Wk10: Dimensions of CE

Question 1

How do we determine the level of entrepreneurship in an organisation?

Answer 1

• Entrepreneurship is not black or white, it is a spectrum
• Every organisation displays some form and level of entrepreneurship at different times
• Measure how entrepreneurial an organisation is using Entrepreneurial intensity

Question 2

What is entrepreneurial intensity and how is it measured?

Answer 2

• It is the measure of how entrepreneurial an organisation is.
• Measured as a function of the frequency and degree of entrepreneurship
• Frequency= how often does firm engage in entrepreneurial events/activities?
• Degree= how entrepreneurial are each of these events/activities?
• Low frequency and degree=period/incremental innovation
• High frequency/Low degree=continuous/incremental innovation
• Low fequency/High degree= periodic/discontinuous innovation
• High frequency & degree=revolutionary firms displaying highest level of entrepreneurship

Question 3

How do you measure degree of entrepreneurship?

Answer 3

• Innovativeness
• Risk-taking
• Proactiveness

Question 4

When measuring degree of entrepreneurship

Describe innovativeness.

Answer 4

• Describes extent to which company is doing things that are novel, unique or different.
• Range of different types of innovativeness:
• Addressing previously unment need
• Change the way a need is met
• Is it a dramatic improvement or minor modification?
• Proven product in a new geographic region
• Highly innovative companies=customer & employee centered
• Highly innovative companies use entire business-concept as starting point for innovation instead of just a product or service
• Radical/discontinuous innovation is more likely to fail than incremental innovation but there’s a balance to be found

Question 5

When measuring degree of entrepreneurship

Describe risk-taking

Answer 5

• Risk involves anything new or = the chance of actual results differing from expected results and considers by how much they differ.
• Taking moderate, calculated risks is NB for entrepreneurship
• Reflected as the resource allocation and market focus choices made, by either an individual or by the organisation
• Risk is best managed by engaging in many low-risk market entries with large variety of products/services that can quickly be tested and scrapped if positive results aren’t realised early enough.
• Risk is high if little to no innovative activity takes place and also high if extremely radical all-in market disrupting innovation is pursued
• Sinking-the-boat risk= jumping into an opportunity too quickly without enough prior knowledge
• Missing-the-boat risk= waiting too long to execute an opportunity because of over-analysis

Question 6

When measuring degree of entrepreneurship

Describe proactiveness

Answer 6

• Emphasizes action rather than reaction to environment
• Measured in 3 ways:
• Leading instead of following competitors in innovation
• Favoring growth/development/innovation over the tried/tested products
• Seeking to cooperate with competitors rather than destroy them

Proactiveness is about not only identifying a problem and developing a solution, BUT ALSO selling that solution to your firm and turning it into a commercial operation.

Question 7

What are the 3 ways in which Proactiveness manifests itself?

Answer 7

• Seeking out new opportunities that might not be related to present line of operations
• Introducing new products to the market ahead of the competition
• Strategically eliminating operations in their mature/declining phases of their life cycles