Maintaining Entrepreneurial Culture
Today, more than ever before, there has been a budding curiosity in creating entrepreneurial cultures within organizations and institutions. Industry analysts believe that the objective of crafting these cultures is to boost the innovative and creative capabilities of employees, not to mention the fact that they are also used to increase the success and performance of organizations through the generation and development of new corporate ventures (Entrepreneur, 1999).
The role of entrepreneurial culture towards Google’s monumental growth and success in the recent past can never be wished away. According to the case, the raw spirit of entrepreneurship and drive for success ingrained in two graduate students – Larry Page and Sergey Brin – gave rise to what is today viewed as one of the most successful companies of the 21st century in the name of Google.
The success of the company notwithstanding, it is important to underline the fact that competition in the internet market has reached a fever pitch, with advances in technology enabling the blue-chip companies to initiate mesmerizing innovations to gain a foothold on the ever-shrinking market (Entrepreneur, 1999). Many of these companies have undertaken expansionist strategies to a point where maintaining the entrepreneurial culture is no longer tenable. Google, however, has continued to retain its entrepreneurial culture even after growing from a Startup Company into a multi-billion dollar global outfit. Certainly, all indications are clear that the corporation will maintain its entrepreneurial culture into the future, mostly due to the type of business it engages in (Zwaniecki, 2008).
The internet business demands an environment where autonomy, drive, and initiative are left at the hands of entrepreneurial-minded employees, no matter their rank in the company (Entrepreneur, 1999). Creativity, independence, and motivation to develop new products is what drives the internet business, and Google got it right by employing young entrepreneurial-minded, self-managed workers who are more than ready to propel the company to its next level of growth (Zwaniecki, 2008).
This assertion is backed overwhelmingly by the type of products that Google has created for its consumers, including the overly subscribed social networking websites. Plainly put, the entrepreneurial culture at Google is, not only a source of new and exciting innovations but also serves to inform the company about the consumer needs and market patterns for its products. As such, Google is bound to maintain its entrepreneurial culture even as it expands in size.
Factors in Determining the Success of Google’s Entrepreneurial Founders
A multiplicity of factors came into play to propel Google entrepreneurial founders into success. First, the entrepreneurial capacities of the founders made them realize a window of opportunity in internet business due to the poor quality services that were being offered at that time. They had a strong conviction within themselves that they could develop a search engine that was more superior and still remains profitable. Put in another way, the co-founders had a well-developed business strategy, orchestrated by focused entrepreneurial acumen rather than financial might.
Second, Larry Page and Sergey Brin exhibited superior innovative skills, which helped to transform their ideas and concepts into one of the most exciting and profitable companies ever to be witnessed. Their innovative acumen, indeed, helped them to build a new search engine from existing knowledge since there were other search engine operators in the market before Google’s entry. Their innovative and creative ideas led to the development of other new products such as Google Scholar, mapping software, social networking websites, among others. According to Wood & Schumpeter (1991), “…innovation is possible without anything we should identify as invention, and the invention does not necessarily induce innovation” (p. 334).
The founders’ superior knowledge about internet market patterns is yet another factor why this venture achieved tremendous success. It should be remembered that Page and Brin were young graduates from Stanford University when they conceived the idea of starting the company. As such, the co-founders were overly sensitive about the direction the internet market was taking, including patterns of consumer behavior. This enabled them to come up with products that could ignite anxiety and desire among consumers, a factor that led Google to capture the internet market with vigor and precision previously unheard of. According to Hogan et al (2008), knowledge of market patterns is of fundamental importance for any business venture to turn into profitability.
Another key factor, it seems, is the precision with which the co-founders commenced research to evaluate the viability of their pet project. According to the case, Page and Brin collected detailed information on the internet industry’s present competitors and the ultimate functionality of the search engine concept to critically evaluate whether they could withstand the stiff competition witnessed in the marketplace. As a direct result of the extensive research, the co-founders noticed that the internet market was expanding in size and scope. This, to me, greatly assisted the company to outmaneuver competitors since the co-founders knew exactly where to locate their investments. Again, this point underlines the value of undertaking market research to secure the success of an organization (Hogan et al, 2008).
The co-founders undertook a comprehensive risk-assessment process before venturing into business. According to Hogan et al (2008), most new companies fail to break through, not because of inadequate financial muscle or lack of customers, but because of deliberate failure to undertake a risk-assessment process. This notwithstanding, Google’s risks were minimal considering the nature of the business, and this must have gone a long way to guarantee the success of the company. Lastly, motivation to succeed and the expansionist strategies undertaken by the co-founders during the formative years of Google ensured its success.
Biggest Threat to Google
Looking back at Google’s success story, smaller entrepreneurial companies undoubtedly represents a formidable threat to its survival. First, large established companies seem to have exhausted their innovative and creative acumen, only launching products that are considered to be generics of Google’s creative and innovative shrewdness. For instance, Yahoo has tried, without much success, to launch an online search and advertisement protocol that is similar to that of Google in major key areas.
Its concept has failed to excite the market, mainly because it lacks originality and creativity. On the contrary, Google’s products are known to hit the market with a bang due to the inclusion of the same ingredients that its competitors lack – originality, entrepreneurial acumen, creativity, and innovative ideas. As such, established companies do not, in any way, pose a threat to Google’s survival.
However, young entrepreneurs have the capacity to come up with new and exiting products to rival Google’s own line of internet-based products. It shouldn’t escape mention that Google itself was a startup company driven by the desires and ambitions to succeed through embracing entrepreneurial culture in the late 1990s. It succeeded courtesy of a well laid-down business strategy, intensive market research, and innovative ideas (Hogan, 2008).
The same can happen again, albeit to another startup company offering better branding of products, quality service, and emotional appeal. However, such venture capitalists would need superior technology, an innovative workforce, and a clear understanding of what the internet population really wants. Google, it seems, has made huge investments in these areas, and therefore, beating them into second place seems impossible. However, with the right kind of thinking and proper tools, no task seems impossible in the business field.
Reference List
Entrepreneur. (1999). Perception of internal factors for corporate entrepreneurship: A comparison of Canadian and US managers. Web.
Hogan, K., Lakhani, D., & Marti, M. (2008). The 12 factors of business success: Discover, develop, and leverage your strengths. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley. Web.
Wood, J.C., & Schumpeter, J.A. (1991). J.A. Schumpeter: Critical Assessments, Vol. 1. Routledge. Web.
Zwaniecki, A. (2008). Google aims to retain entrepreneurial spirit as it grows. Web.