Intrapreneurship and Corporate Venturing 403
- TheERRC gridplots the four-action framework on a 2 x 2 grid. The Blue Ocean
strategy example is Cirque du Soleil. This unique circus-based stage show entered
the tired and very mature (Red Ocean) circus business in a new and exciting way.
They eliminated star performers and animal acts, changed the fun and humor from
slapstick to cool, and became a more serious and sensual show. They also raised the
value of the venue. Instead of performing in a tent on a midway, they appear in
high-end theaters and on stages like the Bellagio in Las Vegas. They created a
themed circus in a refined environment, with multiple versions and artistic music
and choreography.
- The six paths frameworkoffers ways to reconstruct market boundaries (Principle
#1):
- Look for alternativeindustries with different forms and functions, but the same
purpose.
- Look across strategic groupswithin an industry and capture the strengths of more
than one (as in IDEO’s cross-pollination).
- Look across chains of buyersby shifting to a new buyer group.
- Look across complementaryproducts, services, and offerings to add value to the
entire chain.
- Look across function and emotional appealto buyers and try to shift the emphasis
from one to the other.
- Look across timeby envisioning how the industry and market will evolve—not
just analyzing trends but projecting future scenarios.
- The visualization exerciseconsists of a number of stages: awakening, exploration,
communication, and visualizing at the corporate level.This process focuses attention on
the big picture, not just the numbers (Principle #2). Recall that frequently new cor-
porate venture markets are initially small, which can be a barrier to intrapreneurship.
By visualizing the big picture, the intrapreneur can see bigger payoffs. Key to this
tool is developing a compelling tag line. A tag line is a short saying that encapsulates
the value of the new product or service. It is a version of an advertising slogan.^47
- The portfolio toolenables the corporate host to determine which corporate ven-
tures are pioneers, migrators, or settlers. Pioneers are intrapreneurial efforts with high
potential tomorrow. Migrators are middle producers with potential for high inno-
vation and therefore have potential down the road. Settlers are the cash cows that
produce good stable returns. Note the similarity to the Boston Consulting Group
portfolio tools.^48
- The buyer utility mapshows who buys and who doesn’t and why. This helps top
managers figure out how to change nonconsumption into a market (Principle #3).
Tier 1 nonconsumers are at the edge of the market and may soon purchase. Tier 2
nonconsumers have deliberately chosen not to buy, so they must be lured by some
new value. Tier 3 nonconsumers are not familiar with the product and are unex-
plored by competitors.
- The price corridor of the massidentifies the majority (mass) of buyers and spec-
ifies the price level within the corridor, which is essentially a range. If intrapreneurs
can protect their value with isolating mechanisms and discourage imitation
(resource-based concepts), they can sustain higher prices.
