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Role of Entrepreneur in Fostering Agility in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs): A Case Study
Abstract
Business environment is very dynamic characterized by unpredictable change. The rate of change is too fast for organizations to quickly adopt and face challenges. Organizations try to make internal changes and infuse speed and flexibility to cope with these external changes. These changes bring results which are partial. Organizations need to continuously adapt to new environment. This cannot be a single event it has to be a continuous process. This new paradigm of continuous organizational adaptation to external changes is Organizational Agility (Goldman, Nagel & Preiss, 1995).Entrepreneurs in SMEs constantly look for external opportunities and try to convert the new ideas to reality by taking risks. Environmental scanning requires not only spotting opportunities but also threats as the challenges posed by the dynamic environment which can be threatening to the very existence of the organizations. Over last few years, anticipating continuous changes in the electrical industry, the Promoter of a SME decided to completely re-look at the environmental scanning and business strategy. Continuously evolving new strategies and implementation led to organizational transformation and attainment of Organizational Agility. Although this study is exploratory it suggests number of lessons for those who are, or who will be studying and developing Organizational Agility.
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In turbulent markets, agility - the capacity to identify and capture opportunities more quickly than rivals do - is invaluable. Agility comes In three flavors: strategic (capturing game-changing opportunities), portfolio (reallocating resources), and operational (occurring within a focused business model). Downturns provide opportunities both to capitalize on agility and to become more agile. In this article, Donald Sull, a professor of management practice at the London Business School, draws on numerous examples from his research on turbulent markets around the world to suggest a way forward.
The problem and the solution. This chapter overviews case study research and proposes a manner in which case study research can contribute to theory building in applied disciplines. Although theory building using case study research has been discussed previously in the literature, there is no clarity as to how case study research can be used to build theory. Moreover, it should not be assumed that there is clarity on the processes of case writing, case studies, or case study research. This chapter presents definitions, purposes, and elements of case study research for the purpose of understanding how case study research can be used to build theory in applied disciplines.
The dynamic capabilities framework analyzes the sources and methods of wealth creation and capture by private enterprise firms operating in environments of rapid technological change. The competitive advantage of firms is seen as resting on distinctive processes (ways of coordinating and combining), shaped by the firm's (specific) asset positions (such as the firm's portfolio of difftcult-to- trade knowledge assets and complementary assets), and the evolution path(s) it has aflopted or inherited. The importance of path dependencies is amplified where conditions of increasing retums exist. Whether and how a firm's competitive advantage is eroded depends on the stability of market demand, and the ease of replicability (expanding intemally) and imitatability (replication by competitors). If correct, the framework suggests that private wealth creation in regimes of rapid technological change depends in large measure on honing intemal technological, organizational, and managerial processes inside the firm. In short, identifying new opportunities and organizing effectively and efficiently to embrace them are generally more fundamental to private wealth creation than is strategizing, if by strategizing one means engaging in business conduct that keeps competitors off balance, raises rival's costs, and excludes new entrants. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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