A Holistic Approach to Innovation and Fostering Intrapreneurship

A plethora of research and management theory exists on how a business should create and maintain an internal engine of innovation with emphasis on top-down programs with direct management support being the most important factor to encourage employee innovation and drive intrapreneurship behavior to tackle some of the issues for dealing with current challenges and uncertain future. In this article, the authors propose counter points to three beliefs which have become accepted as common-place assumptions. First, that intrapreneurship must have management directed programs to succeed. Second, that given management support of innovation programs all (or a majority of) employees will act as intrapreneurs. Finally, that an intrapreneurial program should receive the focus of management to ensure the continued success of the enterprise; the assumption being day-to-day business operations will function successfully without focused management attention.