Eureka vs. Heritage: A design science approach to handle conflicting normative settings in internal corporate venturing

Abstract

Internal corporate ventures (ICVs) depend on the human resources of their parent firms, yet we find that conflicts between the normative settings of ICVs and their parent firms can hamper their access to such human resources. To address this real-world problem, we adopt a design science approach. First, we theorize the eureka-heritage conflict, meaning that the ICV's eureka-driven normative setting, which promotes radical innovation and creativity while challenging established ways of doing, conflicts with the parent firm's heritage-driven normative setting, which emphasizes stability and operational efficiency by embracing tradition, hierarchy, established routines, and predictable successes. This eureka-heritage conflict hampers human resource access and manifests differently across various hierarchical levels within the parent firm. Second, we proffer prescriptive knowledge that helps ICVs access human resources despite these conflicts, thereby suggesting not only requirements for practical solutions but also contributing actionable guidance and a resource access framework for handling conflicting normative settings to tackle this challenge in practice.