population for an individual's entrepreneurship success. Journal of business venturing Gielnik, M. M., Barabas, S., Frese, M., Namatovu-Dawa, R., Scholz, F. A., Metzger, J. R. & Walter, T. (2013).A temporal analysis of how entrepreneurial goal intentions, positive fantasies, and action planning affect starting a new venture and when the effects wear off. Journal of business venturing. Bi-cong, G. (2010). The Application of ERP sand Table Simulation in Teaching Business Administration Program. Journal of Nanning Polytechnic, 4, 014. Bremer, I. (2011). Common factors between Swedish and Chinese entrepreneurial leadership styles. Human Resource Management: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities, 135. Cruikshank, J. L. (2005). Shaping The Waves: A History Of Entrepreneurship At Harvard Business School. Harvard Business Press. Tjipto, W. (2013). Entrepreneurship Development Course to Foster Character Merchandise in Support Economic Growth. Asian Economic and Financial Review, 3(6), 762-771. Verma, A. (2009). Social Entrepreneurship Management: A New Look at the People & the Potential. Global India Publications. Wennberg, K. (2011, February). Mobility and Entrepreneurship: How career history influences entrepreneurial entry and survival. In DRUID Conference. Romans, A. (2013).The entrepreneurial bible to venture capital: Inside secrets from the leaders in the startup game.McGraw Hill professional. Toft-Kehler, R., et al. (2013). Practice makes perfect: Entrepreneurial- experience curves and venture performance. Journal of business venturing Read More