Corporate Entrepreneurship 101: Your Guide

to Becoming an Intrapreneur
There’s no denying that all companies across the world strive for organic growth.
However, only a few businesses have a framework and entrepreneurial strategy to
support and maintain growth over the years. This is where the concept of corporate
entrepreneurship comes in. Not only does it promote innovation; it also creates a
structure toward business success.

If you want to know more about corporate entrepreneurship, you’re on the right page. In
this article, we’ll get to know more about its importance, types, and the advantages and
disadvantages. We’ll also share tips on how to become a corporate entrepreneur. Read
on.

What is Corporate Entrepreneurship?

Also known as intrapreneurship, corporate entrepreneurship is an approach used to
develop new business opportunities, products, or services within an organization. This
process seeks to create value, drive revenue growth, and encourage innovation inside
the company through entrepreneurial thoughts and actions.
Corporate entrepreneurship also plays an integral role in motivating entrepreneurs.
How? It helps them to make wise business decisions, implement necessary actions,
and lead the company to achieve its targets. Moreover, it fosters an environment where
projects are led and developed by employees, rather than being forced by top
management.

The Importance of Corporate Entrepreneurship

Establishing environments that promote innovation might be challenging to some
businesses, especially large corporations. This is due to their organizational
bureaucracies, structures, and cultures, among others. Having that said, implementing
corporate entrepreneurship allows companies to have a systematic method to innovate
that could lead to significant benefits.

Below are some of the reasons intrapreneurship is important:

1. Drives Revenue and Organizational Growth

Successful execution of this approach drives businesses to generate innovative ideas,
develop new products and services, and identify new market opportunities. These, in
turn, can help increase revenue and attain company growth.

2. Boosts Employee Morale and Productivity

Since intrapreneurship lets employees lead the projects, it gives them the chance to get
engaged in a number of new opportunities and showcase their skills. This boosts their
confidence and improves their productivity.

3. Increases Employee Recruitment and Retention

Because employees are involved, they will feel valued, trusted, and motivated. As a
result, staff turnover rates decrease. Furthermore, opportunities that lie in this approach
can attract talented, entrepreneurial-minded staff.

Four Major Types of Corporate

Entrepreneurship
If you’re going to explore corporate entrepreneurship, it’s crucial that you familiarize and
understand its major types to help you succeed in this field. Here they are below.

1. Corporate Venturing
This refers to the development of a new business within established companies that
zeroes in on a new product or market opportunity. With the aim of penetrating new
markets with new or existing products, corporate venturing also focuses on launching
new products in existing markets. Its goal is to drive new revenue and create value for
companies’ shareholders.

2. Intrapreneuring
Intrapreneuring can be considered an activity or exercise entrepreneurs use for the
business to achieve innovation. In addition, it allows employees to work as
intrapreneurs to determine new business opportunities.

3. Organizational Transformation
Commonly known as organizational renewal, it is a version of a complete business that
modifies the primary pattern toward improved and sustainable economic performance.
Its goal is to streamline the company’s performance. Some examples of organizational
transformation include cost reduction, downsizing, and delayering.

4. Industry Rule Bending

It’s a type of transformation that revises industry rules in which the organization is
involved to identify and create new opportunities. Coined as frame-breaking change,
this aims to transform not only the enterprise but also the industry.

Pros and Cons of Corporate Entrepreneurship

Although it’s important to practice intrapreneurship, it’s also necessary to understand
its advantages and disadvantages:

Pros

 Availability of resources: Corporate entrepreneurs can take one step ahead of

the others and get access to different resources, including finances, established
sales force, brand, distribution channels, and customer base.
  Easy-to-set-up business: Most intrapreneurs are knowledgeable of the
business’s technical aspects and setup process.
 Professional connections: A large network of corporate entrepreneurs can
assist them in developing new business ideas.
Cons

 Long approval cycles: It’s crucial to understand that intrapreneurs can’t come
up with a decision without getting the company’s approval first.
 Limited financial rewards: Corporate entrepreneurs receive limited rewards
from the company, which might be one of the reasons that affect company
morale.
 Hinder ability to maneuver: Organizational structures, rules, and procedures
are some of the driving forces that hinder a corporate entrepreneur’s ability to
maneuver through the company.

Examples of Corporate Entrepreneurship

Of course, there are a number of renowned companies that have proven how corporate
entrepreneurship has played a key role in their business’ success. These include the
following:

Google
Google has bolstered its operations by making innovation a day-to-day process, instead
of utilizing it as a strategy. Since its founding, Google has been relying on its employees
to promote and boost an innovation culture. This led to the transformation of the
business, underscored by its acquisition of more than 180 companies in the last 20
years.

3M
Founded in 1902, 3M has established its reputation as a powerhouse of innovation. This
is because they have developed more than 60,000 products in their portfolio, ranging
from the products used in medical equipment to the automobile industry. Due to the
culture of innovation and corporate entrepreneurship, they were able to make product
improvements and position new products to the market.

P&G
Back in 2004, P&G sought to produce innovative and disruptive ideas necessary to
achieve growth and success in the market by creating a ‘new growth factory.’ Through
this, P&G doubled its profits from their household care product, Tide, from $12 billion to
$24 billion in 10 years. The driving forces? They promoted an entrepreneurial mindset in
the senior management and product team members, and developed new-growth
business guides and organizational structures.

How to Become a Corporate Entrepreneur

Now that you know the basics of corporate entrepreneurship, are you already inspired
to become an intrapreneur? If so, here are some tips to heed to embark on this
challenging-yet-rewarding career.

1. Take corporate entrepreneurship courses.

The first step to pursuing a career as a corporate entrepreneur is to gain knowledge
about the industry. Familiarize yourself with its principles, processes, and characteristics
by taking up intrapreneurship courses. Some of these include business modeling and
strategy, entrepreneurship and new ventures, innovation management, product
development, and venture capital.

2. Get a degree in entrepreneurship.

While it is true that becoming an intrapreneur doesn’t require any degree, it’s still worth
noting that a degree in entrepreneurship significantly contributes to the success in the
industry. Thus, getting an entrepreneurship degree will help you not only obtain
knowledge about it, but also apply your skills and acquire hands-on experience.

3. Go for it.
In every professional pursuit, challenges and difficulties are inevitable. Hence, you
should expect and get ready to overcome them as you carve your path toward
corporate entrepreneurship. Be equipped with the qualities of an entrepreneur. And if
the thought of quitting comes into your mind, go back to the primary reason you want to
become one.
The Importance of Creativity and Technology in
Corporate Entrepreneurship
In today’s business world, creativity and technology are some of the most important
factors that business owners and entrepreneurs must invest in. Aside from identifying
and resolving business-related problems in a quick yet creative manner, these two also
work hand-in-hand to formulate innovative strategies and valuable ideas to achieve
success in this highly competitive field.

In addition, creativity and technology help employees challenge and enhance their way
of thinking and discover new business opportunities. Accordingly, employee
engagement and retention rate both increase. Plus, applying these approaches can add
value to businesses and gain an edge among other competitors.