Characteristics of Intrapreneurs in Scale-Intensive Service Firms

Katja Maria Hydle (), Tor Helge Aas () and Karl Joachim Breunig ()
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Katja Maria Hydle: International Research Institute of Stavenger
Tor Helge Aas: School of Business and Law, University of Agder
Karl Joachim Breunig: School of Business, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences

Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, 2014, vol. 10, issue 2, 89-118

Abstract: This empirical paper explores the work of employees in charge of service innovation when firms develop and launch new scale-intensive services by addressing two re- search questions: i) How do employees responsible for service innovation work? and ii) what are the related managerial implications when developing and launching new scale-intensive services? To this end, 21 qualitative, in-depth interviews were con- ducted with employees in five large scale-intensive service firms. The findings suggest that the involvement of internal professionals is an asset when new scale-intensive services are developed, and that internal professionals act as intrapreneurs when they are involved in the development of radically new scale-intensive services. This paper integrates understanding from the innovation management literature with knowledge of professionals from extant literature on professional service firms since we find that professionals in scale-intensive firms act as intrapreneurs. Thus, this pa- per extends the theory on determinants of innovation in scale-intensive service firms, blending insights from both findings and theory.

Keywords: innovation management; service innovation; scale-intensive services; intrapreneurship (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aae:journl:v:10:y:2014:i:2:p:89-118

DOI: 10.7341/20141024

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