Intrapreneurship is much like entrepreneurship, but it does have some differences. Entrepreneurship is defined as a person or a group who takes risks to capitalize on commercial opportunities, either by introducing a new product or service or by improving an existing product, service, or production method. (CAE.org, 2019) Entrepreneurship is also a mindset. (Villacci, 2023) It is a mindset that embraces the characteristics of someone who is also looking for new opportunities, thrives off of taking risks and working outside of their comfort zone to explore their new ideas and bring forth those creative ideas. This is the mindset that most successful companies started from.
Intrapreneurship is a system within a company or organization that allows their employees to work like entrepreneurs. (Kenton, 2022) Intrapreneurs have the same inner drive and motivation to try new ideas much like the entrepreneur has. Intrapreneurs are usually proactive types of people who work on projects and develop innovative ideas within a company, not like employees who generally conform to what is already established. Companies have found value in allowing intrapreneurship because it harbors an environment conducive to bringing forth new ideas that lead to the company’s competitive edge in the market.
The difference between intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship is that intrapreneurship embodies using the entrepreneur mindset of their employees to bring new ideas to the table for the benefit of the company, versus entrepreneurship, which is the individual person setting out on their own to start a new business venture, personally taking on all the risks in the process, to grow their new ideas in order to reap the rewards of their ideas and hard work. Another difference between intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship is that intrapreneurship greatly benefits a company. Companies that incorporate intrapreneurship do better. According to Forbes 2016, “there are several examples where entrepreneurship inside a large organization can and does prosper (Deeb, 2016).” That same Forbes article goes on to say that big companies like Google, 3M, and Intel are known for promoting intrapreneurship within their organizations. Companies can inadvertently create a competitor by not engaging with and embracing the ideas of their creative and forward-thinking employees. That employee may end up taking the experience gained from the company and start their own venture with their own ideas and could end up becoming serious competition for the company as a result.
References
CAE.org. (2019, October 28). What is entrepreneurship?. Center for American Entrepreneurship. https://startupsusa.org/what-is-entrepreneurship/
Deeb, G. (2016, February 18). Big companies must embrace intrapreneurship to survive. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgedeeb/2016/02/18/big-companies-must-embrace-intrapreneurship-to-survive/?sh=30efa72048ab
Kenton, W. (2022, July 7). Intrapreneurship: Definition, duties, and Responsibilities. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/intrapreneurship.asp
Villacci, J. (2023, November 14). What is entrepreneurship? learn how to think like an entrepreneur. Babson Thought & Action. https://entrepreneurship.babson.edu/entrepreneurship-definition/
