Abstract:
Organizations tend to evolve in ways that are inherently resistant to entrepreneurship. Yet, entrepreneurship is instrumental for ensuring the long-term
sustainability of any enterprise. The key to maintaining relatively high levels of
entrepreneurship within a company lies in understanding the basic nature of the
entrepreneurial experience, recognizing the inherent entrepreneurial potential of all
employees, and creating work climates that allow employees to act on that potential.
Five primary design elements are identified for facilitating such climates. Underlying
these design elements is a set of seemingly conflicting properties. The challenge to
companies is to achieve a balance between these properties whereby they are
allowed to co-exist. Approaches to implementing this balance are addressed herein.
