Organizational support and intrapreneurial behavior: on the role of employees' intrapreneurial intention and self-efficacy

Abstract

Despite the well-documented contributions of intrapreneurial behavior to organizational performance, the manifestations of the psychosocial factors at play remain poorly understood. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior, social exchange theory, and social cognitive theory, we propose that perceptions of organizational support would contribute to employees' intrapreneurial intentions and behaviors, but only insofar as employees feel confident about their intrapreneurial skills. The data were collected from 179 employees of a Canadian small and medium enterprise (SME) specializing in damage insurance. The regression analysis results indicate that the indirect effect of perceived organizational support on intrapreneurial behavior through intrapreneurial intention is moderated by intrapreneurial self-efficacy. These findings reveal that intrapreneurial self-efficacy is a boundary motivational condition for perceived organizational support to act on the intrapreneurial process so that intention can translate into behavior. The paper provides useful avenues for managers seeking to identify contextual and motivational levers to develop, sustain, and improve employee intrapreneurship.