Designs for Corporate Entrepreneurship in Established Firms

Ansoff H. Igor , Corporate Strategy (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1965).

Peters T. J. Waterman R. H. , In Search of Excellence (New York, NY: Harper and Row, 1983).

For a discussion of the theoretical foundations of corporate entrepreneurship, see Burgelman R. A. , “Corporate Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management: Insights from a Process Study,” Management Science, 29 (1983): 1649–1664.

Burgelman R. A. , “A Model of the Interaction of Strategic Behavior, Corporate Context, and the Concept of Strategy,” Academy of Management Review, 8 (1983): 61–70.

Peters Waterman , op. cit.

Burgelman R. A. , “A Process Model of Internal Corporate Venturing in the Diversified Major Firm,” Administrative Science Quarterly, 28 (1983): 223–244.

Wilson J. Q. , “Innovation in Organization: Notes Toward a Theory,” in Thompson J. D. , ed. Approaches to Organizational Design (Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1966), pp. 195–218.

Abernathy W. , The Productivity Dilemma (Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1978).

Peters Waterman , op. cit.

Atherton R. M. Crites D. M. , “Hewlett-Packard: A 1975–1978 Review” (Boston, MA: Harvard Case Services, 1980).

This quote was taken from “After Slow Start, Gene Machines Approach a Period of Fast Growth and Steady Profits,” The Wall Street Journal, December 13, 1983.

Henry Kissinger has made the interesting observation that top policy-makers are, basically, strategies-in-action whose fundamental strategic premises are a given by the time they reach their positions. See Kissinger H. A. , White House Years (Boston, MA: Little Brown, 1979).

See also Burgelman R. A. , “Managing the Internal Corporate Venturing Process,” Sloan Management Review (Winter 1984), pp. 33–48.

Fusfeld A. R. , “How to Put Technology into Corporate Planning,” in Technology Review, Innovation (1976), pp. 53–57.

An example of the need for direct integration is documented by Twiss's account of the development of “float glass” at Pilkington Glass, Ltd. See Twiss B. , Managing Technological Innovation (London: Longman, 1980); see also Cooper A. C. Schendel D. , “Strategic Responses to Technological Threats,” Business Horizons (1976), pp. 61–69, for a discussion of the difficulties firms face when confronted with radical changes in their mainstream operations.

An example where the proposed approach might have been useful is provided by one of the major, diversified automotive supplier's handling of electronic fuel injection development. In spite of having the required technology, there was strong resistance from the firm's carburetor division, and the automotive group management level did not support the development either. Only after a new group level manager took charge of the strategic management of the project and brought in additional operational capabilities and skills did the project take off.

IBM's use of the Special Business Unit design to enter the personal computer business is an example. See “Meet the New Lean, Mean IBM,” Fortune, June 13, 1983, p. 78.

Fast N. D. , The Rise and Fall of Corporate New Venture Divisions (Ann Arbor, MI: V.M.I. Research Press, 1979).

For a discussion of major problems associated with the NVD, see Burgelman R. A. , “Managing the New Venture Division: Research Findings and Implications for Strategic Management,” Strategic Management Journal, (forthcoming). See also Fast N. D. , op. cit.

IBM's use of Independent Business Units is one example where the corporation keeps complete ownership. See Fortune , June 13, 1983. An example of joint ownership is provided by how Bank of America has organized its Venture-Capital Business. See “Despite Greater Risks, More Banks Turn to Venture-Capital Business,” The Wall Street Journal, November 28, 1983.

For a discussion of the concept of “interstice,” see Penrose E. T. , The Theory of the Growth of the Firm (Oxford: Blackwell, 1968).

For an account of some examples, see “Spin Offs Mount in Silicon Valley,” The New York Times, January 3, 1984.