MNG91002 - GoPro Case Study: Analysis of Strategy & Entrepreneurship

This case study analyzes GoPro's entrepreneurial journey, focusing on Nick Woodman's approach to building a successful camera company. It examines the 'dark side' of entrepreneurship, highlighting traits such as the need for control, distrust, and desire for applause. The analysis incorporates Peter Drucker's opportunity-based theory to understand GoPro's success. Furthermore, the study explores GoPro's competitive advantages, marketing strategies, and the threats posed by smartphones and competitors like Sony. The report concludes with suggestions for mitigating these threats and maintaining a strong market position. Desklib provides students access to similar case studies and solved assignments.

Running head: ANALYSIS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP CASE STUDY
ANALYSIS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP CASE STUDY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ANALYSIS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP CASE STUDY
Executive Summary
The report is based on the analysis of the case study based on an organization named GoPro
and the founder of the organization Nick Woodman. The entrepreneurship based activities
that have been performed by Woodman has been analysed in the report in detail. The ways by
which Woodman has developed his entrepreneurship activities is a major part of the
discussion. The threats based on the strategy of the organization is also discussed in the
report. The future threats that have been provided to the company by external changes have
been discussed based on the provided case study.

2ANALYSIS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP CASE STUDY
Table of Contents
Part 1..............................................................................................................................3
Identification and discussion based on characteristics and traits based on dark side
of entrepreneurship.................................................................................................................3
Importance of the tools and practices in entrepreneurship.........................................4
Part 2..............................................................................................................................6
Analysis of the competitive advantage and marketing processes of GoPro..............6
Identification and explanation of future threats to existing strategy and suggestions
to mitigate them......................................................................................................................7
References....................................................................................................................10

3ANALYSIS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP CASE STUDY
Part 1
Identification and discussion based on characteristics and traits based on dark side of
entrepreneurship
The “Dark Side of Entrepreneurship” is considered to be an important factor that is
related to the ways by which entrepreneurs are able to maintain their work process. The
entrepreneurs have the fear of failure and many start-ups have faced major levels of failure in
different industries. Entrepreneurs are also likely to experience depression based on the
operations of the business organizations (Carayannis, Samara and Bakouros 2015). The lack
of proper focus is also considered to be an important factor that has an impact on the
organizational operations and the success of the entrepreneurs as well. Entrepreneurs can also
have some major personality based issues that have an impact on the people who work with
them. The consequences of ineffective personality of the entrepreneurs are based on the lack
of proper collaboration between the employees of the organization (Cecere, Corrocher and
Battaglia 2015). The three major traits that are related to the “Dark Side of Entrepreneurship”
are as follows,
Need based on control – A significant part of the work process and trait that
has been gained by entrepreneurs is related to the need for effective control on
the organizational operations. The ability that entrepreneurs have to provide
direction to the employees has major implications for the ways by which they
are able to collaborate with each other (Henry et al. 2015). The major needs of
the entrepreneurs in this case include, authority, influence, power and levels of
grandiosity. The levels of dominance of the entrepreneurs are able to play a
key role in the work process of employees within the organization (Ghio et al.
2015).

4ANALYSIS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP CASE STUDY
Sense of the distrust – The trust based factors are related in a huge manner
with the need related to high levels of control. The entrepreneurs are able to
develop to control over the employees with the support that is provided by the
levels of distrust of the employees (Henry et al. 2015). The fear related to
victimization is considered to be an important factor that has an impact on the
trust levels between the employees and the entrepreneurs. The distrust of
employees on the entrepreneurs can have an impact on the ways by which
entrepreneurs are able to control the employees of the organization (Giachetti
and Dagnino 2017).
Desire for applause – The entrepreneurs of different start-up organizations
have the desire to receive appreciation for the activities that are performed by
them. The levels of appreciation that are received by the entrepreneurs are able
to provide them with high levels of importance in order to maintain their
position in the organization and develop organizational operations as well
(Giachetti and Marchi 2017).
The characteristic of Nick Woodman that has been depicted in the case study is
related to the fear of failure that was faced by the entrepreneur. Nick had decided to invest a
particular amount of time on the organizational operations before taking some other decision
(Henry et al. 2015).
Importance of the tools and practices in entrepreneurship
The entrepreneurship based activities that have been performed by Nick Woodman
are based on the need of the entrepreneur to develop a camera that he could tie to his wrist
during the ski-trips that are performed by him. This need of Nick Woodman had thereby led
to the development of GoPro cameras. The products offered by the organization had become
a sensation within a short period of time and the sales of GoPro had also reached new heights

5ANALYSIS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP CASE STUDY
(Forbes.com 2019). The journey of Nick Woodman is able to provide a detailed picture based
on the ways by which the entrepreneur has been able to learn from different activities that
were performed by him. Different types of jobs were performed by Nick Woodman
throughout his life after completion of his studies. The entrepreneur had learnt a lot from the
activities and jobs that were in the course of his work process (Forbes.com 2019). The
statement that had been made by Peter Drucker mainly states that, “‘Most of what you hear
about entrepreneurship is all wrong. It’s not magic; it’s not mysterious; and it has nothing to
do with genes. It’s a discipline and like any discipline it can be learnt.”. The journey of Nick
Woodman has been able to depict the ways by which entrepreneurs are able to learn from the
experiences that he had in his life (Kang and Song 2017).
The opportunity-based theory of entrepreneurship can be implemented in order to
understand the entrepreneurship process of Nick Woodman and the success that has been
gained by the organization in the industry as well. The actions of Nick Woodman have a
major influence on the ways by which individuals can be driven in order to understand the
emotional elements in an effective manner (Koch and Windsperger 2017). The entrepreneur
has been able to develop his position in the industry with the help of its revolutionary
products that are based on his needs and imagination. The opportunity based theory that has
been suggested by Peter Drucker is based on the ways by which the entrepreneurs are able to
take advantage of different possibilities that are developed due to the changes that have taken
place in the social, cultural and technological environment as well (Forbes.com 2019). Nick
Woodman has also taken advantage of the external trends that are a part of the environment
in order to develop the products in order to meet the needs of different types of consumers.
The changes in external environment have a major impact on the development of the products
that are offered to the customers. The development of entrepreneurship based activities plays

6ANALYSIS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP CASE STUDY
a major role in proper work process and contribution that has been provided by Nick
Woodman (Kotabe and Kothari 2016).
Part 2
Analysis of the competitive advantage and marketing processes of GoPro
GoPro has been able to develop a major competitive advantage in the market with the
support that has been provided based on the levels of social media usage by the organization.
The organization has been able to maintain its position in the industry and has become a
blockbuster in the industry from niche with the help of its products and marketing based
activities as well. The organization has made huge levels of investments based on
development of communication with the customers through social media (Kuratko 2016).
The formation of an effective communication with the customers has helped Woodman to
understand the demands and needs of the consumers. The development of the brand of GoPro
is based on the image that has been created by the organization as an exciting and engaging
brand (Ng and Kee 2017).
The popularity of the brand has also increased with the help of proper communication
process and activities performed by GoPro. The company has also been able to develop
endorsements with celebrities in order to increase awareness based on the brand of GoPro in
the industry. The development of competitive advantage by an organization is considered to
be an important factor that is able to affect the operations and levels of revenues (Rao 2016).
The development of an effective communication system is able to play a key role in
supporting the organization to gain competitive advantage in the industry. GoPro has been
aimed at developing a competitive advantage in the niche market with the support that has
been offered by the management and the founder of the organization as well (Roos and Von
Krogh 2016).

7ANALYSIS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP CASE STUDY
The promotional activities of the organization are able to play a major role in the
development of a sustainable competitive advantage in the industry. The competition that is
faced by the organization from the major global companies have been able to play a major
role in the formation of an effective advantage. The major reason related to the development
of competitive advantage in the industry is mainly based on promotional activities and
communication process formed with the customers (Stuetzer et al. 2018). The rise of
smartphone based cameras has started increasing the levels of competition that have been
faced by GoPro. The levels of competition are increasing continuously due to improvement
of technologies that can be implemented in the products. The development and
implementation of generic strategy is able to support the competitive advantage that is gained
by GoPro in the camera industry. The generic strategy that has been developed and
implemented by GoPro in this case is the broad differentiation strategy (Zahra and Wright
2016).
The organization has mainly targeted the products to a specific group of people
instead of targeting huge groups of customers. The broad differentiation based strategy has
been able to play a major role in the development of the competitive advantage of GoPro in
the camera based industry (Roos and Von Krogh 2016). GoPro has been successful in
maintaining the competitive advantage in the industry due to the levels of support that are
provided by different types of products that are offered to the customers. The entrepreneur
has always aimed at developing the products based on different types of products that can be
offered to the customers based on their personal demands and needs (Koch and Windsperger
2017).

8ANALYSIS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP CASE STUDY
Identification and explanation of future threats to existing strategy and suggestions to
mitigate them
The major threats that have been identified in the case study based on the operations
of GoPro in the camera industry are based on the rise of smartphones and the high resolution
based cameras that are offered by the phones. The major organizations like, Sony have also
been able to provide major levels of threats to the future operations of GoPro in the camera
industry. The market of developed cameras is quite huge and the competition levels that are
formed in the highly competitive industry (Ng and Kee 2017). GoPro thereby needs to
develop the game of promotions and marketing related operations in order to maintain its
position in the camera industry. The organization has also signed a deal with Foxconn in
order to increase the production related activities and face the increased levels of competition.
The development of a better position is considered to be an important factor that is able to
affect the future operations of GoPro (Koch and Windsperger 2017).
The competitive analysis process is able to affect the ways by which GoPro can
develop the operations and form a better position in the camera industry as well. The
extensive use of smartphones by the consumers can further increase the features that are
offered by the products that are manufactured by GoPro. The trajectory and growth levels of
GoPro in the market is however quite steady in nature (Giachetti and Dagnino 2017). GoPro
is facing major threats based on the competition that is offered by the global organizations
like Sony that is able to affect the revenues and profitability that are gained by GoPro
(Forbes.com 2019). The company aims at providing opportunities to the customers in order to
capture and share different moments in their lives. The development of the quality of cameras
offered by GoPro are considered to be important factors that can have an impact on the future
operations of the organization in the camera based industry (Kang and Song 2017).

9ANALYSIS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP CASE STUDY
The major recommendations that can be provided to GoPro based on proper
improvement of its operations in the camera industry are as follows,
The development of effective communication process with the help of
extensive usage of social media in the camera industry. The proper
communication process is considered to be an important factor that helps
GoPro to understand their demands and needs in the highly competitive
camera industry.
The formation of different types of products based on needs of consumers and
competitive products of the large organizations will support the operations of
GoPro in an effective way (Roos and Von Krogh 2016).

10ANALYSIS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP CASE STUDY
References
Carayannis, E.G., Samara, E.T. and Bakouros, Y.L., 2015. Innovation and entrepreneurship:
theory, policy and practice. Springer.
Cecere, G., Corrocher, N. and Battaglia, R.D., 2015. Innovation and competition in the
smartphone industry: Is there a dominant design?. Telecommunications Policy, 39(3-4),
pp.162-175.
Forbes.com 2019. The Mad Billionaire Behind GoPro: The World's Hottest Camera
Company. [online] Forbes.com. Available at:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2013/03/04/the-mad-billionaire-behind-gopro-the-
worlds-hottest-camera-company/#8796d927471e [Accessed 18 May 2019].
Ghio, N., Guerini, M., Lehmann, E.E. and Rossi-Lamastra, C., 2015. The emergence of the
knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, 44(1), pp.1-18.
Giachetti, C. and Dagnino, G.B., 2017. The impact of technological convergence on firms'
product portfolio strategy: an information‐based imitation approach. R&D
Management, 47(1), pp.17-35.
Giachetti, C. and Marchi, G., 2017. Successive changes in leadership in the worldwide
mobile phone industry: The role of windows of opportunity and firms’ competitive
action. Research Policy, 46(2), pp.352-364.
Henry, C., Foss, L., Fayolle, A., Walker, E. and Duffy, S., 2015. Entrepreneurial leadership
and gender: Exploring theory and practice in global contexts. Journal of Small Business
Management, 53(3), pp.581-586.

11ANALYSIS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP CASE STUDY
Kang, H. and Song, J., 2017. Innovation and recurring shifts in industrial leadership: Three
phases of change and persistence in the camera industry. Research Policy, 46(2), pp.376-387.
Koch, T. and Windsperger, J., 2017. Seeing through the network: Competitive advantage in
the digital economy. Journal of Organization Design, 6(1), p.6.
Kotabe, M. and Kothari, T., 2016. Emerging market multinational companies’ evolutionary
paths to building a competitive advantage from emerging markets to developed
countries. Journal of World Business, 51(5), pp.729-743.
Kuratko, D.F., 2016. Entrepreneurship: Theory, process, and practice. Cengage Learning.
Ng, H.S. and Kee, D.M.H., 2017. Entrepreneurial SMEs Surviving in the era of
Globalization: Critical Success Factors. In Global Opportunities for Entrepreneurial Growth:
Coopetition and Knowledge Dynamics within and across Firms (pp. 75-90). Emerald
Publishing Limited.
Rao, C.B., 2016. Technology and Competitive Strategy: Perspectives for Innovators,
Differentiators and Followers. Notion Press.
Roos, J. and Von Krogh, G., 2016. Managing strategy processes in emergent industries: The
case of media firms. Springer.
Stuetzer, M., Audretsch, D.B., Obschonka, M., Gosling, S.D., Rentfrow, P.J. and Potter, J.,
2018. Entrepreneurship culture, knowledge spillovers and the growth of regions. Regional
Studies, 52(5), pp.608-618.
Zahra, S.A. and Wright, M., 2016. Understanding the social role of entrepreneurship. Journal
of Management Studies, 53(4), pp.610-629.