The Role of Microenterprises in the Promotion of Rural Entrepreneurship in Assam

-- Dipanjan Chakraborty and Ratan Borman

Rural microenterprises ensure value addition to rural resources in rural areas engaging largely rural human resources. The basic rationale of developing microenterprises is that they provide additional employment opportunities and ensure more equitable distribution of income and better standard of living to the rural inhabitants. Global experience shows that the development of rural microenterprises is one of the most cost-effective ways of creating employment, scattering the industry, catalyzing research and development and allowing entrepreneurial talent to prosper. The present study is an attempt to analyze the socioeconomic characteristics of rural microentrepreneurs in the Sonitpur district of Assam. The study also highlights the problems encountered by these enterprises and suggests suitable measures to eradicate them. The findings of the study suggest that there is a need for concerted efforts by the government and rural masses to enhance the growth and prosperity of rural microenterprises.

© 2012 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

Predominance of Market Forces in Entrepreneurial Failures

-- K Nagarajan

Entrepreneurs are the backbone of any economy. It is by the efforts of entrepreneurs that wealth accumulation takes place in a society. It has been observed worldwide that whenever an economy has shown signs of development, in the background were the enterprising entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship, however, is a rare quality to be found. This is because of the fact that an entrepreneur has to assume greater responsibility and bear the risk of setting up a venture. Since people in general are risk-averse, the number of entrepreneurs that we come across is only a very small percentage of the total population of any society/country. It points to the urgent need to nurture the quality of entrepreneurship among the people. Equally important is the necessity to avoid entrepreneurial failures. This is because of two reasons. First, the capital locked up in failed ventures remains dormant and becomes a national waste. Second, failure of ventures lowers the confidence of entrepreneurs and kills entrepreneurial motivation. Thus, a study that attempts to identify the factors responsible for the failure of entrepreneurial ventures is pertinent and of great social relevance. In this paper, an attempt has been made towards this aspect and the study comes up with very useful findings.

© 2012 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

Group Entrepreneurship for Creating Successful Microenterprises

-- E M Reji

The literature on group entrepreneurship suggests remarkable departure from the classical concept of entrepreneurship. Unlike classical business entrepreneurship which is rare in any economy, the term group entrepreneurship has been coined to describe the process of escorting a group of people through the process of forming, managing and developing a group enterprise until it reaches the point at which the members can carry on without support. There is considerable evidence which suggests that the process of entrepreneurship can be carried out in group basis. Alternatively, the essential factors contributing to entrepreneurship can be successfully developed or made available in a systematic way to a number of people who want to engage in entrepreneurship in an organized group. This paper describes the group enterprises of women and the support environment that prevailed in fostering these group enterprises.

© 2012 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

Social Entrepreneurship: A Strategic Perspective

-- Partha Sarathi Roy

Social entrepreneurship is fast emerging as an innovative approach to deal with the complex social needs of development, especially operating under the neoliberal paradigm of governance. Given its compelling language of hope and compassion, the phenomenon has drawn attention of both practitioners and academicians alike. Inspite of the widespread interest, consensus about its forms and definition has remained elusive and much confusion exists about it being an extension of voluntarism or a new form of entrepreneurship. By doing a cross-case analysis of four select social enterprises, this paper draws inferences about their operational aspects and concludes that it needs to be viewed as a new strategic process of combining both the welfare spirit of voluntarism and the business mindsets of entrepreneurship.

© 2012 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

Relevance of Entrepreneurship Cells in Technical Institutes and Business Schools

-- Indranil Mutsuddi

In recent times, government policies, technology innovations, and changes in consumer spending have created enormous opportunities for economic growth in our nation. Although the private sector in India is booming, the number of jobs created remained far short of what is required to provide adequate employment for management and technically-trained students passing out from business schools and other technical institutions. In the last decade or so, we have witnessed a sudden growth in the number of business schools and technical institutes throughout the country, and employment generation for the ‘to be professionals’ has become a daunting task for the educators, trainers and management consultants. On the other hand, organizations, which have been complaining of their financial limitations, have found it difficult to hire students within strict HR budgets. In this context, top institutes of the nation like the IIMs, IITs, NITs and particularly noted business schools have found the importance of entrepreneurship cells (e-cells) on their campus as a strategic need. Professional organizations and institutes like National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) and Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) have played a major role in motivating the students and faculty members in promoting entrepreneurial awareness and development of entrepreneurial capabilities across the nation. This paper aims to discuss the relevance, opportunities, benefits and developmental perspectives of e-cells and also the issues hindering the growth and development of e-cells in technical institutes and business schools.

© 2012 IUP. All Rights Reserved.