The nature of corporate entrepreneurship in the South African liquor industry

Purpose - This study investigates the nature of Corporate Entrepreneurship(CE) in the Liquor industry in South Africa. This industry finds itself in turbulenttrading conditions and all liquor segments compete for the same share of throatwith a situation where competitiveness is increasing within a free tradeclimate. Corporate Entrepreneurship serves as an unconditional solution in thisregard. This study defines CE in broad as entrepreneurship within theboundaries of organisational context. It implies the application of the principlesof innovation coupled with entrepreneurial traits and orientation. Methodology The research design embraces firstly a secondary assessmentof the research evidence available in the sub-science, CorporateEntrepreneurship and secondly an empirical investigation based on quantitativeassessment measures. The Corporate Entrepreneurship AssessmentInstrument (CEAI) was used as the data collection tool whereby theorganisations identified areas where management and in particular middlemanagement can make noteworthy impact by developing strategies that cancreate, increase or sustain endeavours toward Corporate Entrepreneurship. Results It was found that management support is the underlying factor thatinitiates and drives entrepreneurship. The results presented a trend thatshowed an increase in length of tenure with an organisation and the liquorindustry in particular. The availability of time plays a very important roleinitiating entrepreneurial actions from within an organisation. Copyright © 2008, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Kriel, P 2008, The nature of corporate entrepreneurship in the South African liquor industry, MBA dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-03122010-154055/ > G10/34/mh