Entrepreneurial and innovative competences, are they the same?

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to study competencies between two groups of professionals: employees in innovative companies and entrepreneurs. Therefore the following questions arise: Are these two types of competences the same? Do innovative companies demand an entrepreneurial profile? Are entrepreneurs' companies spontaneously innovative?

Design/methodology/approach

This paper analyses personal competences in two different groups of professionals. On one hand the authors work the common characteristics among successful entrepreneurs; on the other, they study the competences that innovative companies demand of their employees. The authors study if there is an overlap between both types of competences, considering that the areas in common may represent a training opportunity for both the entrepreneurs and organizations seeking innovation.

Findings

The authors find that innovative organizations value six characteristics in their employees, which are related to entrepreneurs' characteristics and describe individuals within the organization that are able to work in teams, are committed to their work, seek information and new opportunities, and are able to take risks in innovative ventures. However, there are characteristics that entrepreneurs have and that organizations that want to be innovative are not seeking. If employees had these characteristics, they would allow them to be persistent despite difficulties. Finally, the authors find that there is a competence that innovative organizations need but entrepreneurs may not have, which is having previous experience in the field.

Originality/value

The paper shows that the individual competencies that characterize the entrepreneur are also found in innovative organizations.

Citation

Santandreu‐Mascarell, C., Garzon, D. and Knorr, H. (2013), "Entrepreneurial and innovative competences, are they the same?", Management Decision, Vol. 51 No. 5, pp. 1084-1095. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-11-2012-0792