Uncovering Strategic Entrepreneurship: An Examination of Theory and Practice

The combination of entrepreneurship and strategy is gaining increasing recognition as a pathway for growth within both individual organisations and national economies. Hence the benefits emerge from both a micro and macro economic perspective. Essentially, however, research on strategic entrepreneurship, being the intersection of entrepreneurship and strategy remains in the early stages. While the benefits of combining entrepreneurship and strategy are well established, strategic entrepreneurship as a concept remains under-developed and unsubstantiated. Thus the question arises as to what constitutes strategic entrepreneurship? In order to address this issue a preliminary framework of strategic entrepreneurship is derived from the literature on entrepreneurship and strategy, in order to identify the intersection of the two. This framework is then examined in the context of activity which is recognised as both entrepreneurial and strategic within three state-owned enterprises. Findings identify a number of elements as central to strategic entrepreneurship, as well as a number of supporting elements, providing the potential for both competitive advantage and wealth creation.