Page 165 - Grow from Within Mastering Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation

152 grow from within

opposed to discovering and exploiting white-space opportuni-
ties. In fact, business unit innovation became the responsibility
of the CSO and the core technical competencies team.

Technical Intensity and Breadth
Companies in technologically intensive markets generally
require a centralized corporate entrepreneurship effort in order
to build coherent systems. They also may benefit from sup-
porting corporatewide communities of practice to help their
people maintain world-class knowledge and skills. In the case
of Baxter, it built corporatewide structures and processes—
most notably the creation of the executive position of chief sci-
ence officer—to coordinate its research and development
community and to allocate the necessary resources to corpo-
rate entrepreneurship efforts.

Capital Requirements

In some markets, large capital expenditures are required in
order to commercialize concepts. Such expenditures inevitably
involve top-level allocation of resources and an organization
that is accountable. For Baxter, which is in the health-care
industry, complex commercialization processes were quite
familiar, and top-level resource allocation for expensive clini-
cal trials was overseen by top executives.

Regulatory Environment

In highly regulated markets, centralized coordination is essen-
tial to ensure compliance. In cases where the regulatory process
is also time-consuming and expensive, dedicated, consistent
funding for projects is also essential, although it can come from