Factors influencing Entrepreneurial value creation in the UAE- An Exploratory Study

The policy shift of United Arab Emirates (UAE) from dependence on oil resources to other sources for the growth of its economy is opening opportunities for Entrepreneurship as a career. In this context, it is important to understand the factors that would facilitate the process of entrepreneurial value creation. The process model of entrepreneurship is used as the basis to understand the various processes that an entrepreneur undertakes in creating his entrepreneurial venture. A sample of 30 case studies of UAE entrepreneurs’ experience with the entrepreneurial process was studied and content analysis of the case studies carried out. A major conclusion is the lack of institutional support for entrepreneurship, related to training, mentoring and information availability, which hinders the ability of the entrepreneurs in the UAE to successfully navigate their venture creation process. The findings of the study are one of the first to provide an insight into the entrepreneurial climate of UAE, when entrepreneurship is at a nascent stage in the country.