Entrepreneurship and Innovation: A Case Study of James Dyson

This report examines the entrepreneurial journey of James Dyson, the British inventor and entrepreneur known for his innovative household appliances. It explores his traits, skills, and strategies that contributed to his success. The report also discusses the application of theories of opportunity, innovation, and entrepreneurship in Dyson's business.

Individual Research
Report

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
About the entrepreneur................................................................................................................3
Questions to be asked in the interview........................................................................................4
Ethics to be considered................................................................................................................4
Analysis of the Data....................................................................................................................4
Relation of the content to appropriate theories...........................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8

Introduction
Entrepreneurship is related with starting a new enterprise and bearing all the risks
associated with it so that profits can be earned by offering goods and services to the customers
which can help in running the business smoothly. An entrepreneur is also responsible to identify
the opportunities available in market so that with the help of new and innovative ideas such
opportunities can be grabbed which can help in increasing the profitability of business.
Opportunities and innovation plays an important role in making the entrepreneur successful in
market as they help in the continuous growth and development of business along with improving
the brand image in market (Etzkowitz and Zhou, 2017). In this report James Dyson is taken who
is a British inventor, industrial designer, landowner and entrepreneur who also founded Dyson
Ltd and is best known as the inventor of the Dual Cyclone bag-less vacuum cleaner. An
interview will be conducted with the entrepreneur which will help in understanding about their
the traits and skills. Use of various theories of opportunity, innovation and entrepreneurship will
also be done so that the ability of entrepreneur in growing their business in market can be
understood.
About the entrepreneur
Sir James Dyson is a British inventor, industrial designer and entrepreneur who is
innovative in nature which helped him in developing highly innovative and improved versions of
household appliances which can help in improving the quality of life and living standards of
people in society. Dyson completed his education in the year 1970 at the Royal College of Art so
that he could learn about the creative possibilities of uniting engineering with design. In the year
1974 he established his own company which produced Ballbarrow with a plastic wheelbarrow-
like bin. In 1978, he designed a cyclone particle collector so that the clogged air filters in
factories could be cleaned. In 1993 he opened a plant in North Wilshire where Dual Cyclone
bag-less vacuum cleaners were produced which became highly successful in market. With the
help of his innovative ideas he kept on innovating the technologies so that better products could
be manufactured which helped him in taking all the growth opportunities so that standard of
living of people can be increased. Thus the quality of Dyson to grow in market and innovative
capabilities helped him in making his company highly successful in the market (Lounsbury,
Cornelissen and Grodal, 2019).

Questions to be asked in the interview
 What motivated you in in becoming an entrepreneur?
 What are the average number of hours that you devote to work?
 What is the source of idea which helped you in establishing this business?
 Which strategies helped you in making your company successful?
 What motivates you to keep improving your work?
 How do you manage all the work done in your company effectively?
 How are you effectively able to deal with failure?
Ethics to be considered
It is important that ethical code of conduct is followed while interviewing an entrepreneur
so that their consent can be ethically taken which can help in improving the quality of their
responses and help in gaining better information about them. Following ethical actions also need
to be included while interviewing an entrepreneur: Informed consent: It is essential that correct information related with the interview is
given along with disclosing the purpose of conducting the interview so that effective
participation can take place (Ratten and Ferreira, 2016). Confidentiality: It is important that the questions asked in interview are hypersensitive in
nature and must not revel their confidentiality so that data can be kept private and secure.
 Voluntary participation: The participation of interviewee must be voluntary and must not
be forced so that exploitation can be prevented and quality of their responses can eb
improved.
Analysis of the Data
In order to analyse the personality traits, skills and characteristics of James Dyson it is
important that the responses gained through his interview is evaluated which can help in
determining the factors which help them in becoming a successful entrepreneur. Based on the
interview following characteristics about James Dyson have been identified: Openness to new ideas: James Dyson is open to new ideas which help him in thinking
differently and critically so that a problem can be solved in an efficient manner by
viewing all the possibilities related with the implementation of an idea. This help him in
being innovative so that engineering can be united with design which can help him in

bringing technologies in market which are effective to use thereby improving the living
standards of people in society. Taking failure as a source of motivation: James Dyson considers failure interesting as it
help in identifying the weak areas that require improvement so that effective actions can
be take and continuous progress can take place. He also embrace failure so that with the
help of increased creativity and innovative thinking improvement can be made so that the
failure can be converted into success. Taking failure positively is important so that the
person can stay self motivated which can help him in working continuously towards
achieving their goals in an efficient manner (Ratten and Ferreira, 2017). Innovative personality: James Dyson has an innovative personality which help him in
coming up with new and better ideas in order to deal with problems so that customers can
be given innovative solutions. This also helps him in taking the opportunities which are
available in market so that better products can be made available to customers so that the
profitability of company can be increased along with enhancing its brand image in
market. With the help of this character James Dyson is effectively able to make his
company highly renowned in market so that the trust of customers has increased along
with increasing its loyal customer base. Always progressive: James Dyson has a progressive nature as he always look forward to
new opportunities in market along with taking his failures as chance to make the products
better so that a competitive advantage can be achieved in market. Also he never wastes
his time on unimportant and unproductive ideas which help in saving his time which can
be utilised in finding for effective solutions for various problems being faced by
customers related with home appliances and other equipments so that industrial and
household problems can be effectively solved (Richter and Maresch, 2019). Visionary in nature: From the responses of James Dyson it can be said that he is
visionary in nature which help him in having a long term vision so that success can be
achieved and the vision and mission of company can be achieved along with increasing
customer satisfaction. This nature helps him in making contacts with many people who
can help him in expanding his business efficiently so that a large number of customers
can be reached.

 Strategy used by James Dyson: The strategies used by James Dyson are product
differentiation which help him in increasing innovations in their products so that new
products can be offered to customers so that new solutions can be provided to them. Also
building effective relations in market help him in expanding his business successfully
(Yan and Yan, 2016).
Typology of James Dyson: Based on the above interview analysis it can be said that
James Dyson is an innovative person who is always focused on improving the quality and
effectiveness of products so that better product and services can be made available to customers.
With the help of his personality and traits he is able to make his business competitive in market
which help him in increasing customer satisfaction so that sales of company an be increased by
providing them with effective solutions (Saji and Nair, 2018). Also with the help of his
progressive nature he is able to make his business successful by offering customers with
effective solutions thereby increasing the customer base of the company.
Relation of the content to appropriate theories
It is important that effective theories of innovation are utilised by entrepreneurs so that
they can use them practically which can help them in being more innovative so that a
competitive advantage can be achieved in market. Following are such theories that can be
applied in relation with entrepreneurship:
Schumpeter’s Innovation theory of profit: As per this theory an entrepreneur can earn
profits by introducing innovation in their products and services so that the changing needs and
wants of customers can be effectively met which can help in maintaining the loyalty of
customers with company. As per this theory the main function of entrepreneur is to introduce
innovation so that the performance of company can be improved which can help in increasing
the profits of company. This theory can be used by James Dyson so that with the help of his
innovative nature effective innovations can be brought in company which can help in increasing
their profits along with improving the image of company in market. Also this help in making the
processes more efficient so that the cost of production can be reduced by improving the
techniques thereby increasing demand in market due to decreased prices so that profits of
company can be increased (Schmitz and Guerrero, 2017). James Dyson can effectively apply
business strategies with the help of this theory as it can help in integrating strategies with

innovation so that the sales in company can be increased by improving the efficiency of
production so that costs can be reduced and profits of company can be increased.
Human motivation theory: This theory was given by McClelland according to which
there are three main driving motivators like the needs for achievement, affiliation and power
which help in motivating people so that they can remain progressive. Depending on the nature
and characters of person the factors of motivation affects people so that they can remain
progressive and keep on achieving the goals which they want to achieve. As per James Dyson,
anger is the factor which motivates him to work continuously so that he can achieve the goal
which he wants to achieve. According to him when he is trying to make something new and it
doesn't work properly then he gets angry which motivates him to keep on working till he succeed
in his attempts (Sulistyo, 2016). As per this theory it can be said that achievement is the
motivating factor which help in motivating him so that he can use his skills effectively and
achieve the target on time so that innovation can be continuously brought in company in an
efficient manner.
Diffusion of Innovation theory: This theory was developed by E.M. Rogers in 1962,
which deals with explaining how the new and innovative ideas diffuse in societies and cultures
so that they can be adopted by people and become an important part of people's lives. This theory
can be used by James Dyson by identifying the needs and wants of customers so that they can be
offered with products which can help in improving their lives so that the innovative ideas can be
easily accepted by people thereby increasing the sales of company (Welter, 2019).
Conclusion
From the above report it can be said that being innovative is important to become a
successful entrepreneur in market as it help in effectively identifying the opportunities available
in market so that they can be grabbed and needs of customers can be satisfied. Use of innovation
theories can also be used which can help in increasing innovation in the company which can help
in achieving competitive edge in market. Also the ability to innovate depends on the nature,
characteristics and skills of a person which determine the extent to which innovation can be
brought in society.

References
Books and Journals
Etzkowitz, H. and Zhou, C., 2017. The triple helix: University–industry–government innovation
and entrepreneurship. Routledge.
Lounsbury, M., Cornelissen, J., Granqvist, N. and Grodal, S., 2019. Culture, innovation and
entrepreneurship. Innovation, 21(1), pp.1-12.
Ratten, V. and Ferreira, J.J. Eds., 2016. Sport entrepreneurship and innovation. Taylor &
Francis.
Ratten, V. and Ferreira, J.J., 2017. Future research directions for cultural entrepreneurship and
regional development. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Management, 21(3), pp.163-169.
Richter, R., Fink, M., Lang, R. and Maresch, D., 2019. Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation
in Rural Europe. Routledge.
Saji, B.S. and Nair, A.R., 2018. Effectiveness of innovation and entrepreneurship education in
UAE higher education. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 17(4), pp.1-12.
Schmitz, A., Urbano, D., Dandolini, G.A., de Souza, J.A. and Guerrero, M., 2017. Innovation
and entrepreneurship in the academic setting: a systematic literature review.
International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 13(2), pp.369-395.
Sulistyo, H., 2016. Innovation capability of SMEs through entrepreneurship, marketing
capability, relational capital and empowerment. Asia Pacific Management Review,
21(4), pp.196-203.
Welter, F., 2019. The power of words and images: towards talking about and seeing
entrepreneurship and innovation differently. In A research agenda for entrepreneurship
and innovation. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Yan, J. and Yan, L., 2016. Individual entrepreneurship, collective entrepreneurship and
innovation in small business: an empirical study. International Entrepreneurship and
Management Journal, 12(4), pp.1053-1077.