Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Entrepreneurship
The concept of entrepreneurship has a wide range of meanings. One of the extreme is an
entrepreneur is a person of very high aptitude who pioneers change, possessing
characteristics found in only a very small fraction of population. On the other extreme of
definitions, anyone who wants to work for himself or herself is considered to be an
entrepreneur.
The word entrepreneur originates from the French word, “entreprendre”, which means to
undertake." In a business context, it means to start a business.
Entrepreneurship is the art of taking Risk. It is all about taking the first step and
implementing them. Take Risks, evaluate and learn. Earning is necessary for a living. A
teacher teaches in a school, a worker works in a factory, doctor practices in a government
hospital, a clerk serves in a bank, a manager works in a business concern to earn their living.
These are the examples of people who are employees and earn money through salary or
wages given by their employers. This is known as wage-employment. On the other hand, a
shopkeeper, a factory owner, a businessman, a doctor having his own clinic, earn money by
running their own concerns.
These are the examples of people who are self-employed. However, there are several self-
employed individuals who not only create jobs for themselves but also generate jobs for
many others. For example, Tatas, Birlas, etc. who are innovators and job generators. They
may be termed as Entrepreneurs.
Five Most Important Characteristics of an Entrepreneur:-
How many times have we heard a success story about someone who started in his or her
garage and is now running a business empire? That's what separates entrepreneurs from
business people. So, what exactly is it that makes a strong and successful entrepreneur?
An entrepreneur is not just someone who deals with dollars and cents. In fact, many
entrepreneurs do the exact opposite. They are better at delegating responsibility and
recognizing talent, as opposed to performing every action.
Page 1 of 19
No. 1) Visionary Characteristics of an Entrepreneur
Business is not just about making a profit. Of course, it's the reason for business, but profit is
the hopeful result rather than the actual means. A successful business leader has to be
something like a successful politician -- inspiring large groups of people to action.
Having a vision is a major component of inspiring both employees and colleagues. The
important component is dreaming big. However, dreaming big has some limits. It needs to be
tempered by pragmatism or no one is going to take the vision seriously.
No. 2) Self-Awareness
Being able to inspire other people to action requires knowledge of self. Too many budding
entrepreneurs despise admitting their own weaknesses. They believe that part of success is
putting on a false bravado. Often, people can see through the facade.
More importantly, though, is the idea that a successful entrepreneur is only as strong as the
people working for him. An entrepreneur needs to be honest about his own faults and
strengths, so that he can hire people who will best meet the needs of the business.
No. 3) Entrepreneurial Characteristics and Intelligence
The entrepreneur exhibits intelligence through intellectual curiosity. An entrepreneur can't
just sit back on his heels and wait to find business opportunities. He always needs to be
investigating new modes of business and making new contacts.
In addition, an entrepreneur has to be a long and short-term planner, gauging the current
climate versus what can be accomplished long term. An entrepreneur always has to be
looking for new ways to accomplish his vision.
No. 4) Extroversion and Important Characteristics of an Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur has to be a people person. Remember, an entrepreneur isn't necessarily going
to be limited to one industry. This means attending a variety of business meetings in different
business sectors, in which the entrepreneur needs to be active in asking questions of
colleagues, as well as conveying his passion and vision about current projects. An
entrepreneur must be outgoing. He should exude confidence without arrogance -- though
some cockiness can be effective as well.
Page 2 of 19
No. 5) Ambition
Ambition ties it all together. If an entrepreneur doesn't believe that he can do something
better than what has come before, he's not going be very effective or successful. A sense of
urgency typically accompanies the ambitious feelings of an entrepreneur. A strong desire to
get things done will rub off on employees and business associates
What is Entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship is universal in any human activity — be it economic, political or social.
Entrepreneurship has been defined as a creative human act involving the mobilization of
resources from one level of productive use to a higher level. Or, as "combining together
factors of production" and the supply of entrepreneurship has been identified as critical in
determining the wealth and growth of a nation's economy.
Entrepreneurship involves a willingness to take responsibility and the ability to put the mind
to a task and see it through. An ingredient of entrepreneurship is sensing opportunities and
serving as a change agent.
In India, you have examples of Tatas, Birlas, Ambanis, etc. who have made valuable
contribution to the industrial development of the country.
An entrepreneur is a creative thinker. He is an innovator, who volunteers to take risk and
invest money. In the process he generates jobs, solves problems, adds values and seeks
excellence. This is what Mr. Ambani did and therefore he is called an Entrepreneur. Thus we
find, entrepreneurship consists of practices and skills of a person constantly trying for growth
and excellence.
This is being done by innovating an idea, object, product or service and put it to social use.
To be an entrepreneur you need to possess some qualities. However, entrepreneurship is also
referred as a career oriented purposeful task that can be learnt. It may be noted here that, in
the context of country‘s economic development, entrepreneurship is not always confined to
big business. It is equally important to have small enterprises. As a matter of fact the
economic growth and prosperity of many developed and developing countries is because of
emergence of small enterprises.
Page 3 of 19
In summary,
(i) Entrepreneurship is viewed as a function involving identification and use of opportunities
which exist in the market.
(ii) Entrepreneurs bear risks in converting the ideas into action and pursuing opportunities.
(iii) Entrepreneurship involves creative and innovative action
(iv) Entrepreneurs undertake managerial activities as part of their work.
(v) An entrepreneur constantly strives for excellence in his/her field of work.
In entrepreneurship the individual is the most important element. Entrepreneurship is not
limited to any class, community, gender or religion. There is no age bar. Any person who
possesses certain traits and attitudes can become an entrepreneur.
Some famous entrepreneurs in India:-
Ekta Kapoor:-
Born: June 7, 1975
Achievement: Creative Director of Balaji Telefilms; Awarded with Ernst & Young (E&Y)
Startup Entrepreneur Of The Year award in 2001.
Ekta Kapoor can be aptly called as the reigning queen of Indian television industry. The
serials produced by her company Balaji Telefilms are a great hit with the masses and are
dominating all the major TV channels in India.
Born on June 7, 1975, Ekta Kapoor is daughter of former Bollywood superstar Jeetendra and
sister of current Bollywood hero Tusshar Kapoor. Ekta Kapoor did her schooling from
Bombay Scottish School and later on joined Mithibai College. She was not interested in
academics and on the advice of her father ventured into TV-serial production at the age of 19.
And soon she changed the face of Indian television industry and completely dominated it.
Today, Ekta Kapoor is the creative director of Balaji Telefilms. Her company has produced
more than 25 serials and each one is being shown, on an average, four times a week on
different television channels. Ekta Kapoor's serials have captured the imagination of masses.
She broken all previous records of TV serial production and popularity in India. Her most
famous television venture has been "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" which began in 2000
and is still leading the TRP ratings in India. Her other famous serials include "Kahaani Ghar
Ghar Ki", "Kahiin To Hoga", "Kavyanjali", "Kyaa Hoga Nimmo Kaa", "Kasamh Se", "Kahin
Kisii Roz", "Kasautii Zindagi Kay", "Kkusum", "Kutumb", "Kalash", and "Kundali".
For her entrepreneurial skills and achievements Ekta Kapoor was awarded with Ernst &
Young (E&Y) Startup Entrepreneur Of The Year award in 2001.
Page 4 of 19
Ratan Tata:
Born: December 28, 1937
Achievement: Honored with Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian awards in 2000.
Ratan Tata is presently the Chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group.
Ratan Naval Tata is also the Chairman of the major Tata companies such as Tata Steel, Tata
Motors, Tata Power, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Tea, Tata Chemicals, Indian Hotels and
Tata Teleservices. He has taken Tata Group to new heights and under his leadership Group's
revenues have grown manifold.
Ratan Tata was born on December 28, 1937, in Bombay. He received a Bachelor of Science
degree in architecture from Cornell University in 1962. Ratan Tata had a short stint with
Jones and Emmons in Los Angeles, California, before returning to India in late 1962. He
joined the Tata Group and was assigned to various companies before being appointed
director-in-charge of The National Radio & Electronics Company (NELCO) in 1971. Ratan
Tata was appointed Chairman of Tata Industries in 1981. He was assigned the task of
transforming the company into a Group strategy think-tank, and a promoter of new ventures
in high technology businesses.
In 1991, Ratan Tata took over the Chairmanship from JRD Tata. Under him Tata
Consultancy Services went public and Tata Motors was listed in the New York Stock
Exchange. In 1998, Tata Motors came up with Tata Indica, the first truly Indian car. The car
was the brainchild of Ratan Tata.
Ratan Tata was honored with Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian awards in 2000. He
was also conferred an honorary doctorate in business administration by Ohio State
University, an honorary doctorate in technology by the Asian Institute of Technology,
Bangkok, and an honorary doctorate in science by the University of Warwick.
Narayan Murthi:
Born: August 20, 1946
Achievement: One of the founders of Infosys Technologies Limited; Chosen as the World
Entrepreneur of the Year - 2003 by Ernst and Young.
Page 5 of 19
Narayana Murthy is the Non-Executive Chairman and Chief Mentor of Infosys Technologies
Limited. He is a living legend and an epitome of the fact that honesty, transparency, and
moral integrity are not at variance with business acumen. He set new standards in corporate
governance and morality when he stepped down as the Executive Chairman of Infosys at the
age of 60.
Born on August 20, 1946, N.R. Narayana Murthy is a B.E. Electrical from University of
Mysore (1967) and M.Tech from IIT Kanpur (1969). Narayan Murthy began his career with
Patni Computer Systems in Pune. In 1981, Narayana Murthy founded Infosys with six other
software professionals. In 1987, Infosys opened its first international office in U.S.A.
With the liberalization of Indian economy in 1990s, Infosys grew rapidly. In 1993, the
company came up with its IPO. In 1995, Infosys set up development centers across cities in
India and in 1996, it set up its first office in Europe in Milton Keynes, UK. In 1999, Infosys
became the first Indian company to be listed on NASDAQ. Today (in 2006), Infosys has a
turnover of more than $ 2billion and has employee strength of over 50,000. In 2002, Infosys
was ranked No. 1 in the "Best Employers in India 2002" survey conducted by Hewitt and in
the Business World's survey of "India's Most Respected Company." conducted in the same
year.
Along with the growth of Infosys, Narayana Moorthy too has grown in stature. He has
received many honors and awards. In June 2000, Asiaweek magazine featured him in a list of
Asia's 50 Most Powerful People. In 2001, Narayana Murthy was named by TIME/CNN as
one of the 25 most influential global executives. He was the first recipient of the Indo-French
Forum Medal (2003) and was voted the World Entrepreneur of the Year - 2003 by Ernst and
Young. The Economist ranked Narayana Murthy eighth on the list of the 15 most admired
global leaders (2005) and Narayan Murthy also topped the Economic Times Corporate
Dossier list of India's most powerful CEOs for two consecutive years - 2004 and 2005.
Page 6 of 19
Intrapreneur
Entrepreneurship by employees within a corporate organisation is known as corporate
entrepreneurship or Intrapreneurship
"Intrapreneurship refers to employee initiatives in organizations to undertake something new,
without being asked to do so". This Intrapreneur focuses on innovation and creativity and
who transforms a dream or an idea into a profitable venture, by operating within the
organizational environment. The Intrapreneur acts within the confines of an existing
organization Thus, Intrapreneurs are Inside entrepreneurs who follow the goal of the
organization.
Intrapreneur is a person within a large corporation who takes direct responsibility for
turning an idea into a profitable finished product through assertive risk-taking and innovation.
One advantage of Intrapreneurship over Entrepreneurship is that Intrapreneur typically finds
a ready source of "free" resources within the organisation which can be applied to the
opportunity being exploited. Intrapreneurs seek out the organisational slack or fat, and co-opt
it into Intrapreneurial ventures.
Intraprenuerial Characteristics
1. Vision: Intrapreneur possess the ability to visualise the ideas and steps to actualization
2. Motivation: Intrapreneurs require freedom they are self motivated but repond to
rewards and recognition. Money is not their incentive but rather a nmeasure of their
success
3. Bias to Act: Intrapreneurs are action oriented. Rather than being entangled in planning
they start immediately doing something to realise their dreams.
4. Skills: Though Initially the intrapreneur may a marketing of a technological person he
eventually functions in all fields of managements
5. Locus to control: Intrapreneurs dislike system and may occasionally manipulate it to
better the results.
6. Locus to risk: Intrapreneurs are moderate risk takers. They dislike uncontrollable risk
and do what they can can to avoid them. If intrapreneurs are wild risk takers corporate
cannot afford them.
Page 7 of 19
7. Locus to status: intrapreneurs are rather doers than delegators. They believe in doing
things themselves rather than delegating as managers.
8. Failures and Mistakes: intrapreneurs focus on learning from mistakes avaoiding
political cost of public failure. They quickly adjust and develop multi-disciplinary
teams.
9. Goal setting|: intrapreneurs are self determined |Goal setters who often takre the
initiative to do things no one asked them to do.
10. Innovation: intrapreneurs become dedicated to an idea, commitment is the primary
source behind successful innovation.
Intrapreneurial Environmnet in Corporates
1. Research and Development: R& D is the key source for successful new ideas. It is
an investment for sustainability and Growth.
2. Funding: Companies can rather invest in ideas generated by their employees than
investing in other companies. Corporates can thus act as mentors, strategic partner,
service provider etc.
3. Creating a climate: Corporate should define what an intrapreneurial culture means in
various parts of the organisation.
4. Training: Proper training must be imparted to the staff to behave in accordance
intrapreneurial values and motivational factors.
5. Corporate policy: The companies’ policy framework should not inhibit new ideas. It
should serve as a basis for innovation and new product development.
6. Reward System: Corporates should have a well defined transparent reward system.
To encourage intrapreneuship. At the same time failure should not penalised harshly.
7. Mutli-Disciplinary Teams: Corporates have to allocate people from different
functions for intrapreneurial projects and and re-absorb after project is over.
8. Commitment: The intrapreneur must be supported strongly by commitment from the
top and middle management. Without it the company cannot complete its goals of
diversification and overall success.
Page 8 of 19
Ultrapreneurship
Today‘s entrepreneur needs a new mindset, what we term ultrapreneuring. The
Ultrapreneurship is a concept to identify a business opportunity, determine its visibility, and
form a company. It requires assembling a supercomputing management team to develop,
produce ,and market the product or service..
Gone are those days of developing a company to die with-no more cradle to grave thinking.
Ultra growth companies aren‘t made to be passed on to the next generation. Ultrapreneurs
create them and sell out, merge or combine. Their lifelong challenge is to do it again and
again. Many people have established successful businesses and then suddenly sold them off
to managers at good valuations and move on to a new venture. Such people are called as
serial entrepreneurs.
The watch word is harvest. The sole intent is to build a company, then sell out in three years
or less. The challenge is to leverage the investment dollars, the management team, and the
product or service niche to attract a predetermined, designated purchaser. Ultrapreneurs is
about taking enterprise beyond the paradigm of shareholder value, quarterly results and
human resources to incorporate a new vision, a new ethics and a new way of working. If
entrepreneurship meant to take in hand, to manage (in its original, literal sense), from the Old
French entreprendre to take between (the hands)‘, then Ultrapreneurship is about taking
(organizations) beyond‘ the paradigm of late 20C capitalism that is now threatening our very
existence on this planet.
What it needs:-
A thought full product or service concept has to be in place thought it get modify in later
stages. He must know technically how to generate the product or service if u doesn’t have it
you should acquire that knowledge. He and his team should have connection with all people
that knows what they and need and where those things are available.
Hurdles
There are three main hurdles to success
a) Failure to obtain operational financing
Page 9 of 19
b) Sales
c) Identification of a product that has sufficient profit margin.
Ultrapreneurs do not go into ventures without high profit margins. That’s there reason for
existing.
What It Takes To Be An Ultrapreneur?
Achievement
Commitment
Communications
Energy
Goal Setting
Growth Orientation
Honesty
Innovation
Intelligence
Leadership
Risk Tolerance
Self-Confidence
Action Orientation
Example
Sabeer Bhatia: - An INDIAN Ultrapreneur first job did with the APPLE Computers as
inspired with Mr. Steve Jobs in 1991. Invented the “HOTMAIL” in July 4, 1996 along with a
colleague from apple Mr Jack Smith. In less than six months, the website attracted over 1
million subscribers. As the interest in the web-based email provider
increased, Microsoft eventually took notice and on December 30, 1997 (Bhatia's 29th
birthday), Hotmail was sold to Microsoft for a reported sum of $400million. He credited the
environment in the United States.
After selling Hotmail, Bhatia worked at Microsoft for about a year and in April 1999,
he left the company to start another website, Arzoo Inc, which was shut down when
the dot-com bubble burst. In 2010, he re-launched Arzoo as a travel portal.
He started (alongside co-founders Shiraz Kanga and Viraf Zack) Blog Everywhere, a
website attempting to capitalise on the emerging blogosphere.
Page 10 of 19
In 2006, he became an angel investor for Neo Accel, a network security vendor and
maker of SSL VPN-Plus.
In November 2007, he released an online office alternative to Microsoft Office,
called Live Documents. This application allows users to use their documents both
offline and online, edit, collaborate and share documents in real-time with others, and
sync documents between various computers and users. Users can also download their
Microsoft Office plug-in, which allows them to get the best of offline and online
offices suites, along with full compatibility for all office document formats. He has
also pushed for enabling access to the internet through cable television in Indian
homes.
In January, 2008, Sabeer announced the launch of his latest
venture SabSeBolo.com, a free web-based teleconferencing system ("Sab Se Bolo"
means "(Let's) Talk To Everyone" in Hindi).
On 14 June 2009, Sabeer Bhatia's Sab se Bolo acquired Jaxtr, the internet telephone
service start-up for an undisclosed amount Jaxtr will function with the same brand
name and help Sab se Bolo with its large user base. His future plans include the
development of a new city in India called Nanocity. The aim of Nanocity is to
replicate the vibrancy and eco-system of innovation found in the Silicon Valley
Cyberpreneurship
Cyberpreneurship is a combination of the words 'cyber' and 'entrepreneur' and loosely means
many things but generally regarded as meaning an entrepreneur who has an online based
business on the Internet that targets international consumers. These cyberpreneur‘s do not
need offices or extensive support staff all over the world. They just need an idea, a great idea,
and a cable to the Internet.
Most people alive today have probably heard of the Internet. In fact, if the propaganda is
believed, most people have already surfed the Internet. At least most computer users have
probably done so. It is becoming more and more common for firms and organizations
everywhere to advertise and even sell their products and services via the Internet.
Cyber Entrepreneurs is similar to Entrepreneur but the difference is where the conduct their
business.
Page 11 of 19
Internet entrepreneurs combine creativity and marketing skills to sell goods and services on
the World Wide Web.
The Internet has shown spectacular growth over the past few years and will almost certainly
continue to grow. On the other hand, the failure rate of Internet businesses is high, because
the medium evolves in ways that are impossible to predict.
Employment in Web-related business is volatile. Many large companies have invested
heavily in developing Internet sites. Then, as those sites fail to produce revenue, companies
alter their plans and "downsize" or abandon the sites, often laying off employees in the
process.
Like other new industries, the Internet offers high-risk opportunities. Individuals with the
right idea and the skills necessary to capitalize on it can earn a fortune. At the same time, far
more Internet-based businesses will fail rather than succeed.
The Internet—a worldwide network of computer networks—offers businesses and
individuals a relatively inexpensive way to communicate with a global audience.
The development of the Internet over the past forty years has opened an entirely new medium
for communication and commerce. Creative individuals with something to say or something
to sell and technical interests and abilities can use the Internet to reach vast numbers of
people.
Internet entrepreneurs are individuals who are familiar with the culture and technology of the
Internet and are able to apply their knowledge to sell products or services via the Internet. In
general, these entrepreneurs exploit the World Wide Web (the Web)—the portion of the
Internet where users post "pages" of text, images, audio, and video using the HTML
programming language. On a basic level the Web provides individual entrepreneurs and
business organizations with an inexpensive means to offer documents and software to a
worldwide audience.
Commercial Web sites fall into two basic types: pay sites and free sites. Pay sites offer
subscribers proprietary information for a fee. The information can range from financial
analysis to software applications to sports statistics. Free sites attract users with interesting
content, and then make money through advertising or sales generated through the site. For
example, "search engines" such as Yahoo and Google help users find Web pages for free
while exposing the users to advertisements. Other free sites are essentially online catalogs
selling products and offering feature articles and reviews. Home electronics, computer
Page 12 of 19
equipment, books, music, video games, and travel arrangements are among the most popular
items sold over the Internet.
Many Web sites are owned and maintained by huge corporations. Nearly all Fortune 500
companies have Web sites. On the other hand, there are also thousands of smaller businesses
represented online—many owned and operated by individuals. Regardless of whether they
work for a large corporation or a tiny business, Internet entrepreneurs must combine
marketing skills with an aptitude for using new and evolving technology.
Successful Cyberpreneur:
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (born May 14, 1984) is an American computer scientist, software
developer and philanthropist best known for creating the social networking site Facebook, of
which he is CEO and president. It was co-founded as a private company in 2004 by
Zuckerberg and classmates Dustin Moskovitz, Eduardo Saverin, and Chris Hughes while they
were students at Harvard University.[6][7] In 2010, Zuckerberg was named Time magazine's
Person of the year. He was the world’s youngest billionaire in 2008.
Corporate Social Entrepreneurship
The Corporate Social Entrepreneur (CSE) is defined as "...an employee of the firm who
operates in a socially entrepreneurial manner; identifying opportunities for and or
championing socially responsible activity; in addition to helping the firm achieve its business
targets. The CSE operates regardless of an organizational culture that is pre-disposed towards
CSR. This is because the CSE is driven by their dominant collectivistic (concerned with the
welfare of others) as opposed to their individualistic personal values . Consequently, the CSE
does not necessarily have a formal socially responsible job role; nor do they necessarily have
to be in a senior management position in order to progress their socially responsible agenda"
The CSE Concept
CSE emerges from and builds on three other conceptual frameworks: entrepreneurship,
corporate
Page 13 of 19
entrepreneurship, and social entrepreneurship. The fundamental purpose of CSE is to
accelerate companies’ organizational transformation into more powerful generators of
societal betterment.
Relevance
The notion of the CSE primarily relates to the field of corporate social responsibility. It is
thus relevant to both practitioners and scholars of business and management and more
specifically to the fields of business ethics organisational behavior, entrepreneurship, human
resource management and business strategy.
Key Elements of CSE
CSE aims to produce a significant and comprehensive transformation of the way a company
operates. The following elements are central to that process: creating an enabling
environment,
fostering corporate social entrepreneurs, amplifying corporate purpose and values, generating
double value, building strategic alliances.
Enabling Environment. For companies to move from their old approach to CSR to the CSE
approach they must adopt an entrepreneurial mindset and cultivate an entrepreneurial
environment that enables fundamental organizational transformation. This can only happen if
top leadership champions the change. This requires a powerful vision of where the CSR
revolution is taking the company and why it is vital to the organization‘s success. That vision
and strategy must also be accompanied by changes in the company‘s structures and
processes. There must be performance measurement indicators for the economic and social
value generated and the incentive and reward system must be aligned with these indicators.
Through these “guidance systems” (Paine 2003) top management helps to assure that
operating performance is aligned with professed commitment to
social value creation.
The Corporate Social Intrapreneur. The CSE process is powered by multiple change agents
or
Intrapreneurs. Social and corporate entrepreneurship differentiate the roles of the social or
corporate entrepreneur from the role of managers. Previous research has identified some
defining characteristics of Corporate Social Intrapreneurs.
Page 14 of 19
They are internal champions, continuously advocating for the integration of social
and business value as a central tenet for the company.
They are good communicators, particularly articulate about the rationale and
importance of the transformation.
They are also active listeners to various stakeholders and are able to speak to these
groups in ways that reveal how the social action is relevant to their needs and
interests.
They are creators of innovative solutions: new resource configurations, actions, and
relationships. They are not managers of the status quo, but creators of a new,
sometimes disruptive one.
They are catalysts for change, who inspire and create synergies in the work of others.
They are coordinators, able to effectively reach across internal and external
boundaries, mobilizing, and aligning interests and incentives.
They are perceived as useful contributors who support the success of others. Rather
than being perceived as building a new power center, Corporate Social Intrapreneurs
are team players who enable other groups.
Finally, they are shrewd calculators; cognizant of the realities of the corporate
environment, they are cost-conscious and mindful of the bottom line. Change is not
framed in terms of ideals or intentions, but in terms of aligned incentives.
Plus, as organizational change agents, they need to be able to assess how fast and
far they can move the transformational process within the realities of the organization.
Corporate Purpose:
Values-based organizations. One of the key focal points of CSE is company values. Getting
organizational values right is vital to advancing CSR. The Corporate Social Intrapreneurs
need to
ensure that social value generation – fulfilling social responsibilities – is seen as an essential
component in companies’ mission and values statements. The CSE process aims to ensure
that the words are translated into action. The values-based organizations see themselves as
trustworthy, moral agents, capable of generating trust based on sustained ethical behavior and
innovative solutions to social problems. Their goal is not just to comply with the law, or to be
responsive to key stakeholders: they seek to lead through example, to exceed expectations,
and to set new standards. In these organizations, social values are not viewed as a shiny
Page 15 of 19
patina meant to embellish the “real” company, but rather as a structural component, a
cornerstone of their organizational identities.
Timberland, in a fundamental move, formulated a set of values - “humanity, humility,
integrity, and excellence” - that held the company and its people should make a positive
difference in society and that its culture should foster involvement in confronting and solving
social problems. Value congruency across the organization allows for the infusion of a social
entrepreneurship spirit under the umbrella of a large structure. In the words of Colleen
Chapman, Starbucks Director for Brand Management, their approach is “continued
application of our values inside of everything we do, from a marketing standpoint, from a
product development standpoint, who we hire, how we hire, how we treat our people.”
Value Creation and The Double Return. Entrepreneurship is all about finding innovative
ways
to create value. CSE aims to ensure that the very purpose of these corporations migrates from
one of maximizing returns to investors to optimizing returns to stakeholders, with those being
defined as groups who are significantly affected by company actions and who can in turn
impact the company. The underlying premise is that serving such a broader constituency will
make the company more sustainable. This amplified purpose means that the company is
producing both economic and social value, which some have referred to as a double or triple
if
one breaks out environmental value as a separate category bottom line, or “blended value”.
The important purpose of CSE is to discover ways make these returns complementary and
synergistic rather than competing. In this approach organizations’ social value creation is not
treated as somethingseparate or peripheral. On the contrary, it is imbedded in a larger and
transparent accountability system that reports performance to the internal and external
stakeholders.
Co-generating Value. A vital part of the value generating strategies is collaborating with
other
organizations – businesses, civil society, or governmental. These alliances are the vehicles for
achieving what the CSE definition referred to as extending the firm’s domain of competence
and
Page 16 of 19
corresponding opportunity set through innovative leveraging of resources outside its direct
control. Strategic alliances that combine complementary core competencies can create new
resource constellations that enable innovative solutions to long-standing social and economic
problems. This leveraging of distinct organizational capabilities and resources produces
powerful
co-generation of social and economic value. Strategic alliances also seem to be critical to the
success of emerging innovative business strategies with low income sectors at the “base of
the pyramid”. CS Intrapreneurs are also Entrepreneurs who are constantly reaching out to
leverage these resources outside their direct control, building internal and external bridges.
Externally, these companies leverage intensively their relationships with stakeholders for
joint action through partnerships. The aligning of company agendas with those of external
groups to create social value becomes an institutional habit, engrained in the company’s
culture, and carried out through CSE. Partnerships are considered assets through which
organizations overcome their organizational constraints.
The Challenges and Opportunities of Applying CSE
The penetration of the social realm into corporate strategy has gathered momentum in
the last years. The movement for CSR has “won the battle of ideas”. By now, most
well managed companies have adopted the practices and certifications in their
industries, having gone through the “defensive” and the “compliance” stages of CSR.
Managing the social and environmental footprint of economic activity is generally
accepted as part of the cost of doing business. But much remains to be done. If
companies are to move their CSR activities from satisfying behavior and take their
commitment to society and the environment to the next level, they will need to rethink
their current approaches to CSR, tapping into the creativity of every individual.
CSE, like all entrepreneurship, is not about managing existing operations or CSR
programs; it is about creating disruptive change in the pursuit of new opportunities. It
combines the willingness and desire to create joint economic and social value with the
entrepreneurial redesign, systems development, and action necessary to carry it out.
Accelerated organizational transformation faces a host of obstacles well-documented
in the change management literature. Because CSE expands the core purpose of
corporations and their organizational values, it constitutes fundamental change that
can be particularly threatening and resisted. Furthermore, it pushes the corporation’s
Page 17 of 19
actions more broadly and deeply into the social value creation area where the firm’s
experiences and skill sets are less developed.
However, these challenges are superable, as experiences in innovative companies
reveal. Furthermore, it is continually becoming more evident that values-based
leadership, synergistic generation of social and economic value, and strategic cross-
sector alliances are key ingredients to achieving sustainably successful business.
The CSE process will contribute to our collective quest for superior
organizational performance and societal betterment. This is the great opportunity and
action imperative.
COMPARISON:
Page 18 of 19
Page 19 of 19
