The influence of culture in entrepreneurship has risen the standards of business, politics and every other sphere of running the society to some height and dimension of being. Entrepreneurship is defined according to the traditional understandings of different regions and backgrounds; and in this, business management and success is much determined by cultural control.
The coordination of business may be influenced by the favorable environment that can only be provided by culture, but in other words, culture may also not make available the kind of platform that will facilitate the thriving of business or effective discharge of the roles of entrepreneurship.
In this article, we will look at the influence of culture in entrepreneurship and certainly how this has over time affected businesses either in positive or negative ways:
Definition of Social Rank
A culture that promotes entrepreneurship is one that confers social ranks in terms of actual achievement rather than circumstances of birth. The caste system of India, where people are divided into distinct classes such as the priests, the landowners, the traders, the farmers, the craftsmen and the untouchable, is an example of a culture that emphasizes birth rather than achievement.
In such a system, one who is born into a farmer case holds the status whether or not he is a good farmer. No one moves from one rank to another.
On the other hand, in a culture that encourages entrepreneurship, a person can move up or down the ladders of the society depending upon his accomplishments. One can get rich by honest; hard work even if he was born to be a beggar.
Reinforcement of the Entrepreneurial Spirit
A society that has foresight to know about future business environment is likely to have more entrepreneurs. This is because the entrepreneur will learn to visualize the likely changes to take place in market, consumer attitude, technological developments etc. and take actions accordingly.
Read Also: Characteristics of Entrepreneurial Culture
Thus entrepreneurs are future oriented and usually belong to cultures that appreciate the value of foregoing immediate profit or satisfaction in favor of large future awards. Cultures which tend to view the present in terms of the future are conducive to the growth of the entrepreneurial spirit.
Promotion of the Dignity of Labor
Another very important cultural influence in entrepreneurship is the promotion of work ethics. The culture that looks at work as a duty must value honest and productive labor, while punishing laziness in the course of promoting entrepreneurship.
Trust and honesty is very important in entrepreneurship. Consumers will buy an entrepreneur products or services because of the trust that they have with their products. Entrepreneurs should reciprocate this trust by ensuring that they maintain honesty to their consumers through maintaining the standards of their products at all times.
