Corporate Entrepreneurship

Corporate Entrepreneurship

Corporate Entrepreneurship can be seen as the process whereby an individual or a group creates a new venture within an existing organization, revitalizes and renews an organization ,or innovates. Zahra’s(1986) definition of corporate entrepreneurship suggests a formal or informal activity aimed at creating new businesses in established firms through product and process innovations and market developments,whereas sathe(1985) defines corporate entrepreneurship as a process of organizational renewal. Corporate Entrepreneurship has emerged as a much needed ingredient contributing towards the growth of any organization under a changing business environment.

Corporate entrepreneurship (CE) is widely considered as a vital means to stimulate and sustain the overall competitiveness of an organization. Both practitioners and researchers have recognized the challenges of pursuing entrepreneurship within a corporation. CE is the result of the joint activities of an organization’s members, activities that pursue strategic objectives and constitute strategic roles. Thus, to face the challenges that CE poses for both theory and practice we need to advance our understanding of the activities and strategic roles involved in the CE process and their implications for performance. While strategic roles have been extensively studied, most studies analyze the strategic role of top managers and ignore the contribution of middle managers. Moreover, while there is a growing body of empirical evidence of a positive relationship between CE initiatives and performance, little research emphasizes the contribution of middle managers’ strategic roles to superior performance.

Innovation and entrepreneurship are often regarded as ...

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...ll as private sectors have gone international with new ventures outside the country. These companies are generating revenue, though modest compared to their overall sales revenue, by deputing their expert personnel outside.

Strategic renewal is another desired outcome of corporate entrepreneurship. The new economic order and business environment has created a pace of change which requires businesses to adapt more frequently and rapidly than ever before. The changes could involve corporate structure, mergers and acquisitions, addressing new market opportunities, changing product portfolios, repositioning, adapting infrastructure, or adopting new technology. Managers in an organization must be able to take stock of its situation under changing market conditions and agree on a coherent new strategy that will meet the challenges of the present as well as of the future.