Student
1042-2587
© 2011 Baylor University
E T&P
Corporate
Entrepreneurship and
Innovation in Silicon
Valley: The Case of
Google, Inc.
Todd A. Finkle
In May 2009, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, co-founders of Google, Inc., were trying to determine how they were going to navigate Google through the worst recession since the
Great Depression. Their primary problem was how to maintain the company’s culture of corporate entrepreneurship and innovation in the face of stagnant profits and a host of other issues. Google sought answers on how to increase corporate entrepreneurship and innovation during the worst economic environment that the company had ever experienced.
Introduction
In May 2009, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, co-founders of Google, Inc., watched
Green Day in concert at the famous Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California.
The brilliant young entrepreneurs had many things on their minds. They tried to determine how they were going to navigate Google during the worst recession the United States had seen since the Great Depression (Willis, 2009). The Standard and Poor’s 500 (S&P 500), one of the most popular indicators of the U.S. economy, had dropped to an intra-day low of 666.79 on March 6, 2009 from an intra-day high of 1576.09 on October 11, 2007 for a collapse of 57.7% (S & P 500 Index, 2009). Worldwide stocks had decreased on average by approximately 60%.
Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and one of the most prolific investors of all time, foresaw the current economic turmoil in early 2008. Buffett stated, “Even though the numbers do not state it, the United States was in for a deep long-lasting recession” (Buffett, 2008).
By early 2009, U.S. retirement accounts also dropped by an average of 40% or $3.4 trillion (Brandon, 2009). Many U.S. retirees saw their pensions cut in half and many were forced to go back to work or rely on their families to support them.
Brin and Page had never witnessed anything like
© 2011 Baylor University
E T&P
Corporate
Entrepreneurship and
Innovation in Silicon
Valley: The Case of
Google, Inc.
Todd A. Finkle
In May 2009, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, co-founders of Google, Inc., were trying to determine how they were going to navigate Google through the worst recession since the
Great Depression. Their primary problem was how to maintain the company’s culture of corporate entrepreneurship and innovation in the face of stagnant profits and a host of other issues. Google sought answers on how to increase corporate entrepreneurship and innovation during the worst economic environment that the company had ever experienced.
Introduction
In May 2009, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, co-founders of Google, Inc., watched
Green Day in concert at the famous Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California.
The brilliant young entrepreneurs had many things on their minds. They tried to determine how they were going to navigate Google during the worst recession the United States had seen since the Great Depression (Willis, 2009). The Standard and Poor’s 500 (S&P 500), one of the most popular indicators of the U.S. economy, had dropped to an intra-day low of 666.79 on March 6, 2009 from an intra-day high of 1576.09 on October 11, 2007 for a collapse of 57.7% (S & P 500 Index, 2009). Worldwide stocks had decreased on average by approximately 60%.
Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and one of the most prolific investors of all time, foresaw the current economic turmoil in early 2008. Buffett stated, “Even though the numbers do not state it, the United States was in for a deep long-lasting recession” (Buffett, 2008).
By early 2009, U.S. retirement accounts also dropped by an average of 40% or $3.4 trillion (Brandon, 2009). Many U.S. retirees saw their pensions cut in half and many were forced to go back to work or rely on their families to support them.
Brin and Page had never witnessed anything like
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