ABSTRACT
Structure of the chapter We start this chapter with an attempt to explain the meaning and scope of entrepreneurship and innovation in business organisations. Understanding what entrepreneurship and innovation mean in an organisational context helps us to distinguish entrepreneurial firms from ordinary, run-of-the-mill businesses. It also helps us to appreciate how these firms represent change and the ability to change and adapt as dynamic organizations in continually transforming environments. This appreciation stems from a consideration of the features and structures of entrepreneurial organizations, leading to a review of different types of organizations in the second part of the chapter. As part of this review, Part II of the chapter takes the reader on a journey of entrepreneurial processes in an adaptive organization where ambidexterity offers a way of dealing with the randomness and diversity associated with uncertainty and disruptiveness in technology life cycles. An in-depth look at the types of change generated by innovative activity reveals the need for ambidextrous organizational capability.
