Organizational context and firm‐level entrepreneurship: a multiple‐case analysis

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand firm‐level entrepreneurship in diverse organizational contexts and explain its relationship with organizational factors.Design/methodology/approachThe paper adopts a multiple‐case research design. In‐depth interviews are conducted with key informants in four cases. In each case, a firm‐level entrepreneurial story is focused on to understand the entrepreneurial process within its organizational context.FindingsThe findings show that there are two types of entrepreneurial activities in organizations – beyond‐boundary focus and within‐boundary focus. They exhibit different patterns regarding their relationship with organizational factors – top management leadership, strategic orientation, organizational culture, internal mechanisms and organizational performance.Research limitations/implicationsGeneralizability of the results may be limited due to the case study design of this research.Practical implicationsTop management leadership has a vital role in influencing entrepreneurial activity in organizations. When an organizational environment that favours entrepreneurship is supported by top management, then business‐level entrepreneurial activities are cultivated across the company. But if the organizational environment does not favour entrepreneurship, then entrepreneurial activity is mostly limited to the corporate level and only initiated by top management.Originality/valueThe multiple case analyses provide an extensive analysis of the organizational context and firm‐level entrepreneurship. Additionally, the emergent categories of two different types of entrepreneurial activities serve as a major and relevant step to reduce the ambiguity present in the field of study.