Launching New Ventures Through Technology

Abstract

The business environment of the early twenty-first century affords entrepreneurs the opportunity to launch new ventures through technology. The need to use up-to-date technological innovations in business is increasingly becoming a necessity, as firms strive to obtain good business partners and to achieve competitive advantage. New firms must avoid adopting technology for technology's sake: sound business practices must prevail, and any technology that is adopted must be the right fit.

Overview

The field of entrepreneurship comprises three main elements: organizational creation, organizational renewal, and innovation—within or outside an existing organization (Sharma and Chrisman, 1999). The formation of new business ventures amounts to organizational creation with innovation, as an individual or organization pioneers, innovates, and takes risks for growth and development.

According to Sharma and Chrisman (1999), “entrepreneurs are individuals or groups of individuals, acting independently or as part of a corporate system, who create new organizations, or instigate renewal or innovation within an existing organization” (p. 18). Entrepreneurs carry out new business permutations out of a quest for growth through innovation.

A business venture is an entrepreneurial activity in which capital is exposed to the risk of loss weighed against the possible reward of profit. New ventures may be formed within preexisting organizations, or they may be formed independently, 'from scratch.' The formation of new business ventures by preexisting organizations is known as corporate venturing. Specifically, corporate venturing refers to the corporate entrepreneurial efforts that lead to the creation of totally new business organizations within preexisting corporate organizations (Sharma and Chrisman, 1999). This is different from strategic renewal, where corporate entrepreneurial efforts result in significant changes to an organization's preexisting business or corporate level strategy or structure, but not the formation of new business organizations.

New businesses formed from scratch are termed startups. Startup activity is related to the macroeconomic growth rate, the cost of capital, and the unemployment rate of a country as well as industry-specific characteristics, especially the technological conditions underlying the industry.

While starting a company is much easier than before, succeeding is as difficult as ever. “Only about a third of all startups ever turn a profit; another third operate at break-even level, and the rest end in failure. Top among the reasons young companies fail are problems such as incorrect market focus and misguided executive leadership” (Copeland and Malik, 2006, par. 3).

In developed economies like that of the United States, new firms play two essential roles. First, they are engines of innovation, more so than large firms, which only innovate within limits. Secondly, new firms in such economies help to smooth out the oscillations in the business cycle, fuelling rebounds during slump periods.

High-impact entrepreneurs are those who start new firms, often with new ideas, not necessarily ideas for new products, but sometimes with ideas for new business strategies, and innovative production and marketing ideas. Apart from ideas, new firms also need money, skilled people, and other resources: in developed economies, these are often obtained from large, mature firms.

High-impact entrepreneurship thrives most in countries that pay proper attention to the entrepreneurial system, which comprises four sectors: high-impact entrepreneurs, large mature firms, the government, and the universities(Copeland and Malik, 2006). Large mature firms assist new ventures by becoming their customers, outsourcing to them, buying them up, and training and providing human capital to start or join them. The government formulates and implements policies to actively encourage entrepreneurship. It therefore creates an enabling environment for entrepreneurship, provides funding, sponsors research, and buys products from new firms. The universities invest in education: they help broaden access to higher education and carry out research and idea-generation for new businesses.

Technology is the systematic knowledge and use, usually of industrial processes but applicable to any recurrent activity. It refers to developed applications for business and industry and the use of applied science for the development of technical applications. There are two types of developments in technology: those that reduce manual labor and those that enhance existing services (de Bunen, 2003).

There are several branches of technology: applied science (including computer technology, electronics, and nanotechnology); athletics and recreation; information and communication; industry; military science; domestic/residential; engineering; health and safety; and transport.

The use of technology in business has grown dramatically due to increases in the speed of communication and business processes, decreases in the cost of technology, decreases in the importance of businesses activities that take place in fixed geographical locations, globalization, and increases in global competition, major investments in infrastructure, and a leading-edge mentality in firms.

The use of technology in business has even given rise to a new management science called Business Technology Management (BTM). BTM unifies business and technology decision-making at every level in an organization. BTM provides a set of guiding principles, known as BTM Capabilities. The capabilities are combined to form BTM solutions, which organize and improve a company’s practices.

As a global society, we have evolved from the industrial age to the information age; information has replaced physical products and inventories as the real driving force of business success. According to Amine and Botterton (2002), “clearly, there has been a profound transition in methods of doing business, especially in the way market players (both individuals and companies) communicate” (p. 1). Copeland writes, “New technologies are creating new business opportunities on the Internet, on mobile phones, in consumer products, and in information services” (2006, Par. 2).

As with the other branches of technology, the use of information technology (IT) in new businesses has many advantages. Internet and Web-related technologies offer real savings in time, money, effort, and valuable gains in efficiency and scope for many organizations, through the following capabilities (Amine and Botterton, 2002):

• Global information dissemination
• Interactive communication
• Mass customization
• Collaboration
• Transactional support
• integration (Looney and Chatterjee, 2002).

Companies “exploit one or more of these capabilities to reach a wider customer base, offer a broader range of value-added service offerings, and develop closer affiliations with customers” (Looney and Chatterjee, 2002, p. 76). Firms now have a relatively economical medium for marketing their products and services to a wider customer base and over long distances. They also offer a broader range of value-added service offerings. Through Customer Relationship Management, firms can also adapt their customer offerings and communications strategy to different customers, cultivate two-way customer-firm dialogue, and drastically improve the firm's image through demonstrated responsiveness (Looney and Chatterjee, 2002).

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are computer systems designed to collect, store, retrieve, manipulate, and display spatial data. These systems can be used by new firms to geographically reference useful information such as census data, mailing addresses, telephone numbers, demographic traits, population distributions, location of shopping malls and residential housing, and much more.

New markets can be identified on the basis of demographics such as age, income, gender, housing preference, and census block. Advertising expenditure can be allocated to population areas containing appropriate demographic characteristics for the target market, and outdoor advertising can be purchased based on the routes residents are likely to take from work to home. Maps can be prepared to assure efficient routing for delivery of goods and services. Salespeople can access information on customer locations as well as availability of alternative sources (McBane, 2003). GIS can be combined with Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology, providing roadside assistance, driving directions, and mobile yellow pages.

According to Diana (2005), “the technological capabilities offered by computers, software and the Internet have become indispensable in the performing of most business processes, and the reach of this technology is becoming almost unlimited as handheld computing devices and wireless networking technologies improve. . . Increasingly, cars are being designed with computer networking capabilities so that company vehicles can be virtual rolling offices” p. 22). Advances in technology like email, video conferences, and online conferencing save time by reducing the number of face-to-face meetings needed to make decisions, conclude transactions, and manage projects.

Along with the Internet, “the concept of the intranet and extranet have developed which have added to the single communication standard. The intranet means that a company uses the Internet technology for communication within the company. The extranet further extends the intranet by allowing outside companies to gain access to selected internal company data” (Kanter, 1999, p. 13).

New firms can also use technology for their internal operations. For instance, Internet and Web-related technologies can be used to recruit employees and to give employees direct access to their own HR and payroll information, thereby allowing them to perform by electronic means transactions that used to be performed by administrative staff on paper forms. Touch-tone telephones can also be used for employee self-service, through Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems (Nielson, 2002).

Applications

E-business (technologies or uses) refers to the use of information and communications technologies to perform any type of business-related operation. E-business refers to

“the ability of a firm to electronically connect, in multiple ways, many organizations, both internal and external, for many different purposes. It allows a firm to execute electronic transactions with any individual entity along the value chain, which includes suppliers, logistics providers, wholesalers, distributors, service providers, and end customers. E-business also allows an organization to establish real-time connections simultaneously among numerous entities for specific purposes, such as optimizing the flow of physical items like raw materials, components and finished products, through the supply chain” (Fahey, Srivatava, Sharon & Smith, 2001, p. 892).

Fahey, et al. write that “one of the key characteristics of the e-business world is that companies will inevitably move more and more into a customer-centric approach in order to increase competitiveness” (2001, p. 892). All the processes in an organization can be affected by e-business, while subcategories with labels such as e-commerce and e-marketing are confined to certain key business processes (Meckel et al., 2004).

E-commerce refers to technologies and uses related to the performance of market transactions (getting in touch, negotiating, agreeing on deals, and making payments). “The rapid growth of the Internet, networking systems such as electronic data interchange systems, and the penetration of ISDN based applications are stimulating an ever-increasing number of businesses to participate in e-commerce worldwide” (Papazoglou, 2001, p. 71).

E-marketing is a component of e-commerce. It uses the Internet to advertise and sell goods and services. It can sometimes include information management, public relations, and customer service.

Brousseau and Chaves (2005) write that firms “make multiple uses of Internet for business, but selling online is the least frequent one. . . . This is because selling online is more complex, not only because it requires more complex technologies (essentially to manage security and payments), but also because it requires a re-engineering of the company's operations. . . . There may also exist 'natural' barriers to selling online, in particular when the provision of a good or a service requires 'face-to-face' interactions because it is complex, because there are uncertainties about quality, and so on” (p. 7-8).

E-business technologies are also used to “support coordination between business partners, for instance, exchanging operational data, forecasts, and sharing technical information” (Brousseau and Chaves, 2005, p. 3).

Fahey, et al. report that “business offers the platform for new forms of marketplace strategy models, and it also requires firms to refocus and reconfigure almost every type of tangible and intangible asset. . . Many new start-up e-business-based entities such as Travelocity, E*TRADE, and amazon.com create integrated networks of relationships with channels, end customers, suppliers, providers, and even rivals that would not be possible in the absence of the ever-increasing electronic interconnectivity. These relationships afford the e-business-driven organization the ability to access and influence the assets of external entities” (2001, p. 893).

In effect, “e-business is dramatically reshaping every traditional business process: from developing new products and managing customer relationships to acquiring human resources and procuring raw materials and components. By enabling major new tasks to be added to individual processes, e-business broadens their scope, content, and value-generating capability . . . by integrating traditionally largely separate processes, e-business creates what might well be described as new business processes” (Fahey et al., 2001, p. 893).

E-business is first and foremost developed to improve coordination with partners, then to expand markets, and then to increase competitiveness (Brousseau and Chaves, 2005). Indeed, the use of e-business can provide an important source of competitive advantage in the current business environment; it is rapidly becoming a competitive necessity in order to do business with larger firms.

For firms that want to launch their business through technology, technological reasons are often secondary to commercial considerations. The powerful external pressure to start with e-business technologies comes both from potential customers and competitors (Meckel et al., 2004). The pressure is greatest for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are “frequently not in a position to dictate terms and are dependent on larger companies where they are suppliers of products (goods or services) or buyers of products” (p. 262). Such SMEs thus face two major problems:

• Disproportionate implementation costs because they have to adapt to the IT solution of the large company. The solution would most likely have to be implemented from scratch and would be tailored to the needs of the large company rather than the SME.
• Technological 'lock-in' with specific trading partners when the IT solution of the large company involves unique and exclusive standards, rather than open standards (Meckel et al., 2004, p. 261-2).

New ventures launching through technology would have to have a technology-capable workforce. They may save funds by buying and using commercial, off-the-shelf applications, including desktop applications like word processors, accounting systems, human resources systems, and other sophisticated business applications. Such commercial, off-the-shelf applications have quelled the need for in-house programming staff (Phillips, 2001). On the other hand, if the new venture has any custom-made systems or programs, it may have to provide specialized training for its employees.

Many new ventures—especially startups—may not have enough money to successfully launch their businesses, and therefore they may need to raise money. According to Copeland and Malik, “The right time to raise the first round of money varies from startup to startup. Some companies—mostly software or Web-based ventures—need relatively little funding to get off the ground.” Firms looking to build a physical product will look for funding much earlier on. That's where “angel investors come in: unlike venture capitalists, who usually wait until a company has a working product, they specialize in early-stage startups” (Copeland and Malik, 2006).

In general, many of the new technologies have “radically reduced the costs associated with launching a new venture.” In the late 1990s, a typical venture capital–funded startup needed roughly $10 million to put together the infrastructure and staff required to carry the company from its first business plan to its first product launch. In 2006, that cost was reduced to just $4 million—and in many cases much less, meaning that the “barriers to entry have never been lower” (Copeland and Malik, 2006).

Issues

There is a continuing debate about whether technology is actually the driving force in the development of new business processes or merely the facilitator or enabler (Kanter, 1999). The answer notwithstanding, it would be wrong for new firms to bank their success wholly on technology; new firms also need appropriate leadership, strategies, structures, systems, processes, organizational environments, human resources, and other resources.

A new venture launched through technology is not likely to succeed if the plan for an innovation looks only at the project as originally conceived, and not at underlying capabilities that may be created. Neither will the venture succeed if no explicit plan has been made to articulate and test assumptions and update the project according to what is learned ("The value captor's process," 2007). Web companies that learn quickly from their mistakes are more likely to succeed. The strategy is to launch quickly, listen to customers by examining user data, and see what works and what does not. Defects are embraced as a means toward improvement.

Project funding for a new venture should be linked to requirements that certain post-launch milestones must be successfully achieved. In addition, the firm should ensure good management of its cash flow. In the marketing arena, it has been said that it is better for a new venture to start with an existing market rather than a revolutionary product ("Startups that work," 2005). The market size should be well-estimated, and the firm should protect its competitive position, creating an unforgettable brand for its product or service. The initial founding team should include a marketing or salesperson.

Rewards allocated to the new venture's project team members should not only be tied to the successful launch of the firm: the project team should not be made to suffer negative consequences if the venture dies prematurely. Similarly, pressure should not be placed on the business leaders to quickly achieve large revenues or market share.

Technology in business does not operate on its own; it is driven by people. The human resource systems and strategies for a new venture must be built early, preferably in conjunction with an educational institution. The firm must have a talented management team in place, with a Board of Directors to offer strategic guidance. Management team members should have experience handling uncertain or ambiguous situations.

It is uncommon for firms to be able to acquire or afford all the technological and human resources that they need. Increasingly, they form interdependent and flexible relationships with other firms—including suppliers and competing firms—to be able to focus on what they do best. A new venture should consider outsourcing, and it should choose all of its partners wisely.

A new venture should also seek to constantly develop its product or service range, and in doing so, it should not shy away from making acquisitions. In fact, acquisitions can turn out to be the cheapest way to expand the business. Entrepreneurs should not think that their company's products and assets have to be brand new in order to be their own.

The firm must establish a strategic business model. The new venture should not be evaluated on a calendar schedule, as established businesses are—instead, it should be evaluated according to the achievement of specific milestones. Additionally, if the new venture is a project of a preexisting company, it should not be managed in isolation from other parts of the company.

Lastly, progress in achieving the planned goals should not be seen as the only way to measure project benefits. Intangible assets, new opportunities uncovered, or platforms on which future ideas could build should be identified and monitored ("The value captor's process," 2007).

Once launched, new ventures should be careful not to rely on pure technology to solve its problems. They must be sure to review their business processes and interaction with trading partners as carefully as they evaluate new technology (Burnell, 2001).

With new ventures that wish to—or are compelled to—launch through technology, the main thing is to use the right technology in the right place to deliver the biggest benefit. New technologies should not be used unless they have a business or a performance benefit and have proven security and robustness.

For example, in 2014, the start-up company HiyaCar, a peer-to-peer car rental company, began with an intention to use a unique technological platform to stand out from and compete with other car rental companies in the United Kingdom. However, upon its foundation, its entrepreneurial employees realized that they needed to first establish the best insurance policy for the company before developing their technology. Additionally, once they began operating, they initially used an off-the-shelf software program that allowed them to test the market viability of the company and simultaneously raise money for their planned technological concept. By 2017, the company was successfully employing its platform, which had been built from scratch and was capable of being adapted to their needs, enabling them to incorporate services such as keyless technology to ensure that their company proves valuable to prospective customers (Flinders, 2017).

Terms & Concepts

Business Technology Management: A management science that seeks to unify business and technology decision-making at every level of an enterprise.

Corporate Venturing: Corporate entrepreneurial efforts that lead to the creation of new business organizations within preexisting organizations.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Methodologies, technology, and e-commerce capabilities used to manage a firm's relationships with its customers. CRM is a mechanism for aligning a firm's business processes with its strategies for customer retention and profitability.

E-business: E-business (technologies or uses) refers to the use of information and communications technologies to perform any type of business-related operation. E-business refers to the ability of a firm to electronically connect, in multiple ways, many organizations, both internal and external, for many different purposes.

E-commerce: E-commerce refers to technologies and uses related to the performance of market transactions (getting in touch, negotiating, agreeing on deals, and making payments).

E-marketing: E-marketing is a component of e-commerce. It refers to the use of the Internet to advertise and sell goods and services. Internet marketing can sometimes include information management, public relations, customer service, and sales.

Entrepreneur: An individual, acting independently or as part of a corporate system, who creates new organizations or instigates renewal or innovation within an existing organization.

Entrepreneurship: In macro terms, this term is synonymous with the advancement of an economy, and in a micro sense, it refers to the process by which an individual or organization pioneers, innovates, and takes risks for growth and development. Entrepreneurship encompasses acts of organizational creation, renewal, or innovation that occur within or outside an existing organization.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS): Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are computer systems designed to collect, store, retrieve, manipulate, and display spatial data. These systems can be used by new firms to geographically reference useful information such as census data, mailing addresses, telephone numbers, demographic traits, population distributions, location of shopping malls and residential housing, and much more.

Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) Technology: A satellite-based navigation and location system that provides highly accurate information to users.

Information Technology (IT): Information technology encompasses hardware, software, and peripherals, providing management with increasing capacity to record, store, manipulate, and communicate information across wide geographic boundaries, with access by many users.

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Systems: Automated telephone information systems that speak to the caller with a combination of fixed voice menus and data extracted from databases in real time. The caller responds by pressing digits on the telephone or speaking words or short phrases.

New Venture: A new entrepreneurial activity in which capital is exposed to the risk of loss for the possibility of reaping a profit reward.

Startup: A new venture formed from scratch.

Technology: Technology is systematic knowledge and action, usually of industrial processes but applicable to any recurrent activity. It also refers to developed applications for industry and the industrial arts.

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Suggested Reading

Acs, Z., & Preston, L. (1997). Small and medium-sized enterprises, technology, and globalization: introduction to a special… Small Business Economics, 9, 1. Retrieved April 26, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=9711300204&site=ehost-live

Audretsch, D., & Acs, Z. (1994). New-firm startups, technology, and macroeconomic fluctuations. Small Business Economics, 6, 439–449. Retrieved April 28, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=16913165&site=ehost-live

Brousseau, E., & Chaves, B. (2005). Contrasted paths of adoption: Is e-business really converging toward a common organizational model? Electronic Markets, 15, 181–198. Retrieved April 27, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=18396415&site=ehost-live

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