Entrepreneurship and marketing: an exploratory study in Mauritius

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the importance that successful entrepreneurs in Mauritius attach to marketing in operating their business and how marketing is actually practised or is prevalent in their enterprises.Design/methodology/approachThis paper forms part of a broader study undertaken by the authors. The survey instrument is a personally administered semi‐structured questionnaire. A sample of 30 successful entrepreneurs for this paper is drawn judgmentally from the broader study.FindingsThe results indicate that entrepreneurs surveyed use marketing to a large extent although some apply it unknowingly. Respondents tend to emphasize product development rather than improving product offering based on customer needs and wants. The results also reveal that some of the entrepreneurs practice marketing in mostly unconventional ways although there is evidence of convergence with traditional marketing in many respects. On the whole, the results of this survey indicate that entrepreneurs view marketing as an important function in achieving their business goals.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the scant literature on the importance and relationship of the marketing function with respect to entrepreneurial activities and small and medium enterprises in Mauritius. The findings of this paper confirm that entrepreneurs attach significant importance to marketing, although in certain areas such as the elaborate marketing mix they practice marketing in their own style. The paper helps entrepreneurs to realize how marketing can be an asset to achieving success in their business. Some success factors in marketing practice are highlighted to benefit future and potential entrepreneurs. The study also cautions entrepreneurs about some marketing practices to which they ought to pay more attention instead of taking them for granted.

Marketing and entrepreneurship: An integrated view from the entrepreneur’s perspective

“…That scholarly appreciation of the interconnectedness between marketing and the process of entrepreneurship has utility is further reinforced by studies which show that marketing activities have long been recognized and practiced by real life entrepreneurs (Gungaphul and Boolaky, 2009;Lam, 2004). For example, Gilmore et al's (2006) longitudinal study found that marketing was indeed an integral part of the business owners' business activities.…”

Competitive Advantages of Small Medium Industry on the Islands in Indonesian Context

“…(Baldacchino, 2005b) Island Branding, romancing the brand (Baldacchino, 2000(Baldacchino, , 2002(Baldacchino, , 2005b Maneuvering as Glocal (global but local) Citizens, Professional but Loyal Workforce (Baldacchino, 2005a) Knowledge Based Service (Baldacchino, 1998) Government Support (A.B., 1995) (Baldacchino, 2005b) (Sambajee & Dhomun, 2015) small-island "myth" brand, to emphasis their uniqueness (Scott et al, 2005) Management expertise, Marketing ability, Clear goal and objectives Set more specific and more difficult goal (T. Singh et al, 2007;van Gelder et al, 2007) human capital (education, development of skills) (van Gelder et al, 2007) strong links with customer markets, secure and activate network relationships, (Scott et al, 2005) authenticity and uniqueness (Baldacchino, 2010) Financial Capabilities, access to financing (A.B., 1995;Naidu & Chand, 2012) utilization of tourism traffic, Tourism industry as export outlet, marketing locality (tourist market and diaspora) (Baldacchino, 1998(Baldacchino, , 2000(Baldacchino, , 2002 "just in time"inventory (Baldacchino, 2002) bootstrapping strategies (Sambajee & Dhomun, 2015) Product offering based on customer needs and wants, talking and listening to the customers, maintaining close relationship with the customers. (Gungaphul & Boolaky, 2009) use local raw material, Totally natural, By-product utilization, secret recipe (Baldacchino, 2000) ICT capabilities (Baldacchino, 2005a;Scott et al, 2005) Manufacturing experience to the customer (Baldacchino, 2010) selling products via the internet…”

A conceptual framework for measuring entrepreneurship and innovation of young hi-technology firms

“…Market development context has been found in the research of Gungaphul and Boolaky [149] which has done in Mauritius island, they found that the function of marketing is significant to Mauritius entrepreneurs for their business achievement, whereas the scope of marketing is considered as a crucial driver to the success for US innovative start-ups [102].…”