Entrepreneurial Behavior by Employees in Organizations

Abstract

In this paper we take stock of the literature on entrepreneurial behaviors by employees in organizations. Although different definitions and constructs have been proposed, for convenience we here label the phenomenon as 'intrapreneurship'. Our review includes multiple literatures, which overlap to a large extend. First, there is the organizational behavior literature, with a continuous feedstock from organizational psychologists and business administrators, dealing with proactive and innovative behaviors of employees. Second, there is a smaller but significant strand of research in the entrepreneurship literature which focuses on employees' behaviors to identify and exploit opportunities. We here summarize the core concepts in these literatures and present an overall framework to map the similarities and differences between these behaviors. The paper ends with an overview of the antecedents and consequences of intrapreneurship, and a brief discussion of how this influences any managerial efforts to stimulate employees' entrepreneurial activities.