Translating Creative Ideas into Profitable Realities - A Multiple Case Study of how Swedish MNCs Foster the Antecedents of Intrapreneurship

Abstract

In the twenty-first century, organizations are left with no choice but to innovate if they are to survive. In order for innovation to happen, it is often required that the creative ideas in the organization are translated into profitable realities. One major source of such creative ideas is the company’s employees, who are also the executors of this translation. Here, the topic of intrapreneurship has recently grown popular, a term that can be defined as entrepreneurship within an existing organization. Whilst the concept of intrapreneurship has become a popular buzzword over the last few years, both in research and among managers, it is still ambiguous how Swedish MNCs today are fostering and working with the enabling factors, or antecedents, of intrapreneurship. This study thus adds to the field through in a qualitative multiple case study compare how three Swedish MNCs are working with the hard and soft antecedents of intrapreneurship, that is both the nonformalized and formalized structures necessary to enable intrapreneurship. The findings from the study suggest that all of the case companies are working with at least some aspects of the antecedents, but to a certain degree lack more fine-tuned tools and formal structures for this task. When comparing the findings from both the soft and hard antecedents, it was found that whilst the soft antecedents are necessary to enable the creation of creative ideas, the hard antecedents are crucial for translating these creative ideas into profitable realities. Therefore, if Swedish MNCs wishes to become more intrapreneurial, this study suggests a more focused approach on the hard antecedents of intrapreneurship is to recommend. Lastly, the study has given source for a number of possible research topics in relation to intrapreneurship in the future. These include looking more in depth into the role of hard antecedents of intrapreneurship, office design and planning as well as the role of motivation and design of reward systems.