The Development of Organizational Capabilities and Corporate Entrepreneurial Processes: The Case of Chinese Automobile Firms

Corporate entrepreneurship (CE) has contributed to the rapid growth of emerging‐market firms (EMFs), yet little is known about this phenomenon from a process perspective. This article examines how EMFs develop organizational capabilities in pursuit of CE as a strategy to catch up with their global competitors. By adopting a case study method, our in‐depth analysis of two leading Chinese automobile companies identifies specific organizational capabilities that enable firms’ CE activities at different stages—initiation, development, and implementation. Our findings also reveal how different means of developing organizational capabilities lead to different catch‐up strategies, which subsequently influence firms’ entrepreneurial transformation and value creation. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.