Introduction
There is a growing consensus that companies should promote entrepreneurship within their organizational boundaries. This way, established companies are in a position to preserve and reinforce the innovativeness and flexibility from which many young enterprises benefit. The business strategy pursued by organizations which intentionally engage in various entrepreneurial activities is referred to as a corporate entrepreneurship (CE) strategy. The CE strategy implies the continuous development of new products and technologies as well as the flexible adjustment of internal organizational structures and processes. Thus, the pursuance of a CE strategy generally helps those organizations acting in dynamic business environments to enhance their competitiveness and economic viability. Given that today’s business environments are increasingly characterized by “rapid technological evolution, glob- alization, and progressively sophisticated competitors” (Schmelter et al., 2010, p. 716), the CE strategy is recommendable for more and more companies. Nonetheless, although researchers paid increased attention to the field of CE over the last three decades, still little is known about how organizations can consciously stimulate and promote their entrepreneurial activities. Assuming that the activities conducted by organizations are substantially determined by their individual members, the more concrete question arises of how an organization can strengthen the entrepreneurial mindset and behavior of its employees. Therefore, the final aim of this thesis is to examine how human resource management (HRM) can effectively support the implementation of a CE strategy. In the course of this, the beneficial employee characteristics and behaviors for CE will be identified, the compatible HRM practices will be determined, and the mediating roles of both organizational culture and leadership between HRM and an effective realization of a CE strategy will be analyzed. The research question will be answered with the help of a theoretical approach and the results from expert interviews.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Theoretical Fundamentals
2.1 Corporate Entrepreneurship
2.2 Human Resource Management
3 Human Resource Management and Corporate Entrepreneurship
3.1 Beneficial Employee Characteristics and Behaviors
3.2 Compatible Human Resource Management Practices
3.3 Organizational Culture and Leadership as Mediators
4 Expert Interviews
4.1 Method
4.2 Results
5 Conclusion
Appendix
A. Effectiveness of HRM Practices for Corporate Entrepreneurship
B. Key Findings of the Expert Interviews
C. Transcription of the Expert Interviews
Objectives and Research Focus
The primary aim of this bachelor thesis is to examine how human resource management (HRM) can effectively support the implementation of a corporate entrepreneurship (CE) strategy within established organizations. The work seeks to identify beneficial employee characteristics, determine compatible HRM practices, and analyze the mediating roles of organizational culture and leadership in successfully realizing CE.
- The link between HRM and corporate entrepreneurship strategy.
- Identification of key employee attributes and behavioral requirements for CE.
- Evaluation of specific HRM practices across planning, staffing, appraisal, rewards, and training.
- The mediating influence of organizational culture and leadership styles.
- Practical insights from expert interviews with firms engaging in CE activities.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1 Beneficial Employee Characteristics and Behaviors
With a view to determine those characteristics and behaviors of an employee which facilitate the realization of a CE strategy, it is helpful to start with examining what constitutes an entrepreneur on the individual level. Afterwards, a transfer can be made to the corporate context and conclusions about the desired characteristics and behaviors of the individual employees can be drawn.
Who is an entrepreneur and who is a non-entrepreneur? What does an entrepreneur do what a non-entrepreneur does not? Or in other words, does an individual be or become an entrepreneur? For a long time researchers have tried to find answers to these questions. Those attempts have led to the emergence of two different schools of thought: the trait approach and the behavioral approach. Whilst the trait approach assumes that an entrepreneur can be defined by a particular personality type, the behavioral approach focuses on what an entrepreneur really does (Gartner, 1989, p. 47).
Based on the assumption that an entrepreneur differs from a non-entrepreneur solely in terms of personality, demographic and educational variables, such as achievement motivation, risk taking propensity, creativity, age, social attitudes, and prior work experience (McClelland, 1961; Brockhaus, 1980; Hornaday and Bunker, 1970; Collins and More, 1970), the trait approach has become subject to criticism. Researchers did not find considerable empirical relations between traits and particular behavior (Ajzen, 1991, p. 180). Therefore, science more concentrated on examining the behavioral factors related with the entrepreneurial process. Hence, in the behavioral approach, to be an entrepreneur means that an individual is behaving as an entrepreneur.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: This chapter defines the core concepts of corporate entrepreneurship (CE) and establishes the motivation for examining the strategic linkage between HRM and organizational entrepreneurship.
2 Theoretical Fundamentals: This section provides the definitions and taxonomic classifications for corporate entrepreneurship and introduces the human resource cycle as the foundational model for the analysis.
3 Human Resource Management and Corporate Entrepreneurship: This chapter derives how HRM practices, such as staffing and rewards, can stimulate the specific employee characteristics and behaviors required for CE, while also highlighting the mediating roles of culture and leadership.
4 Expert Interviews: This section presents the methodology and the empirical results derived from qualitative interviews with four different companies regarding their practical application of HRM in the context of CE.
5 Conclusion: The thesis concludes by synthesizing the theoretical findings and the expert interview results, confirming that HRM plays a crucial role in supporting CE, and identifies paths for future research.
Keywords
Corporate Entrepreneurship, Human Resource Management, Strategic HRM, Michigan Model, Employee Characteristics, Innovation, Organizational Culture, Transformational Leadership, Corporate Venturing, Performance Appraisal, Reward Systems, Staffing, Expert Interviews, Behavioral Approach, Competency-Based Framework.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this thesis?
The work focuses on the intersection of human resource management and corporate entrepreneurship, investigating how companies can align their HR practices to foster internal innovation and entrepreneurial behavior.
What are the central thematic fields covered?
The thesis covers CE definitions, individual entrepreneurial traits, specific HRM functional areas (planning, staffing, appraisal, rewards, training), and the indirect influence of culture and leadership.
What is the primary research objective?
The objective is to determine how an organization can specifically adapt its HRM strategy to stimulate the entrepreneurial mindset and behavior of its employees for improved corporate viability.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The study uses a combined approach: a comprehensive literature review for theoretical derivation and a qualitative content analysis based on expert interviews for practical verification.
What does the main body of the work address?
It provides a deep dive into the "human resource cycle," analyzing how specific practices like job design, recruitment, performance evaluation, and compensation can be tailored to support high-level entrepreneurial activity.
Which keywords characterize this publication?
Key terms include Corporate Entrepreneurship, HRM, Organizational Culture, Performance-related Pay, and Innovation management.
How do organizational culture and leadership act as mediators?
They act as catalysts; culture provides the environment of freedom and autonomy, while leadership provides the role modeling and managerial support necessary for employees to act entrepreneurially.
What role do external specialists play in the context of CE?
According to the findings, organizations utilize external specialists to access new technical knowledge and ideas, which boosts the organization's overall potential for innovation.
Why is the "Michigan Model" central to this research?
It is used as a structural framework because it emphasizes the direct alignment between HRM systems and the strategic business goals of the organization, making it ideal for the context of corporate entrepreneurship.
What conclusion do the expert interviews offer regarding compensation?
The interviews suggest that while performance-related compensation models are seen as effective incentives for entrepreneurial behavior, organizations are increasingly moving towards more flexible, results-oriented systems.
- Citation du texte
- Manuel Jockenhöfer (Auteur), 2012, How to promote entrepreneurship within established companies? Human Resource Management and Corporate Entrepreneurship, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/197684
