ENTREPRENEURIAL COMPETENCES: ARE THERE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ENTREPRENEURS AND INTRAPRENEURS?

Abstract

Entrepreneurial competences are viewed as a very important contribution to business growth and success. The objective of this paper is to identify competences that discriminate entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs. The literature review analyzes entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs under different approaches. In this paper we consider entrepreneur as a person that opens and manages a business and intrapreneurs as a person inside a company that finds opportunities independently of the resources controlled by them, according to the concept developed by Steverson and Jarillo (1990). This is a qualitative research, with an exploratory focus. The data were collected by means of in-depth interviews, followed by a flexible questionnaire for both groups of interviewers. Seven men and six women, entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs, took part in the interview. For data analysis, we used content analysis, proposed by Bardin (1977), and structured in six categories of answers. The results show that entrepreneurs have different competences in relation to intrapreneurs and those competences are focused on different factors such as personal motivation, different ways of managing their business, family support and the development of their professional careers.