Developing Tribe Marketing and Information Technology Competencies Skills (Tribe-IT Skills) for Virtual Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneur ventures have high potential to add value on nation's economy. Additionally, dynamic changes of business environment resulting from the knowledge-based innovation and technological advancement could enhance entrepreneurial success. Utilisation of technology tools and applications have also infuses changes in business marketing approach, shifting the focus from an individual-based towards network of people-based who shared similar interest over brand, known as tribe marketing. While the extant literature shows that tribe marketing has benefited firms in many ways, studies on tribe marketing for entrepreneurs, virtual businesses in particular, are relatively scarce. This paper attempts to fill this gap. Due to huge potential of information technology or IT as a foundation for tribe marketing, this paper suggests the integration of Tribe formation and IT competency skills model for virtual entrepreneurs. Findings from the proposed study are expected to provide directions for entrepreneur to engage with consumer values and preferences of the tribes through the use of technology. Finally, it potentially contributes towards enrichment of virtual entrepreneurship competency literature with the integration of technology-related skills.