Perceived corporate entrepreneurship in GLCs: evidence from Malaysia

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to gauge the extent to which government‐linked companies in Malaysia demonstrate corporate entrepreneurship activities.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the objectives of the study, data was solicited directly from top management through face to face survey.FindingsThe findings on nature of corporate entrepreneurship activities suggest that GLCs appeared engage in incremental aspect of CE activities. On the other hand, many of new ideas seemed to come from the top management. Given the nature of external and internal environmental factors of firm which include government policy, environmental hostility, technological forces, top management support, strategic planning, organizational strategies, internal processes, culture, regulation/controls, work discretion, rewards, structure and time/resources were noted to influence the extent to which GLCs pursued CE activities.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings in this study were drawn from six top management of GLCs. Future research should include more top management team. Given the external, internal and key challenges, future studies should investigate the direct and/or indirect effect of these factors on CE activities in GLCs.Practical implicationsBased on outcomes of the study, managers may learn that to benefit from CE activities, they should shift their focus from incremental to substantial and/or radical types of CE activities.Originality/valuePrevious studies on CE focused on the performance of private entities. This paper extends the domain of CE into government business enterprises.