Understanding Corporate Entrepreneurship and Development: A Practitioner View of Organizational Intrapreneurship

Today, virtually all managers recognize that healthy markets thrive on a mix of complementary strategies pursued by firms with capabilities and structures properly fitted to their chosen strategy for corporate entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship. It is a fact that most professionals recognize that hierarchical control usually slows decision times and distorts problem-solving information. Experts' (for example, Miles, Miles and Snow's) experiences with managers suggest that indeed their attitudes are changing. While most managers and firms are not yet ready to aggressively pursue the potential benefits of networks of firms that collaborate to both generate and share knowledge, supportive thoughts are gaining public attention. Therefore, it is only a matter of time before a critical mass of managers, scholars, and organizational leaders fully embraces collaborative entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship concepts in today's diverse work environment and ideas presented in this article.

Recommendations for Future Research

The development of customized selection tests that measure the entrepreneurial aptitude of job applicants, compared with an analysis of a company's unique entrepreneurial orientation, would be beneficial in increasing the potential job fit between potential intrapreneurs and employers. Possibly, existing selection tests could be modified, or a new instrument could be designed.

Additional qualitative research could be conducted to record the experiences of experienced corporate entrepreneurs. Academic literature in the area of corporate entrepreneurship tends to weigh the benefits and risks of new ventures in terms of stakeholder wealth creation. A mixed methodology research study could explore the emotional components of intrapreneurship qualitatively, and measure its impact on employee performance and turnover quantitatively.

Summary

Corporate entrepreneurship can be a valuable tool in fostering a corporate culture that results in committed employees and long-term success. However, before corporate entrepreneurs can be recruited and nurtured managers must conduct a forensic analysis of the company's culture to determine it has an entrepreneurial orientation (Dess & Lumpkin, 2005). There are five dimensions of an entrepreneurial orientation: autonomy; innovativeness; proactiveness; competitive aggressiveness; and risk taking. By nurturing these qualities organizations can remain competitive and innovative by fostering an entrepreneurial culture.

While it is generally agreed that entrepreneurial skills can be taught (Erkkila, 2000), research has yet to demonstrate that a majority of a firms employees can be trained to recognize and seize entrepreneurial opportunities. Rather than launching a training program expecting specific results, it may be better for organizations to provide continuous, unstructured and ongoing support for aspiring corporate entrepreneurs.

Employees should feel empowered to propose new intrapreneurial ventures for collaboration, but the organization should have a carefully designed process for identifying and selecting the opportunities it pursues. Allowing corporate entrepreneurs to launch the venture off-site, and develop a culture free from that of its parent company will result in increased employee commitment for the new venture. Lastly, there must be congruence between the mission of the organization and the intrinsic motivation of the aspiring corporate entrepreneur.