CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS FOR INTRAPRENEURSHIP IN SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract

Intrapreneurship or corporate entrepreneurship is the function within an established organisation that attempts to generate and execute on new business ideas. There are many varying definitions around intrapreneurship. In its purest form, any new idea which is conceptualised and operationalised into an existing organisation forms the basis for intrapreneurial activity. Organisations need to be well structured, managed and controlled in order to maximise short-term strategic objectives however this same operating structure does not align well to the objectives of intrapreneurial activities. Organisations need to consider the organisational design; environment; types of people and overarching organisational behaviours when ensuring a successful intrapreneurial function. Whilst many organisations do innovate, the factors that are considered most important need to be institutionalised in order to ensure and sustain successful intrapreneurship practices. This research utilised a qualitative methodology in order to identify the critical success factors for intrapreneurship in South Africa. More specifically, a semi-structured in-depth interview process was employed to engage business leaders from well-established and well known innovative brands as well as industry experts in South Africa. Their understanding and insights were used to identify, validate and clarify the critical success factors for intrapreneurship. The key findings of this research are predominantly aligned to the literature review given that similar factors were identified. However, there were other factors identified that were not revealed in the literature review. There was great value in understanding these and the identified factors and their associated relevance in a practical context. Critical success factors for intrapreneurship revolve around the following broad categories: people; leadership; organisational design including structure and processes; organisational culture and the ability for organisations to mobilise and engage in intrapreneurial initiatives