Managing Corporate Culture, Innovation, and Intrapreneurship

Survival of the venture in the corporate environment is not easy. Under the best of conditions, the venture is created within a culture that supports and rewards innovation and intrapreneurship. But such an ideal situation is not always encountered. Even in the best-managed firms, would-be innovators face a number of significant obstacles, including the competition for resources. Successful venture managers must know how to use the system to overcome such obstacles and advance their venture.

This chapter is designed to help intrapreneurs achieve greater venturing success in a corporate environment. It shows what they can do to minimize organizational and professional risks and to maximize both the performance of their ventures and their own careers. The probability of venturing success can be improved by understanding and following the principles stated in the following sections.

As those directly involved in corporate venturing know, a large part of the battle to establish successful ventures depends on managing the internal relationships and the expectations of the sponsoring parent organization. The key problem faced by the venture group and especially by the venture manager is to achieve enough credibility so that they are free to concentrate on managing the venture rather than negotiating constantly with their parent organization.

The need to manage the relationships and expectations of the parent firm

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