Intrapreneurship as a Competitive Advantage: Organizational Insights from Multinational Corporations rooted in Sweden

Abstract

Purpose In today's dynamic and competitive market, intrapreneurship has emerged as a critical factor to foster innovative incentives within established organizations. This research explores how multinational companies with roots in the Swedish market support intraprenurship through a combination of culture and structure. Prior to this research, there was limited understanding of how organizational support is perceived by employees and the understanding of the gap between the intent and perception of efforts made to support innovation. Methodology To address this gap, a qualitative approach was conducted, involving semi-structured interviews with both managers and employees across three organizations. The collected data was then analyzed using thematic analysis to identify common themes and insights related to entrepreneurship within these organizations. Findings The findings reveal that large multinational corporations support innovation through several structural and cultural mechanisms, such as efforts to decentralize decision-making, cross-functional collaboration, freedom to experiment and strong management support. A key insight is that not all these elements are perceived as equally meaningful or motivating and that there exists a gap in intentions from the management and perception by employees in these mechanism's actual support. The results contribute to a deeper understanding of intrapreneurship with practical implications to large companies in how they can improve intrapreneurial efforts to create a more innovative climate. Limitations The research focuses on three companies with three to four respondents, including at least one manager from each company. It examines how cultural and structural elements support intrapreneurship, specifically by six selected cultural and structural factors. Other factors that affect intrapreneurial behavior are excluded, leaving room for further research.