Entrepreneurs & the Environment
Sunday, September 19th, 2010
Hopefully you’ve already read the Definition of a Nascent Entrepreneur and the Four Abiding Elements of Entrepreneurs and then Entrepreneurs and their R&K Strategies. The next step is to consider the effect of the entrepreneur’s environment.
Environment & Evolutionary Processes
Some concepts worth considering when you look at the entrepreneur’s ambiguous and changing environment are the effects of processes that find parallels within Evolutionary Theory. These are the forces of Variation, Selection and Retention set against a backdrop of the struggle for resources.
Environment & Variation
When you look at the entrepreneur’s ambiguous and changing environment there are recognisable signs of variation. These variations encompass any departure from routine or tradition. Variations can be either intentional or blind.
Intentional variations are those that the entrepreneur has purposefully brought to the environment – those variations that are controlled. For example, the marketing strategy is about understanding the environment and putting in place intentional variations that positively affect the new venture. In a simple example, it would be an intentional variation in the environment if the entrepreneur located a store inside a shopping mall or gained a short term financial loan.
Blind variations are the opposite – those that are out of the entrepreneur’s control. Examples are easy to come by… a downturn in the economy, a competitor moves into their niche competing directly on price or there might be a bonus windfall of a tax rebate that specifically affects players in the industry. Naturally, any form of variation poses challenges that require adaptation and flexibility – they can be either good or bad – and the successful entrepreneurs roll with the punches.
Environment & Internal / External Selection
At the same time the entrepreneur’s environment is under the influence of internal and external forces of selection.
