Technology Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets: An Exploration of Entrepreneurial Models Prevalent in India

Abstract

Are the features and processes of entrepreneurship – such as wealth creation, risk taking, vision, identification of a niche market, launching new products, and so on – common across the world? Many would assume they would be. However, firms that are entrepreneurial in nature and belong to emerging markets may or may not follow the established models of developed economies. In this study, we sought to explore various types of entrepreneurial models that are prevalent in an emerging market. For this purpose, we collected primary and secondary data to identify characteristics of technology-based entrepreneurial firms in India. Based on the two dimensions of degree of demand/supply and expected loss/risk, we identify four models of entrepreneurship – incremental, proactive, radical, and reactive – and illustrate each model with examples from Indian companies.

Keywords

• emerging markets
• entrepreneurship
• India
• models
• technology
• typology