Determinants of corporate venturingevidence from Spain

Resumen

Previous studies have recognized the relevance of certain individual (human capital, perceptions) and organizational (work environment) factors in the creation of new ventures “from” and “for” existing organizations (spin-offs, start-ups, spin-outs). However, interesting research opportunities still emerge to further explore the interaction between individuals and environments in the development of entrepreneurial initiatives as well as business creation (Busenitz et al., 2014). The main objectives of this doctoral dissertation are: (O1) to propose an eclectic theoretical model of corporate venturing; (O2) to analyze the influence of individual determinants (human capital and perceptions) on the creation of ventures “from” and “for” an existing organization; and (O3) to explore the influence of the work environment (job autonomy) on the creation of ventures “from” and “for” an existing organization. Adopting the bases from several approaches (i.e., entrepreneurial cognitions, entrepreneurial action, entrepreneurial orientation and corporate entrepreneurship), two proposed conceptual models were tested using data from the 2012 and 2013 Spanish Adult Population Survey (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, GEM). Based on the results obtained, this doctoral dissertation modestly contributes to the entrepreneurship field by providing new insights about how individuals’ characteristics (human capital and perceptions) can be capitalized on to achieve organizational objectives such as the creation of corporate ventures and how the work environment could moderate the role of employees’ human capital in the creation of corporate ventures. Thus, these results could help employees, top managers and policy makers take into account the relevance of these individual and organizational factors when defining their corporate entrepreneurship strategies.