Brain-shaped tree in a corporate landscape symbolizing innovation and knowledge.

Unlock Your Business Potential: How Corporate Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Drive Success

Rhea Morgan in Business & Economy July 2025 • 4 min read.

"Discover the power of corporate entrepreneurship and knowledge creation in building a competitive edge for your business in today's dynamic market."

In today's fast-paced business world, staying ahead requires more than just the basics. It demands a proactive approach to innovation and a deep understanding of your organization's capabilities. Corporate entrepreneurship (CE) and organizational knowledge creation are two critical elements that can help businesses build a sustainable competitive advantage. But how do they work together, and what impact do they have on a firm's ability to thrive?

While the idea that CE influences a company's competences is not new, the full picture, including the role of organizational knowledge creation, remains unclear. This article explores the relationship between CE, knowledge creation, and a firm's second-order competences – specifically, its R&D and marketing capabilities. By understanding these dynamics, businesses can better leverage their resources and skills to drive growth and innovation.

Drawing on the resource-based view of the firm (RBV), we'll delve into how variations in CE and knowledge creation can uniquely shape a company's R&D and marketing prowess. We'll examine evidence from knowledge-intensive sectors to uncover valuable insights for managers and business leaders. Get ready to unlock your business potential by mastering the art of corporate entrepreneurship and knowledge creation.

What are Second-Order Competences and Why Do They Matter?

Brain-shaped tree in a corporate landscape symbolizing innovation and knowledge.

Before diving deeper, let's clarify what we mean by second-order competences. These are the capabilities that enable a firm to continuously learn, adapt, and build new skills. Think of them as the 'competence to build competence.' In our context, we're focusing on second-order R&D and marketing competences – the abilities to:

These competences are vital because they allow companies to:

Identify and integrate new technologies
Develop new manufacturing processes
Discover and learn new technological skills
Evaluate new technologies
Recruit new employees in technical areas

Enter potential new markets successfully
Establish new networks and relationships
Develop effective marketing, pricing, and advertising strategies
Gather business intelligence on new customers and competitors

These idiosyncratic resources determine breadth, scope, and quality of firm's “productive services” while reflecting its capacity of innovation based on strategic managerial decisions.

Unlocking Long-Term Success Through Strategic Knowledge Management

By integrating CE initiatives with a robust framework for organizational knowledge creation, businesses can foster a culture of continuous learning and adaptation. This, in turn, leads to the development of superior second-order competences, driving innovation, market leadership, and sustainable growth. The journey to unlocking your business potential starts with understanding and embracing the power of corporate entrepreneurship and knowledge creation.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.5539/ibr.v9n8p46, Alternate LINK

Title: The Effects Of Corporate Entrepreneurship And Organizational Knowledge Creation On Firm Second-Order Competences: Exploratory Evidence From Knowledge-Intensive Sectors

Subject: General Medicine

Journal: International Business Research

Publisher: Canadian Center of Science and Education

Authors: Rasmi Kokash, Alain Fayolle, Zied Guedri

Published: 2016-06-12

Everything You Need To Know

What is Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) and how does it impact a business?

Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) involves proactive innovation and a deep understanding of an organization's capabilities. It helps businesses build a sustainable competitive advantage in a fast-paced market. By embracing CE, firms can improve their second-order competences, especially R&D and marketing. This leads to innovation, market success, and sustainable growth by allowing businesses to leverage their resources and skills effectively.

What are second-order competences and why are they crucial for a firm's success, specifically in the context of R&D and marketing?

Second-order competences are the capabilities that enable a firm to continuously learn, adapt, and build new skills. They represent the 'competence to build competence.' In the context of R&D, these include identifying and integrating new technologies, developing new processes, discovering new skills, evaluating technologies, and recruiting technical employees. For marketing, they include entering new markets, establishing networks, developing effective marketing strategies, and gathering business intelligence. These competences are vital because they determine the breadth, scope, and quality of a firm's productive services, driving innovation and reflecting strategic managerial decisions.

How does organizational knowledge creation fit into the framework of Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) and the development of second-order competences?

Integrating Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) with organizational knowledge creation fosters a culture of continuous learning and adaptation. This combination is key to developing superior second-order competences. By continuously learning and adapting, businesses can drive innovation, achieve market leadership, and ensure sustainable growth. It empowers firms to leverage their resources and skills to the fullest, leading to sustained competitive advantage.

How do R&D and marketing capabilities benefit from Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) and Knowledge Creation?

R&D and marketing capabilities are significantly enhanced through Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) and knowledge creation. In R&D, CE and knowledge creation facilitate the ability to identify and integrate new technologies, develop new manufacturing processes, discover and learn new technological skills, evaluate new technologies, and recruit new employees in technical areas. In marketing, they enable firms to enter potential new markets successfully, establish new networks and relationships, develop effective marketing strategies, and gather critical business intelligence on new customers and competitors. These improvements lead to a more innovative and adaptable firm.

How can businesses leverage the Resource-Based View (RBV) to enhance Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) and organizational knowledge creation?

The resource-based view (RBV) provides a framework for understanding how variations in Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) and knowledge creation shape a company's R&D and marketing capabilities. By focusing on idiosyncratic resources, businesses can uniquely build and leverage their internal strengths. RBV helps in identifying, developing, and deploying valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable resources, which are crucial for building second-order competences. Understanding and applying RBV enables firms to make strategic managerial decisions, fostering innovation and enhancing their competitive advantage through CE and knowledge creation initiatives.