Entrepreneurship and Management

What is entrepreneurship and what does it have to do with managing organizations? As firms try to offer innovative products and services to customers, they need to come up with novel ideas. Entrepreneurs, such as Blake Mycoskie of TOMS (pictured in Figure 1.2), are individuals who see new opportunities and create businesses to attempt to realize the dream of new firm ownership. Entrepreneurs differ from managers in that they often have a higher tolerance for risk-taking, have exceptionally high levels of energy, have a high tolerance for uncertainty, are very self-confident, and have a strong internal locus of control.  These are people who are sure they can make it happen. Managers may have similar qualities but do not experience the financial risk that entrepreneurs have taken. 

 

Intrapreneurs are individuals who work in larger firms but are given the opportunity through new venture creations (or product development spin-offs) to create innovative products for the firm. Arthur Fry is a good example. Fry began working at 3M in 1953 and in 1974 came up with an idea to marry a new adhesive to small pieces of paper he used as bookmarks. The Post-It Note was born. The company released Post-It Notes to the market in 1980 and 1 year later achieved $2 million in sales. Today, Post-It Notes come in 27 sizes and 57 colors and generate $1 billion in sales. Arthur Fry is an intrapreneur, and he's pictured with his famous invention in Figure 1.3.