Entrepreneurship in the UK Market and the Indian Market - Essay Example

Research Proposal Table of Contents Introduction 3 Literature Review 5 Research Methodologies 9 Overview 9 Data Collection Methods 10 Research Approach 11 Primary Research Approach 12 Case Study Approach 12 Trustworthiness 13 Conclusion 14 References 15 Bibliography 17 Introduction The term “Entrepreneur” is the noun form of the word “Entrepreneurship”. Originated from a Latin word, ‘prendere’, the term solely means the establishment of a new venture. However, the meaning of Entrepreneurship differs from one perspective to another. For economists, it is an important tool which directly accelerates the economic growth rate. On the other hand, the socialists state that it is an instrument that relates business with social welfare directly. Today, the term has a wider applicability in comparison to the earlier phenomenon. Along with the business enterprises, the term has also gained its applicability in social service oriented institutions such as schools, nursing-homes and hospitals. Hence, it is largely differentiated from the other business and social service oriented activities (Dagoon, 2005). With the gradual change in the business scenario, it is quite certain that the global outlook has also changed in terms of Entrepreneurship. Presently, the entrepreneurs have innumerable opportunities rewarded by the economy such as technology, flexible policies for global trade, and increasing demand. But there are also few major challenges that entrepreneurs need to face while creating a new business idea and serve it to the ultimate customers. Few of them are high level of competition, constantly increasing demand for innovations, rigidity of government norms like taxation and others. Moreover, as it depends highly on the issue of personal perceptions and the environmental influences of the entrepreneurs, the applicability of entrepreneurship also differs from one economy to other and from one business to another (Viramgami, 2007). Hence, this paper shall concentrate on the aim to understand the modern day phenomenon of entrepreneurship in two different countries, India and the United Kingdom. As these economies are largely different in terms of both social and economic attributes it shall be beneficial to critically analyse the entrepreneurial process. Moreover, the proposed paper shall centre on the business sector comprising of entrepreneurial process related to the petrol station-cum- convenience store. The paper shall try to conclude on the aspect of development of entrepreneurship in both these economies with the help of wide ranging researches. Literature Review With a growing emphasis on the term ‘Entrepreneurship’, several theorists and analysts have stated their viewpoint in various literatures and research papers. These are beneficial to critically evaluate the meaning of the term. In this context, as included by Charantimath, entrepreneurship in the real practise is a dynamic process, undertaken by the entrepreneurs with the aim to establish their own business. In accordance to this concept, the entrepreneurs also need to overcome the risks which linger during the process of incorporation. Simultaneously, the entrepreneur should justify the key responsibilities of entrepreneurship in the overall perspective. Presently, with a growing importance, the entrepreneurial process of development is termed to be one of the key attributes for socio-economic growth and transformation (Charantimath, 2009). With the previous references, it is evident that entrepreneurship depends on multifarious factors, such as macro and micro environment and the personal perceptions of the entrepreneur. The personal perceptions of the entrepreneur are again strongly affected by the regional and cultural differences between two economies (Viramgami, 2007). In this context, the contribution of David G. Blanchflower and Chris Shadforth is worth mentioning. According to the authors, the UK trends of entrepreneurship has depicted that entrepreneurs like Richard Branson, Sir Alan Sugar and Lakshmi Mittal are not only important to increase the earning ratio of the self-employed but are also significant in creating job opportunities and economic wealth. However, as concluded by the authors, this is the magnificent effort led by the early entrepreneurs. The trend of entrepreneurship in the UK has been witnessed to grow rapidly in comparison to other OECD economies like Germany and New Zealand. Even in the future perspective the entrepreneurial developments tend to grow fast (Blanchflower & Shadforth, 2007). On the contrary, the trend of entrepreneurship in India is also showing a steep growth presently. According to N. V. R. Naidu and T. Krishna Rao, the phenomenon of entrepreneurship in India has advanced amazingly from that of past. In the earlier stage of entrepreneurship, the concept was solely based on the socio-cultural belief that only the members of the business community, also known as Vaishyas could establish and run business. These business activities were mostly concentric on the issue of production and distribution. But in the present scenario, the affect of entrepreneurship can be witnessed in industries related to software development, banking, automobiles, communications and even steel and cement. However, the entrepreneurs of India are still influenced by numerous problems related to finance, gender discrimination, low rate of literacy and others (Naidu & Rao, 2009). Another aim for this proposed research paper is that it shall investigate the overall trends of entrepreneurship based on the activity of establishing petrol station-cum-convenience store in India and the UK. In the context, the activity is related to two different industries i.e., the petroleum industry and the retail industry. The trend of energy consumption, as described by the UK Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil & Energy Security, is likely to be affected by the steep increase in price. The sector shall also get affected due to the increasing preference and availability of vehicles empowered by the electricity and other substitute energy products. Precisely, the association states that with a steep increase in prices and a decreasing rate of energy production, the economy is going to face more challenges in terms of petroleum marketing. This is due to the effect of the recent economic downturn as described by the analysts (ITPOES, 2010). On the other hand, the market scenario of India is also affected by decreased rate of production of petroleum products by almost 0.51% in comparison to the last year production, according to Dr. Archana S. Mathur. However, the consumption rate also grew higher by 3.60% from the previous fiscal year. Furthermore, the number of petrol marketing companies and the preferences for branded petrol products are increasing in the Indian market. Despite the growing price rate and the decreasing production rate, the Indian petroleum industry is expanding according to the author’s viewpoint (Mathur, 2010). To state about the retail industry of the UK, being another important part of the petrol station-cum-convenience store, it is likely to grow at a moderate pace. According to the office of National Statistics of the UK, the sales volume of retail units all around the economy is recorded to increase at a low rate of 1.1%. Most interestingly, the sales of food stores as retail units in the UK have dropped down, but on the contrary, the sales volume of non-food units were recorded to grow by 3.6% in the current fiscal year. Therefore, the retailing of non-food items is evidently more secure to start up a new venture partially based on the food retailing (Office of National Statistics, 2010). On the other hand, the Indian retail market is also growing at a rapid pace. It is termed to be most promising retail markets in the global perspective. Even in its near future, the market is expected to grow with same briskness contributing over 22% in the national GDP by the next fiscal year. However, the retail market in India has to deal with certain major problems such as taxation rate, inadequate infrastructure, low availability of trained manpower and others. According to the calculations of analysts and the publication of Maps of India, the industry is expected to produce US$ 1.3 trillion till the year end of 2018 (Maps of India, 2010). Therefore, the perception of activities related to the establishment of a patrol station-cum-convenience store in economies like the UK and India, has a mixed outlook where the challenges are as strong and affective as opportunities. Due to this reason the entrepreneur should identify and analyse the future prospects of undertaking entrepreneurial risk. Related to this issue, the proposed paper shall be focused on certain significant research methodologies in order to obtain reliable information. Research Methodologies Overview Research methodologies are significant in a research paper due to the fact that it assists the researcher to identify reliable data and conclude on the issue with least chance of biasness. In this context, there are many research methodologies used for a research. This proposed paper thereby, shall be emphasised on the philosophy of interpretive. Since the proposed paper deals with two different economies which not only differ in terms of economic indicators but also in terms of culture, the philosophy shall be beneficial. Moreover, due to the fact that the characteristics of entrepreneurs strongly depend on the cultural environment along with the socio-economic attributes, the strategy to focus on interpretivism becomes more beneficial to satisfy the proposed research aim. Simultaneously, the proposed paper shall also conduct the inductive research methodology. This will also help in providing an in-depth analysis of the scenario under which the research is conducted. Data Collection Methods The data collection methods in the proposed paper shall be equally focused on the collection of primary data as well as the secondary data. The collection method of primary data shall be conducted through interview of different marketers in the UK and the Indian economy already associated with the retail industry and the petrol marketing. Notably, the most appropriate respondent for the proposed paper shall be the entrepreneurs of similar business i.e., petrol station-cum-convenience store. The interview shall be through questionnaire survey method. The questionnaires shall be distributed through internet as it is not possible to perform the survey research in both the places for an individual researcher, which will be costly and time consuming. On the other hand, the secondary data shall be collected through a wide research and study of various journals, articles, newsletters and case studies related to the objective of the proposed paper. The secondary data shall also comprise of various literatures and other research papers conducted by different authors. The view of various researchers will aid in providing an understanding from different perspective of the other researchers. This is of certain importance due to the fact that others opinion can also be beneficial to justify the objectives of this proposed paper. Research Approach The basic research approach to be undertaken in this proposed research paper is suggested to be qualitative in nature. One definite feature of qualitative approach is to move from the specific point of view to the general discussions in order to prove the acceptability and viability of the researcher’s findings in the proposed paper. Therefore, the research method becomes concentrated on the inductive approach (Lichtman, 2009). One of the characteristics which can be advantageous in the proposed research method is that the inductive approach does not require any rigid framework such as texting the hypothesis. This in turn rewards the researcher to conduct the research in an unbiased perception rather than getting biased in proving a pre-determined conclusion. Hence, the reliability of the proposed paper shall be increased with a minimised chance of biasness from the researcher. In this context, the approach shall be appropriate for the proposed paper because the paper is based on the interpretation of a stated philosophy rather than proving and analysing an adapted hypothesis. The qualitative approach in inductive method is also concentrated to support the philosophy of the research method unlike the deductive approach of research (Daymon & Halloway, 2010). Primary Research Approach The primary research approach in the proposed research paper shall mostly emphasise on the secondary data collection. It shall also focus on the primary data in order to confiscate the limitations of using secondary information solely. Therefore, the primary data shall be conducted through observation and interview through questionnaire survey method. This will enable the researcher to gain a direct insight from the respondents about the selected research topic. Case Study Approach There are certain significant advantages in using case study approaches. Firstly, it reflects the realistic phenomenon of any complex issue and assists the researcher to understand the topic, especially during a research based on a fresh area of study. In the proposed paper, the research is based on the entrepreneurship activity to establish a petrol station-cum-convenience store in the perspective of the UK and the Indian market. Case studies, therefore, can be of different types such as snapshot, longitudinal, pre-post, patchwork and comparative. For the proposed research paper, it shall be appropriately suggested to follow the comparative case study method which shall in turn reward the opportunity to critically analyse the different prospects of the economies (Kumar, 2008). Trustworthiness The trustworthiness of any research paper implies the reliability of the data collected and the interpretation of the information. In other words, this term is applied in the context of research in order to justify the objectives of the research and remove any kind of error occurring either from the end of the researcher or respondents. The major factor to enhance the trustworthiness of a research paper is the reliability of its research methodology. Reliability of the research methodology can ensure a more trustable research paper, where the provided data and facts are trusted by the reader of the paper. In order to increase the trustworthiness of the proposed paper, it is suggested to be focused on a group of research techniques rather than depending on a single approach. Thereby, the proposed research shall be based on the philosophy of interpretivism and shall follow the research method of inductive approach of qualitative nature. On the contrary, the proposed paper shall also focus on the data collection method through primary and secondary research. This shall be indeed beneficial to remove the limitations of individual approach of research and in turn enhance the trustworthiness of the proposed research paper. Conclusion The prospect of entrepreneurship in relation to the context of petrol station cum convenience store is largely different in the UK market and the Indian market. Notably, the term entrepreneur as is subjective to many variables, such as culture, economic growth and socio-economic trends. These variables play a crucial role in the difference between the entrepreneurial scenarios in the UK from that in India. In the UK, the culture of entrepreneurship is quite different from that in India. On the contrary, the activities related to the venture of petrol station cum convenience store are also subjective to the fluctuations occurring in the retail industry and in the petroleum industry as well. In the UK, it is seen that the retail industry is set to grow at a moderate rate. In India on the other hand, it is seen that there is a rise in the price of petrol and a decrease in the production rate. In spite of this scenario, the Indian petroleum industry is seen to be on an expansion path. Hence, the subject becomes slightly complex to be analysed. However, the suggested methodologies for the proposed paper shall be advantageous to eradicate these limitations and assist the researcher to conclude fairly. References Blanchflower, D. G. & Shadforth, C., 2007. Entrepreneurship in the UK. Now Publishers Inc. Charantimath, P. M., 2009. Entrepreneurship Development and Small Business Enterprise. Pearson Education India. Dagoon, J., 2005. Business Technology Iv 2005 Ed. Rex Bookstore, Inc. Daymon, C. & Halloway, I., 2010. Qualitative Research Methods in Public Relations and Marketing Communications. Taylor & Francis. ITPOES, 2010. The Oil Crunch. A Wake-Up Call for the UK Economy. [Online] Available at: http://peakoiltaskforce.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/final-report-uk-itpoes_report_the-oil-crunch_feb20101.pdf [Accessed December 27, 2010]. Lichtman, M., 2009. Qualitative Research in Education: A Users Guide. SAGE. Mathur, A. S., 2010. Basic Statistics on Indian Petroleum & Natural Gas. Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas. [Online] Available at: http://petroleum.nic.in/petstat.pdf [Accessed December 27, 2010]. Maps of India, 2010. India Retail Industry. Business. [Online] Available at: http://business.mapsofindia.com/india-retail-industry/ [Accessed December 27, 2010]. Naidu, N. V. R. & Rao, T. K., 2009. Management and Entrepreneurship. I. K. International Pvt. Ltd. Office of National Statistics, 2010. Retail Sales. Modest Growth in Retail Sales. [Online] Available at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=256 [Accessed December 27, 2010]. Kumar, R., 2008. Research Methodology. APH Publishing. Viramgami, H. S., 2007. Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship. APH Publishing. Bibliography Belk, R. W., 2006. Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods in Marketing. Edward Elgar Publishing. Bosma, N. & Levie, J., 2009. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. 2009 Global Report. [Online] Available at: http://www.gemconsortium.org/download.asp?fid=1055 [Accessed December 27, 2010]. Saunders, M. P. L. & Thornhill, A., 2007. Research Methods for Business Students. Prentice Hall. Tiwari, A. & Tiwari, S., 2007. Entrepreneurship Development in India. Sarup & Sons. Whittaker, D. H., 2009. Comparative Entrepreneurship: the UK, Japan, and the shadow of Silicon Valley. Oxford University Press. Wickham, P. A. & Harlow, 2006. Strategic Entrepreneurship. Prentice Hall. Read More