Contemporary Entrepreneurship

This report analyzes the career and entrepreneurial traits of Katie Page, CEO of Harvey Norman, and how she recognized opportunities to gain success in the Australian business market. It also discusses her competitive advantage and provides recommendations for further improvement.

Running head: CONTEMPORARY ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Contemporary Entrepreneurship
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Katie Page..................................................................................................................................2
Entrepreneurial Traits.................................................................................................................3
Opportunity Recognition............................................................................................................4
Competitive Advantage..............................................................................................................5
Recommendations......................................................................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................5
References..................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
The business world of the contemporary times has become a very saturated one and it
is seen that the majority of the business enterprises are taking the help of almost similar kind
of business ideas as well as models for the process of their business (Moss, Neubaum and
Meyskens 2015). It is precisely here that the role of the entrepreneurs as well as the business
ventures that they establish becomes very important. Furthermore, at the same time it is seen
that the innovative business ideas as well as the strategies used by these entrepreneurs have
not only diversified the business world but at the same time has helped these new business
ventures to attain a significant amount of success in the recent times as well (Miller and
Breton‐Miller 2017). Some of the most famous entrepreneurs of the Australian nation are
Katie Page, Vicky Teoh and others (Vogue.com.au 2018). This report will analyze the career
as well as the entrepreneurial traits of the entrepreneur Katie Page and also the opportunities
which helped her to gain success in the Australian business market.
Katie Page
Katie Page, born in 1956 in the Queensland region of Australia is one of the most
popular businesswomen of the nation of Australia and as a matter of fact she was The
Australian Business Review placed her at the 4th position among the list of the “most powerful
businesswomen of the world” (Vogue.com.au 2018). It is significant to note that right from
her early childhood she showed the character skills which helped her to build the business
empire of Harvey Norman. Furthermore, in her childhood she wanted to undertake the job
role of a surveyor however she did not pursue it because of the comparatively lesser amount
of salaries which were being provided to the women surveyors. An incident which changed
the course of her life in a significant manner was at the age of 19 years she participated in an
“intelligence test” the main objective was to raise funds for children who were suffering from
autism (SmartCompany 2018). It is significant Gerry Harvey the future husband of Page was
one of the judges of the event and this event changed her life in a significant manner
(SmartCompany 2018).
The retail organization Harvey Norman was established by Harvey and Ian Norman in
1982 and Page joined the organization as an assistant in the year 1983 (Cew.org.au 2018).
She was responsible was diverse kind of roles within the framework of the concerned
organization like marketing, promotion, procurement of products, advertisement campaigns

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and others (Cew.org.au 2018). Page became the CEO of the company under discussion here
by 1999 and since that year the actual growth of the concerned organization began
(Westernsydney.edu.au 2018). For example, she was quick to realize the business
opportunities provided by the process of globalization and it is a reflection of this particular
fact that the company expanded into “New Zealand in 1996, Singapore in 2000, Malaysia,
Ireland and Slovenia in 2003” (Westernsydney.edu.au 2018). At the same time she was quick
to realize the benefits which the use of innovation provided to the business organizations and
thus she integrated the omni-channel business strategy within the framework of the concerned
organization which in turn helped it in a significant manner to attain a significant level of
success (Westernsydney.edu.au 2018).
Page has been an active supporter of the various sport teams right from the start of her
professional career. Her love for horses and horse racing was inculcated through her
association with Gerry Harvey who himself owned various horses. In addition to this, she is
famous as the first woman who was appointed to the board of National Rugby League in
2004 (Vogue.com.au 2018). Furthermore, her name has been associated at various points of
time with the diverse sport teams or associations like “Magic Millions Thoroughbred
racehorse auction house”, “National Rugby League's State of Origin series”, “Muslim
Australian Football League team”, “2015 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000” and others
(Vogue.com.au 2018). At the same time it was also seen that she tried to improve the market
or the brand image of the Harvey Norman retail organization through the various kinds of
CSR policies and activities.
Entrepreneurial Traits
The individual character as well as the personality of a particular entrepreneur plays a
significant role in the process of the business venture which they establish and at the same
time to a large extent determines not only the sustainability but also the success of the
concerned venture as well (Miller and Breton‐Miller 2017). As already mentioned Page right
from her childhood displayed the various character traits which were likely to help them to
gain success in the modern business world. First was her ability to think out the box and at
the same time use innovative as well as creative ideas for the process of doing the things
which the rest of the people would perform in a normal manner (Burton, Sorensen and
Dobrev 2016). This becomes apparent in her decision to incorporate the strategy of omni-
channel business strategy within the framework of the business organization Harvey Norman

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(Burton, Sorensen and Dobrev 2016). In addition to this, she not only invested in the various
sport teams but also in diverse sports related activities at a time when the sports industry was
not considered to be a profitable industry or for that matter to be a high revenue generating
industry (Burton, Sorensen and Dobrev 2016).
Critical decision making ability is another important factor which is considered to be
important for the various entrepreneurs and at the same time helps them in a significant
manner to make the diverse decisions which are important from the perspective of the
business in an effective manner (Kuratko 2016). A typical example of this particular fact
becomes apparent when the decision of Page to follow the strategy of globalization for the
expansion of the business of Harvey Norman is taken into effective consideration (Burchardt
et al. 2016). It is significant to note that this decision of Page not only helped the concerned
organization to expand their business into the other nations of the world but at the same time
helped them to increase the amount of profit earned by them.
The ability to analyze the current market and at the same time to make the most of the
marketing opportunities which are available is another important character trait that the
entrepreneurs are required to have in the contemporary business world (Kautonen, van
Gelderen and Fink 2015). It is significant to note that Page was quick to realize the marketing
opportunities which the effective use of the omni-channel business strategy presented to the
various business enterprises and it is a reflection of this particular fact that she integrated this
particular strategy within the framework of organization Harvey Norman and as a matter of
fact the strategy proved effective for the concerned organization (McKenny et al. 2017). At
the same time she was quick to realize the marketing opportunities presented by the sports
industry and this is considered to be one of the main reasons for the diverse investments that
she made in the sports industry. In addition to these, the integrity of her character becomes
apparent in the standpoint which took for the empowerment of women.
Opportunity Recognition
The recognition of the marketing opportunities which are available to a particular
entrepreneur is very important since it helps the concerned entrepreneur to make the most of
the opportunities which are available to the entrepreneur (Nalawade and Shah 2015). It is
significant to note that Page takes the help of the strategy of “Innovative Value Cycle” to
generate, identify as well as implement the ideas which are needed for the process of the

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business of the concerned organization (Nalawade and Shah 2015). A pertinent example of
the use of this particular process within the career of Page becomes apparent when her
decision to expand her business into the other nations is taken into consideration. It is
significant to note that the retail industry of Australia is being monopolized by retail
companies like Woolworths Limited, Wesfarmers and others and thus taking the help of this
particular model she formulated the idea of expanding into the other nations (Cew.org.au
2018).
Competitive Advantage
The business which has been developed by Page belongs to the retail industry and is
one of the largest retail organizations of Australia with revenue of more than $3.16 billion
(Harvey Norman Australia 2018). In addition to this, the business of Page is known for the
high quality of products as well services which it offers to the customers. The major
competitive advantage which the company Harvey Norman has over its competitors is the
fact that it provides much better e-commerce business facilities to the customers in
comparison to the other business organizations like Woolworths, Wesfarmers and others
(Cew.org.au 2018). In addition to this, in the recent times it is also seen that the policy of
franchising that Page is following for the process of her business has also helped the
concerned company to gain a substantial competitive advantage over its rivals (Cew.org.au
2018). Furthermore, the investments in various kinds of sports had at the same time helped
the concerned organization in a significant manner.
Recommendations
Page in order to further improve the prospects of her business can start joint ventures
with the reputed retail business enterprises of the other nations of the world. In addition to
these, the effective use of the concept of CSR activities is another important factor which she
can take the help of for the process of the improvement of the prospects of her business.
Conclusion
To conclude, the process of entrepreneurship has gained a significant amount of
prominence within the framework of the modern business world. Furthermore, at the same
time it is seen that the effectiveness as well as the success of a business venture depends to a
large extent on the kind of business ideas which a particular entrepreneur has. Moreover, the

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character as well as personality of an entrepreneur also becomes very important in this
particular context and it is seen that the entrepreneurs of the present times are required to
possess various kind of traits like critical decision making, opportunity identification,
integrity of character and others. The effective use of these traits not only help the
entrepreneurs in a significant manner but at same time contribute in a significant manner
towards the success of the concerned business venture as well.

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References
Burchardt, J., Hommel, U., Kamuriwo, D.S. and Billitteri, C., 2016. Venture capital
contracting in theory and practice: implications for entrepreneurship
research. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 40(1), pp.25-48.
Burton, M.D., Sorensen, J.B. and Dobrev, S.D., 2016. A careers perspective on
entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 40(2), pp.237-247.
Cew.org.au. 2018. Katie Page | Chief Executive Women. [online] Available at:
https://cew.org.au/members/katie-page/ [Accessed 31 Aug. 2018].
Harvey Norman Australia. 2018. Harvey Norman | Shop Online for Computers, Electrical,
Furniture, Bedding, Bathrooms & Flooring | Harvey Norman Australia. [online] Available
at: https://www.harveynorman.com.au/ [Accessed 31 Aug. 2018].
Kautonen, T., van Gelderen, M. and Fink, M., 2015. Robustness of the theory of planned
behavior in predicting entrepreneurial intentions and actions. Entrepreneurship Theory and
Practice, 39(3), pp.655-674.
Kuratko, D.F., 2016. Entrepreneurship: Theory, process, and practice. Cengage Learning.
McKenny, A.F., Allison, T.H., Ketchen Jr, D.J., Short, J.C. and Ireland, R.D., 2017. How
should crowdfunding research evolve? A survey of the entrepreneurship theory and practice
editorial board. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 41(2), pp.291-304.
Miller, D. and Le Breton‐Miller, I., 2017. Underdog entrepreneurs: A model of challenge‐
based entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 41(1), pp.7-17.
Moss, T.W., Neubaum, D.O. and Meyskens, M., 2015. The effect of virtuous and
entrepreneurial orientations on microfinance lending and repayment: A signaling theory
perspective. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 39(1), pp.27-52.
Nalawade, P.K. and Shah, V.B., 2015. Influence of Motivational Factors on Women
Enterpreneurship. A Journal of research articles in management science and allied areas
(refereed), 8(2), pp.27-33.

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SmartCompany. 2018. Katie Page - SmartCompany. [online] Available at:
https://www.smartcompany.com.au/lists/top-female-entrepreneurs-2018/katie-page/
[Accessed 31 Aug. 2018].
Vogue.com.au. 2018. Katie Page, CEO of Harvey Norman and women in sport advocate.
[online] Available at: https://www.vogue.com.au/gamechangers/beauty-and-health/katie-
page-ceo-of-harvey-norman-and-women-in-sport-advocate/news-story/
203e2089ac20d98ab0a5655aa3f4c63f [Accessed 31 Aug. 2018].
Westernsydney.edu.au. 2018. Katie Page Scholarship for High Achieving Women | Western
Sydney University. [online] Available at:
https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/informationabout/scholarships_home/
all_uws_scholarships/KPAGEACH [Accessed 31 Aug. 2018].