The corporate entrepreneur: Leading organizational transformation

This article describes the experiences of senior executives in leading corporations across the world who have led major customer transformation programmes during the last three years. They come from industries as diverse as banking and airlines, ; biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and utilities, computers and consumer goods. The article concludes that the old division between the attitudes, skills and behaviours of corporate executives and entrepreneurs is no longer relevant or useful; that corporations seeking to transform their organizations to ''own'' their customers-now and in the future-need a new sort of person who combines attributes of both, but is more akin to the entrepreneur than to the traditional bureaucratic manager. However, the top management role in the customer transformation process remains critical. The outstanding question is: Do we need a new role for fop management, or a new top management for a new organizational role? (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.