A health audit for corporate entrepreneurship: innovation at all levels: part II

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to introduce and discuss the “Entrepreneurial Health Audit”. This organizational tool is used to assess a firm's entrepreneurial intensity, diagnose organizational characteristics low in entrepreneurial intensity, and to create an understanding of the processes needed to foster a corporate entrepreneurship strategy as a means of improving organizational performance. This article is part two or a two‐part series.Design/methodology/approachBased on the existing literature, case studies, and the authors' own research and experiences with a diverse mix of companies, the paper develops a three‐stage “Entrepreneurial Health Audit.” Top‐level managers can use this tool to determine their firm's ability to act entrepreneurially at a point in time.FindingsThe paper describes how managers assess and improve their firm's entrepreneurial health. In the first stage, the “Entrepreneurial Intensity” instrument is used to measure the degree and frequency of entrepreneurship occurring within the firm. In the second stage, the “Corporate Entrepreneurship Climate Instrument” is used to identify why the firm has developed its current level of entrepreneurial intensity. Finally, the third stage of the “Entrepreneurial Health Audit” fosters commitment to a work environment supporting entrepreneurial behavior, thereby enhancing the degree and frequency of corporate entrepreneurship within the firm.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper raises a number of questions regarding how organizations stimulate entrepreneurial behavior and undertake organizational changes to facilitate these actions. It provides a tool top‐level managers can use across time continuously to increase their firm's ability to be entrepreneurial.Practical implicationsThe paper demonstrates to managers how to approach the concept of entrepreneurship within an established organization, including how to diagnose characteristics constraining the firm's entrepreneurial potential and how to build commitment encouraging entrepreneurial behaviors.Originality/valueThe paper fills an existing void between researchers and practitioners in terms of how firms can take steps to transform their current entrepreneurial potential into the “ideal” characteristics studied in entrepreneurship research. It offers a unique organizational tool to use to assess an individual firm's potential to be entrepreneurial.