The Influence of Entrepreneurial Leadership on Intrapreneurial Opportunity: A Study of UK Technology-innovative SMEs

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the role and influence of entrepreneurial leadership as a potentially significant factor affecting employee intrapreneurial opportunities in SMEs. More specifically, the employee perception of how they may contribute to process, service or product innovation within companies operating in highly competitive business sectors consistent with innovation being a critical success factor for their future development and potentially, their survival. As such, the employee perception becomes the opportunities that may exist for them to become intrapreneurial within the confines of paid employment status. The research aims were to build upon what had already been explored and documented about intrapreneurs as individuals, and, to establish a common denominator in their success or failure as innovators and creative motivators dependent upon the impact of the leadership and work place climate prevalent in an entrepreneur-led business culture. This also embraced the strategic orientation of companies as directed by the owner/manager. Through a critical analysis of the extant literature it became evident that there were a number of serious issues for consideration in SME businesses where a quest for growth and how it is managed has to be balanced against innovation and creativity. A study by Carrier (1997) became significant to this research study when it became evident that no further noteworthy attempts had been made to explain the phenomenon of intrapreneurship outside of the large corporation environment. From this, an unexplored area of research was identified leading to a conceptual model incorporating six constructs; entrepreneur owner support for innovation, organizational boundaries, work discretion, time availability, SME strategic type, and intrapreneurial opportunity levels. Subsequently consideration was given to operationalizing each variable of the model through measurement tools that diversified from the work of Carrier by employing a post-positivist quantitative research approach, rather than that of interpretivist. An employee survey, an employer questionnaire and an employer interview formed the basis of the data collection within a case study framework of nine SMEs. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used as the test method to prove the conceptual model, a technique adopted from Byrne (2001) in that our aim was to test six hypotheses derived from the conceptual model, and our research questions were the subject of theoretical assumptions. Testing of the conceptual model was positive with a CFI of .966. We are intrigued and excited by the realization that contrary to everything previous written in the field, we were unable to demonstrate a clear association at hypothesis 2 between organizational boundaries and intrapreneur opportunity levels. As such, we accepted the null hypothesis. This established a potential lack of clarity in previously published work whilst providing extensive opportunities for further research. Through the research questions, with the dynamic of the methodology applied and the subsequent research findings we have addressed a literature gap exposed in the field of intrapreneurship in UK SMEs. This constitutes the author’s original contribution to knowledge.