Increasing Exploration Capabilities Through Employee Entrepreneur Interaction
Abstract: Large and established firms tend to be greater at exploiting their current business rather than exploring the opportunities of tomorrow. In industries facing changes, such a firm could lose their market place when the surrounding environment shifts. Thus, there is a need for new ways of increasing the exploration capabilities of many large and established firms. This thesis examines a German automotive OEM that is taking measures to become more explorative through collaborations with startups. Generally, startups are characterized as agile, risk-taking, innovative, rapid, and close to the customer. However, they lack the resources, industry knowledge and scale that larger organizations have. Therefore, a collaboration of the two could be fruitful for both parties. The case company (referred to as OEM) is currently developing and evaluating a model, called the Exploration Capability Model, which includes measures for startup collaborations and creation of spinouts, upon which this thesis has its’ starting point. In parallel with the model, the OEM has recently created a so-called Venture Client unit (referenced as VCU), with the aim to facilitate startup collaborations. This study aims to identify the importance and influence of these collaborations, with regards to the individuals in the OEM. Thus, this study is a response to a gap in the research on how to possibly link the individual’s entrepreneurial characteristics to an organizational exploration capability. We argue that understanding (1) the collaborations between established organizations and startups, (2) the formation of spinouts, (3) the relationship between employees in the large corporation and the entrepreneurs in startups, is of great importance. Based on this, the research question, “How do entrepreneurial characteristics at an individual level affect organizational ambidexterity in terms of explorative capability?”, was formed. The methodology used in this research was an inductive and qualitative analysis approach, where the data gathering was done with an emphasis on a thoroughly formulated interview guide used in 16 semi-structured interviews. These interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed to find patterns and discrepancies connected to the research question. The findings highlight the importance of the individual and their behavior in facilitating startup collaborations and spinout efforts. In addition, further recommendations consider how an established organization such as the OEM can approach these topics with an aim to increase the exploration capability of the company. Emphasizing how the individuals can be nurtured within the company with regards to motivation, change of mindset, organizational support, exposure to entrepreneurial ventures and the organizational view on risk.
AT THIS PAGE YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE WHOLE ESSAY. (follow the link to the next page)