Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Do Intrapreneurs Learn by Doing?

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Experiential Learning for Entrepreneurship

Abstract

Intrapreneurs are employees who proactively engage in actions outside their usual job description with the intention to innovate. The term ‘intrapreneur’ suggests that the major activities of these individuals are similar to those of an independent entrepreneur and learning is crucial in the entrepreneurial process (Kirzner, Competition and entrepreneurship. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973). Independent entrepreneurs acquire knowledge primarily through learning by doing (Levinthal, Learning and Schumpeterian dynamics. London: Macmillan, 1996) (Smilor, J Bus Ventur 12:341–346, 1997). Intrapreneurs—like independent entrepreneurs—might tend to use a similar form of learning. However, since intrapreneurship occurs in an intraorganizational setting, these intrapreneurial initiatives are to some extent dependent on the organizational context that might or might not be favourable to experiential learning. Using a multidisciplinary approach to explore the relevance of learning for the intrapreneurial process, this chapter arrives at useful takeaways for practitioners.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abetti, P. A. (1997). The birth and growth of Toshiba’s laptop and notebook computers: A case study in Japanese corporate venturing. Journal of Business Venturing, 12, 507–529.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, B. S., Covin, J. G., & Slevin, D. P. (2009). Understanding the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and strategic learning capability: An empirical investigation. 240, 218–240. https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.

  • Ardichvili, A., Cardozo, R., & Ray, S. (2003). A theory of entrepreneurial opportunity identification and development. Journal of Business Venturing, 18(1), 105–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-9026(01)00068-4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Argyris, C., & Schon, D. (1978). Organizational learning: A theory of action approach. Reading: Addison Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker, W. E., & Sinkula, J. M. (1999). Learning orientation, market orientation, and innovation: Integrating and extending models of organizational performance. Journal of Market-Focused Management, 4(4), 295–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191–215. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beckman, C. M., & Haunschild, P. R. (2002). Network learning: The effects of partners’ heterogeneity of experience on corporate acquisitions. Administrative Science Quarterly, 47(1), 92–124. https://doi.org/10.2307/3094892.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burgelman, R. A. (1983). A model of the interaction of strategic behavior, corporate context, and the concept of strategy. Academy of Management Review, 8(1), 61–70. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/257168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burgelman, R. A. (1985). Managing the new venture division: Research findings and implications for strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 6(1), 39–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burgoyne, J. G., & Hodgson, V. E. (1983). Natural learning and managerial action: A phenomenological study in the field setting. Journal of Management Studies, 20(3), 387–399.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calantone, R. J., Cavusgil, S. T., & Zhao, Y. (2002). Learning orientation, firm innovation capability, and firm performance. Industrial Marketing Management, 31(6), 515–524. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0019-8501(01)00203-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calisto, M. L., & Sarkar, S. (2017). Organizations as biomes of entrepreneurial life: Towards a clarification of the corporate entrepreneurship process. Journal of Business Research, 70, 44–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corbett, A. C. (2005). Experiential learning within the process of opportunity identification and exploitation. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 29(4), 473–491. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2005.00094.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corbett, A. C. (2007). Learning asymmetries and the discovery of entrepreneurial opportunities. Journal of Business Venturing, 22(1), 97–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2005.10.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Covin, J. G., & Miles, M. P. (1999). Corporate entrepreneurship and the pursuit of competitive advantage. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 23(3), 47–63. Retrieved from http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5002332704

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crossan, M. M., Lane, H. W., & White, R. E. (1999). An organizational learning framework: From intuition to institution. Academy of Management Review, 24(3), 522–537.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deakins, D., & Freel, M. (1998). Entrepreneurial learning and the growth process in SMEs. The Learning Organization, 5(3), 144–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Jong, J., & Wennekers, S. (2008). Conceptualizing entrepreneurial employee behaviour. EIM-SCALES (Scientific Analysis of Entrepreneurship and SMEs).

    Google Scholar 

  • DeNisi, A. S., Hitt, M. A., & Jackson, S. E. (2003). The knowledge-based approach to sustainable competitive advantage. In S. E. Jackson, M. A. Hitt, & A. S. DeNisi (Eds.), Managing knowledge for sustained competitive advantage: Designing strategies for effective human resource management. San Francisco, CA: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dess, G. G., Ireland, R. D., Zahra, S. A., Floyd, S. W., Janney, J. J., & Lane, P. J. (2003). Emerging issues in corporate entrepreneurship. Journal of Management, 29(3), 351–378.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dobrev, S. D., & Barnett, W. P. (2005). Organizational roles and transition to entrepreneurship. Academy of Management Journal, 48(3), 433–449.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drakopoulou Dodd, S., & Anderson, A. R. (2007). Mumpsimus and the mything of the individualistic entrepreneur. International Small Business Journal, 25(4), 341–360. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242607078561.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eckhardt, J. T., & Shane, S. a. (2003). Opportunities and entrepreneurship. Journal of Management, 29(3), 333–349. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0149-2063(02)00225-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hatch, N. W., & Dyer, J. H. (2004). Human capital and learning as a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Strategic Management Journal, 25(12), 1155–1178. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.421.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayton, J. C., & Kelley, D. J. (2006). A competency-based framework for promoting corporate entrepreneurship. Human Resource Management, 45(3), 407–427. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Honig, B. (2001). Learning strategies and resources for entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 26(1), 21–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hornsby, J. S., Kuratko, D. F., & Zahra, S. A. (2002). Middle managers’ perception of the internal environment for corporate entrepreneurship: Assessing a measurement. Journal of Business Venturing, 17(February), 253–273. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-9026(00)00059-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huber, G. P. (1991). Organizational learning: The contributing processes and the literatures. Organization Science, 2(1), 88–115. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2.1.88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ioannides, S. (1999). Towards an Austrian perspective on the firm. Review of Austrian Economics, 11, 77–97. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007728107685.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ipe, M. (2003). Knowledge sharing in organizations: A conceptual framework. Human Resource Development Review, 2(4), 337–359. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534484303257985.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, D. H. (1993). A framework and methodology for linking individual and organizational learning: Applications in TQM and product development. Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirzner, I. M. (1973). Competition and entrepreneurship. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kolb, A. Y., & Kolb, D. A. (2005). Learning styles and learning spaces: Enhancing experiential learning in higher education. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 4(2), 193–212. https://doi.org/10.5172/jmo.16.1.100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuratko, D. F. (2009). The entrepreneurial imperative of the 21st century. Business Horizons, 52(5), 421–428. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2009.04.006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuratko, D. F., Ireland, R. D., Covin, J. G., & Hornsby, J. S. (2005). A model of middle-level managers’ entrepreneurial behavior. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 29(6), 699–716.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levinthal, D. (1996). Learning and Schumpeterian dynamics. London: Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lumpkin, G. T., & Dess, G. G. (1996). Clarifying the entrepreneurial orientation construct and linking it to performance. Academy of Management Review, 21(1), 135–172. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/258632

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lumpkin, G. T., Hills, G. E., & Shrader, R. C. (2004). Opportunity recognition. In H. P. Welsch (Ed.), Entrepreneurship: The way ahead (pp. 73–90). New York/London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mainemelis, C., Boyatzis, R. E., & Kolb, D. A. (2002). Learning styles and adaptive flexibility: Testing experiential learning theory. Management Learning, 33, 5–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • March, J. G. (1991). Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning. Organization Science, 2(1), 71–87. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2634940

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Menzel, H. C., Aaltio, I., & Ulijn, J. M. (2007). On the way to creativity: Engineers as intrapreneurs in organizations. Technovation, 27, 732–743.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mintzberg, H. (1991). The innovative organization. In H. Mintzberg & J. B. Quinn (Eds.), The strategy process: Concepts, contexts, cases (2nd ed., pp. 731–746). Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naman, J. L., & Slevin, D. P. (1993). Entrepreneurship and the concept of fit: A model and empirical tests. Strategic Management Journal, 153(October 1992), 137–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nonaka, I. (1994). A dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation. Organization Science, 5(1), 14–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phan, P. H., Wright, M., Ucbasaran, D., & Tan, W.-L. (2009). Corporate entrepreneurship: Current research and future directions. Journal of Business Venturing, 24(3), 197–205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2009.01.007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinchot, G. (1985). Intrapreneuring: Why you don’t have to leave the corporation to become an entrepreneur. Cambridge: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Politis, D. (2005). The process of entrepreneurial learning: A conceptual framework. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 29(4), 399–425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rae, D., & Carswell, M. (2000). Using a life-story approach in researching entrepreneurial learning: The development of a conceptual model and its implications in the design of learning experiences. Education + Training, 42(4/5), 220–228. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400910010373660.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Romme, G., & Dillen, R. (1997). Mapping the landscape of organizational learning. European Management Journal, 15(I), 68–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schilling, M. A., Vidal, P., Ployhart, R. E., & Marangoni, A. (2003). Learning by doing something else: Variation, relatedness, and the learning curve. Management Science, 49(1), 39–56. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.49.1.39.12750.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Senge, P. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and science of the learning organization. New York: Currency Doubleday.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shane, S. (2000). Prior knowledge and the discovery of entrepreneurial opportunities. Organization Science, 11(4), 448–469. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.11.4.448.14602.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shane, S., & Venkataraman, S. (2000). The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research. Academy of Management Review, 25(1), 217–226. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-48543-8_8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simon, H. A. (1991). Bounded rationality and organizational learning. Organization Science, 2(1), 125–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sitkin, S. B. (1992). Learning through failure: The strategy of small losses. Research in Organizational Behavior, 14, 231–266.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slater, S. F., & Narver, J. C. (1995). Market orientation and the learning organization. The Journal of Marketing, 59(July), 63–74. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1252120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smilor, R. W. (1997). Entrepreneurship: Reflections on a subversive activity. Journal of Business Venturing, 12(5), 341–346. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-9026(97)00008-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Venkataraman, S. (1997). The distinctive domain of entrepreneurship research. Advances in Entrepreneurship, Firm Emergence and Growth, 3(1), 119–138. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1444184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, C. L. (2008). Entrepreneurial orientation, learning orientation, and firm performance. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 32(4), 635–657. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2008.00246.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, C. L., & Chugh, H. (2014). Entrepreneurial learning: past research and future challenges. International Journal of Management Reviews, 16(1), 24–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weissbrod, I., & Bocken, N. M. P. (2017). Developing sustainable business experimentation capability. A case study. Journal of Cleaner Production, 142, 2663–2676. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.11.009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Witt, U. (1999). Do entrepreneurs need firms? A contribution to a missing chapter in Austrian economics. The Review of Austrian Economics, 11(1), 99–109. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1007780124524.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, R., & Bandura, A. (1989). Social cognitive theory of organizational management. Academy of Management Review, 14(3), 361–384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zahra, S. A. (1991). Predictors and financial outcomes of corporate entrepreneurship: An exploratory study. Journal of Business Venturing, 6, 259–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Estoril Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Studies, Center for Advanced Studies in Management and Economics (CEFAGE-UE), Universidade de Évora, Évora, Portugal

    Maria de Lurdes Calisto

Authors
  1. Maria de Lurdes Calisto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maria de Lurdes Calisto .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Bolton, Bolton, United Kingdom

    Denis Hyams-Ssekasi

  2. University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, United Kingdom

    Elizabeth F. Caldwell

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Calisto, M.d.L. (2018). Do Intrapreneurs Learn by Doing?. In: Hyams-Ssekasi, D., Caldwell, E. (eds) Experiential Learning for Entrepreneurship. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90005-6_10

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation