Keil et al (2009) – Gems from the Ashes: Capability Creation and Transformation in Internal
Corporate Venturing
Summary
Longitudinal case study of an Electronics manufacturing firm and it’s internal corporate ventures
Main findings:
The success of a venture should not be defined through business growth and financial
performance. Rather, the study shows that internal ventures, even if they fail early, help to
create capabilities (capability building) which can be useful in other parts of the organization
even after the venture has failed (capability transformation)
Thus, when investigating corporate ventures and their effect on firm performance, one
should also take those ventures that failed very early on because they still might have
contributed to capability building and capability transformation (= transferring the capability
to that part of the organization where they add the most value)
Corporate ventures should not be compared to individual start-ups but should be considered
as temporal incubators of capability building & capability transformation
Capability life cycles can and should be proactively managed, e.g. through redirection of
internal corporate ventures do develop and make visible certain transferrable capabilities
___________________________________________________________________________
Research interest:
Traditionally, internal corporate ventures are rated as successful or unsuccessful based on
their growth and financial performance
However, this study wants to investigate the impact of corporate venturing on capability
building and transformation
Methods:
Longitudinal, 4-year case study of a single manufacturing firms
This firm had 37 internal ventures that during the study were continued, discontinued, spun-
off or spun-in (integrated into an existing division)
Quantitative coding scheme
Capability Creation through internal ventures
It was found that, through corporate venturing, important capabilities (e.g. product
development, patenting, and personal/organizational capabilities) were created
o This was the case even in ventures that were discontinued
Capability Development & Transformation through internal ventures
Corporate Venturing
Summary
Longitudinal case study of an Electronics manufacturing firm and it’s internal corporate ventures
Main findings:
The success of a venture should not be defined through business growth and financial
performance. Rather, the study shows that internal ventures, even if they fail early, help to
create capabilities (capability building) which can be useful in other parts of the organization
even after the venture has failed (capability transformation)
Thus, when investigating corporate ventures and their effect on firm performance, one
should also take those ventures that failed very early on because they still might have
contributed to capability building and capability transformation (= transferring the capability
to that part of the organization where they add the most value)
Corporate ventures should not be compared to individual start-ups but should be considered
as temporal incubators of capability building & capability transformation
Capability life cycles can and should be proactively managed, e.g. through redirection of
internal corporate ventures do develop and make visible certain transferrable capabilities
___________________________________________________________________________
Research interest:
Traditionally, internal corporate ventures are rated as successful or unsuccessful based on
their growth and financial performance
However, this study wants to investigate the impact of corporate venturing on capability
building and transformation
Methods:
Longitudinal, 4-year case study of a single manufacturing firms
This firm had 37 internal ventures that during the study were continued, discontinued, spun-
off or spun-in (integrated into an existing division)
Quantitative coding scheme
Capability Creation through internal ventures
It was found that, through corporate venturing, important capabilities (e.g. product
development, patenting, and personal/organizational capabilities) were created
o This was the case even in ventures that were discontinued
Capability Development & Transformation through internal ventures
