An assessment of intrapreneurship in public secondary educational institutions

Abstract

Intrapreneurship is examined in this study with specific reference to six public secondary educational institutions in the Klerksdorp and Orkney Area which is situated in the North–West Province in South Africa. The objective of the study is to assess the level of intrapreneurship within top, middle and lower management levels with the focus to provide recommendations regarding the encouragement and fostering of an intrapreneurial climate in these institutions. A literature review was conducted to explore intrapreneurship and an intrapreneurial climate. The establishment of an intrapreneurial climate was found to be dependent on the presence of 13 constructs. The 13 constructs measuring the intrapreneurial climate of organisations and the five variables measuring the perceived success of the organisation were constructed in a questionnaire to measure the intrapreneurial climate of the participating public secondary educational institutions. A target group of 267 personnel members was identified and questionnaires were provided to all persons in this group. A total of 121 usable questionnaires were received on which statistical analysis was conducted. The validity of each construct was individually determined by the calculation of a Cronbach Alpha coefficient and tests for both statistical and practical significance were performed to determine the effect of demographical variables on each construct as well as the variables measuring the perceived success of the organisation. Recommendations regarding possible action steps to improve the intrapreneurial climate of public secondary educational institutions were made based on the empirical analysis as well as the literature review. Finally the study concluded with a measurement of the achievement of objectives and suggestions for further research.