Approaching a Deeper Understanding of Corporate Entrepreneurship - Focusing on Co-Evolutionary Processes

Abstract

Previous studies on CE behaviour and processes have neglected the role of employees, as the focus has been on one-way relationships (top-down) and the interaction between them. We question the straightforward model of CE implementation and suggest causality between different elements. This conceptual study discusses the different organisational and individual pre-requisites in order to promote understanding of how they confront in the CE context. We propose that top-down and bottom-up influences are parallel terms describing the coevolution of managerial and employee behaviour and organisational structures. We conclude by introducing the concept of implementation and influencing modalities and conversational space, which enables the 'voices' of managers and subordinates to meet and negotiate. Finally, we argue that CE is a two-way interactive and recursive process in which structures and managerial initiatives affect individual behaviour, and individual behaviour affects structures and management behaviour. The paper discusses the implications and gives direction for further research endeavours. 165 J. Enterprising Culture 2007.15:165-186. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com by HEC MONTREAL on 08/16/15. For personal use only.

Corporate entrepreneurs or silent followers?

“…We wanted to empirically explore the relationship between leaders and subordinates in a CE setting, and we developed our ideas by integrating the research fields of leadership and (corporate) entrepreneurship, as suggested by Gupta et al (2004), for example. In converting our direction of cause‐effect analysis from the traditional top‐down to a bottom‐up approach we aimed to explore the role of the key actor – a corporate entrepreneur – and the influencing modalities (enabling structures) through which some individual influences may finally pass and affect the organisational structure and management in the CE process (Heinonen and Toivonen, 2007). We justify our approach in that CE is employee‐ and action‐oriented by its very nature.…”

“…The interaction between managerial and individual antecedents thus is believed to run in both directions. (Heinonen and Toivonen, 2007) In this study we turned the analysis from the typical top‐down to bottom‐up in our attempt to analyse how employee attitudes affect management behaviour in the CE setting. We thereby changed the causal direction from individual employee attitudes to management behaviour.…”

“…de Jong and Den Hartog, 2007). Heinonen and Toivonen (2007) took a conceptual approach to the co‐evolutionary processes of CE, but empirical evidence is still non‐existent.…”

“…We do not deny the power of management, but question the presumptions about unidirectional forces from management downwards to employees. We assume that this relationship is at least partially reciprocal, and that there exists some kind of feedback loop upwards (Heinonen and Toivonen, 2007). In other words, we suggest that individual‐level employee action causes bottom‐up effects (see also Rutherford and Holt, 2007; de Jong and Den Hartog, 2007).…”

The Vital Entrepreneurial Learning Organization: A Corporate Mindset for Entrepreneurial Change Management

“…The top management and decentralized, autonomous entrepreneurial units [Reich (1987); Raes et al (2011)] induce entrepreneurial activities [Heinonen (2007)]. These activities are coordinated and stimulated through the organizational design and the internal dynamics [Probst (1987)].…”