Introduction for Corporate Entrepreneurship

Though effectuation was developed by studying entrepreneurs, we believe that it is a universal problem-solving mentality. Corporations are recognizing that innovation and "intrapreneurship" drive their growth ... and knowing how expert entrepreneurs innovate arms managers with a process to help entrepreneurial employees excel.

Managers use what Sarasvathy calls "causal thinking" to make decisions in predictable market environments. They use historical data to make predictions of the future and base decisions on probabilities and net present value calculations. Uncertain conditions, however, require effectual thinking. Effectual thinkers use "control" (rather than prediction) strategies to make decisions in highly uncertain markets.

Control strategies focus on influencing the market directly by co-creating markets with partners and other stakeholders. Effectual thinkers are able to nimbly navigate the uncertainty by being more flexible, spreading risk to multiple parties, and deploying smaller amounts of capital.

Please see the brief video on corporate effectuation by Thomas Blekman of Corsendonk University below.