Establishing a job-crafting and intrapreneurial link: Towards new approaches to innovative work

Abstract

Competition in the modern economy can be difficult for smalland medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as large enterprises – for some, because of resource limitations, thereby compelling businesses to establish new ways of innovation and competition (Mafini, Pooe & Loury-Okoumba 2016; Rahayu & Day 2015; Van Niekerk 2014). It is generally accepted that SMEs are characterised as creators and the drivers of innovation; however, large corporates in the face of new competitive threats will often re-examine their competitive positioning in an effort to adapt to current market changes (Van Wyk & Adonisi 2012). Several studies (e.g. Drotskie & Okanga 2016; Strydom 2013) have suggested that businesses need to possess certain internal elements in order to accelerate growth, most prominently elements of innovation, internal competencies, internal leadership, risk-taking capabilities and managerial support. Mxunyelwa and Vallabh (2017) accordingly argued that entrenching a culture of entrepreneurship is deeply beneficial when seeking to establish and strengthen internal capabilities, such as risk-taking competencies, creativity and innovation. It is to this effect that the role of the so-called ‘intrapreneur’ has been acknowledged as important in countering stagnation, overcoming internal hurdles to acting entrepreneurially and ultimately, entrenching innovation (Azami 2013). However, implementation of the intrapreneurship agenda in existing organisations has been largely neglected, with a sustained focus on survival strategies, resulting in depressed internal growth prospects (Badenhorst-Weiss & Cilliers 2014; Okanga & Drotskie 2016). This can also partly be attributed to a phenomenon that Neneh and Van Zyl (2014) term a lack of ‘internal opportunity obsession’. Some authors in the Orientation: This research study focuses on establishing a link between job crafting and landmark studies on intrapreneurship.