Characteristics of Intrapreneurs in Scale-Intensive Service Firms

Journal Title: Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation - Year 2014, Vol 10, Issue 2

Abstract

This empirical paper explores the work of employees in charge of service innovation when firms develop and launch new scale-intensive services by addressing two re- search questions: i) How do employees responsible for service innovation work? and ii) what are the related managerial implications when developing and launching new scale-intensive services? To this end, 21 qualitative, in-depth interviews were con- ducted with employees in five large scale-intensive service firms. The findings suggest that the involvement of internal professionals is an asset when new scale-intensive services are developed, and that internal professionals act as intrapreneurs when they are involved in the development of radically new scale-intensive services. This paper integrates understanding from the innovation management literature with knowledge of professionals from extant literature on professional service firms since we find that professionals in scale-intensive firms act as intrapreneurs. Thus, this pa- per extends the theory on determinants of innovation in scale-intensive service firms, blending insights from both findings and theory.

Authors and Affiliations

Katja Maria Hydle, Tor Helge Aas, Karl Joachim Breunig

Keywords

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  • EP ID EP237583
  • DOI -
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How To Cite

Katja Maria Hydle, Tor Helge Aas, Karl Joachim Breunig (2014). Characteristics of Intrapreneurs in Scale-Intensive Service Firms. Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, 10(2), 89-118. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-237583