Assessment 1: Annotated Bibliography

3.1 Reflecting on the Annotated Bibliography Assignment

To write high-quality annotations, I had to carefully select articles and studies that were
published in credible journals, written by respected authors in the field, and that covered
relevant aspects of my topic. The process of writing annotations helped deepen my
understanding of the sources I found. To summarize them concisely yet thoroughly, I needed
to fully comprehend each author's research questions, methodology, findings, and
implications. By reading closely and explaining the works to someone else (the grader), I
gained deeper insights into my topic. Bringing together a variety of quality sources allowed
me to grasp my topic from different perspectives. Weaving the sources together into a
cohesive whole through their annotations, I started to see connections and debates across
entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership research. I now have a more nuanced view of
these subjects and how scholars are continuing to advance knowledge in these fields over
time.

3.2 Entrepreneurship Theories and Concepts

Research has extensively studied personality traits that differentiate entrepreneurs from non-
entrepreneurs. The tendency to take risks and engage in complex problem-solving despite
uncertainty is a core trait (Koellinger, 2008).. Their internal locus of control, believing results
are within their power rather than externally determined, also impacts behaviors (Ge et al.,
2022). Being one's own boss offers scheduling control which is important to optimizing
work-life balance (Ge et al., 2022).

3.2.1 Entrepreneurial Traits and Motivation

Decision-making requires recognizing and evaluating viable opportunities. Research shows

entrepreneurs process information differently than others due to distinct cognitive patterns
(Mitchell et al., 2002). The thought process advocate for intuitive and flexible thinking
employed in complex ambiguity. Education enhances systematic analytical understanding to
opportunity assessment (Fuentelsaz et al., 2018). Experience is essential as it improves
learned cognitive models, improving opportunity recognition based on gained knowledge
(Fuentelsaz et al., 2018).
3.2.2 Entrepreneurial Cognition

When likened to non-entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs have different data processing and

decision-making processes. Mitchell et al. (2002) note that entrepreneurs typically exhibit
higher tendencies for cognitive constructs like opportunity recognition, creativity, and
innovative thinking. Research indicates that an entrepreneur's perception of opportunities and
challenges is primarily influenced by their education and experience in the industry
(Fuentelsaz et al., 2018). Their brains are adjusted to recognize chances as opposed to avoid
risks. Experience gives entrepreneurs the background information and education they need to
assess prospects differently from others.

Economic development is significantly influenced by innovation and entrepreneurship

(Demircioglu & Chowdhury, 2021; Riswanto, 2016). Through knowledge spillovers and
access to resources, elements like regional clusters can foster innovation and entrepreneurship
(Chatterji, Glaeser, & Kerr, 2014; Fuentelsaz et al., 2018). Particularly, digital technologies
are altering how innovation and entrepreneurship develop and flourish (Berger et al., 2021).
Individual characteristics that affect entrepreneurial contributions to innovation include
gender and self-leadership skills (Felix et al., 2019; Khushk et al., 2022; Goldsby et al.,
2021).

3.2.3 Entrepreneurial Mindset and Creativity

An innovative and growth-oriented mindset characterizes successful entrepreneurs. They

exhibit high levels of experimentation and creativity which fuels their venturing efforts. An
entrepreneurial mindset supports recognition of possibilities that others often overlook given
prevailing perspectives. It entails questioning realities and thinking outside the box to gain
new value and establishing avenues (Koellinger, 2008). The mindset is crucial in influencing
continuous innovation through the motivation of entrepreneurs to enhance the solutions and
addressing the needs through venture creations. Nurturing creativity and nurturing a learning
orientation in themselves and their teams supports entrepreneurial success.

Entrepreneurial leadership plays an important role in encouraging innovation work behavior

(IWB) among employees. Leadership styles can influence employees' innovative actions
through various mechanisms such as creative self-efficacy and support for innovation (Akbari
et al., 2021). Past research has found entrepreneurial leadership to have a significant positive
impact on IWB, with employees' creative self-efficacy and leaders' support for innovation
mediating this relationship (Akbari et al., 2021).

3.2.4 Entrepreneurial Hard and Soft Skills

Strong technical skills alone do not guarantee entrepreneurial success. While industry
knowledge and functional expertise help, relational skills play an equally if not more
important role for entrepreneurs (Kuratko, 2011). Given the complexity of starting and
growing ventures, entrepreneurs require a diverse and balanced skill set. Strong
communication, flexibility and managerial talents become paramount as entrepreneurs often
wear many hats. Managing uncertainty while leading teams also requires strong "soft" skills
alongside relevant hard skills. Both hard and soft capabilities are valuable entrepreneurial
assets to be developed over time.

While existing theories provide important insights into aspects of entrepreneurship and
innovation, most operate within disciplinary silos (Anderson & Ronteau, 2017). A theory of
entrepreneurship as practice could help connect different perspectives and bridge disciplines
to better understand entrepreneurial phenomena in different contexts (Anderson & Ronteau,
2017). Measurement of entrepreneurial leadership is an area that would benefit from a
multidimensional conceptualization to capture its complex nature (Bagheri & Harrison,
2020). Entrepreneurial leadership of CEOs and top managers has also been shown to
influence innovative behaviors across organizational levels (Bagheri, Newman, & Eva,
2022).

3.2.5 Dark Side of Entrepreneurship

While creativity and opportunity recognition powers entrepreneurship, some traits if taken to
an extreme can also have adverse effects. Overconfidence in some entrepreneurs can result in
less rigorous evaluation of new prospects leading to misjudgments (Furtner et al., 2013).
Authoritative leadership styles without adequate consideration for teams can dampen
employee motivation and retention. There are also risks of burnout due to the intense pressure
and long working hours involved. Recognizing limitations and pursuing continual
development can help entrepreneurs address such vulnerabilities and maximize their
potential. Successful entrepreneurship requires managing these "dark sides" through balanced
perspectives and mindsets.
Assessment 2: Entrepreneur Interview and Creation of Timeline

4.1 Reflection of Interview

The interview takes the format of an informative one since it seeks to know more about

Rooki Beaty brand and how it was formed. Hayley Teo, founder of the brand, offers several

insights and aspects that has helped to inform us on the brand. Partnership and collaboration

are also stand outs in the interview where she attributes the success of the brand to the

collaboration she received from the Japanese laboratory where they conducted experiments

that led to the development of the product.

Existence of a shared vision with the collaborating team helps a business to succeed hence

there is need for establishing clear vision while looking for partners. Management of

resources is an issue that greatly affects many businesses and especially start-ups where

ineffective management of the available resources leads to closure of a business or the

business incurring higher losses. Remaining focused to wards meeting the goal helps to

effectively manage resources and this is evidenced in the interview where she argues that her

confidence in the vision helped her manage the little finances she had since she was focused

on a bigger goal.

There are always forces from the external environment that will affect a business either

positively or negatively. These include the macro-environmental factors like government

regulation, taxation, natural calamities that the business owner cannot control. It is however

important for a business to device measures that it can use to counter these effects like the use

of internet in advertising that Rooki Beauty embraced after the outbreak of Covid-19

pandemic. Any business should strive to meet and satisfy the needs of its customers because

the success of the business is determined by how well it meets the needs of its customers. A

more satisfied customer will tend to come back as compared to a less satisfied one. Market
awareness and emerging trends in the market are attributes that ensure a business remains in

operation for a long time.

4.2 Entrepreneurial Journey

4.2.1 Before the venture

Before Hayley Teo started her own business, she sought to gain experience in the business

world when working in a sales company in the year 2015. Though the company still relates to

the business world, it did not give her the satisfaction she was looking for and therefore she

decided to quit the job and venture into entrepreneurship. In the year 2016, she developed her

first hand made product which was lip balm. Through stocking it in the available retail stores,

she made her first debut to the business world

4.2.2 Starting his own Venture

By the end of year 2016, she had made entry into the business world by selling the lip balm.

However, this motivated her to get into the business world fully and this became the initial

stage of entrepreneurship where she generated the idea of creating a skin care product. This

did not attract customers as intended and therefore created the need for a better product that

would sell in the market. In the year 2017, she began to seek for partnership with the

Japanese laboratories that would help her generate a better product. This happened up to the

mark of 2019m where, through cooperation, she created a Rooki Brand that she advertised in

the available digital media platforms. In the year 2020, Covid-19 pandemic broke out which

forced most of the off-line stores to close down. However, this did not affect her much

because she had advertised her product online and wad in the process of creating online

stores. From the year 2021 to 2024, she enhanced her cooperation with her team and she set

up several online shops that she uses to sell her products.

 References

Akbari, M., Bagheri, A., Imani, S., & Asadnezhad, M. (2021). Does entrepreneurial
leadership encourage innovation work behavior? The mediating role of creative self-
efficacy and support for innovation. European Journal of Innovation Management,
24(1), 1-22. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/EJIM-10-2019-
0283/full/html

Anderson, A., & Ronteau, S. (2017). Towards an entrepreneurial theory of practice; emerging
ideas for emerging economies. Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies,
9(2), 110-120. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEEE-12-2016-0054

Bagheri, A., & Harrison, C. (2020). Entrepreneurial leadership measurement: a multi-

dimensional construct. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development,
27(4), 659-679. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JSBED-01-
2019- 0027/full/html?utm_campaign=Emerald_Strategy_PPV_November22_RoN

Berger, E. S., Von Briel, F., Davidsson, P., & Kuckertz, A. (2021). Digital or not–The future
of entrepreneurship and innovation: Introduction to the special issue. Journal of
Business Research, 125, 436- 442. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.12.020

Chatterji, A., Glaeser, E., & Kerr, W. (2014). Clusters of entrepreneurship and innovation.
Innovation policy and the economy, 14(1), 129-166.
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/674023

Demircioglu, M. A., & Chowdhury, F. (2021). Entrepreneurship in public organizations: the

role of leadership behavior. Small Business Economics, 57, 1107-1123.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11187-020-00328-w

Felix, C., Aparicio, S., & Urbano, D. (2019). Leadership as a driver of entrepreneurship: an
international exploratory study. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise
Development, 26(3), 397-420. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-03-2018- 0106

Fuentelsaz, L., Maicas, J. P., & Montero, J. (2018). Entrepreneurs and innovation: The
contingent role of institutional factors. International small business journal, 36(6),
686-711. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242618766235
Ge, T., Abbas, J., Ullah, R., Abbas, A., Sadiq, I., & Zhang, R. (2022). Women’s
entrepreneurial contribution to family income: innovative technologies promote
females’ entrepreneurship amid COVID-19 crisis. Frontiers in Psychology, 13,
828040

Goldsby, M. G., Goldsby, E. A., Neck, C. B., Neck, C. P., & Mathews, R. (2021). Self-
leadership: A four decade review of the literature and trainings. Administrative
sciences, 11(1), 25. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci11010025

Khushk, A., Zengtian, Z., & Hui, Y. (2022). Role of female leadership in corporate
innovation: a systematic literature review. Gender in Management: An International
Journal, 38(3), 287-304. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-01- 2022-0028

Koellinger, P. (2008). Why are some entrepreneurs more innovative than others?. Small
Business Economics, 31, 21-37.

Kuratko, D. F. (2011). Entrepreneurship theory, process, and practice in the 21st century.
International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 13(1), 8-17.
https://doi.org/10.1504/IJESB.2011.040412