Intrapreneurial climate as momentum for fostering employee innovativeness in public forest enterprises

Abstract

In this paper, we start with the assumption that employee innovativeness cannot be observed without the in-fluence of an intrapreneurial climate. We test this relationship and its effects in public forest enterprises (PFEs). The theoretical framework is based on the intrapreneurship concept. A model for testing the influence of an intrapreneurial climate on employee innovativeness was designed. The model consists of two constructs: the intrapreneurial climate and employee innovativeness. The first construct consists of the following 8 dimensions: work autonomy, professional training, business environment, managerial support, entrepreneurial attitudes and motives, reward system, working time availability and flow of information. Employee innovativeness was de-fined as the willingness and propensity of employees to recognize innovative ideas for products and services or processes or a new organizational method in the business practices of an enterprise. The instrument for mea-suring the intrapreneurial climate and employee innovativeness is called the Forestry Intrapreneurship Innovativeness Instrument (FIII). Data were collected through a survey questionnaire with 137 employees of 4 PFEs in Serbia. The FIII was tested for reliability, and good overall reliability was determined (alpha = 0.88). Correlation and multiple regression analyses were employed. Employee innovativeness is positively influenced by entrepreneurial attitudes and motives and the business environment, among all of the other intrapreneurial climate dimensions. The intrapreneurial climate is characterized by a positive correlation among managerial support, the reward system and the work autonomy of employees. Managers in PFEs could use this finding to create and foster an organizational climate that is able to stimulate the transition of an idea into goods or services.