The “Making” of an Intrapreneur: An empirical study to identify the untapped potential of intrapreneurial intention amongst employees
2018 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE credits
Student thesis
Abstract [en]
The purpose of this paper is to explore how organisations can identify the untapped potential of intrapreneurial intention amongst employees to increase its competitive advantage. Competitive advantage was therefore seen as an outcome of entrepreneurial actions, which, i.e. can be used for more effective and novel marketing strategies. To reach enhanced competitiveness, many firms make use of the concept of corporate entrepreneurship to boost innovation and firm performance.
To measure an employee’s intrapreneurial intention, this thesis deploys an exploratory approach by developing a research model that immerses organisational factors – an employee’s perception of the company’s Entrepreneurial Orientation, with behavioural attributes, as designed by Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). The model includes five dimensions of a firm’s Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO), including autonomy, innovativeness, risk-taking, proactiveness, and competitive aggressiveness. Behavioural attributes proposed by Ajzen consist of the personal attitude towards intrapreneurship, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control. The quantitative study generated a sample of 394 employees working in different organisations, industries, and on distinct hierarchical levels.
Based on the findings, the authors propose a new framework, in which intrapreneurial intentions are directly influenced by someone’s attitude towards intrapreneurship, and indirectly influenced by an employee’s positive perception of the organisation’s EO. As a result, a company should focus on individual attitudes first to discover a potential for intrapreneurial interests. As a support, a firm’s positive perception of its EO can influence the employee’s attitude towards intrapreneurship, but cannot solely boost intrapreneurial intentions amongst workers.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2018. , p. 63
Keywords [en]
intrapreneurship, entrepreneurial intention, theory of planned behaviour
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-39211OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hh-39211DiVA, id: diva2:1303060
Subject / course
International Marketing
Educational program
Master's Programme in Strategic Entrepreneurship for International Growth, 120 credits
Supervisors
Examiners
2019-04-172019-04-082019-04-17Bibliographically approved