General concepts Flashcards
Define Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO).
Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) is a firm’s strategic posture through processes, practices and decision-making activities that reflects entrepreneuriality, that lead to new entry.
EO consists of five dimensions: (PIRAC)
- Proactiveness – Acting ahead of to seize opportunities.
- Innovativeness – Introducing new ideas, technologies, and business models.
- Risk-Taking – Willingness to invest in uncertain opportunities.
- Autonomy – Independence in decision-making and strategic direction.
- Competitive Aggressiveness – Strong commitment to outperforming rivals.
Define Ambidexterity in organizations.
Organizational ambidexterity is a firm’s ability to simultaneously exploit existing capabilities while exploring new opportunities.
Ambidextrous organizations effectively balance:
Exploitation – Improving and optimizing current operations for efficiency.
Exploration – Innovating and experimenting with new markets, products, or technologies.
Capabilities required for firms to be successful at ambidexterity
Sensing opportunities and threats
Seizing, making right decision and executing
Reconfiguring, reallocate resources from declining to emerging growth opportunities.
Define Competitive Advantage.
Firm’s ability to outperform rivals by delivering superior value or operating more efficiently.
Sources of competitive advantage include:
Cost Leadership – Offering lower prices due to cost efficiencies.
Differentiation – Providing unique products or services.
Network Effects – Gaining an edge through widespread market presence.
Porters 5 forces
The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy:
- Threat of new entrants
- Bargaining power of suppliers
- Bargaining power of buyers
- Threat of substitute products
- Rivalry among existing competitors
Define the VRIO framework.
is a tool for evaluating a firm’s resources to determine if they provide a sustained competitive advantage. A resource must be:
Valuable (V): Helps the firm exploit opportunities or neutralize threats.
Rare (R): Not widely possessed by competitors.
Imitable (I): Difficult or costly for competitors to copy.
Organized (O): The firm must have structures in place to capitalize on the resource. To be able to sustain their competitive advantage.
Define the value chain concept.
The value chain consists of primary and support activities that create and deliver value to customers.
Primary activities: Inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing & sales, service
Support activities: Infrastructure, HR, technology, procurement.
Define a learning organization.
A learning organization is one that creates, acquires, and transfers knowledge while modifying behavior to improve performance.
Through:
* Supportive learning environment
* Concrete learning processes and practices
* Leadership that reinforces learning
Key activities of a learning organization
Systematic problem-solving
Experimentation
Learning from past experiences
Learning from others
Knowledge transfer
Challenges in Building a Learning Organization
Fear of failure, lack of support from leadership, or rigid organizational structures that stifle innovation.
Define scaling up
Scaling involves expanding the venture’s operations, resources, and market reach to handle larger volumes of business without compromising efficiency or quality.
DeSantola and Gulati propose a framework focusing on two main aspects of scaling.
Structural Scaling: Expanding the organizational structure, systems, and roles.
Resource Scaling: Acquiring and managing resources to support growth.
What are the Stages of Growth in Scaling
Founding Stage: Initial establishment, often characterized by a small, flexible team with an entrepreneurial culture.
Expansion Stage: As demand grows, the company expands operations, hires more employees, and may adopt more formal structures.
Formalization Stage: At this point, processes become more standardized, and managerial roles become more clearly defined to sustain higher levels of productivity.
Maturity Stage: The organization becomes more bureaucratic and focuses on efficiency and risk management, which can stifle innovation if not managed carefully.
Define the challenges of scaling a business.
- Maintaining flexibility and culture
- Managing cash flow
- Hiring and leadership development
- Client acquisition vs. retention balance
- Competitive positioning
Mention some Strategies for Successful Scaling
- Building a Scalable Culture
- Adjusting Leadership and Management Styles
- Creating Flexible Systems
- Balancing Standardization and Innovation
Define the concept of a business model.
is a framework that defines how a company IDENTIFIES its customers, ENGAGES with them, delivers VALUE, and MONETIZES its offerings.
Define VUCA and explain its four components.
VUCA describes a challenging business environment characterized by:
Volatility: Rapid, unpredictable changes (e.g., fluctuating stock prices).
Uncertainty: Unknown outcomes despite clear causes (e.g., new government regulations).
Complexity: Many interrelated factors making decision-making difficult (e.g., global supply chains).
Ambiguity: Lack of clarity on cause-and-effect relationships (e.g., entering a new market with no prior data).
Define BANI and explain how it differs from VUCA.
BANI is an updated model that reflects today’s challenges more accurately than VUCA, focusing more on the consequences.
Brittle: Systems that seem strong but can collapse under stress.
Anxious: Fear-driven decision-making due to unpredictable events.
Non-Linear: Cause-and-effect relationships are unclear.
Incomprehensible: Too much complexity to fully grasp.
Define the Business model canvas
is a strategic tool that helps businesses visualize, design, and refine their business models.
It consists of nine building blocks:
Customer Segments – Who are the customers?
Value Proposition – What problem is solved for customers?
Channels – How does the company deliver its value proposition?
Customer Relationships – How does the company interact with customers?
Revenue Streams – How does the company make money?
Key Resources – What assets are needed to operate?
Key Activities – What activities drive value creation?
Key Partnerships – Who are the business partners?
Cost Structure – What are the main costs?
How would you describe a Startup’s financing cycle?
- Bootstrapping (Pre-Seed): Self-funding through personal savings, early revenue, or loans from FFF
- Seed Stage: Angel investors, accelerators, or crowdfunding provide funds for product development and market testing
- Early Growth (Series A & B): Venture capital funds help scale operations, expand marketing, and hire talent
- Expansion (Series C & Beyond): Late-stage VCs or private equity support market dominance, acquisitions, or global expansion
- Exit (IPO or Acquisition): The startup goes public or is acquired, providing liquidity for investors and founders.
Define financial bootstrapping.
Use of methods for meeting the need for resources without relying on long-term external finance from debt holders or new owners.
Bootstrapping includes tactics like personal savings, delaying payments, family employees, lease equipment, and reinvesting profits.
Define a Management System
Is a set of policies, processes and procedures used by an organization to ensure that it can fulfill the tasks required to achieve its objectives.
Mention some categories of management systems
Financial planning and evaluation
HR planning and evaluation
Strategic planning
Product development management
Sales / marketing management
partnership management
How managers use Management Systems?
-Making goals explicit and stable
-Help with coordination and plan the sequence steps
-Facilitate decision making and resource allocation
-Promote accountability and facilitate control
