We have all heard of entrepreneurs, but have you ever heard of intrapreneurs? Intrapreneurship is a new term which was recently added to business terminology. But what exactly is Intrapreneurship? Let us educate ourselves with this new age concept and its features.
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Intrapreneurship
Intrapreneurship is actually a clever combination of two words. It is the combination of ‘intra’ meaning within the company or corporate and ‘preneur’.
Essentially an intrapreneur is a person who works within the company but has taken on an individual project by himself. So an intrapreneur is responsible for turning an idea or vision into a successful finished product.
So an intrapreneurship is basically a combination of entrepreneurship and management skills. The key difference is that in an intrapreneurship the intrapreneur is not the lone risk taker, but he is an employee of the firm.
But he still requires to have all the skill and knowledge of an entrepreneur, even some assertive risk-taking.
In recent years everyone with the skills and ability of an entrepreneur chooses to start their own business. This left a dearth of talent in management.
So with the evolution of intrapreneurship, the manager was made the head of the business unit and asked to run it like an entrepreneur. This helped in bridging the gap.
Browse more Topics under Introduction To Entrepreneurship
- Four Key Elements of Entrepreneurship
- Traits and Characteristics of an Entrepreneur
- Benifits of Entrepreneurship
- Types of Entrepreneurs
- Entrepreneurs vs Managers
Features of an Intrapreneurship
- Promotes innovation or creativity in the intrapreneur. It also forces him to take more risks and responsibilities. This is an important step in developing future talents and leaders.
- These intrapreneurship projects do not require a capital contribution from the intrapreneur. The organizations fund the projects themselves. And usually, there is a profit sharing agreement with the manager.
- It also helps cultivate entrepreneurial skills and culture in a corporate setting. This merging of cultures is beneficial to both,
- In an intrapreneurial project, the chances of failure are fairly lesser than a start-up. This is because the financing of the project is by large organizations.
- Another feature is that it enriches life on the intrapreneur. He receives training to hone his managerial skills and techniques and also enhances his knowledge about business.
- Intrapreneurship results in wealth creation. The organization earns a healthy return on their investment, and the intrapreneur also earns wealth (part of the profits)
- Also, it helps in portfolio diversification for the organization.
Intrapreneur vs Entrepreneur
| Intrapreneur | Entrepreneur |
| He is an employee of the organisation that is put completely in charge of a business division or a particular product | He is an independent individual who owns and runs his business single handly |
| Intrapreneur uses the capital and the resources of his employer, i.e. the organization where he works | However, an entrepreneur has to come up with the capital himself and use his own resources. |
| While an intrapreneur is given responsibility and authority to run his division, he is not completely independent. | An entrepreneur is completely independent of all his business decisions. |
| An intrapreneur begins his work in an already existing organization. He only sets up his new division. | An entrepreneur has to set up his entire business from the ground up. |
Solved Question on Intrapreneurship
Q: An intrapreneur is ____ by nature
- restorative
- intuitive
- critical
- none of the above
Ans: The correct answer is A. While an entrepreneur has the chance to be intuitive and inquisitive, an intrapreneur is usually restorative by nature.
what are main aspects of entrepreneurship
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