A chief technology officer ( CTO ) (also known as a chief technical officer or chief technologist ) is an officer tasked with managing technical operations of an organization. They oversee and supervise research and development and serve as a technical advisor to a higher executive such as a chief executive officer .
43-463: John Churin is Chief Technology Officer for Tolven . He is well known in the industry as the original developer and architect for the ALL-IN-1 office-automation product suite in 1977 while working for Digital Equipment Corporation . This business-related biographical article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Chief Technology Officer A CTO is very similar to
86-643: A chief information officer (CIO). CTOs will make decisions for the overarching technology infrastructure that closely align with the organization's goals, while CIOs work alongside the organization's information technology ("IT") staff members to perform everyday operations. The attributes of the roles a CTO holds vary from one company to another, mainly depending on their organizational structure. After World War II , large corporations established research laboratories at locations separate from their headquarters. The corporation's goals were to hire scientists and offer them facilities to conduct research on behalf of
129-466: A company who claims to celebrate failure. One of the recognized approaches to achieve this is through an "I wish/ I like session": the "I like" statements recognizes new projects, while the "I wish" statements consider how things can be done in a different way. Intrapreneurs often remain hidden and unrecognised because they often display behaviour contrary to what is considered as "corporate". Accenture states that recognizing and supporting intrapreneurs
172-414: A company wide cultural change requiring organisational re-design. Another approach to bridging the gap between practitioners and academia is the model proposed by Anthony et al. The Minimum Viable Innovation System (MVIS) is an attempt to take the essence of academic models and demonstrate how organisations can implement a MVIS within 90 days Koch (2014) claims that intrapreneurs are the "secret weapon" of
215-413: A demotivating factor to search for new ideas. Failure, or fear of failure , is another reason for organisations not becoming more entrepreneurial. Wladawsky-Berger (2010) found that firms act to protect resources by avoiding risk and penalizing failure. This resonates with the framework proposed by Ahuja and Lampert (2001) that explains why companies fail to develop breakthrough inventions. According to
258-434: A different approach, designing a 2-year corporate program to turn 300 managers into intrapreneurs, skilled in spotting new business opportunities with notable potential. Kanter and Richardson's case study research "Engines of Progress" describes how Ohio-Bell encouraged intrapreneurial behaviour through the development of a system of innovation called "Enter-Prize". Ostensibly, the program was about generating innovation but
301-471: A formal structure and supported by environmental scanning and management support will help an organisation become more intrapreneurial. Barringer at al support this assertion and describe the relationship between corporate entrepreneurship and strategic management. They found that the following variables can influence the organisation: Scanning Intensity, Planning Flexibility, Planning Horizon, Locus of Planning and Control Attributes. McKinsey's survey supports
344-711: A large organization. Intrapreneurship is known as the practice of a corporate management style that integrates risk-taking and innovation approaches, as well as the reward and motivational techniques, that are more traditionally thought of as being the province of entrepreneurship . Corporate entrepreneurship is a more general term referring to entrepreneurial actions taking place within an existing organization whereas Intrapreneurship refers to individual activities and behaviors. Pinchot (1985) defined intrapreneurs as "dreamers who do. Those who take responsibility for creating an innovation of any kind within an organization." In 1992, The American Heritage Dictionary acknowledged
387-749: A model that conceptualises the CE strategy. Their model considers three main elements: entrepreneurial vision, organisational structure and behaviour, all of which influence and complement each other. The authors claim that these factors have to be adapted at three levels: at the organisational level, at the level of top-managers and at the level of other employees. It means that an effective CE strategy cannot be dictated by top-managers, only instigated by them. In doing so, they have to create CE strategy from interactions between entrepreneurial vision, pro-entrepreneurial architecture and entrepreneurial behaviour. Even though many managers are afraid of radical changes, they are often
430-624: A positive impact on organisational growth and profitability. Organisations that build structures and embed values to support intrapreneurship are consequently more likely to have a high Intrapreneurial Orientation and are more likely to grow than organisations with a low Intrapreneurial Orientation. Intrapreneurial organisations are more innovative, they continually renew and this proactive approach leads to new business venturing. Their findings indicate that intrapreneurship could be particularly beneficial for transition economies. Antoncic & Hisrich find that good quality open communications together with
473-599: A small vegetable company that ended up being a software outsourcing powerhouse. Another example is Tony Hsieh of Zappos , who started as a commercial footwear vendor and became the CEO of Zappos, which has expanded into an online customer experience company. The biggest challenge for intrapreneurs is dealing with the "Corporate Immune System". This expression means that corporate organizational structures such as bureaucracy, hierarchy, rules etc. do not support intrapreneurial culture and behaviour. Many companies struggle with applying
SECTION 10
#1732790709847516-448: A tradition of implementing intrapreneurship. Google is also known to be intrapreneur friendly, allowing their employees to spend up to 20% of their time to pursue projects of their choice. Other companies such as Xerox , Virgin , Siemens and Microsoft are also looking for unique solutions to promote Corporate Entrepreneuship, in their own businesses, e.g. by developing separate research and development departments. Siemens-Nixdorf took
559-536: Is not to be confused with the " innerpreneur ", a person who aims at personal fulfilment more than at economic gains when creating a business. For innerpreneurs the primary motivation is the need to implement their vision of something the world needs, something that aligns with their values. The first written use of the terms 'intrapreneur', 'intrapreneuring,' and 'intrapreneurship' date from a 1978 white paper, Intra-Corporate Entrepreneurship, by Gifford Pinchot III and Elizabeth S. Pinchot. Later Norman Macrae , who read
602-546: Is the biggest challenge for Entrepreneurial Leadership. However, Sinha & Srivastava may have a solution. Sinha & Srivastava's study evaluates personality factors such as extroversion; work values such as the need for intellectual stimulation and creativity; and, socio-cultural factors such as individualism and power distance and the relationship between these factors and an organisation's Intrapreneurial Orientation (the extent to which employees act in an entrepreneurial manner within their place of employment). The results of
645-648: The chief information officer (CIO) and is primarily concerned with long-term and "big picture" issues (while still having deep technical knowledge of the relevant field). In technology-focused organizations, the CIO and CTO positions can be at the same level, with the CIO focused on the information technology and the CTO focused on the core company and other supporting technologies. Depending on company structure and hierarchy, there may also be positions such as R&D manager, director of R&D and vice president of engineering whom
688-422: The intrapreneur focuses on innovation and creativity, and transforms an idea into a profitable venture, while operating within the organizational environment. Thus, intrapreneurs are Inside entrepreneurs who follow the goal of the organization. Intrapreneurship is an example of motivation through job design, either formally or informally. (See also Corporate Social Entrepreneurship : intrapreneurship within
731-411: The 1980s, the role of these research directors changed substantially. Since technology was becoming a fundamental part of the development for most products and services, companies needed an operational executive who could understand the product's technical side and provide advice on ways to improve and develop. This all led to the creation of the position of Chief Technology Officer by large companies in
774-843: The African context, intrapreneurship education started in the early 1990s at the University of Cape Town, and then at the University of Pretoria. Professor Antonites Alexander and later Professor Alain Ndedi were among the first scholars to conduct research in the field. Professor Alain Ndedi Master research was rated among the best books of all times in the field of intrapreneurship by BookAutority ( https://bookauthority.org/books/best-intrapreneurship-books ). "Intrapreneurship refers to employee initiatives in organizations to undertake something new, without being asked to do so."(Ndedi, 2004). Hence,
817-592: The CTO interacts with or oversees. The CTO also needs a working familiarity with regulatory (e.g. U.S. Food and Drug Administration , Environmental Protection Agency , Consumer Product Safety Commission , as applicable) and intellectual property (IP) issues (e.g. patents , trade secrets , license contracts), and an ability to interface with legal counsel to incorporate these considerations into strategic planning and inter-company negotiations. In many older industries (whose existence may predate IT automation) such as manufacturing, shipping or banking, an executive role of
860-449: The CTO would often arise out of the process of automating existing activities; in these cases, any CTO-like role would only emerge if and when efforts would be made to develop truly novel technologies (either for facilitating internal operations or for enhancing products/services being provided), perhaps through " intrapreneuring ". Intrapreneur Intrapreneurship is the act of behaving like an entrepreneur while working within
903-470: The ascent of the IT industry, but has since become prevalent in technology-based industries of all types – including computer-based technologies (such as game developer , e-commerce , and social networking service ) and other/non-computer-focused technology (such as biotech / pharma , defense , and automotive ). In non-technical organizations as a corporate officer position, the CTO typically reports directly to
SECTION 20
#1732790709847946-633: The box" thinking as a characteristic of entrepreneurs. Pinchot notes that intrapreneurs share properties with entrepreneurs self-motivation, creativity and pro-activity. Intrepreneurial behaviour is proposed to be correlated with risk-taking , innovativeness , and proactiveness a fact confirmed in one staudy. Pinchot distinguishes the leadership necessary in intrapreneurship with from those in managers. Strong leadership skills are needed to strengthen teams and to persuade others to follow and execute their ideas. Leadership skills are also important to support rapid decision making under uncertainty. Managers, on
989-446: The company without the burdens of day-to-day office work. This is where the idea of a CTO focusing on the overarching technology infrastructures originates. At that time, the director of the laboratory was a corporate vice president who did not participate in the company's corporate decisions. Instead, the technical director was the individual responsible for attracting new scientists, to do research, and to develop products . In
1032-480: The concept of intrapreneurship into their daily routines due to high levels of defined tasks and schedules that deter opportunities for serendipity and for new ideas to be recognised. Issues around a highly defined schedule and lack of necessary time and space for idea creation are also highlighted in an article by Sushain Pandit (2015). Kawasaki (2006) also highlights the lack of rewards for entrepreneurial behaviour as
1075-499: The contrary, consider more risks than uncertainty and often work within established patterns. Moreover, traditional managers get their authority from the above; intrapreneurs, by contrast, start without the recognition of the same degree of power. As collaboration increases, the capability to collaborate leads finally to organizational learning as part of non-routine work processes. Many firms not only empower managers but also enable employees to become more innovative and flexible even in
1118-718: The course of their daily activities and routine tasks. Through empowerment, employees become owners of their tasks. Described on a larger picture is the concept of identity building. In other words, employees require opportunities to make informed choices. They must accept personal responsibility for their actions and their consequences as traditional entrepreneurs across markets would do. Certain properties of CEOs are proposed facilitate intrapreneurship. For instance, intrapreneurship or corporate entrepreneurship happen more in firms led by CEOs with future time orientation, transformational leadership , and CEOs holding certain values and ideologies. Intuitive strategic decision-making amongst
1161-496: The design was cultural rather than financial. CISCO lead an Innovation Everywhere Challenge to build a corporate culture of Innovation in 2016. They offered $ 50,000 cash ($ 25,000 Seed, $ 25,000 Reward) and 3 Months paid time off to the winners. The three ideas presented included virtual reality videoconferencing, disability hiring programs, and digital media productivity suite. Intrapreneurship through creativity by Wipro in India,
1204-438: The executive management team that links disparate elements of information has been suggested aidd corporate entrepreneurship when compared to more information lead decision making. Many, including George Kliavkoff (President MGM), believe a strong culture of intrapreneurs comes from three key concepts being: top-down support for intrapreneurship (an executive mandate), a creative structure, and patient capital. The management of
1247-414: The firm is eventually responsible for providing the conditions that facilitate individual intrapreneurial attitude with the aim of opening the employee's minds. (see also culture of open innovation). Assuming other prerequisites for intrepreneurial activity are in place, access to corporate resources and other employees allow intrepreneurs to convert opportunities into high-potential innovations. One of
1290-533: The firm which is driven to produce social capital in addition to economic capital.) Employees, such as marketing executives, internal professionals or perhaps those engaged in a special project within a larger firm, are encouraged to behave as entrepreneurs, even though they have the resources, capabilities and security of the larger firm to draw upon. Capturing a little of the dynamic nature of entrepreneurial management (trying things until successful, learning from failures, attempting to conserve resources, etc.) adds to
1333-412: The framework, there is a tendency in large firms to favour familiar and mature technologies, and also search for new ideas that are similar to existing solutions. The authors propose investing in developing novel and emerging technologies, because this will increase the likelihood of breakthrough inventions. However their model lacks how to build upon the ideas. On the contrary, Ireland et al. (2009) present
John Churin - Misplaced Pages Continue
1376-482: The late 1980s with the growth of the information technology industry and computer (internet) companies. A CTO "examines the short and long term needs of an organization, and utilizes capital to make investments designed to help the organization reach its objectives... [the CTO] is the highest technology executive position within a company and leads the technology or engineering department". The role became prominent with
1419-483: The most well-known examples of intrapreneurship is the " Skunk Works " group at Lockheed Martin . The group was originally named after a reference in a cartoon, and was first brought together in 1943 to build the P-80 fighter jet . Because the project was to eventually become a part of the war effort , the project was internally protected and secretive. Kelly Johnson , later famous for Kelly's 14 rules of intrapreneurship,
1462-823: The only way to help companies grow. Jones and Butler (1992) stated that due to organisational size, age and complex functions, entrepreneurship and management are often separated. Their different levels of tolerance for risks (i.e. managers tend to avoid risks, while entrepreneurs work under uncertain conditions) generally result in managers penalizing failure. In addition, the lack of rewards and bureaucracy lead to outside entrepreneurship. Consequently, intrapreneurs often quit their jobs and set up their own businesses. Behrens and Patzelt (2015) claims that this could be prevented by choosing managers with failure experience in their previous positions. Smedley (2013) also suggests that creating structure for new ideas depends on managers personal experience and attitude. He gives an example of SAP ,
1505-506: The popular use of a new word, intrapreneur, to mean "A person within a large corporation who takes direct responsibility for turning an idea into a profitable finished product through assertive risk-taking and innovation". Based on these definitions, being an intrapreneur is considered to be beneficial for both intrapreneurs and large organizations. Companies support intrapreneurs with finance and access to corporate resources, while intrapreneurs create innovation for companies. The intrapreneur
1548-491: The potential of an otherwise static organization, without exposing those employees to the risks or accountability normally associated with entrepreneurial failure. Alain Ndedi (2004) in his research found that there are five antecedents to intrapreneurship development within organisations. (Ndedi, 2004; https://bookauthority.org/books/best-intrapreneurship-books ) ‹The template How-to is being considered for merging .› Ndedi (2004) identifies creativity "outside
1591-456: The same year in another major popular publication was in a quote by Steve Jobs, Apple Computer's Chairman, in an interview in the September 1985 Newsweek article, which quotes him as saying, "The Macintosh team was what is commonly known as intrapreneurship; only a few years before the term was coined — a group of people going, in essence, back to the garage, but in a large company." In
1634-573: The strategic need to grow the core business. Thus, there is often a difference in the vocabulary used with academics preferring intrapreneurship and practitioners talking of innovation. Practicing managers looking to increase their organisation's Intrapreneurial Orientation, or their organisation's capacity for innovation could familiarize themselves with Altringer's "New model for innovation"; this relies on successful entrepreneurs facilitating innovation sessions. This pragmatic approach relies on timely interventions to generate innovative ideas, rather than
1677-451: The study indicate a strong association between these personality factors and an organisation's Intrapreneurial Orientation. In practical terms, this implies that organisations can influence their Intrapreneurial Orientation through selection at recruitment and through ongoing training and development. Intrapreneurship is a contemporary issue with pressing relevance for corporate managers. Antoncic and Hisrich conclude that intrapreneurship has
1720-464: The view that organisations with a formal process report higher success rates. In general, the academic approach to intrapreneurship is predominantly based on the company wide re-organisation required to foster intrapreneurship. By contrast, the corporate view is often that innovation is the means, rather than the end. This is described in Capozzi et al. where the driver for innovation is identified as
1763-636: The white paper, credited the term to Gifford Pinchot III in the April 17, 1982 issue of The Economist . The first formal academic case study of corporate entrepreneurship or intrapreneurship was published in June 1982, as a Master's in Management thesis, by Howard Edward Haller , on the intrapreneurial creation of PR1ME Leasing within PR1ME Computer Inc. (from 1977 to 1981). This academic research
John Churin - Misplaced Pages Continue
1806-596: Was later published as a case study by VDM Verlag as Intrapreneurship Success: A Prime Example . The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language included the term 'intrapreneur' in its 3rd 1992 Edition, with Pinchot as the originator of the concept. The term "intrapreneurship" was used in the popular media first in February 1985 by TIME magazine article "Here Come the Intrapreneurs" and then
1849-413: Was the director of this group. Another example could be 3M , who encourage many projects within the company. They give certain freedom to employees to create their own projects, and they even give them funds to use for these projects. (In the days of its founders, HP used to have similar policies and just such an innovation-friendly atmosphere and intrapreneurial reputation.) Besides 3M, Intel also has
#846153