Corporate

Entrepreneurship

Week 01:
Introduction
Eivor Oborn
Professor
12/01/2023
Agenda for Week 01

• Introduction
• What is Corporate Entrepreneurship?
• Corporate Entrepreneurship in practice
• Final remarks
Introduction
About me

• PhD in Management (focus on innovation) CJBS

• Fellow at CJBS & CDI
• Research area digital and technology enabled innovation
• Professional experience 10yrs in Healthcare Industry
• Email: [email protected]
About the module

• The module is designed to provide a comprehensive understanding

of theory and practice of corporate entrepreneurship and to address
the challenges associated with entrepreneurship in an organizational
context.
• Students will learn about developing and implementing new
corporate ventures within established organizations through a
combination of lectures, class discussions, case studies, and
readings.
Module overview

• Week 1: Introduction to Corporate Entrepreneurship

• Week 2: How Corporate Entrepreneurship differs?
• Week 3: Structuring for entrepreneurship
• Week 4: Culture and enterprise
• Week 5: Managing paradox and strategic change
• Week 6: HRM and people
• Week 7: Corporate venturing
• Week 8: Collaborating for enterprise
• Week 9: Corporate entrepreneurship and social enterprise
• Week 10: Corporate entrepreneurship in the public sector
Module objectives

• To critically understand the nature of corporate entrepreneurship

and the specific challenges of launching new business ventures
within established organisations.
• To comprehend the major theories, conceptual frameworks and
assumptions that underpin academic studies in corporate
entrepreneurship.
• To develop an understanding of the role of corporate
entrepreneurship for creating and sustaining a competitive
advantage.
• To critically evaluate the environment within an established
organization in terms of how much it supports or constrains
corporate entrepreneurship.
• To understand the role of organizational culture, managerial style,
and attitude towards failure in corporate entrepreneurship.
Reading material

• Burns, P. 2020. Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation (4th ed.).

London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
• Alternative sources:
• Hisrich, R. D. & Kearney, C. 2012. Corporate entrepreneurship: How to create
a thriving entrepreneurial spirit throughout your company. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
• Burns, P. 2013. Corporate entrepreneurship: Innovation and strategy in large
organizations (3rd ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Kuratko, D. F., Morris, M. H., & Covin, J. G. 2011. Corporate innovation &
entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurial development within organizations (3rd
ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
• Morris, M. H, Kuratko, D.F. and Covin, J.C. (2008), Corporate
Entrepreneurship & Innovation, 2nd Edition, Mason, Oh:
Thomson/Southwestern Publishing.
Module assessment

• Group assessment (30%) – due in March 1st

• Assessment of a large firm’s Corporate Entrepreneurship practices

• Individual assessment (70%) – due in April 24th

• 2500 words essay on a topic to be provided (can be to solve a case…)

• More details will follow

What is Corporate
Entrepreneurship?
What is Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE)?

A term used to describe entrepreneurial behaviour inside established

mid-sized and large organizations.

Related terms (often used interchangeably) include:

• organizational entrepreneurship (formal or informal)
• intrapreneurship
• corporate venturing
• strategic entrepreneurship
The scope of CE

Includes:
• extending the firm’s domain of competence and its opportunities
through innovation
• enhancing the firm’s ability to develop the skills through which
innovations could be created
• typically has distinguished between new venture creation within existing
organizations and the transformation of on-going organizations through
strategic renewal
• Corporate venturing is more particularly concerned with the launching
of new ventures
Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE)
A definition for CE

• CE is 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 (Wolcott & Lippitz, 2007).

• The final goal is to achieve competitive advantage via innovation.

Types of innovation
Some examples of CE (service)
Some examples of CE (process)

(Obs.: Click on the images for the link to the articles!)

Why is it important?

• Global connectivity and globalisation is generating rapid and profound change in

our environment.
• For example, the connected world means competition comes from diverse
nations, new forms of communication enable new supply chains, connected
systems are producing increased volumes of information and data, new business
models are being invented.
• To maintain competitive advantages, firms need to constantly adapt, and
change… either innovate their future or become victims of innovation (Kuratko
and Morris 2018)
• Reeves et al (2016) studied 30,000 public firms in USA over 50 years and found:
‘Public companies have a one in three chance of being delisted in the next five
years, whether because of bankruptcy, liquidation, M&A, or other causes. That’s
six times the delisting rate of companies 40 years ago.’
What is the imperative

• Organizations are currently struggling with the proper strategies to

initiate innovative activity among their people (Kuratko and Morris
2018)
• As future business leaders and managers, you need to be prepared
for the disruptive future you will confront
Corporate Entrepreneurship in
practice
Entrepreneurial intensity

• The degree (or scale) and the frequency of entrepreneurial activity

within a firm
• We will consider this further in the Seminar next week
External and Internal drivers

• External turbulence can force change (and thus entrepreneurship)

within a firm
• Internal work climate can either stifle or nurture entrepreneurship
• Ideally consider both
Entrepreneurial architecture

• Can be considered as a strategic alignment of a firms resources so that

they all work together to achieve entrepreneurship and innovation on a
sustainable basis.

• Internal corporate venturing components, such as innovation teams,

appropriate structures. Encourages new business internally.

• External corporate venturing component, such as acquisitions, joint

ventures, partnerships. Concerned with how the firm structures itself
externally.
Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO)

• Term used to describe the overall sustained pattern of a firm’s entrepreneurial

behaviour.
• There are many different definitions of the term in the literature.

There exist forms that firms can use to assess their EO. These incorporate 3 broad
dimensions: (eg www.entrepreneurialorientation.com/measures.html)
• Innovativeness
• Risk-taking
• Pro-activeness

Two further dimensions are also often considered:

• Competitive aggressiveness
• Internal autonomy
Learning Organisation

• Learning Organisation, or organisational learning, is a useful theory or

framework that you have likely come across in one of your earlier courses.
• Facilitates learning for all its members and continually transforms itself
• Creates supportive learning environment; Builds concrete learning processes;
Leadership reinforces learning (Garvin et al 2008)
Case Insight
 Case Insight: Sulhail Bhawan Group SBG
See article by Samuel Wendel, Forbes Middle East Apr 11, 2017

• Two brothers inherited a fishing boat from their father and started trading goods
between Oman and India. In 1965 they set up shop in the capital, Muscat of Oman
• They obtained exclusive license to sell Toyota cars & Seiko watches in Oman. The Toyota
dealership rapidly expanded across Oman
• In 2002, brothers parted, and Suhail diversified into healthcare, construction,
engineering, oil & gas, chemicals
• 2018 Sulhail was worth $3.2 B
• SBG group has over 40 companies currently in its portfolio and 15,000 employees
• Every company in the group continues to diversifications and honing core competencies

Founder’s daughter Amal now in VP role. Customers are treated as guests

2018 Sheikha Amal Suhail Bahwan - Vice Chairperson ranked among Forbes TOP 10 list of
"the Middle East's Most Influential Women 2018".
 Case Insight: Sulhail Bhawan Group SBG

Company culture is reflected in its core values,

• Inspired by the seafaring tradition of exploring new worlds…
• Encouraged by endless opportunities…
• Driven by relentless pursuit of excellence, professionalism and service
• Passionate about people …
• Innovative, contemporary, customer driven and caring

Is SBG an entrepreneurial organisation?

https://www.forbesmiddleeast.com/industry/business/exclusive-from-humble-beginnings-suhail-bahwan-became-a-billionaire-in-oman
Additional references

• Kanter, R. M. 1983. The Change Masters: Innovation for Productivity in the

American Corporation. New York: Simon & Schuster.
• Kuratko, D.F. and Morris, M.H., 2018. Corporate entrepreneurship: A critical
challenge for educators and researchers. Entrepreneurship Education and
Pedagogy, 1(1), pp.42-60.
• Garvin, D.A., Edmondson, A.C. and Gino, F., 2008. Is yours a learning
organization?. Harvard business review, 86(3), p.109.
• Reeves, M., Levin, S. and Ueda, D., 2016. The biology of corporate survival:
Natural ecosystems hold surprising lessons for business. Harvard Business
Review, 94(1-2), pp.46-56.
• Wolcott & Lippitz, 2007. The Four Models of Corporate Entrepreneurship.
MIT Sloan Management Review. Available at:
https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-four-models-of-corporate-
entrepreneurship/