Daniel F. Jennings

The Antecedents and Consequences of Firm-Level Entrepreneurship: The State of the Field

Empirical research into firm-level entrepreneurship spans over a quarter of a century. This article reviews the current state of this research by identifying key trends in 45 published empirical studies; examining the key issues addressed and methods used to examine them; and outlining six key areas that need greater attention in future research.

Functioning Modeling Corporate Entrepreneurship: An Empirical Integrative Analysis

Research on entrepreneurship and especially corporate entrepreneurship has been fragmented and lacks accepted definitions. This study develops an objective definition of corporate entrepreneurship from two areas of entrepreneurial research. Using a statewide sample of savings and loans, this research classifies organizations as entrepreneurial and conservative and empirically tests hypotheses relating to the notion of corporate entrepreneurship. MANOCOVA analysis, controlling for size, supported the hypotheses that in entrepreneurial organizations, (a) decision making is more participative, (b) decision making relies more on specialized personnel, (c) performance objectives are developed from shared participation, and (d) managers will not be penalized if risky projects fail. It was not found that managers of entrepreneurial organizations rely less on integration processes to assist in implementing decisions.

AN EMPIRICAL COMPARISON BETWEEN OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE MEASURES OF THE PRODUCT INNOVATION DOMAIN OF CORPORATE ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Developing both subjective and objective measures of the concept of corporate entrepreneurship would be of interest to the field of entrepreneurship. This study (1) develops an objective measure of one domain of corporate entrepreneurship, product innovation, using archival data, and (2) uses a self-report questionnaire as a subjective measure for the same domain. Both the subjective and objective measures were statistically reliable and no significant differences between the two measures were found. Implications for both academic researchers and practicing managers are noted.

Aggressiveness of response to new business opportunities following deregulation: An empirical study of established financial firms

Abstract Certain researchers have argued that industry structure constrains a firms ability to respond to new business opportunities. An important research question is to determine the relationship between organizational structure and strategy and a firms response to new business opportunities. This article measures how established financial firms respond to new business opportunities following deregulation and then compares these activities to accepted, well-known strategy typologies and structural arrangements. Using secondary data, the new business venturing activities of the entire population of Texas savings and loans (N = 270) was determined following an industry deregulation. Forty-four of these savings and loans (S&Ls) then were identified as having a high-level of venturing activity, whereas 71 S&Ls were characterized by a low-level of venturing activity. A questionnaire describing specific, well-known strategies and structural arrangements was mailed to the top managers of these 115 S&Ls. Telephone interviews were obtained from 99 of the 115 S&Ls receiving questionnaires. Chief executive officers and executive vice-presidents from 37 high-level venturing activity S&Ls and 62 low-level venturing activity S&Ls responded. Twenty-eight of the 37 high-level venturing activity S&Ls reported the use of a prospector-type strategy, whereas 52 of the 62 low-level venturing activity S&Ls reported having a defender strategy. This final sample of 80 S&Ls (28 + 52) was used in all subsequent data analyses. Total assets of the S&Ls sampled ranged from 10.2 million to 4.1 billion dollars. A covariance

The Charon Response: A Needed Act in Dying Organizations

The Charon Response looks at how business firms should deal with the human and emotional consequences of a major work force reduction. Such reductions are a regular feature of the corporate landscape and can be handled in a caring manner if management so chooses. Due to the intense emotions evoked from job loss, the authors argue that the Charon Response is an appropriate and humane act by management. However, it will not be implemented unless management is willing to confront the emotional aspects of this issue. To understand the centrality of emotions, selected lines of poetry have been included in the text.