This dissertation highlights the infrequently discussed role of the entrepreneur as founder of disruptive brands creating new categories often in a stealth-like manner. A recent corporate entrepreneurial response being pursued by Fortune 100 corporations’ renown for their branding prowess is examined in the dissertation called strategic brand venturing. Strategic brand venturing (SBV) is a boundary-spanning activity whereby large firms access disruptive brands and entrepreneurial marketing know-how through equity investments in entrepreneurial brands. Using an abductive logic, eleven practitioner-based dimensions of SBV are iteratively refined through comparisons with intersection literature and venturing literature and theory, to arrive at a conceptual model. In the process, comparisons are also made between technology venturing and brand venturing. This model is empirically tested and refined within and across seven case studies from six subsidiaries of global consumer packaged goods corporations in the United States. The final model borrows from prior venture capital and corporate venture capital models but caters for the exigencies of brands and entrepreneurial founders. The model also acknowledges the role of antecedents and the role of influential exogenous communities such as consumers and retailers. Using a realism philosophical perspective, deeper structures and generative mechanisms are uncovered related to strategic and political context factors. The positive benefits through partnership with brand entrepreneurs, and the potential contribution to heightened corporate entrepreneurship in large firms is highlighted. The dissertation concludes with propositions and suggestions for future research as well as implementation implications for practitioners.

Growth is the important lessons for corporation. The key factors of growth are the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship and the energy of next business. Corporate venture capital(CVC) can not only achieve these goals, but also provide many important strategic purposes, which is a innovative bridge connect to external and internal environment. However, how to effectively manipulate CVC in Taiwan is not clear. The purpose of this study is to analyze the situation of CVC in Taiwan nowadays, create the CVC categorization model and the work suggestion of each type. Through the literature discussion, we create CVC categorization model. According to the investment purposes and content, the model conclude six types, ¡§capacity strengthen, ecosystem complement, innovation probe, opportunity create, leverage harvest and venture investing.¡¨ Then, interviewing with experts who familiarity with the real business of CVC to understand the situation and comprehend the key successful factors. Finally, discuss, analyze and generalize the conclusion and suggestion. The success of CVC must match the investment strategic purposes and the operation model. Corporations should choose the right operation model type by different considerations such as organization structure, investment implement, and administration mechanism. Moreover, there are another five points of view deserve to refer. First of all, the open innovation of CVC is not equal to give up internal independent innovation. Second, the spirit of CVC can¡¦t be diverged. Third, CVC should step by step, from the ecosystem, innovation to encourage the intra-entrepreneur CVC type. Fourth, Corporations should have the courage to invest the potential business besides the current business even if will destroy the profit. Fifth, the managers must have the wider attitude and the further vision.

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Competencies play a vital role in achieving success in any endeavour. In the context of entrepreneurship, having the right set of competencies is crucial for attaining sustained success throughout the venturing process. This study adopts a qualitative approach to explore and compare the perspectives of entrepreneurs regarding the competencies they deem essential with the research findings of Kunene (2008) on the same subject. By incorporating diverse viewpoints, the aim is to enhance the accuracy and comprehension of this topic. The research methodology involves the application of grounded theory to analyse data collected through semi-structured interviews. A total of six interviews were conducted, involving participants from Sweden, and Iceland. The interviewees held various roles, including CEO, Founder, Entrepreneur, mentor, board member, and investor. By delving into the insights shared by these experienced professionals, the study seeks to uncover the competencies considered important at different stages of the venturing process. The findings obtained from this study contribute to a deeper understanding of the competencies required to navigate and achieve success in the dynamic landscape of entrepreneurship. / Kompetenser spelar en avgörande roll för att uppnå framgång inom vilket företag som helst. Inom entreprenörskapet är det avgörande att ha rätt uppsättning kompetenser för att uppnå långsiktig framgång under hela företagsprocessen. Denna studie antar en kvalitativ ansats för att utforska och jämföra entreprenörers perspektiv angående de kompetenser de anser vara väsentliga med forskningsresultaten från Kunene (2008) inom samma ämne. Genom att inkorporera olika synpunkter syftar studien till att förbättra noggrannheten och förståelsen av detta ämne. Forskningsmetodologin innefattar tillämpningen av förankrad teori för att analysera data som samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Totalt genomfördes sex intervjuer med deltagare från Sverige och Island. Intervjupersonerna hade olika roller, inklusive VD, grundare, entreprenör, mentor, styrelsemedlem och investerare. Genom att fördjupa sig i de insikter som delas av dessa erfarna yrkesverksamma syftar studien till att avslöja de kompetenser som anses vara viktiga vid olika stadier av företagsprocessen. Resultaten från denna studie bidrar till en djupare förståelse av de kompetenser som krävs för att navigera och uppnå framgång i den dynamiska entreprenörskapsmiljön.

This paper uses event history analysis to investigate the effects of relatedness on three different outcomes of corporate venturing, identified as retention, termination, and spin-off. For this purpose, relatedness is defined as the degree to which the venture’s activity matches or overlaps with the parent’s activity. Drawing from literature on relational fit, we argue that highly related ventures would be retained, moderately related ones spun off, and unrelated ones would be probable candidates for termination. However, highly related ventures may be likely to pose internal threat to the parent, and consequently be candidates for termination for political reasons as well. This raises the average level of relatedness of terminated ventures above the average of spin-offs. The empirical findings derived from a sample consisting of 78 ventures launched and developed by a number of companies across the Swedish economy give support to our expectations. The highly related ventures were found to be either terminated or retained, moderately related ones were likely to be spun off, and unrelated ones typically faced termination. This supports our hypothesis that relatedness has an impact on how the internal venture is dealt with. We follow with implications for the practice of corporate venturing management.

Small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) face significant challenges that include resource scarcity and information asymmetry (when competing with larger well-established firms), and the general problems associated with making timely, market-aware strategic decisions. SMMEs may be able to improve their firm performance by copying aspects of corporate entrepreneurship, such as cooperative corporate venturing, and by adopting of technological innovations such as the use of business intelligence. These are initiatives that are typically utilised by large well-established firms; however, SMMEs should derive similar benefits from cooperative corporate venturing and business intelligence, as would larger well-established firms. This study sought to determine the relevance of business intelligence and cooperative corporate venturing in the operation of small, medium and micro enterprises and the relation thereof to the economic performance of these firms, as perceived by the owner-managers of the firm. The study was performed by examining the perceived impact that the strategic initiatives, (namely business intelligence and cooperative corporate venturing) would have on SMME firm economic performance, from the perspective of owner-managers of the firm who participated in the survey. Quantitative data was obtained through a self-administered questionnaire, which was distributed electronically to SMMEs whose email addresses were found online, and physically to individuals attending forums (and workshops) for SMMEs and entrepreneurs; companies operating in and around industrial parks and villages; and, members of the Wits business school community. It was shown in this study that there is indeed a relationship between the adoption of cooperative corporate venturing and the perceived level of SMME firm performance. Ample research has not been conducted that focuses on the hybrid strategy of business intelligence and cooperative corporate venturing on SMME firm performance. This is area of research that potentially benefits SMMEs, and both academic and business intelligence stakeholders.

Entrepreneurial ecosystems are an important economic consideration but remain an understudied phenomenon. In particular, research emphasising the role of the entrepreneur within entrepreneurial ecosystems is scant. Entrepreneurial universities, particularly the commercialisation activities by academic entrepreneurs, contribute to both the emergence and development of entrepreneurial ecosystems at the university-industry (U-I) boundary. Yet, an understanding of the links between university characteristics and micro-level cognition on entrepreneurial ecosystems remains limited. Furthermore, it is not clear how the dynamics of entrepreneurial ecosystems differ across different national geographies. Venture development at the U-I boundary is difficult and uncertain. Entrepreneurs must make decisions under intense ambiguity and make sense of the highly uncertain situation. Nowhere is this more evident than in knowledge and technology-intensive sectors, where venturing relies on entrepreneurial coping responses to uncertainty. However, little is known about how entrepreneurs cope with uncertainty, especially when uncertainty is irreducible. To progress understanding of entrepreneurial behaviour amidst uncertainty, and the emergence and development of entrepreneurial ecosystems at the U-I boundary, this PhD thesis investigates venturing in the field of regenerative medicine (regenmed). This is a particularly suited study context since regenmed commercialisation activities, which are driven by university-based stem cell research, are highly uncertain and the industry is still in a formative stage. This PhD thesis explores entrepreneurial behaviour amidst uncertainty and the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems at the U-I boundary. The thesis comprises of three empirical studies (essays) that can be read independently, however, together the essays provide an enhanced understanding of entrepreneurial behaviour and the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems at the U-I boundary. Essay 1 reveals how ecosystem participants make sense of venturing processes in a highly uncertain, technology-intensive field. It highlights the development of coping strategies during the sensemaking process, and illustrates an association between university entrepreneurial culture and coping strategies. A model of sensemaking process under uncertainty is presented and a typology of sensemaking types in uncertain ecosystems is proposed. Essay 2 is a cross-national study of entrepreneurial ecosystems in Edinburgh (UK) and Madison (USA). The study investigates the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems around two research-intensive universities, which have a long history in stem cell innovation. The essay highlights the effects of cultural artefacts on microlevel behaviours. The influence of behaviour and cognition on the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems is modelled. This reveals different development paths for similar ecosystems. Essay 3 explores the emergence and development of entrepreneurial ecosystems, and considers how these help drive technology-based economies. More specifically, the study explores technology transfer and contextual factors across three regenmed ecosystems (Edinburgh, Madison, and Moscow) to reveal the emergence of entrepreneurial ecosystems at the U-I boundary. Findings show that ecosystem and venture characteristics emerge from institutional characteristics, micro-level cognition and regional context. Additionally, university culture and entrepreneurial coping strategies generate a typology for spinouts within the ecosystem. Collectively, these three essays reveal novel phenomena explaining how ecosystem actors make sense of uncertainty and how this influences the emergence of entrepreneurial ecosystems at the U-I boundary. Additionally, they reveal the importance of context in the venturing process and in entrepreneurial ecosystem dynamics. This provides important contributions to theories of entrepreneurial behaviour, entrepreneurial ecosystems and technology transfer. These scholarly contributions impart important practical implications.

This publication-based dissertation covers research on corporate venturing activities of established companies over six chapters. The first chapter provides an introduction into corporate venturing and a summary of the four research papers comprising this dissertation. The second chapter is a structured literature review analyzing the heterogeneity inherent in corporate venturing activities. The characteristics that differentiate corporate venturing activities from each other are comprehensively identified, and a framework that integrates existing activities into six clusters is derived. The third chapter is a research paper that explores a recent corporate venturing activity – namely corporate accelerators – in depth. This empirical study, based on 13 case studies, identifies the objectives pursued with these programs and its design configurations and derives four common types of corporate accelerators. The fourth chapter is a research paper that analyzes empirically entrepreneurial start-ups as knowledge sources for established companies in the context of corporate accelerators and incubators. The paper identifies knowledge need, knowledge forms, and knowledge exchange as knowledge elements in these programs. Based on the comparative analysis of 12 case studies, typical combinations of the knowledge elements are found. The fifth chapter is a teaching case study building on the decision of Media-Saturn-Holding, Europe´s leading consumer electronics retailer, to develop the company´s own corporate accelerator program called SPACELAB. The sixth chapter summarizes the contributions of this dissertation for research and practice as well as its limitations and potential directions for further research.:List of tables Table of figures Table of abbreviations 1 Introduction 1.1 Motivation and research gap 1.2 Summary of research papers 1.3 Presentation / publication information of research papers 1.4 References 2 Corporate venturing activities: a review of typologies and proposed framework 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Research method and descriptive analysis of reviewed studies 2.3 Dimensions of corporate venturing activities 2.4 Clustering of corporate venturing activities 2.5 Further research 2.6 Summary of findings and conclusion 2.7 List of appendices 2.8 Appendix 2.9 References 3 Corporate accelerators as recent form of start-up engagement: the what, the why, and the how 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Literature review 3.3 Analysis approach 3.4 Results of empirical analysis 3.5 Corporate accelerator typology: Four distinct types 3.6 Discussion and implications 3.7 Conclusion 3.8 References 4 Start-ups as knowledge sources for companies: an analysis of corporate accelerators and incubators 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Research approach 4.3 Knowledge elements in corporate accelerators and incubators 4.4 Typical combinations of knowledge elements 4.5 Discussion 4.6 Implications 4.7 Conclusions and limitations 4.8 List of appendices 4.9 Appendix 4.10 References 5 Media-Saturn-Holding GmbH - the SPACELAB accelerator: a teaching case study 5.1 Part 1: background and accelerator design options 5.2 Part 2: design choices made and program execution 5.3 Teaching note 5.4 List of appendices 5.5. Appendix 5.6 References 6 Contribution and further research 6.1 Contribution to research 6.2 Contribution to practice 6.3 Limitations and further research 6.4 References

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att berika litteraturen kopplad till hur etablerade företag kan överkomma de svårigheter som är förknippade med organisationsstrukturerna under implementeringsfasen av Internal Corporate Venturing. För att uppnå syftet undersöker vi följande forskningsfrågor: RQ1: Hur och varför skapar organisationsstrukturer svårigheter under implementeringsfasen för de etablerade företagen när de bedriver Internal Corporate Venturing RQ2: Hur kan etablerade företag övervinna svårigheter med organisationsstrukturer när de deltar i implementeringsfasen för Internal Corporate Venturing? Metod: Studien är en kvalitativ enskild fallstudie, där ett etablerat företag inom fordonsindustrin i Göteborg, Sverige har undersökts. Sammanfattningsvis har 31 intervjuer genomförts under tre vågor och analyserats via en tematisk analysmetod. Resultat: Resultatet av denna studie är ett ramverk och en färdplan som illustrerar svårigheter, konsekvenser och åtgärder avseende organisationsstrukturer under implementeringsfasen av Internal Corporate Venturing. De mest framträdande svårigheterna är bristen på lack of internal support systems och organizational behavior obstacles. De mest kritiska konsekvenserna är venture strategy obstacles och innovation failure. De viktigaste åtgärderna är att create a supportive culture och develop a learning organization. Implikationer: Denna studie bidrar med insikter i den bristande litteraturen om organisationsstruktursvårigheter under implementeringsfasen av Internal Corporate Venturing. För chefer bidrar den här studien med ett ramverk för hur företaget kan upptäcka och överkomma svårigheterna med hjälp av specifika åtgärder vid implementering av Internal Corporate Venturing. Slutligen presenterar studien en konceptuell färdplan för hur etablerade företag kan utveckla sin Internal Corporate Venturing process, vilket kan nyttjas av företagets chefer. Begränsning och framtida forskning: Denna studie är begränsad till att undersöka implementeringsfasen av Internal Corporate Venturing på ett enskilt företag, i en specifik bransch, vilket indikerar att framtida forskning kan undersöka andra branscher.  Nyckelord: Corporate Venturing, Internal Corporate Venturing, New Venture Creation, Organizational structures / Purpose: The purpose of the study is to enrich the literature connected to how incumbent firms can mitigate the difficulties connected to the organizational structures during the implementation phase of internal corporate venturing. To fulfill the purpose, we examinethe following researchquestions: RQ1: How and why doorganizational structures create difficulties during the implementation phase for incumbent firms when engaging in internal corporate venturing? RQ2: How can incumbent firms overcome difficulties with organizational structureswhen engaging inthe implementation phase of internal corporate venturing? Method: The study is a qualitativesingle case study, where one incumbent firm within the automotive industry situated in Gothenburg, Sweden has beeninvestigated. In sum, 31interviews havebeen conductedduring three waves and were analyzed via a thematic analysis approach. Findings: The result of this study is a framework and aroadmap illustrating the difficulties, consequences and mitigating actionsregardingorganizational structures during the implementation phase of internal corporate venturing. The most prominent difficulties are lack of internal support systemsand organizational behavior obstacles.The most critical consequences are venture strategy obstacles and innovation failure. The most important actions would be to create a supportive culture and develop a learning organization. Implications: This study contributes with insightsto the scarce literature on organizational structure difficultiesin the implementation phase of internal corporate venturing. For managers this study contributes with a frameworkon how to detect andmitigate the difficulties with specific actions that emergewhen implementing internal corporate venturing. Lastly, this study assist managers with a conceptual roadmap for how incumbent firms could develop theirinternal corporate venturingprocess, the roadmapcould be improved and refined over time. Limitation and future research: This study is limited to investigate theimplementation phase of internal corporate venturing on a single company, in a single industry, indicating that future research could investigate other industry settings. Keywords: Corporate Venturing; Internal Corporate Venturing; New Venture Creation;Organizational structures

Submitted by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2016-09-30T15:51:45Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Maíra Jéssika Fernandes Silva - 2016.pdf: 1716551 bytes, checksum: d82edc90ee5c578bca1cfdbdc57ddcfa (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2016-09-30T15:51:57Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Maíra Jéssika Fernandes Silva - 2016.pdf: 1716551 bytes, checksum: d82edc90ee5c578bca1cfdbdc57ddcfa (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-30T15:51:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Maíra Jéssika Fernandes Silva - 2016.pdf: 1716551 bytes, checksum: d82edc90ee5c578bca1cfdbdc57ddcfa (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-04-29 / External Corporate Venturing is one of the dimensions of corporate entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship practiced by existing companies. Through external corporate venturing companies seek survival, consolidation in the market in which they operate, explore new markets and obtain better financial returns. For the practice of external corporate venturing companies can make acquisitions, joint ventures, licensing, mergers and corporate venture capital transactions. This study focused on acquisitions and joint ventures as external corporate venturing practices. The impact of these practices on business performance is still inconclusive, so the aim of this study was to assess the impact of external corporate venturing in the performance of large companies. For this, we used secondary data disclosed by companies in the consumer discretionary sector and non-cyclical listed on the Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo (Bovespa). We analyzed the relevant facts disclosed in Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM) for the collection of data on the ad acquisitions and joint ventures undertaken by those companies during the years 2010-2014, and the financial statements on the Bovespa for the collection financial data for performance measurement. The data were analyzed by regression data into fixed effect and random effect panel. Regression models were estimated with the performance variables return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). The results indicate that the realization of acquisition and joint venture operations have no statistically significant impact on ROA and ROE of large companies listed on the Bovespa. Although the results are not consistent with some previous studies on the topic, present contributions to the theory and practice, especially regarding the aspect of time that can be decisive in the relationship between acquisitions and joint venture operations and performance. For future studies recommended a bigger time horizon and verification of goals and strategies that companies have to invest in acquisitions and joint venture operations, because if adopted for the purpose of short-term financial returns may not be the most suitable . / O corporate venturing externo é uma das dimensões do empreendedorismo corporativo, o empreendedorismo praticado por empresas já existentes. Por meio do corporate venturing externo as empresas buscam a sobrevivência, consolidação no mercado em que atuam, exploração de novos mercados e obtenção de melhores retornos financeiros. Para a prática do corporate venturing externo as empresas podem realizar operações de aquisições, joint ventures, licenciamentos, fusões e corporate venture capital. Este estudo enfocou as aquisições e joint ventures como práticas de corporate venturing externo. O impacto destas práticas no desempenho das empresas ainda é inconclusivo, assim o objetivo deste estudo foi verificar qual o impacto do corporate venturing externo no desempenho das grandes empresas. Para isso, foram utilizados dados secundários divulgados pelas empresas dos setores de consumo cíclico e não cíclico listadas na Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo (Bovespa). Analisou-se os fatos relevantes divulgados na Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM) para a coleta de dados referentes aos anúncios de aquisições e joint ventures realizados por essas empresas durante os anos de 2010 a 2014, e os demonstrativos contábeis na Bovespa para a coleta de dados financeiros para a mensuração do desempenho. Os dados foram analisados por meio de regressão com dados em painel de efeitos fixos e efeitos aleatórios. Os modelos de regressão foram estimados com as variáveis de desempenho retorno sobre o ativo (ROA) e retorno sobre o patrimônio líquido (ROE). Os resultados indicam que a realizaçao de operações de aquisição e joint ventures não apresentam impactos significativos estatisticamente no ROA e no ROE das grandes empresas listadas na Bovespa. Apesar dos resultados não serem condizentes com alguns estudos realizados anteriormente sobre o tema, apresentam contribuições para a teoria e para a prática, principalmente em relação ao aspecto do tempo que pode ser determinante na relação entre operações de aquisições e joint ventures e desempenho. Para estudos futuros recomenda-se um horizonte temporal maior e a verificação dos objetivos e estratégias que as empresas possuem ao investir em operações de aquisições e joint ventures, pois se forem adotadas com o objetivo de retornos financeiros a curto prazo podem não ser as mais indicadas.