BMG936 International Entrepreneurship

Course Work 1

Part A: Analysis of the Entrepreneur N.R. Narayana Murthy of Infosys

Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy, better recognized as N.R. Narayana Murthy is the co-founder of the Indian multinational technology company, Infosys. He has remained the Chairman, President, Chief Mentor and Chief Executive Officer of the company, thereby looking after most of the business operations of the company and ensuring that the various resources are effectively utilized towards the achievement of the organizational goals and objectives (Jose 2016). International entrepreneurship can be defined as the processes undertaken by an entrepreneur for the purpose of conducting business operations beyond the home country of the organization and in a new market (McDougall and Oviatt 2003). The following sections of the report will focus upon the style of entrepreneurship that has been adopted by N.R. Narayana Murthy, in terms of the various factors that has led to a success in entrepreneurship as well as the manner in which he has been able to contribute towards ensuring high levels of organizational efficiency.

Entrepreneurship in Infosys

Infosys limited is recognized as an Indian multinational technology company specialized in the information technology, outsourcing services and business consulting services. The company was founded in the year 1981 by N.R. Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani, S.D. Shibulal, S. Gopalakrishnan, N.S. Raghavan, K. Dinesh and Ashok Arora (Srivastava and Singh 2016). The organization has been driven towards a process of continuous growth and development with the help of the ideations, skills and expertise of the workforce present within the scope of the company as well as an effective style of entrepreneurship followed (Govindarajan and Trimble 2011). This effectiveness of entrepreneurship in the organization has further enabled the integration of the personal and collective interests of the different members of the organization with the overall organizational interests in terms of its mission and business objectives (Jain, Bhansali and Sharma 2014). 

Background of the Entrepreneur

N.R. Narayana Murthy was born in the state of Karnataka in India in the year 1946. He received his education from the National Institute of Engineering under the University of Mysore and then at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur. Before planning to start the company of Infosys, Narayana Murthy had worked as a chief systems programmer at the Indian Institute of Management at Ahmedabad (Murthy 2010). In this regard, it may be stated that his education and experience in the field of systems programming played an integral role in developing the necessary skills to be able to lead a multinational technology company through high level of innovation and creative ideation. Narayana Murthy has also been identified to be the developer of the model of the Global Delivery Model, which in turn is often regarded as being one of the most essential conceptualizations in the Indian industry of software (Marisetty 2011). Under the leadership of Narayana Murthy, the company under discussion, Infosys was able to gain the brand identity of being one of the leaders in technological innovation. This innovation was also observed in other aspects of business operations such as managerial, leadership, development of software technology and training.

Lessons for Success from the Entrepreneur

The lessons for the success of the Indian multinational technology company, Infosys can be identified in terms of the style of entrepreneurship as adopted by the former Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of the company, N.R. Narayana Murthy (Pednekar 2012). One of the most essential aspects that may be identified in the entrepreneurial qualities depicted by him involves a high inclination towards gathering the necessary knowledge in the field of operations. In this regard. It may be mentioned that the educational and work background of the entrepreneur enabled him to strategize the manner in which the business operations may be conducted for the purpose of gaining maximum level of returns from investment (Jose 2016). Furthermore, the focus laid by the entrepreneur towards innovation in the operational systems and processes has also significantly contributed towards the success of the organization. 

Business Achievements of the Entrepreneur

The leadership and entrepreneurial qualities of N.R. Narayana Murthy enabled the organization to be able to achieve the global brand identity of being one of the leaders in technological and technical innovation. Furthermore, Narayana Murthy was also ranked as 13th among the 25 global business leaders as listed by CNBC (Mathews et al. 2013). He has also been listed as one of the 12 most prominent entrepreneurs of the contemporary times by Fortune in the year 2012 (Van der Veer 2005). He has received a Padma Vibhishan in India, Legion d’honneur in France and CBE in Britain. In the year 2005, he was also ranked among the 10 most admirable global business leaders by The Economist (Infosys.com 2021). In addition to this, he was also recognized to be the first Indian winner of the Ernst and Young’s World Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Motivation of the Entrepreneur to Succeed

Motivation can be recognized to be one of the most important aspects that determines the extent the entrepreneurship of an individual may be able to contribute towards the achievement of the overall organizational goals. In the case of N.R. Narayana Murthy it may be recognized that the motivation for the entrepreneur to succeed includes the rapid development in the technological resources available in India, as well as the high level of skills and knowledge present with the employees recruited within the organization (Govindarajan and Trimble 2011). High quality of technological and human resources available to the organization can be identified to be important motivating factors for the entrepreneur of Infosys. In terms of the different theories of effectuation, it may be mentioned that the style followed by Narayana Murthy can be described as being pilot in the sky. The Pilot in the Sky theory involves the role of the entrepreneur to assess the best step that may be undertaken by the organization through an identification and analysis of the available resources and the manner in which they would be utilized to bring about an achievement of the desired goals and objectives. 

Future Plans

The future business plans and strategies of the company is highly dependent upon the vision of the organization. In this regard, the future plans of the entrepreneur, N.R. Narayana Murthy can be identified to be aligned with the vision of the company, which is to become a globally respected corporation in the field of information technology (London.edu 2021). Thereby, the future plans of the company are oriented towards the development of the services offered to the clients as well as expansion of business activities into new markets.

Key Lessons from the Entrepreneur

Considering the technology entrepreneurship demonstrated by N.R. Narayana Murthy, it can be identified that effectiveness of entrepreneurship is highly determined by the extent of knowledge and information that may be gathered with the help if market research and experience in the industry (Marisetty 2011). Furthermore, it must also be recognized that the effectiveness of Narayana Murthy as an entrepreneur is also owing to the spirit of innovation that was adopted by him in order to propel the organization towards the path of rapid growth and development.

Part B – Theme of Technology Entrepreneurship

The concept of technology entrepreneurship refers to a project which facilitates the assembling and deployment of heterogeneous assets and specialized individuals for the purpose of propelling an advancement of technological and scientific knowledge and skills of a firm, in turn capturing optimized amount of value from the conducting the business operations of the said firm. This type of entrepreneurship entails propelling the growth of the organization through increased levels of innovation and technological development (Bailetti 2012). There are four basic elements that may be identified in terms of the scope of technology entrepreneurship. These four elements include the factor of the ultimate outcomes towards which the activities of the entrepreneurs are directed, the targets to be achieved, mechanisms used to deliver the targets and the interdependence of the selected mechanisms with the recent technological advances in that field of business operations.

It has been observed in the case of N.R. Narayana Murthy that the adoption of technology entrepreneurship entailed a high level of focus upon the aspects of technological advances and innovation, as an important medium to enable the growth and development of the organization as a whole. In this regard, it may also be recognized that the primary objective of the entrepreneur was to deliver the best quality of services to the customers with the help of innovation and application of the recent technological advances in the field of information technology (Srivastava and Singh 2016). In the particular case of Infosys, such technological advances included the use of Artificial Intelligence powered cores, which prioritizes the execution of change within the scope of the corporation. Furthermore, the entrepreneur has also been observed to prioritize the delivery of high level of performance from the employees and other members of the organization especially in terms of providing the services to the customers or clients. 

The emphasis of technological entrepreneurship has usually been observed to lie upon the creation of maximum amount of value for the customers or clients with the help of utilizing highly innovative and advanced technological resources along with the necessary competencies of the workforce to adjust and adapt to these technological changes. In this regard, it is also ensured by the technological entrepreneurs that the recent trends and developments in the industry are also met in terms of conduction of the business processes and operations.

References

Bailetti, T., 2012. Technology entrepreneurship: overview, definition, and distinctive aspects. Technology innovation management review, 2(2).

Govindarajan, V. and Trimble, C., 2011. The CEO's role in business model reinvention. Harvard business review, 89(1-2), pp.108-14.Govindarajan, V. and Trimble, C., 2011. The CEO's role in business model reinvention. Harvard business review, 89(1-2), pp.108-14.

Infosys.com, 2021. About the Company. [online] Infosys.com. Available at: <https://www.infosys.com/about.html> [Accessed 4 April 2021].

Infosys.com, 2021. N.R. Narayana Murthy. [online] Infosys.com. Available at: <https://www.infosys.com/about/management-profiles/narayana-murthy.html> [Accessed 4 April 2021].

Jain, D., Bhansali, L. and Sharma, Y., 2014, November. Rising Sun at Infosys Narayana Murthy's Iconic Leadership Rescue Faltering Infosys?. In Conference Proceedings of the International Conference ICRSB.

Jose, P.D., 2016. Business and society: creating shared value: in conversation with NR Narayana Murthy, Founder, Infosys. IIMB Management Review, 28(1), pp.43-51.

London.edu, 2021. What next for Infosys? | London Business School. [online] London Business School. Available at: <https://www.london.edu/think/what-next-for-infosys> [Accessed 4 April 2021].

Marisetty, V.B., 2011. Corporate governance survey: A holistic view for altruistic practice: Corporate governance practice: Interview with NR Narayana Murthy, founder, Infosys Technologies. IIMB Management Review, 23(1), pp.30-38.

Mathews, E., Chittuparamban, B.A., Joshi, S. and Dey, P., 2013. Engaging the Corporate Sector: Narayana Murthy Committee Recommendations on Higher Education. Economic and Political Weekly, pp.41-47.

McDougall, P.P. and Oviatt, B.M., 2003. Some fundamental issues in international entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, 18, p.27.

Murthy, N.N., 2010. Leadership@ Infosys. Penguin Books India.

Pednekar, M.C., 2012. Effective traits for corporate leadership (a study on Ratan Tata and NR Narayana Murthy).

Srivastava, P. and Singh, S., 2016. Narayana Murthy: The Table Turner in Troubled Times. Amity Business Journal, 5(2), pp.31-37.

Van der Veer, P., 2005. Virtual India: Indian IT labor and the nation-state. Sovereign bodies: Citizens, migrants, and states in the postcolonial world, pp.276-90.

Course Work 2 

Introductions:

According to the opinion of Zahra and George (2017), international entrepreneurship pertains to the conduction of business activities and operations by an entrepreneur beyond the scope of geographic boundaries. These international business activities as conducted by the organizations may pertain to export activities, licensing, development of subsidiaries, joint ventures, development of manufacturing units or creating sales offices across the said geographic boundaries. The scope of international entrepreneurship pertains to the opportunity provided to the organization to expand its operations in new markets, as well as cater to the demands of a larger base of targeted customers. In this regard, it may also be mentioned that the scope of international entrepreneurship also involves incorporating the various global improvements and advancements on technologies, operations and qualities. Furthermore, it has also been identified by Terjesen, Hessels and Li (2016), that the scope of international entrepreneurship involves the ability of the global entrepreneurs to be able to evaluate the different factors operating in the external business environment and thereby strategize effective means by which the business activities will be conducted in the global context. These strategies may pertain to entry in the foreign market or analysis of competition in the new market so that appropriate strategies may be developed to facilitate the organization in gaining its overall objectives and goals. Significantly, international entrepreneurship and the development of effective business activities across geographic and national boundaries also enables in the generation of foreign exchange, which in turn contributes towards the development of the economy of the particular countries. In this respect, it has been stated by Zucchella and Magnani (2016), that international entrepreneurship is one of the most identifiable factors, which contributes towards economic development in countries.

In order to conduct business activities and operations in an efficient manner in the global context, it is essential for the entrepreneurs to possess the necessary skills of analyzing and decision making. In this regard it has been mentioned by Baier-Fuentes et al. (2019), that a necessary skill observed among international entrepreneurs includes the ability to evaluate the various factors operating in the internal and external environment of business so that they may be able to identify the various opportunities and threats that may be faced during the course of business operations. Furthermore, it is also essential for the entrepreneurs to possess the skills and abilities to be able to engage in effective strategy formulation processes so that the identified opportunities may be utilized and the threats or challenges potentially faced by the organization be avoided. Thereby, it may be identified that an opportunity for international entrepreneurship is the development of analytical, critical and decision making abilities, which will enable the international entrepreneurs to ensure successful outcomes for their international business ventures. Furthermore, it has been stated by Liesch, Welch and Buckley (2014), that another essential opportunity for international entrepreneurship may also be recognized to be the establishment of efficient foreign policies among the various nations in which the business operations of the company will be conducted. In this regard, the presence of satisfactory and suitable economic factors for the company also provides an important opportunity for the growth of international entrepreneurship. There are various approaches that may be undertaken by entrepreneurs in terms of conducting international business operations. Technological entrepreneurship has been identified to be one such approach which involves the incorporation of high level of advancements and innovation in technology in order to be able to remain competitive in the international business market.

As opined by Giones and Brem (2017), the concept of technology entrepreneurship refers to a project, which facilitates the assembling and deployment of heterogeneous assets and specialized individuals for the purpose of propelling an advancement of technological and scientific knowledge and skills of a firm, in turn capturing optimized amount of value from the conducting the business operations of the said firm. The field of technological entrepreneurship involves an increased focus of the entrepreneurs upon the importance of technology as one of the most significant contributors towards overall organizational efficiency and success of business outcomes. Such a utilization of technological resources pertains to the enhancement of knowledge required to incorporate advancements of the technology in the operational systems as well as focus upon research and development of the various ways in which the technological changes and advancements may be incorporated to induce the enhancement of existing operational systems. According to the opinion of Ferreira  et al. (2016), technological entrepreneurship entails propelling the growth of the organization through increased levels of innovation and technological development. There are four basic elements that may be identified in terms of the scope of technology entrepreneurship. These four elements include the factor of the ultimate outcomes towards which the activities of the entrepreneurs are directed, the targets to be achieved, mechanisms used to deliver the targets and the interdependence of the selected mechanisms with the recent technological advances in that field of business operations.

It has been identified by Mosey, Guerrero and Greenman (2017), that the aspect of the outcomes towards which the activities of the entrepreneurs are directed further involves value creation as one of the most essential objectives. In this regard, it can be mentioned that technological entrepreneurship believes in the efficient utilization of technological resources and advancements in the infrastructure available, so as to optimize the value created for the company as well as its stakeholders. Furthermore, another essential aspect identified by Brown and Mason (2014), in this regard, pertains to the alignment of the value creation thus facilitated with the overall organizational goals and objectives. Such an alignment of the value created for the various stakeholders of the company, would further enable the entrepreneurs to generate the required engagement and interaction from their side to conduct the business operations in an efficient manner and thereby achieve the established goals and objectives of the organization. However, it is also essential for the entrepreneurs to decide the manner in which the various business activities and operations of the company will be conducted in order to achieve the established organizational objectives and thereby the target of optimizing the value creation for the stakeholders from the business activities.

An important aspect of technological entrepreneurship that has been identified by Ratinho, Harms and Walsh (2015), pertains to the methods in which the ultimate outcomes are achieved through proper planning and management of the business activities and operations. This aspect also involves the planning of the various investments that are required to be made, especially in the fields of research and development of the necessary technology to bring about successful business outcomes. The efficiency of planning and conducting these investments would in turn determine the extent to which the targets of creating and capturing optimum levels of value can be achieved from the entrepreneurial activities. The stock of resources available to the business organization must be allocated and utilized in an efficient manner, which can be ensured through effectiveness of the decision making and analytical skills of the technological entrepreneurs. As has been opined by Shih and Huang (2017), that technological entrepreneurship involves ensuring the interdependence of the mechanisms used for achieving the ultimate outcomes and the technological and scientific advances adopted for the purpose of achieving those outcomes. In this regard, it can be identified that the scope of technological entrepreneurship involves the influence of the entrepreneurs upon the relevant technological and scientific knowledge to evaluate the effectiveness of the advances or their adoption within the operational systems. It is essential for the entrepreneurs to be able to develop their knowledge and skills to an extent, so as to be able to identify the impact of the technological trends in the industry and thereby the importance of adopting them within the scope of business activities and operations.

In the opinion of Mosey (2016), technology entrepreneurship focuses upon laying importance on the creation and capturing of value for the business organization through specific projects that are aimed towards the combination of various technological assets to bring about successful outcomes of the operations and business activities. Furthermore, the scope of technology entrepreneurship also entails the incorporation of collaboration among the various members of the organization in order to be able to experiment different methods of increasing efficiency of business performance. As has been observed by Matejun (2016), technology entrepreneurship involves the utilization and management of new assets, attributes and products in terms of exploring the opportunities available to the organization for innovation and further development. The identification and solving of the specific problems or challenges that may arise in particular projects undertaken by a technology entrepreneur further involves the application of the available technological resources. These projects may be identified to include the launching of new ventures, introduction of new applications and exploitation of various technological and scientific opportunities that may be available to the organization. The general practices of management as conducted within the scope of technology entrepreneurship involves the careful research of the market and industry on which the organization operates in order to develop the business operations to the full potential of growth with the help of the use of the recent trends on technological developments and advancements. In this regard, the development of a spirit if innovation and creative ideation is particularly essential for the entrepreneurs, as it enables them to ensure that the employees and other members of the organization are well adapted towards the changes that may be applied in the business operations in terms of incorporation of new technological innovations and advancements.

There are various factors that may be identified to differentiate technology entrepreneurship from other approaches towards international entrepreneurship. These factors play an important role in bringing out the significance of efficient allocation and utilization of technological resources within the scope of a business organization. One of the most important aspects that may be identified in this regard pertains to the interdependence of scientific and technological change within the operational scope of the organization. In this regard, it has been identified by Eliakis et al. (2020), that one of the characteristic features of technology entrepreneurship may be regarded in terms of the adaptability towards change as perceived within the organizational scope, so that they may be able to update their operations in terms of the recent advancements and development s in the technology utilized by the organization. In other words, an essential aspect of technology entrepreneurship entails the ability of the entrepreneurs to be able to recognize opportunities in the business environment and thereby utilize it through the introduction of technological changes and developments to enhance the overall performance of the organization and achieve the organizational goals and targets in an effective manner.

As has been identified by Urbano et al. (2019), that the scope of technology entrepreneurship entails the opportunity of growth and development of the international business activities especially for small to medium sized enterprises. It is so because, in an international context, a high level of adaptability towards technological changes and advancements provide an increased scope for business development and growth for the small to medium sized enterprises. This factor further enables them to expand and enhance the manner in which their business operations are conducted to achieve the overall organizational targets. Growth and development of business operations involves the ability of the entrepreneurs to identify growth opportunities and thereby engage in effective strategy formulation processes that are aligned towards meeting the particular interests and vision of the organization as whole. Thereby, it may be identified that the purpose of adopting a technology entrepreneurship approach is to be able to promote the development of operational systems through the incorporation of innovation and advancement of the technological resources. This also involves an increased alignment of the utilization of the other resources like the workforce and finances towards the growth of business through technological development.

Conclusion

From the above discussion on the various approaches and techniques used by leaders of international business organizations, it may be said that there are various challenges and threats that may be faced by the leaders. However, the overall effectiveness of the business operations of these organizations is ultimately dependent upon the skills and expertise of the leaders in being able to manage the international business operations.

References

Baier-Fuentes, H., Merigó, J.M., Amorós, J.E. and Gaviria-Marín, M., 2019. International entrepreneurship: a bibliometric overview. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 15(2), pp.385-429.

Brown, R. and Mason, C., 2014. Inside the high-tech black box: A critique of technology entrepreneurship policy. Technovation, 34(12), pp.773-784.

Eliakis, S., Kotsopoulos, D., Karagiannaki, A. and Pramatari, K., 2020. Survival and Growth in Innovative Technology Entrepreneurship: A Mixed-Methods Investigation. Administrative Sciences, 10(3), p.39.

Ferreira, J.J., Ferreira, F.A., Fernandes, C.I., Jalali, M.S., Raposo, M.L. and Marques, C.S., 2016. What do we [not] know about technology entrepreneurship research?. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 12(3), pp.713-733.

Giones, F. and Brem, A., 2017. Digital technology entrepreneurship: A definition and research agenda. Technology Innovation Management Review, 7(5).

Liesch, P.W., Welch, L.S. and Buckley, P.J., 2014. Risk and uncertainty in internationalisation and international entrepreneurship studies. In The multinational enterprise and the emergence of the global factory (pp. 52-77). Palgrave Macmillan, London.

Matejun, M., 2016. Role of technology entrepreneurship in the development of innovativeness of small and medium-sized enterprises. Management, 20(1), p.167.

Mosey, S., 2016. Teaching and research opportunities in technology entrepreneurship. Technovation, 57.

Mosey, S., Guerrero, M. and Greenman, A., 2017. Technology entrepreneurship research opportunities: insights from across Europe. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 42(1), pp.1-9.

Ratinho, T., Harms, R. and Walsh, S., 2015. Structuring the Technology Entrepreneurship publication landscape: Making sense out of chaos. Technological forecasting and social change, 100, pp.168-175.

Shih, T. and Huang, Y.Y., 2017. A case study on technology entrepreneurship education at a Taiwanese research university. Asia pacific management review, 22(4), pp.202-211.

Terjesen, S., Hessels, J. and Li, D., 2016. Comparative international entrepreneurship: A review and research agenda. Journal of Management, 42(1), pp.299-344.

Urbano, D., Guerrero, M., Ferreira, J.J. and Fernandes, C.I., 2019. New technology entrepreneurship initiatives: Which strategic orientations and environmental conditions matter in the new socio-economic landscape?. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 44(5), pp.1577-1602.

Zahra, S.A. and George, G., 2017. International entrepreneurship: The current status of the field and future research agenda. Strategic entrepreneurship: Creating a new mindset, pp.253-288.

Zucchella, A. and Magnani, G., 2016. International entrepreneurship: theoretical foundations and practices. Springer.

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