Corporate entrepreneurship and innovation - Was the owner a real entrepreneur?

This week we look at the owner who started the business. While the owner may meet the definition of an entrepreneur, there is clear evidence that the degree of entrepreneurship is not absolute, but rather scalar, and therefore it is important to understand where the entrepreneur stands on the scale.

Burch defined what he considered the  range of entrepreneurial spirit/endeavour to be. However, I have attempted to revise the Burch Entrepreneurship Continuum, in order to make it more representative of current business practice, such as franchising.

Therefore when making an acquisition or merger, particularly if the other party is an SME, it is important to ensure that you rate the existing owner on the Entrepreneurship Continuum. This will provide an insight into whether or not the existing owner is likely to cave in and toe the corporate line, or whether they will leave soon after because of their high level of entrepreneurial drive. This will also impact on the level of entrepreneurial drive in the business and the level of innovation.

This can also impact on innovation, and can influence corporate strategy. We will consider this in the next blog on this topic.