KEDGE BUSINESS SCHOOL EXPERT OPINION – 20.06.2019
XERFI CANAL
Why isn't intrapreneurship developing more quickly?
by Xavier Hollandts, professor in strategy and enterprise at KEDGE Business School
At a time when innovation has become essential to company strategy, intrapreneurship seems to be a way of promoting the process. Xavier Hollandts, professor in strategy and enterprise at KEDGE Business School, is invited by XERFI to analyse the challenges involved.
According to Xavier Hollandts, businesses want to develop intrapreneurship because of “the speed and low cost of developing innovation internally”. Hollandts also notes that this approach “retains expertise and attracts new talent, pushing out the old, traditional management methods and introducing new managerial practices”.
In terms of the challenges of intrapreneurship, Xavier Hollandts points to managerial and legal concerns, as well as issues linked to the company's culture. “You have to adopt a laissez-faire managerial style and introduce some flexibility, because intrapreneurship involves taking risks. It's also a question of intellectual property, of knowing if the idea belongs to the company or the intrapreneur... The organisations need to have a culture of confidence which, for some, means a real revolution in terms of management.”
“Best practices for fostering intrapreneurship include ensuring that executives are the facilitators rather than managers, determining a legal status, and integrating intrapreneurship into the DNA of the organisation”, concludes the intrapreneurship expert.
Watch the full XERFI interview: Kedge-insights/how-can-you-implement-a-sustainable-supply-chain
Xavier Hollandts is at your disposal should you have any requests for an interview or coverage on this topical subject.
More about Xavier Hollandts
Xavier Hollandts has a PhD and HDR in Management Sciences and teaches entrepreneurship and strategy at KEDGE. He also supports students in constructing their business models, particularly in the incubation stage. His research concentrates on company governance and the theory of the firm. A specialist in agricultural issues, he makes regular media appearances. Since March 2012, he has been coordinating the Alter-Gouvernance (www.alter-gouvernance.org) research chair. Notably, his work has been published in Corporate Governance, the Journal of Institutional Economics, Revue Française de Gestion, Management International, and Revue Française de Gouvernance d’Entreprise.
