Developing an Intrapreneurial Assessment Instrument for an Effective Corporate Entrepreneurial Environment

Abstract

This study examines the dimensions of intrapreneurship culture and offers an instrument for assessing the effectiveness of an employee training program. The Intrapreneurial Assessment Instrument (IAI) is used to determine the internal environment of organizations, especially as it pertains to their capability to create and support intrapreneurial activity. A review of prior research identified a set of factors likely to be conducive to intrapreneurship. These were used to draw up the IAI; the tool was then tested in a training program in a Fortune 500 firm in the US Midwest. The results identified a number of environmental factors present in organizations implementing intrapreneurial concepts. Three initial factor descriptions are offered as fostering entrepreneurial activity inside corporations: (1) management support for intrapreneurship, (2) organizational structure, and (3) resource availability. The empirical evidence supports the need for structure associated with in various organizations, and validates intrapreneurship training as an important means for changing individual perceptions about the work environment. Recommendations for further research include both the refining of the concept intrapreneuring and its generating environment. (CBS)