Idea Promotion - The story of intrapreneurs promoting an idea within a well-known innovative organisation

Abstract

“Ideas are the currency of the 21st century. You can have brilliant ideas—truly revolutionary ideas — but if you cannot persuade others to act, those ideas don’t matter” - Gallo (2014, para.1) This study explores how intrapreneurs within a well-known innovative organisation promote their idea, based on the idea selling framework of Dutton, Ashford, O’Neill, & Lawrence (2001). Conducting a single in-depth case study, this thesis further makes a contribution to the theory by identifying selling tactics proposed by the authors in practice, as well as the rationale behind such behaviours. The findings are that promotional tactics do not follow exactly as how they are proposed in theory. Instead, the choice of idea selling tactics from the intrapreneurs is affected by affect heuristic (emotional bias), which are commonly founded among people with entrepreneurial spirits. Recognising the role of affect heuristic in idea promotion, this paper suggests that more intervention should be done from the side of organisations, to increase the likelihood of successful idea selling, as well as increase firms’ innovative capability.