Based in Tilburg, Netherlands this is a blog by Joshua G. Eckblad. His posts explore corporate venturing activities through research and practices by influential scholars and practitioners.

Profile: Joshua G. Eckblad Investigates Established Firms & Startup Ventures

Profile: Joshua G. Eckblad Investigates Established Firms & Startup Ventures

Joshua Eckblad

NB: This post is a reprint from the Corporate Entrepreneurship Research Centre (CERC) blog.

As a former high-tech entrepreneur for 15 years, having co-founded several cloud-based startups that rely on artificial intelligence and machine learning, I gained firsthand experience with venture capital and building strategic relationships with established high-tech firms.

Based on my professional experience (see profile & relevant cases), I appreciate the challenges and uncertainty involved in obtaining positive outcomes from strategic ties between established firms and startup ventures, which motivates my research agenda over the next few years.

My research interest in entrepreneurship is currently focused on the interface between large established firms and entrepreneurial startup ventures. The ultimate aim of my research agenda is to improve our current understanding of how established firms and entrepreneurial startups can achieve positive outcomes from their strategic ties. In particular, I would like to investigate how these ties can be mutually beneficial, rather than zero-sum in the way previous scholarship in strategic management typically treats these relationships.

Currently, I examine the dynamics involved when established high-tech firms take minority equity positions in external entrepreneurial startups (i.e., corporate venture capital (CVC) investments). There is a growing interest in CVC investment activities as a search mode to first detect and then respond to radical changes in the environment.

Joshua Eckblad
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Joshua Eckblad

Over the last 13 years I have collaborated with organizations to define new innovation strategies, create business plans and digital platforms and produce breakthrough products and services. I have launched and developed Internet startups, partnered with technology leaders and worked with Fortune500 / CAC40 organizations across North America, Europe and the Middle East. Employing «design thinking» to reframe complex problems, my focus has been on identifying fundamental organizational challenges and building team commitment and capability to transform these challenges into business successes. I commit myself to taking teams and organizations to heights they have not previously thought they could reach. Developing the innovative capacity of people, teams, and organizations is what I enjoy most. My most significant rewards come from seeing those I work with grow in their skills, motivation, confidence and success. In my current role at Manageris, I have been working closely with organizational learning and human resource professionals to develop a new breed of digital coaches and online management toolkits that foster more open and nonhierarchical values to drive cultures of trust. To continue to be successful, organizations need to transform their structures, processes and cultures to create conditions of participation and creativity. Ultimately, I believe the power of technology and innovation hinges on the full and enthusiastic participation of employees who are not afraid to share their thoughts and trust that their contributions will be respected. As I witness firsthand large organizations struggling to reap the full benefit of innovation and technology, the potential relationship between technology and more innovative management practices has become very apparent to me. Always committed to every project 24/7, and having a career made up of an unending series of such projects, in the next phase of my career I want to engage in reflection on the larger issues stemming from technological innovation. Enjoying both American and European Union citizenships, I have professional experience working and living in Spain, France, England, Taiwan and the USA. I speak, read and write Spanish, French and English, understand spoken and written Portuguese and have managed several global professional services' teams. I am currently studying Mandarin. My personal interests include reading extensively about entrepreneurship, design and media. I enjoy traveling with my wife, ping-pong, alpine skiing, snowshoeing, and exploring new directions in building materials and rural architecture, documentary films, art and music.

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'Organizing for Innovation' by Dr. Elena Golovko & Joshua G. Eckblad

'Organizing for Innovation' by Dr. Elena Golovko & Joshua G. Eckblad

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