《《strategic entrepreneurship Creating competitive advantage through streams of innovation》.pdfVIP

Business Horizons (2007) 50, 49 —59 /locate/bushor Strategic entrepreneurship: Creating competitive advantage through streams of innovation R. Duane Ireland *, Justin W. Webb Mays Business School, Texas AM University, College Station, TX 77843-4221, USA KEYWORDS Abstract In today’s fast-paced competitive environment, firms face the need to Strategic be increasingly nimble and adaptive. While often able to establish a certain level entrepreneurship; of performance based upon existing technologies, firms are equally as often to Exploration; be left flat-footed in the face of emerging, novel technologies. We discuss Exploitation; strategic entrepreneurship as the means through which firms simultaneously Innovation; exploit their current competitive advantages while exploring for future opportu- Competitive nities. Achieving a balance between exploration and exploitation consists of more advantage than merely allocating resources evenly between the two processes. As discussed, exploration and exploitation are operationally, structurally, and culturally distinct processes. D 2006 Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. All rights reserved. 1. Managing tension for competitive views if we were able to ask them to do so. For advantage these tradition-rich manufacturers, a s