Loosely Coupled Systems for Corporate Entrepreneurship : Imagining and Managing the Innovation Project/Host Organization Interface

Abstract

This paper explores the concept of loosely coupled systems as an Image representing the Interface between Innovation projects (emerging organizations) and their hostcorporations (existing organizations). The model calls attention to waysIn which management's actions create moreor less Independence between Innovation and hostorganization systems. Analyzing Interviews from 13 Innovation projects In two Fortune 500 corporations, everyday actions that loosen and couple Innovation and management systems are Identified. Find-Ings offer new ways of conceptualizing and managing this Important Interface. Entrepreneurial organizations have been described as "emerging organizations," and have been contrasted with organizational behavior or "existing organizations" (Gartner, Bird & Starr, 1992). In the case of corporate entrepreneurship, the emerging organizations (innovation projects) are embedded in existing host organizations so that the interface of the two organizational systems must be managed. Recent reviews of product development research concur that more research-base knowledge has been generated on innovation systems, or projects, than on the interface of projects and host organizations (Brown & Eisenhardt, 1995, Leonard-Barton, 1992). Yet this interface is an important aspect of product development because it is the arena wherein the marrying of innovation to established organizational capabilities and strategies is consummated. MODELS OF THE INNOVATION PROJECTIHOST ORGANIZATION INTERFACEExistent images of the project/host organization interface tend to focus on either the project or the organization, rather than the relationship between the two. The dominant model of how synergies between innovation projects and host organizations are created is the "bottom up" or strategic forcing model. In this process, the innovation is, forcibly, fitted into the resisting organization and strategy. The "champion" (Schon, 1963) or "heavy-weight" (Clark & Fujimoto, 1990) project leader uses a mix of political power,

Inhibition and Encouragement of Entrepreneurial Behavior: Antecedents Analysis from Managers' Perspectives

“…Although some employees may have a natural will to act entrepreneurially, we do believe that part of the autonomous behavior is stimulated by managers' attitudes. This has support from Burgelman's (1983b) approach, suggesting that middle management play a crucial role in supporting autonomous initiatives from employees, which is confirmed by Heller's (1999) studies on innovative projects in existing corporations. According to Heller (1999), the capacity to create an independent organizational structure for entrepreneurial initiatives relies much more on management's actions than organizational systems.…”

“…Burgelman and Sayles (1986) observed that Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) may be formal or informal. In formal CE, or induced behavior (Ferreira, 2001;Heller, 1999), the organization tries to facilitate, in every way, the generation of entrepreneurs and their initiatives. To a greater or lesser extent, these businesses:…”

“…Since then, several Corporate Entrepreneurship studies considered autonomous and induced behavior to explain entrepreneurial behavior among employees (Burgelman, 1983b;Burgelman & Sayles, 1986;Ferreira, 2001;Heller, 1999). While some human resource policies and practices may induce employees to assume entrepreneurial behavior in their job duties, it is not clear why some employees exert autonomous entrepreneurial behavior.…”

“…Nevertheless, we believe that some managers do not serve only as corporate policies executors. Some authors, such as Heller (1999) and Burgelman (1983b) support this idea by stating managers have an active role in influencing employees' entrepreneurial behavior. The same way, we can consider how managers' behavior can also inhibit entrepreneurial attitudes of potential intrapreneurs within their teams.…”

Environmental influences on corporate entrepreneurship: executive perspectives on the internet

“…These research efforts suggest that CE is pervasive and multi-faceted. In the same vain, Heller (1999) has focused on CE and the innovation process of a firm.…”