Background
The term “intrapreneur” is a portmanteau of “internal” and “entrepreneur” and refers to individuals within an organization who exhibit entrepreneurial qualities, initiating and driving innovative projects.
Historical Context
The concept gained prominence in the late 20th century, particularly through the work of corporate managers and academics recognizing the need for fostering internal entrepreneurship to stimulate innovation without individuals leaving their parent organizations.
Definitions and Concepts
An intrapreneur is a manager whose status transitions from a traditional employee role within a company to an independent proprietor of a new business venture. This shift is facilitated by the parent company, which may provide financial support and institutional backing, with the expectation that increased managerial autonomy and refined incentives will benefit both the intrapreneur and the parent firm’s profitability.
Major Analytical Frameworks
Classical Economics
Classical economics does not directly address intrapreneurship, but its principles on division of labor and specialization provide a foundation for understanding its economic potential.
Neoclassical Economics
Intrapreneurship is seen through the lens of efficiency and innovation. Neoclassical models stress optimal resource allocation, hypothesizing that intrapreneurs can increase organizational efficiency by internalizing entrepreneurial risk and rewards.
Keynesian Economics
From a Keynesian perspective, intrapreneurship might be analyzed in terms of its short-term impacts on investment, job creation, and consumer demand, driven by the structural reform within companies.
Marxian Economics
Marxian economics would critique intrapreneurship as a mode of labor exploitation, where the establishment benefits from the innovation of individual employees while appropriating substantial values from these entrepreneurial activities.
Institutional Economics
Institutional economists would focus on the frameworks and organizational structures that foster intrapreneurship, examining how policies and corporate cultures encourage or inhibit internal innovation.
Behavioral Economics
Behavioral economics explores the incentives and psychological factors behind intrapreneurial motivation, delving into risk appetites, recognition needs, and the balancing of corporate allegiance and personal ambition.
Post-Keynesian Economics
Post-Keynesian scholars might investigate the implicit trust and multi-period investment characterizing intrapreneurial arrangements, assessing impacts on uncertainty, firm stability, and macroeconomic factors.
Austrian Economics
Austrian economics emphasizes the role of intrapreneurship in fostering market dynamism, innovation, and disruption through decentralized decision-making and the emergent property of spontaneous order within firms.
Development Economics
For development economists, intrapreneurship is a lever to harness untapped potential within firms. It could contribute significantly to sustainable growth, particularly in developing markets, by nurturing home-grown innovations.
Monetarism
Monetarists would be less focused on intrapreneurship per se but could study its potential impact on the velocity of money, especially through accelerated development cycles and increased firm-level investment.
Comparative Analysis
Examining intrapreneurial initiatives across different sectors, companies, and countries can reveal how contexts and structures influence the efficacy and scope of these entrepreneurship-enhancing policies.
Case Studies
Case studies from multinational corporations such as 3M, Google, and IBM highlight intrapreneurial success stories, underscoring the conducive environments that foster internal innovation.
Suggested Books for Further Studies
- Intrapreneuring: Why You Don’t Have to Leave the Corporation to Become an Entrepreneur by Gifford Pinchot III
- The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
- The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen
- Empowered: Unleash Your Employees, Energize Your Customers, and Transform Your Business by Marty Cagan, Chris Jones
Related Terms with Definitions
Entrepreneur: An individual who starts and runs a business, taking on financial risks with the goal of profit.
Innovation: The process of translating an idea into a good or service that creates value for which customers will pay.
Corporate Entrepreneurship: Practices and systems within firms that encourage and support the pursuit of entrepreneurial activities.
