PREDICTORS OF RESOURCE ATTAINMENT AMONG CORPORATE ENTREPRENEURS: EXECUTIVE CHAMPION vs. TEAM COMMITMENT

Obtaining start-up funding for new product ideas in large corporations is inherently frustrating. We evaluated teams that were successful in obtaining start-up funds from large corporations to determine the importance of the executive champion and team commitment and conflict. We found that the funding level was strongly correlated (R=0.104; p=0.002) with higher levels (β=0.193; p=0.016) of champion commitment (i.e. executive commitment and excitement to the project). Constructs developed to measure champion conflict (i.e. personality clashes and disagreements with the team) were not correlated (β=-0.12; p=0.250) with funding. In addition, similar constructs for measuring team commitment (β=0.009; p=0.915) and team conflict (β=-0.154; p=0.147) were also not correlated.