Employees as "Co-Intrapreneurs" - a Transformation Concept

This article offers a systemic framework and transformational concept of "co-intrapreneurship", which is defined as the efficient support of the enterprise strategy by problem-solving, socially competent and implementation-oriented thinking, and the acting of as large a number of employees as possible at all hierarchies and functional areas with a high degree of self-initiative and sense of responsibility. The classical leadership model of hierarchy and bureaucracy is questioned and internal market control and cooperative social networks are offered as alternative systems of coordination. A particular emphasis is placed on a specific leadership and typology approach for selection and assessing co-intrapreneurial potential, key competencies and motivation, which also serve as target-oriented strategy for developing "co-intrapreneurship". In addition to presenting illustrative figures and referring to various empirical studies and surveys, the article concludes with some practical guiding principles for the advancement of effective "co-intrapreneurship".