Corporate entrepreneurship in the face of changing competition

Abstract

PurposeThe paper sought to extend previous research on factors associated with corporate entrepreneurship (CE) by surveying operating managers and top executives in Thai manufacturing firms.Design/methodology/approachThe paper used an expanded case method that combined face‐to‐face interviews with the top executives and results of responses to the corporate entrepreneurship assessment instrument (CEAI) by middle managers in three large and three medium Thai manufacturing firms.FindingsThe results of this paper suggest that management support for CE, their use of rewards and recognition, and their allowing workers discretion in their jobs all are significantly related to improving competitiveness, as indicated by internal performance improvement and firm financial improvement. Unlike previous studies, time allocated to idea generation/innovation activities and cross‐boundary communication are not found to be significantly associated with CE in Thai manufacturing firms. These quantitative results are augmented by the interview results, which suggest that CE in Thai manufacturing firms is affected by global competitiveness, technology, and government policies.Research limitations/implicationsThe generalizability of the findings are limited by the size of the sample and the use of a single industry.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that Thai firms can affect change in their CE activities and that these changes will impact the bottom line. CE activities are influenced by competition and government policy.Originality/valueThe paper combined the insights of personal interviews with top managers and the feedback from top managers in their firms to gain an overview of CE activity.