Help or hindrance: the role of intrapreneurial strategy-making in small firm performance

Intrapreneurship as a concept has received a fair amount of attention over the past 20 years (Antoncic & Hisrich, 2003; Pinchot, 1985; Robinson, 2001). Less consideration has been paid to how firms use intrapreneurial strategy-making processes to improve performance. This paper investigates the existence of intrapreneurial strategy-making processes in small firms and argues whether this type of process has a positive role to play in the performance of these firms. It also describes the results of an empirical study conducted with firms employing less than 100 employees. Analysis of the data (n=477) indicates that intrapreneurial strategy-making exists in small firms, but that it may not have a significant relationship with firm performance, and when used in combination with a differentiation strategy it has a negative effect on firm performance.