Corporate Restructuring and Entrepreneurship: What Can Large Organizations Learn from Small?

Abstract

The focus of this article is upon the relationship of smallness to entrepreneurial behaviour and in particular the development of entrepreneurial behaviour and culture in large organizations. The context is the substantial restructuring and in many cases downsizing that has taken place over the past decade in large organizations world-wide. The paper firstly, briefly, reviews how this restructuring has been explained within different academic and pragmatic frameworks. It then considers more closely what the concept of 'smallness' might mean in a business and organizational context. It explores how this relates to necessary and sufficient conditions for entrepreneurial behaviour to take place. A model is then developed based upon the cultural essences, the task structure and the learning mode of small business which, it is argued, provides the basic organizational climate for entrepreneurial behaviour to be successfully pursued. It then explores the implications of this for the process of large firm downsizing and decentralization. Firstly the implications for large-small firm relationship management are examined. Then the implications for large company organization redesign and the stakeholder/shareholder management are explored. Finally attention is called to a number of key areas for future exploration and research.