Strategic renewal through corporate venturing

The study addresses the challenge of incumbent firms to continuously renew their competitive advantage for future profitable growth and identifies the distinctive organizational characteristics of emerging corporate venturing units that serve as vehicles for such strategic renewal. Using a theoretical sampling approach, cross-case analysis of semi-structured interviews and archival data from 29 established European companies uncovers different types of corporate venturing units and along key differentiating dimensions. These findings illustrate how incumbent firms can use "strategic corporate venturing" to renew their competitive advantage by creating firm-relevant new business lines.