Corporate Entrepreneurship: Benefits, Strategies, and Environment

The Nature of Corporate Entrepreneurship

Why do we need Corporate Entrepreneurship?

Businesses are faced with:

• Changing dynamic markets
• Globalization
• Shorter product life cycles
• High rates of technological change
• Pressures to reduce costs
• Changes in business organization

A possible response

Some large firms responded to the changing environment by addressing their necessary response to working with a dynamic environment involving attitudes to:

1. Risk
2. Innovation
3. Flexible, rapid response
4. Organizational and managerial changes

Corporate Entrepreneurship (Intrapreneurship)

Corporate Entrepreneurship (i.e. Intrapreneurship) is defined as the “process by which teams within an established company conceive, foster, launch and manage a new business that is distinct from the parent company but leverages the parent’s assets, market position, capabilities or other resources”. (Walcott, Lippitz, 2007)

• Strategic Renewal: “corporate entrepreneurial efforts that result in significant changes within an organization's strategy and structure”
• Corporate Venturing: “corporate entrepreneurial efforts that lead to the creation of new business organizations within the corporate organization”

The concepts both suggest changes in the strategy and structure of an existing corporation, which may involve innovation for the industry.

Benefits of an Entrepreneurial Philosophy

• Leads to the development of new products and services and helps the organization expand and grow.
• Creates a work force that can help the enterprise maintain its competitive posture.
• Promotes a climate conducive to high achievers and helps the enterprise motivate and keep its best people.

Encouraging an Entrepreneurial Environment

Steps to help restructure corporate thinking and encourage an intrapreneurial environment:

• Early identification of potential intrapreneurs
• Top management sponsorship of intrapreneurial projects
• Creation of both diversity and order in strategic activities
• Promotion of intrapreneurship through experimentation
• Development of collaboration between intrapreneurial participants and the organization at large.