What Is Intrapreneur? Meaning, Overview, And Explained

An intrapreneur is a corporate staff who is given the power and resources to develop a new product or service freely. It means that the individual does not have to worry if the product will generate income for the firm.

The concept is much different from that of an Entrepreneur. He comes across a series of personal risks whenever a service product fails to perform desirably in the potential market. 

The entrepreneur would be solely responsible for the drastic decline in organizational revenue due to the product’s poor performance. The present guide would shed light on the meaning of Intrapreneurship along with its detailed explanation. We have tried to answer few frequently asked questions about the term in the section below:

• What Is The Exact Meaning of the Word ‘Intrapreneur?’
• What is the history of the term Intrapreneurship?
• The merits or advantages of Intrapreneurship?
• The characteristics of an Intrapreneur’?

What Is The Meaning Of ‘Intrapreneur’?

An employee who is entrusted with creating an innovative project in a corporation is known as an intrapreneur. He is a person whois is not subject to the same irrational risks or receive the same unreasonable benefits as an entrepreneur does. 

Furthermore, he has full access to a company’s resources and skills. To be more precise, employers assign particular tasks to such employees dissimilar from the rest of the staff. Apart from resources, they are also given freedom of time to develop the project most effectively. 

Nowadays, without waiting for maturity, many organizations and startups create spaces where workers can pitch or explore new ideas. Then, if the ideas appear to be profitable, the management offers the individual, i.e., the idea holder, a chance to become an intrapreneur.

The fundamental objective behind this is to ensure a broader vision for the company they work for. This long-term perspective includes disruptive changes to a company’s processes, products, services, or traditions. 

Basically, they work on an exclusive project depending upon their abilities, skills, and experiences. So why do the leaders find them suitable for performing special responsibilities? To know that, continue reading the following segments. 

Overview Of The History Of The Term Intrapreneurship?

The origin of the term dates back to the 1980s when Gifford Pinchot, a management consultant, coined it for the firms in the grave necessity of innovative concepts. He invested the term under the assistance of his spouse Elizabeth S. Pinchot in a white paper namely “Intra-Corporate Entrepreneurship.”  

The word combines two words – ‘Internal’ and ‘entrepreneur.’ Once the duo released the white paper, the word started gaining attention in numerous corporate firms. Additionally, academic institutions incorporated it in their courses and programs. 

In February 1985, TIME magazine, through an article – “Here Come the Intrapreneurs,” brought the term under the spotlight even more. Learn more about intrapreneurship from the next stanzas. 

Characteristics Of An Intrapreneur

By now, we hope that the concept of the word Intrapreneur is clear to you. Now is the time to dig into The original white paper of Pinchot outlined a plethora of characteristics, each of which defines the term more prominently. We have presented those attributes below:

• They take a chance on something valuable to them, such as their time or finance.
• Intrapreneur gets the share of the profit or reward of an intrapreneurial project between the company and them equally.
• They possess the authority to develop an identical capital structure. It indicates that they play crucial roles in bringing significant revenue to the company.
• Their work pattern is independent. This means that the work procedures are not under the strict surveillance of the management. Needless to mention that they have the right to freely generate new ideas and apply them in the business processes. 
• With the passage of time, they gain efficiency and start listing their names in the excellent book of employers. As they do not bear the likelihood of the project failure, their attempts and experiences fall into consideration. Eventually, with time, they become “venture capitalist” of their own within the entity.

Merits Of Intrapreneurship

Do you know what is an intrapreneur? Apart from the meaning, history, and characteristics, it is essential to understand the advantages of becoming an intrapreneur. Check out the below-listed merits minutely:

• He looks at policies, technology, or applications that might assist a firm in enhancing its performance.
• As time passes, he will acquire new skills and employ those in identifying and solving critical issues. Therefore, there are high chances to become an entrepreneur shortly. 
• While he is doing a project, there is no one to instruct him or make him responsible for mistakes. He enjoys the sole autonomy to complete the project by reporting day-to-day deliverables to the hierarchy. 
• In addition, he amalgamates his findings and develops proposals in order to stay two steps ahead of their competitors.
•  The most exciting benefit is that through intrapreneurship, these employees accomplish the position of executive leaders over time. 
• They continuously formulate plans to take the wheel of the business forward. Nevertheless, their vital aim is to rank higher in the firm and give businesses significant values at the same time. 
• Last but not least, when they work collaboratively to mitigate complicated business problems, much more happens beyond organizational growth. Basically, they integrate and motivate more talented entrepreneurs to work for the betterment of the entire company.

Entrepreneur Vs Intrapreneur

When it comes to the matter of comparison, there are some differences between entrepreneur vs intrapreneur. Let’s how they are different that each other.

• Entrepreneur refers to the owner of the company who has developed from its birth. but intrapreneur is different than that, it is a job post. An intrapreneur is a person who looks at business development and also gets paid for that.
• From the business, perspective an entrepreneur is powerful than an intrapreneur. An entrepreneur decides and then an intrapreneur starts work on this.  However, don’t make confusion, they both are completely different.
• An entrepreneur operates the company and also takes the necessary decision. An entrepreneur can work as an intrapreneur. No intrapreneur doesn’t have the authority to monitor the activities of the employees. The person is independent in his or her position, but in the whole company.

The Common Questions

There are some common questions that come to mind. we will provide you the answer to these as well. it will make the whole concept cleared. So, let’s discuss them openly for better understanding.

Q1. Which Of The Following Are Characteristics Of An Intrapreneur?

A. There are some following characteristics that we representing here.

• Intrapreneur stays passionate about the works that they are doing.
• They are curious about the facts happening everywhere.
• Intrapreneur loves to deal with tough challenges.
• Then think in your free mind and make the plans first in very problem.

All these four are the best characteristics of an Intrapreneur.

Q2. What Is Intrapreneur Example?

A. Intrapreneur is employed in the office. An intrapreneur is responsible for the development of the business and also also for creating innovation in the business. if you have a wish of becoming an intrapreneur, you have to read the previous stanzas in detail.

Q3. what Is Intrapreneurship?

A. Intrapreneurship is a process that takes place in the office culture. in a company, there will have intrapreneurs that develop the company more. Therefore, the whole process is being called intrapreneurship. An entrepreneur is also a part of intrapreneurship.

The Final Thoughts 

Intrapreneurship is nothing but the roadway to entrepreneurship. But, unfortunately, within the field of entrepreneurship, they sometimes face neglect, underestimation, and sluggish growth. Actually, these aspects vary from one firm to another. 

Innovation within established businesses may be game-changing. More specifically, disruptive innovations sometimes change the philosophy of a business as a whole. However, in many ways, intrapreneurs enjoy the best outputs of both streams. 

Firstly, they receive the freedom to pursue new initiatives. Secondly,  they get the full financial support of a firm and the necessary resources and assistance to deploy them.

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