Entrepreneurship B&M/TM – Summary (Slides)
Manon Kooning, 07-09-2025
Lecture 1 – Introduction to Entrepreneurship
SME = small & medium sized enterprises
Entrepreneurship (Shane and Venkataraman) = the discovery and exploitation of entrepreneurial
opportunities
- 2 types of profit opportunities
1. Entrepreneurial opportunities: to engage in new ‘activities’
o Activities goods/services, markets/customers, sources of supply, methods of
production and/or organization
2. Non-entrepreneurial opportunities: to enhance efficiency of existing ‘activities’
o Existing opportunities, e.g. modify a product to target a new audience
E.g. creating a clothing brand that makes clothes out of nettles the idea
clothing brand already exists, but new fabric
New vs existing activities → discussed in literature
• whether something is new for a firm or for an industry
• whether something is new depends on time, to whom etc
Entrepreneurship (Sharma and Chrisman) = acts of organizational creation, renewal or innovation
inside or outside an organization
• renewal renewing something, not doing something new e.g. Volvo creating an electric
car
• innovation doing something new e.g. making a flying car
Entrepreneurs = individuals or groups of individuals, acting independently or as part of a corporate
system, who create new organizations, or instigate renewal or innovation withing an existing
organization
• corporate system = corporate entrepreneurship
• Corporate system = an existing organization or company (like Rabobank) in which
entrepreneurial activity can take place. It’s not about a startup or independent
entrepreneur—it’s about doing entrepreneurship within an established organization.
• Corporate entrepreneurship = acts of entrepreneurship inside that corporate system.
o Rabobank trying to do new services → corporate system → corporate eship.
o It means Rabobank, as an existing organization, is engaging in entrepreneurial activity
internally to innovate or renew its offerings.
1
,Entrepreneurship and Small Business terms are often used together, but how are they related?
Entrepreneurship Small Business (or SMEs)
Innovation/renewal Management
New venture creation Running an established firm
‘Building a road’ ‘Travelling an extant road’
The government wants the classify SME → bc you need to know whether a firm is a SME or not, bc
larger firms often have to meet certain rules (e.g. financial reporting) → so the government needs to
know which firms have to comply with rules
• government wants to promote SME by funding, so the government needs to know which
firms can apply for a subside (subsidie)
• government doesn’t have a separate category for solo self-employed (are into category micro
firms), while 80% of the firms are solo self employed (SSE)
o SSE don’t have e.g. HRM
• 80% of firms are SSE, 99% are SME
Relationship between eship and SMEs → sometimes different but sometimes overlap
• not all entrepreneurship occurs in SME → corporate system
• not every SME is entrepreneurial
• there are SMEs that are entrepreneurial → e.g. internationally operating SMEs
Since the 1970s: from an ‘ME’ to an ‘EE’:
Managed Economy (ME) old Entrepreneurial Economy (EE) new
Advantage through: land, capital and labour, Advantage through: knowledge and innovation
economies of scale
SME as supoptimal (due to lack of scale effects) Important role for SMEs and start-ups
Tight commitment between firms and workers Looser contracts (e.g. solo self-employeds,
(long-term employment) temporary workers)
Policy: focused on control and constraints Policy: focused on facilitating e’ship
The role of SMEs in economies
- Schumpeter (1909): SMEs are important for ‘creative destruction’
- Schumpeter (1947): Importance of SMEs will decrease
2
, Schools of thought framework = It’s a way to look at different perspectives on how entrepreneurship
happens — where entrepreneurial ideas come from, why people become entrepreneurs, and what
helps them succeed.
• Macro view → looks at societal and level of economies (big picture)
o Environmental school of thought → Entrepreneurship happens because of changes in
society, economy, or technology. Example: a new environmental law creates business
opportunities for green startups.
o Financial/capital school of thought → Focuses on money — how funding sources (like
investors, banks, or government grants) make entrepreneurship possible. Example:
someone starts a company after getting venture capital funding.
o Displacement school of thought → Focuses on people who feel pushed out of
traditional jobs or systems — “displaced” from normal career paths. Example:
someone loses their job and starts their own business instead.
• Micro view (individual level)
o Entrepreneurial trait school of thought → Focus on personality/psychological traits
that make someone entrepreneurial. Example: risk-taking, creativity, ambition.
o Venture opportunity school of thought focussed on opportunities and who
discovers those and how do they exploit those opportunities. Example: seeing a
market gap (like reusable water bottles) and turning it into a business.
o Strategic formulation school of thought → Focus on planning and strategy. Example:
how much business planning is needed before starting; what strategies lead to
success.
The entrepreneurial process is an integrative framework → add outcomes to it
• The entrepreneur → The person (or people)
starting or renewing the venture.
→ Includes their personality traits, skills, and
goals.
• Resources → Everything the firm can use to
succeed. (financial assets, human resources,
staff, technological capabilities, money)
• concept → The business idea or what is being
sold — the product, service, or innovation
• organization context → how it is organized → independent entrepreneurship (starting from
scratch and not starting from an organization) or corporate entrepreneurship
• environment → External factors influencing the process and outcomes → Includes laws,
market trends, social changes, or political shifts. E.g. lachgas verkopen maar ineens wordt het
illegaal
3
Manon Kooning, 07-09-2025
Lecture 1 – Introduction to Entrepreneurship
SME = small & medium sized enterprises
Entrepreneurship (Shane and Venkataraman) = the discovery and exploitation of entrepreneurial
opportunities
- 2 types of profit opportunities
1. Entrepreneurial opportunities: to engage in new ‘activities’
o Activities goods/services, markets/customers, sources of supply, methods of
production and/or organization
2. Non-entrepreneurial opportunities: to enhance efficiency of existing ‘activities’
o Existing opportunities, e.g. modify a product to target a new audience
E.g. creating a clothing brand that makes clothes out of nettles the idea
clothing brand already exists, but new fabric
New vs existing activities → discussed in literature
• whether something is new for a firm or for an industry
• whether something is new depends on time, to whom etc
Entrepreneurship (Sharma and Chrisman) = acts of organizational creation, renewal or innovation
inside or outside an organization
• renewal renewing something, not doing something new e.g. Volvo creating an electric
car
• innovation doing something new e.g. making a flying car
Entrepreneurs = individuals or groups of individuals, acting independently or as part of a corporate
system, who create new organizations, or instigate renewal or innovation withing an existing
organization
• corporate system = corporate entrepreneurship
• Corporate system = an existing organization or company (like Rabobank) in which
entrepreneurial activity can take place. It’s not about a startup or independent
entrepreneur—it’s about doing entrepreneurship within an established organization.
• Corporate entrepreneurship = acts of entrepreneurship inside that corporate system.
o Rabobank trying to do new services → corporate system → corporate eship.
o It means Rabobank, as an existing organization, is engaging in entrepreneurial activity
internally to innovate or renew its offerings.
1
,Entrepreneurship and Small Business terms are often used together, but how are they related?
Entrepreneurship Small Business (or SMEs)
Innovation/renewal Management
New venture creation Running an established firm
‘Building a road’ ‘Travelling an extant road’
The government wants the classify SME → bc you need to know whether a firm is a SME or not, bc
larger firms often have to meet certain rules (e.g. financial reporting) → so the government needs to
know which firms have to comply with rules
• government wants to promote SME by funding, so the government needs to know which
firms can apply for a subside (subsidie)
• government doesn’t have a separate category for solo self-employed (are into category micro
firms), while 80% of the firms are solo self employed (SSE)
o SSE don’t have e.g. HRM
• 80% of firms are SSE, 99% are SME
Relationship between eship and SMEs → sometimes different but sometimes overlap
• not all entrepreneurship occurs in SME → corporate system
• not every SME is entrepreneurial
• there are SMEs that are entrepreneurial → e.g. internationally operating SMEs
Since the 1970s: from an ‘ME’ to an ‘EE’:
Managed Economy (ME) old Entrepreneurial Economy (EE) new
Advantage through: land, capital and labour, Advantage through: knowledge and innovation
economies of scale
SME as supoptimal (due to lack of scale effects) Important role for SMEs and start-ups
Tight commitment between firms and workers Looser contracts (e.g. solo self-employeds,
(long-term employment) temporary workers)
Policy: focused on control and constraints Policy: focused on facilitating e’ship
The role of SMEs in economies
- Schumpeter (1909): SMEs are important for ‘creative destruction’
- Schumpeter (1947): Importance of SMEs will decrease
2
, Schools of thought framework = It’s a way to look at different perspectives on how entrepreneurship
happens — where entrepreneurial ideas come from, why people become entrepreneurs, and what
helps them succeed.
• Macro view → looks at societal and level of economies (big picture)
o Environmental school of thought → Entrepreneurship happens because of changes in
society, economy, or technology. Example: a new environmental law creates business
opportunities for green startups.
o Financial/capital school of thought → Focuses on money — how funding sources (like
investors, banks, or government grants) make entrepreneurship possible. Example:
someone starts a company after getting venture capital funding.
o Displacement school of thought → Focuses on people who feel pushed out of
traditional jobs or systems — “displaced” from normal career paths. Example:
someone loses their job and starts their own business instead.
• Micro view (individual level)
o Entrepreneurial trait school of thought → Focus on personality/psychological traits
that make someone entrepreneurial. Example: risk-taking, creativity, ambition.
o Venture opportunity school of thought focussed on opportunities and who
discovers those and how do they exploit those opportunities. Example: seeing a
market gap (like reusable water bottles) and turning it into a business.
o Strategic formulation school of thought → Focus on planning and strategy. Example:
how much business planning is needed before starting; what strategies lead to
success.
The entrepreneurial process is an integrative framework → add outcomes to it
• The entrepreneur → The person (or people)
starting or renewing the venture.
→ Includes their personality traits, skills, and
goals.
• Resources → Everything the firm can use to
succeed. (financial assets, human resources,
staff, technological capabilities, money)
• concept → The business idea or what is being
sold — the product, service, or innovation
• organization context → how it is organized → independent entrepreneurship (starting from
scratch and not starting from an organization) or corporate entrepreneurship
• environment → External factors influencing the process and outcomes → Includes laws,
market trends, social changes, or political shifts. E.g. lachgas verkopen maar ineens wordt het
illegaal
3
