Intrapreneurship as a Source of Business and Social Innovation
Emmanuel de LutzelIn theory, it is obvious: large corporation need innovation, and innovation comes from intrapreneurs. In reality, the number of obstacles met by intrapreneurs is proportional to their level of disruption, with arguments such as: “it is not the right time”, “it is not your mission”, “there is no budget for such a project”, “the top management did not asked for that”, “there is no demand for this product”.
The corporation may also actively support intrapreneurs, providing them time, money, legitimacy, recognition. It is not only a question of corporate culture but also of building a conceptual framework (networks, incubators) to support intrapreneurs. It is first a business question (designing in a profitable manner the products of tomorrow with the actual staff of the company), with a strong impact on human resource management, recruitment and eventually CSR and external communication.
Emmanuel de Lutzel, who is a social intrapreneur at BNP Paribas in Paris, will speak about lessons learned from 20 interviews of social intrapreneurs in the French context which are presented in his book: what are the skills and personal qualities of intrapreneurs and how corporates can support and incubate them.