ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the organisational milieu and triggers for change experienced by Siemens Fire Safety managers. It considers the nature and strategic context of subsidiary mandates and organisational factors that affect the pursuit of, and change in, mandates, including subsidiary and individual initiatives. The book also explores three broad characteristics of the organisation and their effect on entrepreneurial behaviour. It describes the dominant 'process orientation' in Siemens' organisational architecture, exploring how it manifests across the three case studies. The book focuses on the management of people within Siemens Fire Safety. It highlights how a particular configuration of elements – the external environment and transformational triggers, corporate entrepreneurial strategy, organisational antecedents, individual entrepreneurial behaviours, and related outcomes – create recursive relationships that sustain low levels of corporate entrepreneuring in Siemens Fire Safety.
