What do we know about intrapraneurship?
Dr. Issam Ghazzawi has coauthored “Intrapreneurship research: What have we learned and where can we go from here?” in the International Journal of Innovation Science. Ghazzawi and coauthor Muhammad Farrukh of the department of economics, Shenzhen MSU-BIT, summarize the research to date and discuss its future direction.
Intrapreneurship refers to innovation within an organization. The term was first used in 1985 by Gifford Pinchot III, in his influential book Intrapreneuring: Why You Don’t Have to Leave the Company to Become an Entrepreneur. Farrukh and Ghazzawi examined the literature using bibliometric analysis (studying the publication numbers, citation counts, and impact factors) and content analysis (categorizing and quantifying themes and concepts).
They found:
- The number of yearly publications on intrapreneurship was in the single digits until 2005. Since then the number has grown to 92 publications in 2023.
- Intrapreneurship is linked to increased profitability, performance, and growth.
- Demographic traits do not predict individual intrapreneurship, but personality traits do. Employees who are high in altruism, emotional stability, and extraversion will engage in intrapreneurship when given sufficient autonomy.
- Companies that provide support, empowerment, and resources tend to foster intrapreneurship in their employees.
- Transformational leadership, which involves adopting and enacting the organization’s vision, is associated with intrapreneurship among employees.
- Our understanding of intrapreneurship is still fragmented and incomplete. Future research should include the role of technology, place more emphasis on intrapreneurship in developing economies, and build toward a holistic and integrative theoretical framework.
The International Journal of Innovation Science publishes fundamental and applied research in innovation practices. As the official journal of the International Association of Innovation Professionals (IAOIP), the journal is a forum for the exchange of advanced knowledge in innovation, including emerging technologies and best practices, tools and techniques, metrics, and organization design and culture; as well as the stakeholder engagement, change management, and leadership skills required to ensure innovation succeeds. The journal is published by Emerald Group Publishing Ltd. and has an H-Index of 26.
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