Bold entrepreneurship, innovation key to successful companies: biz leaders

SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- Innovation and bold entrepreneurship are key factors that can lead to success in the tough global environment, businessmen and experts at a international conference held in Seoul said Monday.

Jimmy Wales, Internet entrepreneur who co-founded Wikipedia said at the first
International Conference on Global Entrepreneurship, that the on-line
encyclopedia represent a coming together of innovation unheard of in the past.
"Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access
to the sum of all human knowledge," Wales said, adding that Wikipedia is seeking
this goal.
He pointed out that such views permitted the creation of the medium that is
freely licensed and can be written by thousands of volunteers in many languages.
"Wikipedia is inherently global, with 21 more languages having at least 100,000
articles," the Internet guru said.
Wikipedia, which opened as the first open content encyclopedia in 2001, has grown
to become the fifth most popular website in the world with 244 million visitors
checking information on a monthly basis. Only Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL
have more visitors.
Of the total contents, 2.5 million articles are in English or about a third of
the total while 79 other languages have more than 10,000 articles apiece.
It can be freely copied, modified and allows users to redistribute modified
versions commercially or non-commercially.
Wales said that despite its innovative approach, the project is confronted by
challenges that range from reliability, completeness and access issues that are
all being improved.
The project founder, in addition, said that neutrality and moderation are the
greatest strengths of Wikipedia.
He stressed that in order for a writing to survive in an open community process,
it must be broadly appealing to a large number of people.
"This pushes people towards quality and thoughtfulness," the expert said,
comparing the process to response of consumers to goods made by manufacturers.
Others like Herman Simon said at the gathering held in eastern Seoul, that in the
case of South Korea, there is a need to create an environment that better
respects small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The chairman of Simon-Kucher & Partners, Strategy & Marketing Consultants said in
a speech titled Hidden Champions of the 21st Century, that while it is alright to
admire large companies this feeling should be extended to "hidden champion" SMEs.
"Hidden champions can play an important role for decentralization and
deconcentration of the economy," he said.
Simon said that it is the role of the large corporation to help start-ups and
spin-offs that are conducive to the growth of hidden champions.
The business leader, author and former business management professor, meanwhile
called on companies to develop global orientation, become more focused, seek
closeness to customers and maximize competitive advantages.
He said they should also not be afraid to take bold steps including head-on
fights with stronger competitors and actively strive for performance oriented
competition.
The meeting, hosted by business groups like the Korea International Trade
Association, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of
Korean Industries, was arranged to revive the entrepreneurial spirit of South
Korea's business community so they can take a leading role in overcoming the
current global economic crisis.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)