Page - 253 - in Digital Entrepreneurship - Impact on Business and Society

Thebenefits of digital intrapreneurship are not just in thenewproducts, but also in thebetterways for deliveringexistinggoods and services, oftenwith fast results. Digital intrapreneurship creates opportunities for more intrapreneurs than the tra- ditional applications of intrapreneurship. There are many more high-ROI oppor- tunities to improve theway thingsaredonewithdigital technology today than there were opportunities to develop new products and services in the industrial era. This chapter has identified several ways in which companies can surface, choose, and empower digital intrapreneurs. It has shown how the exploitation of newbusiness opportunities can be speeded up. It has also identifiedmore effective ways of operating digitally in the non-digital business areas. Moreover, it has displayed that digital intrapreneurship is needed to reduce the risk of being dis- rupted by entrepreneurial competition. We have shown several ways in which companies can bring out and support potential digital intrapreneurs.Wehave provided themeans for distinguishing true digital intrapreneurs who can be trusted from the ‘promoters’ who are talented speakers that lack the character topersistentlyworkhard andpersevere through the difficult times until the eventual implementation of their ideas. Creating systemsandacorporate culture for supportingdigital intrapreneurs is a core competency for the times of rapid digital transformation. Someways of doing that include a clear organisational vision for digitalisation, valuing, training, and supporting intrapreneurs,moremanagers serving as effective sponsors, empowered cross-functional teams, high risk tolerance, failure analysis, increased cross- organisational generosity, acceptance of small beginnings, discretionary resources allocated to lower levels, and less reliance on command-and-control managerial styles andmore on inspiration, coaching, and vision. Acknowledgements With much appreciation, we acknowledge the many constructive contri- butions of Ivaylo Tenev, a Hanze International Business student, to this chapter. You have repeatedly pointed outwhatwas notworking andwhat could haveworked better. Thank you for your great input, commitment, and passion that have improved the quality of thiswork.Wewish youall the best in your future and are looking forward to seeingyour own intrapreneurial spirit in action. References Corbett, A. (2018). Themyth of the intrapreneur.Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org//06/ the-myth-of-the-intrapreneur. Covin, J. G., Rigtering, J. P. C., Hughes,M., Kraus, S., Cheng, C. F., &Bouncken, R. (2020). Individual and team entrepreneurial orientation: Scale development and configurations for success. Journal of Business Research (in press). Day, D. (1994). Raising radicals: Different processes for championing innovative corporate ventures.Organization Science, 5(2), 148–172. www.jstor.org/stable/2635012. DeloitteDigital. (2015).Five insights into intrapreneurship. Deloitte. https://www2.deloitte.com/ content/dam/Deloitte/de/Documents/technology/Intrapreneurship_Whitepaper_English.pdf. Deprez, J. (2019). Stimulating intrapreneurship—A transnational exploration. European Social Fund. https://ec.europa.eu/esf/transnationality/TPI-83. 260 G. Pinchot III andM. Soltanifar