Abstract
M.Comm. (Business Management)
Corporate Entrepreneurship is often described as a process that goes on inside an existing organisation and which may lead to new business ventures, the development of new products, services, or processes, and the renewal of strategies and competitive postures. As such, it can be seen as the sum of an organisation’s innovation, venturing, and renewal efforts. Corporate Entrepreneurship can be regarded as the innovation of products, services and processes and the formation of new business enterprises are crucially important to every industry and economy. Innovation and new business development can be initiated by independent individuals or by existing enterprises. The latter is referred to as Corporate Entrepreneurship, which is ever more considered as a valuable instrument for rejuvenating and revitalising existing companies.
It is brought into practice as a tool for business development, revenue growth, and profitability enhancement and for pioneering the development of new products, services and processes. With change today being consistently continuous, unpredictable and in some cases abrupt, failure to anticipate change can and in most cases will result in organisational stagnation.
Corporate Entrepreneurship is a tool that allows organisations to revitalise and rejuvenate a
competitive advantage and simultaneously create new value for customers through
innovation, business development, and renewal. New value creation is only possible through
high levels of entrepreneurial activity.
Imperial Automotive Dealerships division is a leading motor retail division within the Imperial
Automotive group, providing customers with a range of integrated motor vehicle usage
solutions. The South African operations represent passenger, light, medium and heavy
commercial brands and include, motor vehicle finance, insurance and related products and
services. The purpose of this dissertation is to assess the climate of Corporate
Entrepreneurship within the Imperial Automotive Dealerships division. This was achieved by
means of a literature study and a measurement of thirteen constructs related to an
entrepreneurial climate.
The empirical evidence indicates that there are significant statistical differences that exist
between employees in management roles who are appointed to the different departments
within the Dealerships division of Imperial Automotive. The results of the study revealed that
the perceptions of Corporate Entrepreneurship are differed among employees who are
customer facing, that is, the Dealer Principals and Sales Managers to those employees in a
management position who are more operational or financially orientated, such as the
Departmental Managers.
The empirical study affords Imperial Automotive Dealerships division the opportunity to
recognise the results and recommendations and encourage a better entrepreneurial climate.
A clear and committed focus on Corporate Entrepreneurship within the Imperial Automotive
Dealerships division will result in a sustainable creation of value for all stakeholders which
remain central to the automotive business units’ activities.