Title: The politics of innovation: realising the value of intrapreneurs

Authors: Ken Dovey; Bruce McCabe

Addresses: University of Technology, Sydney, P.O. Box 123, Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia ' University of Technology, Sydney, P.O. Box 123, Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia

Abstract: This paper offers three cases, from very different industries, where an organisation failed to realise the value of the talent that was recruited at significant cost to lead an attempt at innovation. In each case, the recruited talent was forced into an intrapreneurial role - one in which they had to operate below the management radar - in order to attempt to progress the project for which they were employed. Furthermore, in each case, senior management at the company failed to scrutinise its management practices with respect to the constraints they unwittingly imposed upon the newly recruited person. Through its analysis of the reasons for each of these failures, the paper highlights the dynamics of effective talent management in the knowledge era, and points to alternative leadership practices through which to realise the value offered by talented staff recruited specifically to lead an organisation's strategic intent to innovate.

Keywords: intrapreneurship; politics of innovation; talent management; business leadership; organisational learning; intangible capital resources.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLIC.2014.063886

International Journal of Learning and Intellectual Capital, 2014 Vol.11 No.3, pp.185 - 201

Received: 25 Apr 2013
Accepted: 13 Jan 2014
Published online: 30 Aug 2014 *

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