MANAGING AN ENTREPRENEURIAL ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRONMENT - A DISCRIMINANT-ANALYSIS OF ORGANIZATIONAL AND INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AUTONOMOUS UNIT MANAGERS AND DEPARTMENT MANAGERS

Managing an entrepreneurial focus in large, established organizational environments requires innovative finesse in concert with traditional activities. Evidence was generated to determine. (1) what hinds of rew ard and structural arrangements might differentially influence the per formance of different hinds of managers, and (2) what hinds of role re quirements, values, and behavioral orientations might differentiate di fferent hinds of managers for training and selection purposes. Upper m iddle managers in Fortune 500 manufacturing firms were surveyed where the scope of their positions appeared to include the potential for inn ovation or autonomous action. Manages who were heads of autonomous bus iness units specifically geared towards innovative purposes were class ified as autonomous unit managers (AUMs), whereas those who were not h eads of such units were classified as departmental managers (DMs). It was hypothesized that specific hinds of formal structural options (ven ture groups, task forces) and informal structural options (freedom to pursue unofficial projects) as well as financial and recognition award s would more strongly influence the perceived performance of the AUM t han the DM. Further, AUMs would exhibit entrepreneurial roles, values, and behavioral orientations to a greater degree than the DMs. A discr iminant analysis procedure demonstrated that AUMs prefer formal struct ural options as outlets for innovative pursuits and financially orient ed rewards. Individuals pursuing traditional rules or DMs favored reco gnition rewards. Goal-setting techniques and the ability to conditiona lly commit resources are advanced as important training areas for AUMs or potential entrepreneurs.