Beyond the stereotype of an intrapreneur: an exploratory study of different intrapreneurs and various corporate conditions

Abstract

The corporate entrepreneurship literature has identified the importance of intrapreneurs for maintaining growth, revitalization, and performance of corporations, but little is known about intrapreneurs and how they perceive their corporate working conditions. The working conditions in the corporation have an effect on employees’ behavior. This paper empirically investigates corporate conditions from the individual’s perspective as well as the types of intrapreneurs that exist. The findings from a cluster analysis of intrapreneurs suggests that there are three types of intrapreneurs: resilient intrapreneurs, neglected intrapreneurs, and privileged intrapreneurs. Overall, the findings show that intrapreneurial behavior and corporate conditions are related and that organizations purposefully can design their corporate environment to support different intrapreneurs.