Description
During this such a brief data about infusing entrepreneurial skills in the corporate ict environment.
INTRAPRISE – Infusing Entrepreneurial skills in the corporate ICT
environment
Proj.no: 2014-1-CY01-KA202-000274
STATE OF THE ART ANALYSIS REPORT OF
MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND ORGANIZATIONAL
CULTURE IN THE ICT SECTOR
(In project countries Cyprus, Belgium, Greece,
Italy, Romania, and Spain)
This report has been produced by the consortium of the Erasmus+ funded project
Intraprise. You can use the information contained, by acknowledging the Intraprise
consortium and project (www.intraprise-project.eu)
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Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................... 3
INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 5
METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH ADOPTED FOR THE DESKTOP RESEARCH .................................. 7
COUNTRY SPECIFIC PROFILES ............................................................................................................. 9
Belgium .............................................................................................................................................. 9
Cyprus .............................................................................................................................................. 17
Greece ............................................................................................................................................ 23
Italy ................................................................................................................................................... 29
Romania .......................................................................................................................................... 35
Spain ................................................................................................................................................ 39
EU FRAMEWORK ................................................................................................................................. 43
Policy framework ........................................................................................................................... 43
Social networks, conferences and relevant initiatives ............................................................. 44
EUCIO experience ......................................................................................................................... 44
What are the current initiatives for the ICT sector that promote intrapreneurship? (Digital
Agenda for Europe, Future Internet PPP etc.) ........................................................................ 44
Are there any directives or norms that add value to this process? .................................... 45
Do you use any incentives (financial, learning and education, networking, P2P
experiences) to encourage intrapreneurship within your organization? .......................... 45
Do you have any best practices that you can share? ......................................................... 45
SOME FIRST FINDINGS OF INTRAPRISE PROJECT ............................................................................. 46
Main user needs ............................................................................................................................. 46
A tentative list of interesting inputs on contents for the course and modules ...................... 46
Company level: .......................................................................................................................... 46
Individual level: ........................................................................................................................... 46
CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................................... 47
BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................................... 48
ANNEX I: O1-A1 – Defining research and survey methodology, guidelines and tools ............ 50
ANNEX II: STATE OF THE ART ANALYSIS REPORT OF MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN THE ICT SECTOR IN YOUR COUNTRY: GUIDELINES FOR DATA
COLLECTION AND HOMEWORK FOR PARTNERS ............................................................................ 57
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 57
Methodology and guidelines for data collection..................................................................... 57
Country Profiles ............................................................................................................................... 59
Overview in Europe (only for EUROCIO) ..................................................................................... 62
Comments ...................................................................................................................................... 63
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In an increasingly competitive environment that contemporary society is facing today,
companies need to find that ‘added value’ to stay competitive, to retain existing and
attract new customers and to conquer new markets. Intense global competition and fast
changing consumer needs have put the pressure on traditional companies to diversify,
increase productivity, and develop new innovative practices. The most cost effective
solution of achieving these goals, along with long term growth, is by taking advantage of
the untapped potential and talent that already exists within organizations. One way of
doing so is to encourage people with innovative and creative attitude within the
organisation, that is to say to encourage the “intrapreneurs”.
Fig. 1 Research and development expenditure (% of GDP).
Source: World bank website
The surveys conducted by Global Entrepreneurial Monitoring (GEM) confirm that “the level
of entrepreneurial activity varies among countries at a fairly constant rate, thus additionally
confirming that it requires time and consistency in policy interventions in order to build
factors that contribute to entrepreneurial activity”. In addition, it was found that
“entrepreneurial activity, in different forms (nascent, start-up, intrapreneurship), is positively
correlated with the economic growth”. Literature suggests that this relationship differs along
phases of economic development. Another important factor influencing creativity and
competitiveness in business seems to be attention to research and development sector
that could be related to R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP, so called GERD (Fig 1).
On the other side, the Business R&D expenditures, commonly known as BERD, illustrates the
readiness of business to actually invest in research and development hence into innovative
solutions and people. ICT BERD, the Business R&D expenditures on ICT sector, was
thoroughly examined by Digital Agenda in “ICT R&D, innovation and growth” and by The
2013 Predict report: An Analysis of ICT R&D in the EU and Beyond of European Joint
Research Centre (JRC). Founding shows that in 2010, EU ICT business expenditure on R&D
(ICT BERD) amounted to 26 billion euros, 2.46% more than in 2009 (25.4 billion euros). This
represented 17.05% of the total EU BERD in 2010 (Fig. 2).
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Fig. 2 ICT BERD share of total BERD by Member State (2009, 2010).
Source: Eurostat, elaborated JRC-IPTS and IVIE
The key enabling role of ICT to achieve smart, sustainable and inclusive economy and
society has already been widely recognized. The use of ICT in all vital sectors of the
economy like education, health, tourism, transport and generally in the exercise of every
business activity is of paramount importance for the development of EU market. It has
direct impact on the increase of GDP, the creation of new high-value jobs, the
modernization and productivity increase of the public sector, the increase of transparency
and the promotion of democracy and culture.
The creative attitude towards research and innovation is a characteristic of people that
have an entrepreneurial approach, even in their own organisation. These individuals are
“Intrapreneurs” who are already sitting within existing organizations at the intersection of
innovation, social good, and entrepreneurship. They can be found at all levels of the
organization and from any generation, working under the radar and struggling against
bureaucracy to launch new programs, products, and initiatives that leverage the change
making ability of established institutions. Intrapreneurs focus on revitalizing and
strengthening firm competencies to acquire skills and innovative capabilities. The roles they
play in achieving competitive advantages are increasingly gaining interest. The main
source of this advantage lies in the firm’s resources, the attitudes of employees and the
capabilities identified with intangible resources. Hence, the resource based view considers
intrapreneurship as a fundamental instrument for the accumulation, conversion and
leveraging of resources for competitive purposes.
The desktop research here presented examines several similar factors relevant to
entrepreneurship in general and corporate entrepreneurship (or intrapreneurship) in
particular. The aim of this exercise was to highlight main limitations and bottlenecks when it
comes to intrapreneurship concept implementation in ICT sector and to identify
opportunities for its further deployment and awareness rising, among the employers and
employees in the companies of the consortium countries as well as in Europe.
5
INTRODUCTION
This report is the Intellectual output of the Project “Infusing entrepreneurial skills in the
corporate ICT environment – INTRAPRISE” funded under the Erasmus Plus Programme, Key
Action 2: Strategic Partnerships under agreement number: 2014-1-CY01-KA202-000274. This
report is not an exhaustive study about the intrapreneurship in Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) sector across Europe. The report represents a summary of
all information and findings collected by the project partners, in particular regarding the
countries of this consortium: Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Romania and Spain.
The term “intrapreneurship” was used for the first time in 1976 by G. Pinchot III, that refers to
intrapreneurs as “dreamers that do”. Pinchot’s text entitled “Intra-Corporate
Entrepreneurship” in fact defines an intrapreneur as an “entrepreneur within the larger
society” that is to say a person with entrepreneurial skills but acts within a larger company
or organisation. The paper further states that “such a new way of doing business would be
a social invention of considerable importance, both for the individuals in it, and for the
productivity and responsivity of the corporation.” In the past decades more attention was
given to this phenomenon so further studies were produced examining the activity of
entrepreneurship within existing organisations. It is usually referred to as “corporate
entrepreneurship”, “corporate venturing” or “intrapreneurship”.
Recent studies examine the intrapreneurship trend in order to understand its dynamics and
tendencies. The interest to this occurrence in organisational culture is of interest for both
researchers and industrial investors as it touches upon management practices, social
tendencies but also economic aspects and expectations of both the individual and the
organisation itself. Wennekers et al. (2010) argue that the aspect of the broader macro
context has not been sufficiently taken into account. The study provides an interesting
contribution with: a) an international comparative study on intrapreneurship in low and
high income countries i.e. effects of macro context on prevalence and nature of the
phenomena; and b) an insight into a relationship between independent entrepreneurship
and intrapreneurship at the national as well as individual level. The findings show that,
although intrapreneurship is not a widely spread phenomenon (on average less than 5% of
the employees), it seems to be twice as high in high income countries than in low income
countries. Moreover, higher level of autonomy in employees is encountered in high income
countries that in those with lower income, leading to the conclusion that that the former
might be more open to entrepreneurial behaviour in large organisations. This study also
takes into account countries outside Europe while only the case of Spain is common to this
research and the consortium. The report will therefore not take into consideration these
assumptions for the overall conclusion but the paper remains important for this study as a
part of literature overview.
An intrapreneurial culture supports an entrepreneurial spirit with emphasis on:
• strategic renewal and survival (major structural or organizational changes within a
firm)
• fostering innovation (introduction of a new product, service or process in the market)
• corporate venturing (corporate entrepreneurial efforts that lead to the creation of
new business organizations within the larger corporate umbrella organization)
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• increased long term profitability and liquidity
• gaining knowledge of future revenue streams and international success
• retention of key HR assets
• building of knowledge assets and knowledge dissemination/exploitation
Finally, the aim of this report is to highlight the nature of effective managerial practice and
successful pro-intrapreneurship organizational structures in the partner countries and in
Europe, in particular in the ICT sector. It provides an insight of intrapreneurial training and
competences for successful implementation i.e. current situation at country and EU level,
regulatory frames, implemented initiatives/policies towards the improvement of
employability / management, etc.
This report provides an explanation on the methodology adopted for the desktop research
(section 2) and gives an overview on the intrapreneurship, in particular intrapreneurship in
ICT sector in the partner countries (section 3). The European prospective of opportunities
together with some main inputs of members of European CIO Association is illustrated in
Section 4. Some preliminary inputs regarding the users’ needs and recommendations on
potential contents of the course to be developed by the project are outlined in the
Conclusions of this document.
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METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH ADOPTED FOR THE DESKTOP RESEARCH
In the vision of INTRAPRISE, the intrapreneurs are actors who can enable businesses to
expand into other areas of their market by identifying new products or services to existing or
new customers. In larger organisations this may challenge the management team, so an
attitude towards accepting and promoting intrapreneurial behaviour needs to be
incorporated within the strategy. Management practices need to adapt and undergo a
change from a culture of imposing orders and rules to one with sufficiently flexible
behaviour to stimulate innovation and creative visions that could guide and focus the
efforts of potential intrapreneurs.
The methodological approach (O1-A1)in this analysis was based on a desktop research
and a thorough exploration of papers, documents, interviews, websites and social media
with a focus on the concept of intrapreneurship, in the ICT sector particular. The state-of-
the-art illustrated in the next section attempts to depict a portrait of the current scenario in
participating countries on issues the management practices and organisational culture.
The general methodology approach applied was discussed with partners in joint
conference calls and is illustrated in Annex I.
Fig. 3 An extract from Annex I illustrating a general methodology applied for desktop research
(O1-A1 – Defining research and survey methodology, guidelines and tools)
In order to facilitate the information collection, the partners were provided with a
questionnaire (Annex II), developed by Cyprus University of Technology (coordinator of this
action).
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The parameters were grouped into the following categories:
1. Overview of the statistic information on ICT sector in your country
2. Organizational Culture of ICT sector in your country
3. Management practice of ICT sector in your country
4. Offers of Intrapreneurship courses in your country: Business/other schools,
educational organizations and/or training courses
5. Best Practices of Intrapreneurship in ICT Sector in your country
6. Feedback on the document
All partners have examined several specific issues in their countries (Activity O1-A2). The
information was collected by: CUT and R&Do (Cyprus); Militos & Found.ation (Greece);
SINLO (Romania); Melius (Italy) and MTC (Belgium). The steps followed during desktop
research included:
1. Consultation of the Power Point working document discussed among partners;
2. Careful examination of the questionnaire and desktop research performance;
3. Desktop research and collection of well referenced data;
4. Feedback to the coordinator of this action (CUT);
5. Final discussion among all partners.
Furthermore, one-on-one Skype meetings followed in order to elaborate on the responses
given by partners and provide some additional feedback. The report was further shared
with all partners for the final revision and evaluation.
This collection of information, data and references has served to give an overview of the
current situation, to identify possible limits and bottleneck in managerial organisations but
also to give suggestions on possible solutions for better implementation of intrapreneurship
in practice. Finally, an attempt to identify the user requirements and define inputs for further
learning content was done in the section “Some first findings of Intraprise project”.
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COUNTRY SPECIFIC PROFILES
Belgium
Population 11 161 642
(projection at 2013)
1. Overview of the ICT sector in Belgium
? Statistics information
The Gross domestic product (GDP) in Belgium for 2014 amounts to Euro 402 270 MIL, while GDP in ICT
sector in 2010 accounted for Euro € 17,089,305,600 i.e. 4.64% of GDP of that year.
The employment rate in Belgium in 2011 (Eurostat) amounted to 61.9% while a partner’s source for
December 2014 indicates 91.7%. In the tear 2010, 2.84% accounts for employment in ICT sector.
According to Eurostat, the labour cost, wages and salaries, and direct remuneration in ICT sector,
expressed in unit “Per employee in full-time units, per month” are the following:
? Total labour costs (excluding apprentices) – Euro 7,440
? W GEM ages and salaries (excluding apprentices) – Euro 5,322
? Direct remuneration, bonuses and allowances – Euro 4,803
The investment in research in ICT sector accounts for 1.96% of the national budget (for 2011)
1
.
? Profile of ICT companies in Belgium
Number and size
2
. ICT companies currently present in Belgium are 35038 (in 2012)
3
. The scenario of
companies classified by size into small (>10 people), medium and large is the following:
Small (11-50): 99%
Medium (50-250): 0,7%
Large (>250): 0,2%
Type of business. According to the statistical segmentation for the ICT sector, the main type of
business in Belgium is Telecommunications, Other sectors of ICT companies in Belgium are:
? Manufacture of computers, electronics and optics
? Wholesale of ITC and communication equipment
? Software Publishing
? Computer programming, consultancy and related activities
? Data processing, hosting and related activities; internet portals
? Repair of computers and communication equipment
NOTE. Belgium’s ICT sector currently contributes over 4% of Belgium’s gross domestic product, and
between 1997 and 2007 it accounted for a sixth of the country’s growth in GDP. The latest IT Industry
Competitiveness Index 2009 ranked Belgium in eighteenth place worldwide
4
.
Start-up companies. No specific information was provided on start-ups, however in 2012 the total of
new businesses was 28 086 out of 560 222 active companies.
1
Innovation Union Competitiveness report 2011 (Country profile)
2
http://www.ontsi.red.es/ontsi/sites/default/files/informe_del_sector_ticc_2013_edicion_2014.pdf
3
http://economie.fgov.be/fr/binaries/0274-13-01-baromètre_2013_tcm326-226083.pdf page 69
4
http://business.belgium.be/en/investing_in_belgium/key_sectors/ict/
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2. Organizational Culture of ICT sector in Belgium
Common organizational culture in ICT sector in Belgium. ICT companies tend to reflect traditional
divisions, though there is evidence that some companies, particularly start-ups, are influenced by
practices in Berlin and London and are beginning to follow a Silicon Valley model, encouraging
team-working on projects, participation, workplace democracy and the encouragement of side
projects. Company leaders still tend to take the lead and make the important decisions, but
consultations is more likely with specialists from within and outside the company (see secti on 3 for
outsourcing).
Research and Development. In Belgium, benefits are provided regarding special investment
deduction for investments in research and development of new products and forward-looking
technologies that are environmentally friendly
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. This innovative law has encouraged the formation of
R&D divisions. The investment deduction creates the possibility for taxpayers to claim a tax
deduction - in addition to the normal tax depreciations - when making qualifying R&D investments. A
sense of openness stems from communication networks such as social networks, start-ups, and ICT
cluster organisations, conferences and events.
? Organizational structure among ICT sector
Differences in structure will generally be related to size and/or maturity of the company. Although
Belgium is not studied specifically in Bloom et al., 2012, some compelling arguments of this paper
seem to apply across the borders. Government, family, and founder owned firms are usually poorly
managed, while multinational, dispersed shareholder and private-equity owned firms are typically
well managed. Stronger product market competition and higher worker skills are associated with
better management practices. Less regulated labour markets are associated with improvements in
incentive management practices such as performance based promotion.
Focus on intrapreneurship in general in Belgium. Intrapreneurship generally seems to be a focus in
global companies with a branch network internationally, although there is evidence that much of
this could be related to public relations activities.
Focus on intrapreneurship in ICT companies in Belgium. It appears that sectors such as bio-
technology and telecommunications, among medium to large companies, have a greater focus on
intrapreneurship than other sectors.
3. Management practice of ICT sector in Belgium
? Management practice in general in Belgium
The business set-up in Belgium is hierarchical. Cross-cultural management relies on understanding
that Belgians are formal and courteous. They adhere to established rules of protocol for most
situations and expect others to do the same. They respect corporate hierarchy and those who have
attained a senior-level position and they do not readily mix their private and business lives.
Workers in Belgium generally like working in teams and collaborate quite well across hierarchical
lines. The communication within a team is generally quite collegial, albeit somewhat direct. Role
allocation within the team is generally quite clearly defined and people will take greater
responsibility for their specific task than for the group as a whole. It is expected of the leader to
harness the talent of the group assembled, and develop any resulting synergies. The leader will be
referred to as the final authority in any decisions that are made, but they do not dominate the
discussion or generation of ideas: praise is given to the entire group as well as to individuals.
Belgium is a controlled-time culture and adherence to schedules is important and expected. Missing
5
Federal Public Service - Finance
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a deadline is a sign of poor management and inefficiency, and will shake people’s confidence.
Successful cross-cultural management will depend on the individual’s ability to meet deadlines.
However, it is not a common practice to employees to work late or on weekends in order to meet
targeted deadlines. Intercultural tolerance and readiness for change is medium. Changes are
made, albeit slowly, and require considerable amount of thought, planning and evaluation.
Centralized decision-making based upon information that has been gathered by all concerned
parties is accustomed. Supervisors and managers make most decisions for their work group, even
ones that would be implemented by subordinates in other cultures. When managers delegate their
authority, they provide explicit details about what is to be done and how it is to be accomplished.
Since decision-making occurs at the highest levels and each reviewing level is expected to verify
that the matter has been researched thoroughly and that all interested parties have been
consulted, decision-making can be a time-consuming and laborious process. Each individual’s role
remains clearly defined although global and intercultural expansion means that employees are now
beginning to feel that they are authorized by station, education, or position, to either aspire to
leadership or to express themselves freely in management circles. Negotiations are direct, however
pushing for an immediate decision is seen as aggressive.
In Flanders (Dutch speaking part of Belgium), decisions are group or consensus focused. In Wallonia
(French speaking part of Belgium), business seem to be more hierarchical and the top-ranking
person at the meeting makes decisions.
? Management practice in ICT companies in Belgium
Although management practices in Belgium are traditionally hierarchical there has always been an
appreciation for teamwork (though with a clear leadership structure). This element is more to the
forefront in the ICT sector. In fact, there is a new culture developing, led by ICT companies,
particularly start-ups, although it is still immature in many ways and does not compare to other top
scenes in Europe, such as London or Berlin. The community is building up and there are events
thriving in all cities of the country on weekly basis. Furthermore, there seems to be a shift in working
mentality: local entrepreneurs have come to realize they have something original to offer to
customers from around the world.
Local authorities have also started to adapt to this new state of mind and now offer a variety of
programs to help entrepreneurs jump start their business. Whether in Flanders, in Wallonia or in the
Brussels region, initiatives emerge and funding is more readily available than ever to test drive ideas
or bring them to the market, braving Belgium’s political landscape complexity and traditional
hierarchical ways of organising.
Using outsourcing and crowdsourcing in ICT companies in Belgium. No specific figures are available
on this issue. However, many companies offering outsourcing refer to the fast growth and cost-
effectiveness of their services in Belgium.
Providing outsourcing services for the ICT sector in Belgium. This does not generally appear to be the
case in Belgium. Companies offering outsourcing generally appear to have a global perspective
and are multi-national in nature.
Remote work practices/telecommuting In Belgium the majority of teleworkers are men with high
educational qualifications, who work in the information and communication technologies (ICT)
sector and occupy a management position (Taskin and Vendramin, 2004). In addition, the majority
of teleworkers live in urban areas and are not willing to lose time commuting. Women are
underrepresented among teleworkers in Belgium, as fewer women work in ICT (Eurofound, 2010). 24%
of Belgians consider themselves to be at least in part telecommuters (worldwide 35%)
6
.
6
http://www.ipsos-na.com/download/pr.aspx?id=11326
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The main identified obstacles for intrapreneurship in the existing management/organizational
structure in ICT sector in Belgium:
o Regulated labour market: Belgium is a highly regulated labour market. Studies have shown
that less regulated labour markets are associated with improvements in incentive
management practices such as performance based promotion. This also has implications for
innovation and corporate entrepreneurship. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM)
report however shows that Belgium and the Scandinavian countries score high in terms of
intrapreneurship. As stated by Prof. Meuleman of Vlerick Business School (2013), the reason
for this lies in the employment system: “Just like in Finland, Sweden and Denmark, we enjoy a
high level of employment protection and social security. People with a safe job seek their
challenges within their position instead of taking the risk of becoming self-employed
entrepreneurs. In other countries people with an entrepreneurial profile will more easily
consider setting up their own company.”
o Hierarchical management: Belgium (especially Wallonia) has generally hierarchical
management practices, which make it less likely that those in non-managerial positions feel
able to take risks and innovate in a way associated with entrepreneurial behaviour.
o Time flexibility: While respecting schedules and deadlines, Belgian workers can tend to be
less time-flexible than their counterparts in other countries.
As found in GEM 2012 Report “Four areas were detected by experts to be critical in constraining or
fostering entrepreneurial activity in Belgium using both open questions and Likert scales: Government
Policy is valued most negative and recommendations are formulated concerning: (1) the difference
in social benefits of the employee and self-employed status inhibiting pulled entrepreneurship; (2)
high labour costs inhibiting job creation aspirations; (3) complex and changing regulations regarding
taxes, legal certainty, environmental legislation; and (4) administrative burden interfering with an
essential entrepreneurial pace.
Specific recommendations are formulated for a gender neutral policy, incentives for proactive
behaviour, and measures against perception of failure for life. In general, the need for a consistent
long-term policy and political stability is expressed.
Cultural & Social Norms is valued negative and recommendations are formulated concerning: (1) a
risk-averse culture with negative connotation of failure; (2) absence of communication on the
advantages of the self-employed regarding work-life balance; (3) a discouraging public opinion
and media; (4) a lack of transparency in corporate culture withholding employees of entering in
entrepreneurship themselves; (5) a general encouragement to become managers, not leaders.”
4. Educational offer of Intrapreneurship courses in Belgium
Offer of educational organizations.
o Liège University
o Intrapreneurs Program at the second year of Master’s degree in Business Management
Postgraduate, full-time
Nominal duration: 2 years
Awards: MSc
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Tuition fee: 850,00 € per year
This training year takes an original approach focused on guiding a strategic project in an
enterprise: establishing a CRM, expanding the range of e-business services, improving or developing
a management control system, a skills management system, a traceability system along the entire
logistics chain, optimizing the flows of raw materials in a production system, etc. The student adds
depth to the content of the project by consulting experts; analyzes the context of its implementation
by making audits; proposes concrete solutions and analyzes their potential impact; comes up with a
strategy for managing the change linked to the project; and finally, implements it (process). The
student also attends theoretical seminars relevant to the project at the University over about 5 days
at the end of each month. In this way, an exchange of expertise is activated at all levels: the
student receives expertise from the enterprise and from HEC-Ulg, but exchange also takes place
between scientific and professional experts.
o Master’s degree in Business engineering with specialisation in HEC-ULG Intrapreneurs.
Postgraduate, full-time
Nominal duration: 2 years
Awards: MSc
Tuition fee: 850,00 € per year
This action-training focuses on steering complex projects within a business, i.e., multi-faceted
strategic projects, in various domains (finance, information systems, human resources, marketing,
supply chain, etc.). Based on an inductive approach using problem-based learning, it consists of a
full year of alternating between Company and University in order to achieve a better connection
between academic and professional demands. It has the following objectives: detailed study of a
particular topic as the object of a complex project (the content); use of diagnostic tools from the
context in which this project takes place (audit of an organization, audit of the information systems,
financial audit, marketing audit, financial audit[TO1] , etc.); explore and put into action tools relating
to the process of change (project management, management of human aspects of change).
Successfully complete a concrete project, acquiring competencies related to personal
development: taking initiative, teamwork, better self-knowledge (personal development).
Offer by companies of any in house training.
? Vlerick Business School, Ghent
o Growth Through Innovation: Lead your organisation towards innovative results
Duration: 4 days and Cost: Euro 3095 (excl. 21% VAT)
o In Search of New Business Opportunities: Installing an entrepreneurial culture in your
organisation
Duration: 4 days and Cost: Euro 3495 (excl. 21% VAT)
o SME excellence: Management education combined with coaching for entrepreneurs in the
professionalisation phase
Duration: 10 days and Cost: Euros 4895 (excl. 21% VAT)
? Trends Vlerick Business Academy programme includes Intrapreneurial track.
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5. Best Practices of Intrapreneurship in ICT Sector in Belgium
Case 1 – Janssen Pharmaceutica
A game for children with ADHD, goggles against winter depression, a new test to avoid a sudden
cardiac arrest. These are just a few examples of successful projects which once originated in the
fantasy of Janssen employees, and, which thanks to the Entrepreneurial Boot Camp became
concrete projects with an important added-value for patients and healthcare alike. The
Entrepreneurial Boot Camp is a 4 to 6 month training and coaching process which deals with all
aspects of successfully setting up a new business. It helps employees to convert their innovative ideas
for better healthcare in a solid business plan. This process is organized by the Janssen Campus
Office, which was set up to promote innovative collaboration between internal and external
partners. After much brainstorming and fine-tuning, the teams present their plan to a jury and the
senior management in a 15 minute presentation. "The methodology we use allows us to decide
quickly whether new ideas have a chance of (commercial) success", says Tom. "Promising ideas can
become projects with an added-value for our patients.”. The concept will eventually leave the
coaching process once there is a clear vision about how the product or service will be further
developed. And this can be done within the Janssens structure. But the product or service can also
be further developed according to a specific independently operating business model.
Case 2 – Alcatel-Lucent
Another element of a corporate intrapreneurship program is about bringing entrepreneurship in the
workplace, for instance through creating internal ventures, as shared by Olivier Leclerc from
Alcatel-Lucent. Starting with an inspiring quote “Innovation is the responsibility of everyone
within a company” (tweet), Olivier Leclerc developed and led an intrapreneurial Bootcamp within
his company during 6 years. Engaging at first only the 1% of employees focused on technical
innovation, during its third year the Bootcamp was already open to all the 10,000 employees of
Alcatel-Lucent throughout Belgium and France. The Bootcamp, run once every six months, first
collects ideas through an existing IT platform in the company, and then narrows from about 35
propositions to five selected teams pitching their projects. The openness of the process stays until the
end, with all the employees being invited to attend this event, on top of the Innovation Board made
up of sixteen individuals from everywhere in the corporate group. Before pitching, the teams of
intrapreneurs follow a 3-month training from experts and entrepreneurs coming from partner Business
Schools and incubators. In the end, despite losing 30 participants out of the 150 participants,
including 10 starting new businesses, the program has allowed successes like the diversification of the
products portfolios; some revenues from the projects; a new image for the company and a
reinforced employees engagement through a culture change, innovation in return of engagement,
fulfilment and happiness at work.
Case 3 – Nick de Mey, Co-founder Board of Innovation, Intrapreneurship evangelist
“I support large international corporates to innovate as start-ups. As co-founder of Board of
Innovation, I give structure to innovation & entrepreneurship programs. I get most motivated when I
see the impact on the people I work with.
Everyone in our team is able to pull people out of their comfort zone. We give them the tools &
frameworks to become effective innovation champions. By acting as a start-up we unlock the
entrepreneurial potential of employees. Seeing someone evolve from "corporate rat" to "start-ups
founder" is one of the most motivation aspects of the work I do. People hire me and our team for:
disruptive innovate challenges (avoid your Nokia/Kodak Moment), training & workshops, brainstorms
& innovation boot camps, Co-entrepreneur in a new venture team and keynotes & lectures. I steer
bright people and their innovation team in generating new business ideas. I try to live 5 years ahead
and make that future comprehensible and tangible in the economic reality we live in today. By
15
studying trends and societal evolutions I'm in a perfect position to bring inspiration to the table.
An innovation project will take up several months. On a shorter term I facilitate brainstorm sessions
and structure workshops to find new revenue streams. On top of that I give training and coaching for
management teams, spin-offs and start-ups. I consider myself a digital mobile nomad. Our company
is built on a mix of digital/new media services: dropbox, wunderlist, wordpress, skype, harvest and
niche products. Over the past years I've worked for a variety of sectors. From retail, automotive,
chemistry/pharma, IT, e-commerce, web, finance over Food/Beverage, Government, Non-profit,
Consumer and the Space industry.”, as extracted from Board of Innovation website
(http://www.boardofinnovation.com/).
Case 4 - Anis Bedda, Cofounder and transformer in chief at “transforma bxl”, Public speaker and
Intrapreneurship evangelist
“After working in Tunisia, Turkey, Spain, and Canada, I finally settled down in Brussels, Belgium where I
cofounded BottomUp Innovation, a company helping organisations innovate from the bottom up
using the principles of Intrapreneurship, open innovation and crowd sourcing. We help organisations
tap into the potential of their staff to generate these years, I passionately lived the leadership
development experiences provided by this wonderful network and helped members and
stakeholders develop and become change agents. This experience has shaped the man that I am
today (Entrepreneur, innovation enabler, multilingual and a global citizen...) and left me with one
obsession: Personal fulfilment at work. I speak 5 languages fluently (Arabic, French, English, Italian,
Spanish) and Dutch (intermediate level). My international insight has enabled me to develop a
cultural awareness that is critical to successfully building relationships and communicating effectively
with multicultural audiences. Building up on this international experience I followed a couple of
trainings on intercultural communications to strengthen my knowledge of the topic: Cultural
detective and Initiation à l’approche interculturelle - Centre Bruxellois d’Action Interculturelle.”, as
extracted from Bedda, 2013.
Case 5 - Spirit of Freedom INGO - Young Entrepreneurs Society, (YES),http://www.yesforeurope.eu/
“YES is an informal educational platform, based in Belgium, to support young entrepreneurs in the
field of Personal Development, Entrepreneurship and Financial education. YES will challenge you to
think different, to increase your knowledge and to develop yourselves as young sustainable
entrepreneur who deliberate creates his own live experiences by taking responsibility for their actions
and results.”
CountryHopper is an informal program developed to practise the intrapreneurs skills and gaining life
& street experience. SoF INGO believes that you can only learn if you practise and live your
knowledge. As a young intrapreneur you go on a short mission to another country where you will
participate in their culture, nature, traditions, habits, businesses and networking activities. Youngsters
from all over the world can participate to YES.
6. REFERENCES
? Bloom N., Genakos C., Sadun R. and Van Reenen J., “Management Practices Across Firms
and Countries”, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Working Paper No. 17850
February 2012 JEL No. M1, retrived athttp://www.nber.org/papers/w17850.pdf
? European Foundation For The Improvement Of Living and Working Conditions - Eurofound
(2010). Telework In the European Union. Retrieved through:http://eurofound.europa.eu/sites/default/files/ef_files/docs/eiro/tn0910050s/tn0910050s.pdf
? Innovation Union Competitiveness report 2011 Country profile – Belgium + NRP BE 2011
16
? Taskin, L. and Vendramin, P., Le télétravail, une vague silencieuse, Louvain-la-Neuve, Presses
Universitaires de Louvain, 2004.
? Federal Public Service - Finance, “Tax Incentives for R&D activities. 10 reasons to invest in R&D
in Belgium”, accessed viahttp://www.minfin.fgov.be/portail2/belinvest/downloads/en/publications/bro_r_and_d.pdf
? Meuleman M., (2013) Turn your employees into entrepreneurs, accessed viahttp://www.vlerick.com/en/research-and-faculty/knowledge-items/knowledge/turn-your-
employees-into-entrepreneurs
? Bedda A. (2013), Why Intrapreneurship is More Than Just Another Innovation Buzzword, within
blog Business Fights poverty accessed viahttp://community.businessfightspoverty.org/profiles/blogs/annis-bedda-why-
intrapreneurship-is-more-than-just-another-innova
? Bosma N., Holvoet T., Crijns H. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2012, Report for
Belgium & Flanders (2013), accessed viahttp://www.gemconsortium.org/docs/download/3311
17
Cyprus
Population: 865,878
7
.
(projection at 2013)
1. Overview of the ICT sector in Cyprus
? Statistics information
The Gross domestic product (GDP) in Cyprus for 2013 amounts to Euro 17 506, 3 MIL, while GDP in ICT
sector accounts for Euro 732,2 MIL.
8
The employment rate in Cyprus in 2011 (Eurostat) amounted to 67.6% while the Statistical Service of
Cyprus (Cystat) cites a value of 49,3% for 2013. For the same year (2013) 2,4% of employment was in
the ICT sector (Information and Communication sector).
2
According to Eurostat (values for 2012), the
hourly rates for labour cost, wages and salaries, and direct remuneration in ICT sector in Cyprus,
expressed in unit “Per employee in full-time units, per month”, are the following:
Total labour costs (excluding apprentices) – Euro 3,513
Wages and salaries (excluding apprentices) – Euro 2,767
Direct remuneration, incl. bonuses & allowances (excl. apprentices) – Euro 2,415
However, according to the report from Cystat, on 7 January 2014, the average salary of an ICT
employee in Cyprus in 2012 was 1,964 euros monthly, while the average salary of an ICT employee in
Cyprus in 2013 was 1,666 euros monthly, indicating a decrease of 15%.
The Cystat report shows a more realistic image of the private sector of ICT in Cyprus while the
Eurostat figures are more representative of the public sector of ICT in Cyprus. In 2013, the public
sector experienced tiered cuts in salaries from 10% to 17%.
The investment in Research and Development in Cyprus accounts for Euro 83.322.000, which is 0,47%
of GDP. More specifically the expenditure in the Engineering and Technology sector is Euro
19.618.000, which is 0,1% of GDP.
2
and is still struggling to develop the proper strategies and
mechanisms through which to promote innovation and technological growth but are faced with
strong social and political barriers. R&D expenditures as a share of GDP are amongst the lowest of all
member states
? Profile of ICT companies in Cyprus
Number and size
9
. ICT companies currently present in Cyprus are 1027 enterprises (2013), 114 of
which have more than 10 employees. The scenario of companies classified by size into small (>10
people), medium and large is the following:
7
Censuses after 1974 refer to the Government controlled area. Figures have been adjusted for under-enumeration as well as
to include certain population groups not covered by the census.
8
CYPRUS IN FIGURES 2014 (CYSTAT)
http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statistics.nsf/All/77F7F7493CC4EBBEC2257705004843DB/$file/CYPRUS_IN_FIGURES-2014-
E%CE%9D-291214.pdf?OpenElement
9
http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/st...main_en/labour_33main_en?OpenForm&sub=3&sel=4
BUSINESS REGISTER 2013. Number of Enterprises by Economic Activity NACE (Rev. 2) and Size Group (2013)
18
o Small (11-50): 93 (2013)
o Medium (50-250): 16 (2013)
o Large (>250): 5 (2013)
Type of business. According to BUSINESS REGISTER 2013
10
, the main sector of ICT companies in Cyprus
is Computer programming, consultancy and related activities where 45 enterprises are present.
Other sectors are:
o Publishing activities (26)
o Motion picture, video and television programme production, sound recording and music
publishing activities (8)
o Programming and broadcasting activities (13)
o Telecommunications (13)
o Information service activities (9)
? Start-up companies
Number in Cyprus: No actual numbers are available. However, several incubators and facilitators in
ICT were identified:
o Diogenes incubator of the University of Cyprus
o CYBAN (Cyprus Business Angels Network)
o Junior Achievement - Young Enterprise (JA-YE) Cyprus
o Industry Disruptors - Game Changers
o CEL (Cypriot Enterprise Link)
Note: the last four are in partnership with the national telecommunications provider CYTA.
When it comes to setting new businesses, even start-ups, Cyprus has three key strengths: a robust
professional services sector, favourable tax legislation and energy resources. Despite all odds and
amidst dire financial crisis, nascent grass roots entrepreneurial activity with disruptive innovation tech
start-ups, hackathons, meet-ups and a start-up accelerator are sprouting fast in Cyprus.
However, as stated by Cyprus Entrepreneurship Ecosystem: A Roadmap for Economic Growth
11
“The
key determinants of the demand side of Venture Capital (VC) are entrepreneurial activity and
pipeline, R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP and favourable company law and tax regime
for start-ups and SMEs.” The figures show that a very small percentage of national GDP is invested in
research in Cyprus “therefore on the supply side of VC while Cyprus shows the highest density of new
business registrations per capital, the numbers don’t follow suit when it comes to ICT start-ups and
investment in R&D as a percentage of GDP.”
2. Organizational Culture of ICT sector in Cyprus
? Common organizational culture in ICT sector in Cyprus
The local economy is rather small and therefore flexible but also sensitive in time of crisis.
Organizational culture and management practices in Cyprus reflect the links present in a small
community, due to the population of Cyprus being only 800,000 people. The geo-political situation of
the country has affected all social sectors such as education, public administration, legislation and
hence the market; eventually affecting the ways companies are developed, organized and
10
http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/st...main_en/labour_33main_en?OpenForm&sub=3&sel=4
BUSINESS REGISTER, 2013. Number of Enterprises by Economic Activity NACE (Rev. 2) and Size Group (2013)
11
Cyprus Entrepreneurship Ecosystem: A Roadmap for Economic Growth, Curveball Ltd., November 2012
19
managed. The inherent structure of most ICT companies are geared towards a community mentality
as opposed to a corporate mentality. Cyprus is still struggling to develop the proper strategies and
mechanisms through which to promote innovation and technological growth but are faced with
strong barriers, which are predominately political and societal. The political elites are unable to
appreciate the multiplier effect on the economy from investing in innovation and R & D and are
unable to justify the investment. The society at large prefers to see the available funds directed to
other policy areas such as a major construction projects, better road network and direct transfers to
different groups such as professional classes, farmers, business and home owners.
? Companies with in-house R&D division
There is no specific information on this issue.
? Organizational structure among ICT sector
There is no specific information on this issue.
? Focus on intrapreneurship in general in Cyprus
Intrapreneurship is a novel aspect in the country. In general, it is not taken up by companies but it is
mostly recognised by the ICT sector.
? Focus on intrapreneurship in ICT companies in Cyprus
For example, the largest Telecommunication company in the country (public/private) is
implementing an internal intrapreneurship program. From the company’s website (accessed Feb
27th 2015)
12
:
“Cyta is in the stage of the development of an intrapreneurship program that will be applied
internally. In the developmental state of the program, several factors are being considered such as
the regime of the organization, its status as well as the culture within. It is expected that Cyta’s
intrapreneurship program will provide not only new opportunities for the company and the
employees but will also renew a sense of optimism to employees and as a result encourage the
development of skills and ideas, allowing for the creation of start-ups.”
3. Management practice of ICT sector in Cyprus
? Management practice in general in Cyprus
Managerial behaviour and eventually management practices of Cypriot managers and Cypriot
companies/enterprises conflate cultural characteristics/idiosyncrasies into a new composite whole.
However there seems to be no thorough research sources or data available justifying ortesting this
cross/multi-cultural aspects as an hypothesis. In particular, none seem to be done for the ICT sector.
Some effort have been done to describe the general situation in terms of blogs or dedicated
websites (Kwintessential)
13
: “Cypriot business is hierarchical and managers are more autocratic than
in many other countries. There are remnants of social class distinctions in the business arena.
Managers do not seek a consensus before making decisions, as they believe it would make them
appear weak.” Furthermore, management practice in Cyprus could often be very paternalistic:
“Managers may take a somewhat paternalistic attitude toward their employees. They may
demonstrate a concern for employees that goes beyond the workplace and strictly professional
concerns. This may include involvement in their family, housing, health, and other practical life
issues.” However, no further research has been found on this issue.
12
https://www.cyta.com.cy/intrapreneurship/en
13
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/intercultural/management/cyprus.html
20
? Management practice in ICT companies in Cyprus
Managerial practice in ICT sector does not appear to be different that in general.
? Using outsourcing and crowdsourcing in ICT companies in Cyprus
Enterprises in Cyprus - predominantly small or very small – do follow outsourcing practices even
though they are often not aware of such practices are labelled as outsourcing, e.g. shifting activities
like accounting services, production, e-sales services, etc. (Partners experience)
? Providing outsourcing services for the ICT sector in Cyprus
Companies is Cyprus perform and advertise their outsourcing services well. This is particularly true for
the ICT sector due to several factors including an excellent talent pool, competitive wages, and
geographic location. The main markets served are USA., UK, Australia and India (mainly all English
speaking markets and/or ex British colonies).
? Remote work practices/telecommuting
Remote work and telecommuting in Cyprus, both at the institutional as well as at the business level, is
not generally practiced. About 5.7% of workers are involved in telework for about a quarter of their
working time, while no workers are working involved in teleworking fulltime (Eurofound, 2010).
? The main identified obstacles for intrapreneurship in the existing management/organizational
structure in ICT sector in Cyprus:
No reference found specifically on ICT sector. However, some generally encountered barriers that
could be taken into account are (Kwintessential):
o Paternalistic management practices
o Labour-intensive nature
o Reliance on public sector
o Necessity driven entrepreneurship
o Bureaucratic structures hindering development
o Lack of targeted education and training (intracompany or else)
4. Educational offer of Intrapreneurship courses in Cyprus
Offer of educational organizations: Specific courses targeting intrapreneurship are not available in
Cyprus. However, although it is not promoted as a distinct field, some higher education institutions
do include intrapreneurship as part of the curricula, as an entrepreneurial practice. In particular, the
following courses are proposed:
? University of Cyprus
The Department of Business and Public Administration (BPA)
Optional course for Concentration in Management (Undergraduate Bachelor degree)
BPA 434: Entrepreneurship (6 ECTS)
The purpose of this course is to explore the many dimensions of new venture creation and growth.
While most of the examples in class will be drawn from new venture formation, we will also draw on
cases from intrapreneurship, social and non-profit entrepreneurship. The class sessions will be
devoted to the process of conceptualizing, developing, and managing successful new ventures,
ideas or products towards the creation of a business plan. Prerequisites for BPA434: BPA231, BPA131,
or approval by the instructor. (as from the website of the Department)
14
14https://www.ucy.ac.cy/bpa/en/undergraduate/courses-description
21
? University of Central Lancashire, Cyprus
The Centre for Entrepreneurial Development and Research (CEDAR)
CEDAR faculty and associate fellows are of international repute and are credited with local, regional
and global initiatives seeking to promote teaching, executive education, research, consulting and
outreach activities in the entrepreneurship discipline and other interdisciplinary fields, including All
types of Entrepreneurship (e.g. familial entrepreneurship; green entrepreneurship, social enterprising,
intrapreneurship, etc.). (as from the website of the Department)
15
Offer by companies of any in house training. In house training is under development by Cyprus
Telecommunications Authority (Cyta) Please refer to section 2.
It is important to note that the overall environment does not support the establishment of
collaborations between universities and business, does not encourage entrepreneurial activities and
risk taking. A possible failure may be detrimental to the future career prospects of aspiring
entrepreneurs. As a result of these factors and the others discussed above, the best and the brightest
graduates seek jobs within the extended public sector to secure a respectable living and social
status.
In the absence of an appropriate vision and specific goals for the R&D and business development
and faced by the recent economic crisis, the Government has almost stopped all funds going
towards R&D and has absorbed most of the liquidity in the market. As a tragic consequence of this
action, Cyprus is denied in most cases EU funds available to Cyprus for projects because the state
can’t contribute the 15% local contribution. Along the same lines the Research Promotion
Foundation, the main vehicle for the promotion of R&D in Cyprus, has been struggling for the past
few years to support the already awarded grants and to secure new funds for the future. At this
point the outlook looks bleak.
5. Best Practices of Intrapreneurship in ICT Sector in Cyprus
Case 1: InfoScreen company is a specialist software developer for the professional services sector
since 1995. Tony Ellinas, founder and Managing Director of Infoscreen, was recently recognised as a
Digital Icon for Cyprus by the European Commission’s Whatify Initiative. The interview with Mr. Ellinas
can be found on the webiiste of the European Commission (https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-
databases/dem/watify) or youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yomXpc1oaY).
6. REFERENCES
? Christodoulou E. et al, ICT Past Assessment in Cyprus: Visioning Future Key Innovative Digital
Enhancements and Trends, Proceedings of the 4th European Conference on e-Government
(ECEG 2004), Dublin, pp. 179-192. accessed viahttp://www.researchgate.net/publication/228795394_ICT_Past_Assessment_in_Cyprus_Visioni
ng_Future_Key_Innovative_Digital_Enhancements_and_Trends
? Curveball Ltd. (2012), Cyprus Entrepreneurship Ecosystem. A Roadmap for economic growth,
accessed via
15
www.uclancyprus.ac.cy
22
http://www.kpmg.com/CY/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesAndPublications/Documents/Survey-
Reports/Cyprus-Entrepreneurship-Ecosystem.pdf
? CYSTAT (Statistical Service of Cyprus), Number of Enterprises by Economic Activity NACE (Rev.
2) and Size Group (2013) accessed via
?http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statistics.nsf/All/50130941CC7F6243C2257DB000333608/$f
ile/ENTERPRISES_NACE2_SIZE-2013-161214.pdf?OpenElement
? CYSTAT (Statistical Service of Cyprus), 2014, Cyprus in figures (edition 2014), Press and
Information Office accessed via
?http://www.cystat.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statistics.nsf/All/77F7F7493CC4EBBEC2257705004843DB/
$file/CYPRUS_IN_FIGURES-2014-E%CE%9D-291214.pdf?OpenElement
? Ministry of Communications and Works, Department of Electronic Communications, Republic
of Cyprus (2012), Digital Strategy for Cyprus, accessed viahttps://ec.europa.eu/digital-
agenda/en/news/digital-strategy-cyprus-full-version
? Ministry of Education and Culture, Department of Higher and Tertiary education (2014),
Higher Education in Cyprus, Press and Information Office, accessed viahttp://www.highereducation.ac.cy/information_booklet/index.html
? Kwintessential (2014), Intercultural Management – Cyprus (Blog article) accessed viahttp://www.kwintessential.co.uk/intercultural/management/cyprus.html
23
Greece
Population: 11,062,508
(projection at 2013)
1. Overview of the ICT sector in Greece
? Statistics information
The Gross domestic product (GDP) in Greece for 2013 amounts to Euro 179 080,6, while GDP in ICT
sector accounts for Euro 5 874 MIL
16
.
The employment rate in Greece in 2011 (Eurostat) amounted to 55.6% while National statistical
agency refers to a value of 74.5% (2014Q3)
17
. Employment in ICT sector accounts for 2.1%
18
in the
year 2013. According to Eurostat (values for 2012), the labour cost, wages and salaries, and direct
remuneration in ICT sector, “Per employee in full-time units, per month”, are the following:
- Total labour costs (excluding apprentices) – Euro 2,985
- Wages and salaries (excluding apprentices) – Euro 2,333
- Direct remuneration, bonuses and allowances – Euro 2,154
In addition, as found by the local daily paper (I Kathimerini) the salaries in ICT sector in Greece on
annual bases account to ca. Euro 30 000 for a Developer and ca. Euro 50 000 for a Programmer-
analyst.
The investment in research in ICT sector in Greece accounts for Euro 95 MIL (as of 2011) that is to say
for 19, 5% of the national budget.
19
? Profile of ICT companies in Greece
Number and size. ICT companies currently present in Greece are 4500
20
. The scenario of companies
classified by size into small (>10 people), medium and large is the following:
Small (11-50): 45%
Medium (50-250): 12%
Large (>250): 2%
Type of business. According to the statistical segmentation for the ICT sector (?????? 2008, NACE
Rev.2), there are 5 sub-sectors of ICT companies in Greece determined:
? Manufacturing
? Software
? Telecoms
? IT-Computer services
? Commerce
In terms of the actual ICT market, the ICT sector comprises of the IT-Computer services sector (86%)
and the Telecoms sector (14%), the one actually “feeding” the other through collaborations,
predominantly focused on Telecoms services and production. According to data available up to
2012, the Telecoms sector is carrying thus out approx. 60% of the gross production of the whole
16
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sepegr
17
http://www.statistics.gr/portal/pag...eleases/A0101_SJO01_DT_QQ_03_2014_01_F_GR.pdf
18
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sepegr
19
http://www.startupgreece.gov.gr/sites/default/files/Exploring ICT market in Greece.pdf
20
http://www.investingreece.gov.gr/default.asp?pid=36§orID=39&la=2
24
sector.
Thus, the business sectors of ICT companies in Greece, following the actual taxonomies in the world
of the market, are as follows:
? IT Equipment (ref. to Manufacturing)
? IT Services (ref. to IT-Computer services)
? Software (ref. to Software)
? Telecom Equipment (ref. to Manufacturing and Telecoms)
? Telecom Services (ref. to Telecoms)
?
Sources:
? ICT Market Report 2014/2014 Update, ?????? ??? ??? ????? ??????????? ???????????? ???
???????????? 2014/2015, ?????? 8, ????????? & ?????????? 2014. ???? (?????????
???????????? ???????????? & ???????????? ???????, The official EITO (European Information
Technology Observatory) partner in Greece
? General Secretariat of Research and Technology – Ministry of Education and religious Affairs
(July 2013, Dept. of IT and Communications)
Start-up companies. In 2013 the total of start-up companies in Greece was 144
21
,
22
, of which 72
23
i.e.
almost 50%, were ICT companies. This number amounts for the 1.6% of of the overall number of the
ICT companies on Greece (previous section).
2. Organizational Culture of ICT sector in Greece
? Common organizational culture in ICT sector in Greece. Until very recently, there were only large IT
companies, subsisting on public/government funded projects. This more or less determined their
organisational cultures, relying and being heavily depended on the public sector, eventually
assimilating organisational cultures to the ones present in the public sector bodies and organisations.
However, these large companies were surrounded by smaller ones, being somewhat bad ‘replicas’
of the larger ones. Actual business planning and expertise were largely missing, accounting for
extremely weak knowledge - intensive models. These factors have had and are still having, although
to a lesser extent, a substantial negative impact on a developmental potential which could be
based on innovative and more effective organisational cultures.
An emerging start-up ecosystem in the ICT sector which is rather young, is steadily enough changing
the ‘paradigm’ in the sector because first, it draws in new talent and unconventional thinking, and
second, it provides the opportunity to the traditional, large IT companies of the past to pursue
collaborations and strategic/clustering partnerships, more likely to effectively respond to the needs
of the highly competitive ICT sector at international level.
? Research and Development. The overall contribution of the ICT sector of Greece to achieving the EU
2020 target (i.e. 3% of GDP invested in R&D, ICT Business R&D expenditures) is one of the lowest
among EU member-states (less than 0,2%) compared to 1,3% at EU level.
Organizational structure among ICT sector. In 2005, the Information Society Observatory
(http://www.infosoc.gr) introduced a segmentation model for the ICT sector businesses and
enterprises consisting of established companies, rapidly developing ones, and low performing
companies. This model makes implications to the organisational structures in play, which either are
more or less present, or have to substantially change.
For the established ones, the appropriate strategy in order to respond to the challenges of the ICT
21
http://www.away.gr/2014/03/20/greek-startup-scene-infographic/
22
http://www.tovima.gr/finance/article/?aid=578841
23
http://www.tovima.gr/finance/article/?aid=578841
25
sector is to diversify products and services, meeting the needs of new markets and customer base.
This is eventually calling for diversification in terms of organisational structure as they know it. This
would particularly involve strategic partnerships, investment in R&D, and eventually knowledge-
intensive structures and models, which is a far cry from the bureaucratic or even post-bureaucratic
organisational structure of the recent past.
For the rapid developing ones, a necessary strategy focusing on international markets would also
allow for the emergence of alternative, more innovative organisational structures.
For the low performers, the future seems to be bleak, allowing them however to benefit by focusing
on niche markets which, by nature, ask for flexible and innovative organisational structures.
In any case, since the demand of the public sector is substantially shrinking – especially now during
the economic crisis – while the private sector and household demand is increasing, all of the three
aforementioned categories of ICT enterprises are gradually abandoning the organisational
structures of the past, which were more or less determined by the overt dependence on public
sector demand.
Focus on intrapreneurship in general in Greece. There are no concrete or easily accessible data
documenting the uptake of intrapreneurship in Greek companies in general. However, according
to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2103 Global Report, the total ‘entrepreneurial employee
activity’ rate (a term related to “intrapreneurship” or “corporate entrepreneurship”) in Greece is very
low (below 0, 3%) compared to the average rate for the rest of innovation-driven economies at
international level.
Focus on intrapreneurship in ICT companies in Greece. No official data are available. As
demonstrated above, large companies in the ICT sector follow traditional, bureaucratic models of
management. The emergent start-up ecosystem, especially in the field of ICT exhibits some
characteristics of intrapreneurial attitudes. A special mention could be made with respect to spin-off
companies established by researchers in the field of Academy and Research centres. Key ICT
clusters across major cities of Greece, comprising of industrial and academic members, for example,
display very high rate in the development of talents (137,5 % growth rate in the years 2006-2008).
Thus, by implication only, Research Centres, spin-offs, as well as key clusters across the country,
relying heavily on innovation, can be considered as facilitators of value-adding talent pool, allowing
for intrapreneurial endeavours.
3. Management practice of ICT sector in Greece
Management practice in general in Greece. Management practices/styles/models are closely
associated with the concept of organisational culture, as well as leadership. In the case of Greece
they cannot rely on the presence of a stable, continuous, long-term ‘culture’, which could condition
notions of relationships between businesses and the state mechanism, the market, and the
consumers. This eventually affects certain management styles practised within companies. Most
enterprises in Greece are SMEs or even micro-enterprises, usually family businesses. Organisational
cultures and thus management styles in Greece are rather human-cantered than business-cantered,
i.e. interpersonal relationships both within companies, but also with respect to the institutional level
are a determining factor in ‘doing business’. Moreover, they are rather individualistic, and at the
same time paternalistic, collective and hierarchical in nature. Furthermore, the concepts of
“leadership”, “strategy” and “trade-unionism” are grasped in extremely diverse ways, building
communication break-downs between employees, employers, and diverse actor in the field of
economy and businesses.
Although there are certain researches, addressing the ‘Greek management model’, no well-
documented aspects are available. What is actually of importance here, is the fact of how common
26
wisdom addresses the concept of management, rendering it ‘suspicious’, defensive in sharing
knowledge and information, based on a rather emotional approach of relationships and problems,
and following a ‘putting out fires’/situational approach.
As demonstrated in a relevant publication: ‘…The [Greek] business system is characterized by a
majority of micro firms and a small minority of medium and larger firms and multinational
corporations. The role of business is precarious; the firm is kept under the control of the owners, in a
small organic form characterized by a strong entrepreneurial spirit, which is responsive, flexible, and
opportunistic, inhabiting markets with unstable conditions’.
Management practice in ICT companies in Greece. Apart from new, innovative start-ups, spin-offs,
and ICT clusters, the large ICT companies rely mostly on standard, traditional management
practices. Unfortunately, no further, adequate data are available.
Using outsourcing and crowdsourcing in ICT companies in Greece. Although Greek enterprises -
predominantly small or very small – are following ‘outsourcing’ practices without even knowing that
such practices are labelled as outsourcing, e.g. shifting activities like accounting services,
production, e-sales services, etc., outsourcing as such is a relatively novel concept in the business
world in general. (No further data are available).
Providing outsourcing services for the ICT sector in Greece. Based on the fact that in the past 10
years Greece has shown significant growth in combination with significant increase in higher
education orientation, especially in electrical and computer engineering education, outsourcing
seems to be a much promising practice.
At the moment, no concrete data are available, besides bilateral communication between the
institutional level and the ICT sector representative bodies, showing interest to turn the country to an
outsourcing ‘paradise’ in South-eastern Europe. Towards this goal, Greece is exhibiting certain
advantages for the provision of outsourcing services such as ;
- Excellent talent pool
- Competitive wages
- Geographic location
- Strong market (regional headquarters)
However, significant players in the Greek ICT sector, as well as key clusters, provide outsourcing
services in the following fields:
a) IT resourcing & professional services
b) Application management services
c) Infrastructure management & IT support
d) Service desk outsourcing
Remote work practices/telecommuting. Remote work and telecommuting is rather uncharted in
Greece, both at the institutional, as well as at the business level. ICT companies seem to have the
leading role in telecommuting practices; however, no well-documented data are available.
According to the latest available data (2010), remote workers account only for 0, 5-1% of the entire
work-force. The absence of statistical data – i.e. registering telecommuting as a distinct form of
‘employment’ – doesn’t allow for elaborate information.
The main identified obstacles for intrapreneurship in the existing management/organizational
structure in ICT sector in Greece:
? Paternalistic management practices
? Labour-intensive nature
? Reliance on public sector
? Necessity driven entrepreneurship
27
Bureaucratic structures hindering development
? Lack of targeted education and training (intracompany or else)
4. Educational offer of Intrapreneurship courses in Greece
Offer of educational organizations: Targeted intrapreneurship courses at all levels are not available in
Greece. Higher education institutions, business management departures across Greek Universities,
include sporadically intrapreneurship as part of the curricula, as an entrepreneurial practice,
however not promoting it as a distinct field in curricula.
Private institutions in the field of Business Management and Entrepreneurship move along similar lines.
Indicative higher education institutions of the public sector and operating business management
departments where ‘intrapreneurship’ has been spotted as part of the educational material include
the:
? Athens University of Economics and Business
? Democritus University of Thrace
? National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
? University of Ioannina
? University of Piraeus
Offer by companies of any in house training. No information found.
5. Best Practices of Intrapreneurship in ICT Sector in Greece
Case 1: Corallia - Hellenic Technology Clusters Initiative (2006) - www.corallia.org
Corallia is an example of a so-called ‘inborn entrepreneurial innovation’ exploiting ‘knowledge
capital’ as an asset, that is, the shared, managed, sought-after information and skills of the human
factor per se, rather than labour, land, (economic) capital, the traditional
(physical/tangible/generic) factors of production. In turn, the initiative is heavily relying on
knowledge-intensive innovation and production principles, extroversion, and transnational synergies.
Not being a ‘best practice’ for intrapreneurship in strict terms, this initiative is not a ‘company’ having
introduced intrapreneurial practices in an existing ‘organisational culture’, but rather, it has been
structured on the underlying principles of intrapreneurship in a way. Its own essence seems to be
about what intrapreneurship stands for.
6. REFERENCES
? General Secretariat of Research and Technology – Ministry of Education and religious Affairs
(July 2013, Dept. of IT and Communications)
? Hellenic Federation of Enterprises www.sev.org.gr
? Hellenic Statistical Authorityhttp://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/BUCKET/A0101/PressReleases/A0101_SJO01_
DT_QQ_03_2014_01_F_GR.pdf
? Information Society – The official Greek portal www.infosoc.gr
? Innosupport – Supporting innovation in SMEhttp://www.innosupport.net/
? Invest in Greece Agency, Exploring ICT investment opportunities in Greece, January 2011http://www.investingreece.gov.gr/http://www.investingreece.gov.gr/default.asp?pid=36§orID=39&la=2
28
? McKinsey&Company, ? ?????? 10 ?????? ???????: ??????????????? ?? ??? ??????
??????? ????????? (??????????? 2011)
? Prouska. R, Kapsali M. eds., ‘Business and management Practices in Greece – A comparative
context’, (2011), Business & Management Collection 2011
? SEPEgr ???? (????????? ???????????? ???????????? & ???????????? ???????)https://www.linkedin.com/in/sepegr
? SEPEgr ???? (????????? ???????????? ???????????? & ???????????? ???????), The official
EITO (European Information Technology Observatory) partner in Greece: ICT Market Report
2014/2014 Update, ?????? ??? ??? ????? ??????????? ???????????? ??? ????????????
2014/2015, ?????? 8, ????????? & ?????????? 2014.
? Startup Greece (Information, networking and collaboration space, aimed at creating a new
generation of entrepreneurs in Greece)http://www.startupgreece.gov.gr
? WorldBusinessCulture portalhttp://www.worldbusinessculture.com/Greek-Management-
Style.html
Online news pages and aggregators (mass and special media)
? awaygr, Online media property (special media)http://www.away.gr/2014/03/20/greek-
startup-scene-infographic/
? Eleftherotypia (I), Online newspaper (mass media),http://www.enet.gr/?i=news.el.article&id=209160
? Kathimerini (I), Online newspaper (mass media)http://www.kathimerini.gr/782859/article/oikonomia/ellhnikh-oikonomia/poia-epaggelmata-
exoyn-zhthshhttp://www.kathimerini.gr/63426/article/epikairothta/ellada/axartografhth-h-thlergasia-sthn-
ellada
? Nea (Ta), Online newspaper (mass media),http://www.tanea.gr/news/economy/article/5096292/elstat-sta-181-1-dis-eyrw-anhlthe-to-
aep-ths-elladas-to-2013/
? Vima (To), Online newspaper (mass media),http://www.tovima.gr/finance/article/?aid=578841
29
Italy
Population: 59 685 227
(projection at 2013)
1. Overview of the ICT sector in ITALY
? Statistics information
The Gross domestic product (GDP) in ITALY for 2014 amounts to Euro 1 616 047,6 MIL. The information
on GDP in ICT sector
is not available.
The employment rate in ITALY in 2011 (Eurostat) amounted to 56.9% while the National statistical
agency (ISTAT) refers to a value of 86,6% for 2014. The employment in ICT sector accounts for 2,66%
in the year 2010
24
. According to Eurostat (values for 2012), the hourly rates for labour cost, wages
and salaries, and direct remuneration in ICT sector, expressed in unit “Per employee in full-time units,
per month”, are the following:
- Total labour costs (excluding apprentices) – Euro 4,857
- Wages and salaries (excluding apprentices) – Euro 3,491
- Direct remuneration, incl. bonuses & allowances (excl. apprentices) – Euro 3,044
In addition, additional information was collected from the National Statistics Office. In 2012, the
labour cost per employee in enterprises and institutions of the private and public sectors with at least
10 employees was euro 41,330 per year. Wages and salaries per employee were euro 29,895 per
year, accounting for 72.3% of the total labour cost. Social contributions accounted for 27.3% of the
labour cost with statutory contributions at 20.4%, those collectively agreed, contractual and
voluntary at 0.4% and provision for the end-of-service- pay-out (Tfr-Trattamento di fine rapporto) at
3.9%. The ratio of vocational training costs over the labour cost was 0.2%. In the private sector, on
average, 28.8% of the Tfr was paid to supplementary pension funds. In the enterprises with more than
1,000 employees, this share was 43.5%; therefore, the wages and salaries per hour worked were euro
20.20. The difference between enterprises and institutions with over 1,000 employees and those with
10-49 employees was 7.00 euro.
In the North-west and in the Centre areas of Italy, hourly wage and salaries were higher than the
national average (+3.8% and +2.4%, respectively) while in North-East, South and Islands areas it was
lower (-3.6%, -4.7% and -2.3%). The average number of hours worked per employee was 1,480,
accounting for 83% of the hours paid (1,784). The average number of hours worked for a part-time
employee was 990, on average 63.3% of the number for a full time employee (1,565 hours).
Excluding the sectors of Public administration, defence and compulsory social security, the hourly
labour cost was euro 23.60 in Eu28 and 28.4 in the Euro area. Italy's position was below the Euro area
either for the hourly labour cost (euro 27.5) or for the wages and salaries (19.90 euro vs 21.20). In the
same sectors the share of social contributions over the labour costs in Italy (27.7%) was above those
of Eu28 (23%) and of Euro area (25.4%).
With regard to ICT sector, this is hardly identifiable by means of official statistics, as tables give the
amount per code (code J as below described), and in any case general statistics for Industry and
Services are available up to 2012. Secondary sources (e.g. ICT enterprises associations as ASSINTEL)
reports for 2013, gross total salaries: Directors € 98,803; Managers/supervisors € 52,468; Employee €
27,333.
24
ISTAT (Italian National statistics Agency)
30
NOTE: This amount is provided according to National Collective Agreements, but the labour market
in Italy is very uneven, and the practice of having independent in-house staff is rather common. They
are not formally employees, but self-employees or freelancer, having only one employer.
Business R&D expenditures (BERD) in ICT sector as a percentage of the total R&D expenditure
(EUROSTAT) indicated as last available data the value of 0,64% (2006). According to European ICT
BERD distribution by Member State (Digital Agenda, 2009), in Italy this value accounts for 8,53%
? Profile of ICT companies in ITALY
Number and size
25
. ICT companies currently present in ITALY are 97,280 enterprises (2013), 6,033 of
which have more than 10 employees. The scenario of companies classified by size into small (>10
people), medium and large is the following:
o Small (11-50): 5,100 (2013)
o Medium (50-250): 765 (2013)
o Large (>250): 168 (2013)
Type of business. According to BUSINESS REGISTER 2013
26
, the main sector of ICT companies in ITALY is
Software production, IT consultancy and related activities where there are present 2885 enterprises.
Other sectors are:
o Publishing activities (509)
o Motion picture, video and television programme production, sound recording and music
publishing activities (507)
o Programming and broadcasting activities (224)
o Telecommunications (230)
o Information service activities (1,678)
? Start-up companies.
Number in ITALY: According to the Registro Imprese (“Enterprises Record”), which is national based
and managed by the Chambers of Commerce, at the beginning of 2015 (19/01/2015) the number
of “Innovative start-ups” were 3,185. However, official data do not take into consideration all the
types of existent start-ups, but only those referred to Certificate Incubators defined by Law (Decree
Crescita 2.0, “Growth 2.0”, 2012). A general database which includes on all start-ups is managed by
EconomyUp, which is a private company working on the editorial sector
(http://www.economyup.it/startup), however this not includes statistics. Another reputed source of
information, which includes several types of start-ups, is the Osservatorio Italia Startup, by the
Politecnico di Milano(Polytechnic University in Milan), focused on high-tech start-ups.
ICT start-up companies in ITALY: According to the report published by Osservatorio Italia Startup for
2014
27
, the number of ICT companies accounts for 3,427.
2. Organizational Culture of ICT sector in ITALY
? Common organizational culture in ICT sector in ITALY
The organisational culture in the Italian ICT sector largely depends on the size of the enterprises,
25
http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/st...main_en/labour_33main_en?OpenForm&sub=3&sel=4
BUSINESS REGISTER 2013. Number of Enterprises by Economic Activity NACE (Rev. 2) and Size Group (2013)
26
ISTAT, Movimprese
27
www.italiastartup.it
31
which are mostly micro or small enterprises. In addition, ICT companies also deal with the Italian
scenario with regard to organisational culture and management, which – as literature suggests – is
characterised by three main elements, namely (Masino 2008):
? the State’s influence, since for many decades Italy had a protectionist economic policy;
? the family character of many enterprises (both small and large);
? the relevance of the territory, in other words, all those social and cultural elements that
characterise Italy as a community of communities, the aggregate of a number of different
specific local (and very diverse) environments.
All this leads to a predominant fidelity model in recruiting managers, while performance models are
still less developed than in other European countries (Bandiera et al 2008): the consequence is often
a less defined management style, except of the “ownership style” (a type of corporate governance
model which is basically based on the control from owners/family members in case of family firms). A
corporate culture based on explicit long-term planning and focused on human capital
development is not yet totally mainstreamed in Italy (Ceccarini 2011, Bandiera et al 2008) and
policies addressed to favour shift are rather recent.
As there is no study or data source on organizational culture and management style addressing the
ICT sector, we can only assume that most of the ICT firms are aligned with the general Italian
scenario. We acknowledge however that this is a not verified statement.
? Companies with in-house R&D division
There is no specific information on this issue. In past years, several OECD reports pointed out a low
innovation capacity of Italian SMEs, which can also be a consequence of the short term orientation
of organisational culture, where R&D requires a long-term perspective. In the past few years, policies
and public financial support has been focused on investments on R&D for SMEs, and some
advancement have been made with respect to this. However, given the size of most ICT companies
in Italy, it is unlikely that in-house R&D divisions are common.
? Organizational structure among ICT sector
Besides the logical difference between large and small companies, it was not possible to identify
specific elements in organisational structures. Recruitment and staff wages (Assintel report, 2014)
suggest that large firms count on more permanent workers than SMEs, which have a higher number
of independent staff. This, of course, affects a lot organisational structures; however, it can depend
by the current evolving situation of the Italian labour market, characterised by a number of
independent workers who work in-house.
? Focus on intrapreneurship in general in ITALY
? No examples have been identified. Intrapreneurship is mentioned in some academic environments
and top management courses (see below), but according to results of this desk research, it is not
widespread.
? Focus on intrapreneurship in ICT companies in ITALY
No evidence of this has been identified. An example, however, can be Engineering Informatica
S.p.A.
28
declaring: “Creating a company requires responsibilities at all levels. Engineering prefers the
culture of doing, our employees strive for goals in a welcoming environment with young, motivated
colleagues. Our internal organization, based on merit, leaves room for widespread managerial
abilities, autonomous choices, the horizontal principle of delegation and subsidiarity. We have
organized our thirty years of expansion and growth around these values. Our way of doing business is
a success model that has been explained in three volumes of books published by Il Sole 24 Ore and
28
www.eng.it
32
Guerini e Associati.”
3. Management practice of ICT sector in ITALY
? Management practice in general in ITALY
Management style in Italian firms is mostly authoritative than participative. However, this can
dramatically change in micro-companies, that usually have a very participative approach.
? Management practice in ICT companies in ITALY
There no information available on managerial practice in ICT sector being different to the ones in
general.
? Using outsourcing and crowdsourcing in ICT companies in ITALY
No precise sources of information could be found on this issue, but secondary data (e.g. statistics on
start-ups, staff surveys, etc.) lead to believe that ICT companies usually don’t rely on outsourcing,
unless their statute includes other organisations delegated to some activities (as the case of
university spin offs).
? Providing outsourcing services for the ICT sector in ITALY
ICT companies in Italy do provide outsourcing services extensively, both to public bodies and private
firms. No precise data is available to this respect; considering, however, that classes (62) and (63)
above mentioned both refer to consultancy services, it could be assumed that the most part of the
companies provide outsourcing (although not specified). With regard to internationalisation of
services, for the period 2008/2011 the import/export of IT services highlighted a loss ratio (Celata
2013): the 87% of the Italian export has European countries as destination, and the 86% of import is
with EU countries as well. The first export partner is Ireland, followed by Germany and UK.
? Remote work practices/telecommuting
“Smart Work” has been promoted in Italy since 2004, through national legislation, and has been also
recently promoted through laws related to job contracts. However the potential of such practice
has not been fully exploited by enterprises so far. Although it is not possible to estimate the extent of
telecommuting in the ICY sector in Italy, the Observatory on Smart Work report 2014 points out that
8% of the companies (large and medium companies) have already applied smart work plans (in
food sector, ICT, telecommunications and manufacturing).
? The main identified obstacles for intrapreneurship in the existing management/organizational
structure in ICT sector in ITALY
The main barrier seems to be the size of the company. To some extent this weakness is also an
opportunity, as particularly micro-companies are based on strong team-groups, where each of the
members is implicitly an intrapreneur.
4. Educational offer of Intrapreneurship courses in ITALY
Offer of educational organizations. Intrapreneurship is generally included as a study topic in courses
of business, economics, human resources management. In particular, a course identified is:
? University of Pisa
A module of a not-curricular PhD plus (post graduate level). Duration and credits not specified,
costs are included in the PhD fee.
Offer by companies of any in-house training. No in-house training was identified by this desk
33
research. However, a couple of learning events offered by other organizations were found:
? ISTUD (independent business school)
“Intrapreneurship” | 2 days (seminar) | Cost Euro 1,200 | No accreditation mentioned.
? Innovitis (no profit company working in facilitating relations between start-ups and managers)
“Obiettivo Intrapreneurship” (no details mentioned)
5. Best Practices of Intrapreneurship in ICT Sector in ITALY
Case 1. Engineering (http://www.eng.it/) ICT company (software and IT services) which has been
studied as good practice for original HR management and organisational culture, based on the
promotion of intrapreneurship (in Italian “intraprenditorialità”).
Case 2. Gruppo Loccioni (www.loccioni.com) This is a service company that includes ICT and
technological transfer, known as good practice for its openness and its insertion program, where
students are trained to learn “how to improve as persons and as entrepreneurs”. Their approach is
definitely based on intrapreneurship.
6. REFERENCE
? Assintel (2012). L’osservatorio delle competenze nell’ICT. Scenari, retribuzioni e tariffe 2012.
? ASSINTEL (2014). Assintel Report 2014
? Bandiera O., Guiso L., Sadun R. (2008). Italian managers: fidelity of performance?
? Bordignon M. (2010). Evoluzione e sviluppo d’impresa.
? Capitani, G. (2014). Presentation of the 45° Assinform report.
? Cavasin S. (2014). Gestione del capitale umano, Mercato del Lavoro, Retribuzioni.
Osservatorio delle Competenze Digitali 2014
? Celata G, (2013). Progetto di internazionalizzazione delle imprese ICT.
? Ciccarini B. (2011). Understanding management style differences between Germany,
Sweden and Italy – considering environmental and social viewpoints.
? Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (2011). Il benessere, il clima e la cultura delle
organizzazioni: significati ed evoluzioni in letteratura.
? De Vio S. (2010). Engineering 30 anni. Da impresa italiana a multinazionale dell’IT.
? European Commission (2014). Scheda Informativa SBA 2013. Italia.
? EUROSTAT (2012). Entrepreneurship determinants: culture and capability. Statistical books.
? EUROSTAT (2014). Key figures in Europe. 2014 edition. Pockebooks.
? EUROSTATA. Statistics.
? FUB Fondazione Ugo Bordoni (2011). Il ruolo del capitale umano nel settore ICT.
? Guidi F. (2014). Report to the Parliament on the implementation of regulations in support of
the innovative start up ecosystem.
? Informest (2011). Il settore dell’information and communication technologies (ICT) in Italia.
? ISTAT (2013). 9° censimento dell’industria e dei servizi e Censimento delle istituzioni no profit.
Primi risultati.
? ISTAT. Statistics. Tables 2012, 2013, 2014
? Lewis, R.D. (2006). When cultures collide – Leading across cultures
? Mas M., Fernandez Radovelosics F.J. (2014). The 2013 predict report: an analysis of ICT R&D in
the EU and beyond. JRC science and policy reports.
? Masino G. (2008). Culture and management in Italy: tradition, modernization and new
challenges.
34
? Ministero dello sviluppo economico (2014). Small Business Act. Le iniziative a sostegno delle
micro, piccole, medio imprese adottate in Italia nel 2013.
? OECD (2014), OECD Studies on SMEs and Entrepreneurship. Italy: Key Issues and Policies
? Osservatori.net (2013). Le priorità 2013 per il settore ICT.
? Osservatorio Start-up Hi-Tech (2014). The Italian start-up ecosystem. Who is who.
? Schien E.H. (2000). Culture d’impresa.
? Symbola (2013). Italian quality and beauty. Compact Report on Cultural and Creative
Industries in Italy.
35
Romania
Population: 20,020,074
(projection at 2013)
1. Overview of the ICT sector in ROMANIA
? Statistics information
The Gross domestic product (GDP) in ROMANIA for 2014 amounts to Euro 150 018,5 MIL, while GDP in
ICT sector accounts 5% of the GDP for 2014
29
.
The employment rate in ROMANIA in 2011 (Eurostat) amounted to 58.5% while partner’s source
indicates 63.1% in 2013. The information regarding employment in ICT sector is not available.
According to Eurostat (values for 2012), the hourly rates for labour cost, wages and salaries, and
direct remuneration in ICT sector, expressed in unit “Per employee in full-time units, per month”, are
the following:
Total labour costs (excluding apprentices) – Euro 1,237
Wages and salaries (excluding apprentices) – Euro 963
Direct remuneration, incl. bonuses & allowances (excl. apprentices) – Euro 881
The investment in Research and Development in ROMANIA accounts for 0,49% of GDP.
30
? Profile of ICT companies in ROMANIA
Number and size. No structured information on number, size or type of business for Romanian ICT
companies was found available by this research.
? Start-up companies.
According to the RomanianStartups
31
the number of this kind of companies is 261.
2. Organizational Culture of ICT sector in ROMANIA
? Common organizational culture in ICT sector in ROMANIA
According to a recent empirical study in northwest Romania, 80% of the investigated companies say
that the communication between managers and employees exists within the Romanian companies,
and over 60% of them are focused on teamwork. Although about 65% of the investigated
companies offer employees the freedom to use their skills, only 34% of them offer them the freedom
to use their own judgment, which to some extent limits the freedom of employees to come up with
new and innovative ideas at their workplace. Research indicates that the companies from the
northwest region of Romania have an organizational culture that is able to support and sustain
intrapreneurship (Borza, Maier, Bordean 2012).
? Companies with in-house R&D division
Although the exact percentage of companies that have in-house R&D in Romania could not be
retrieved from a valid source, important information about what is perceived as R&D in Romania
29
RomanianNationalNewAgency (2014), retrieved athttp://www.agerpres.ro/english/2014/12/03/industry-agriculture-
communications-have-greatest-contribution-to-gdp-growth-11-57-11
30
Deloitte (2014)
31
http://www.romanianstartups.com/
36
could be derived. More specifically, according to the Romanian companies participating in
the 2014 Corporate R&D survey, while R&D is perceived as the development of new products,
processes and services (68%), it is seen even more as making significant changes or improvements to
existing ones (79%). Almost half of the firms involved consider that R&D includes the joint realisation of
research projects aimed at improving or developing new products and services in collaboration with
other group entities/companies (46%). However, according to the report, a percentage of 19% of
respondents indicated that their companies didn’t have an R&D policy whereas a 29% of
the companies surveyed in Romania are said to be familiar with and make use of R&D grant
programmes. Finally, according to the same report, only 3% of Romanian respondents denoted that
they spend nothing at all on R&D (Deloitte, 2014).
? Organizational structure among ICT sector
No information found.
? Focus on intrapreneurship in general in ROMANIA
Although entrepreneurship initiatives and related activities in Romania are recorded to a large
extend and seem to be supported, according to recent studies comparing entrepreneurs and
intraprenereus in Romania, the intraprenership activity rate in Romania is foreseen to be
approximately 3-4% (Benyovsizki, A., Nagy, A., Petru, T.P., 2013).
? Focus on intrapreneurship in ICT companies in ROMANIA
According to recent research results and indications, Romanian companies, irrespective of their size
can be Intrapreneurial (Borza, Maier, Bordean, 2012).
3. Management practice of ICT sector in ROMANIA
? Management practice in general in ROMANIA
Romanian organisations have a low uncertainty avoidance ranking, which means a ready
acceptance of change and greater tolerance for risk-taking. According to recent research results,
there seems to be absence of a balance of power within society short-term orientation and a higher
power distance. This could be an indication that individualism is more prevalent than collectivism in
Romania. This conclusion is helpful in understanding how managers and employees approach their
work in this culture. In general, Romanian firms have a greater number of hierarchical levels than
their international counterparts. To this end, an autocratic management style and culture is typical
and participative management is seldom to be seen or practised. Furthermore, due to this structure
of hierarchy, communication at the same level is slight or minimum, depended if information is
required to fulfil each employee’s own tasks. Everybody is focused on accomplishing their objectives
and tasks and less interested in how decisions, outputs affects a peer’s tasks or the company’s
performance” (Aiello, M., Borres, A., Bucor, M., 2008).
? Management practice in ICT companies in ROMANIA
No additional information found on ICT sector in particular.
? Using outsourcing and crowdsourcing in ICT companies in ROMANIA
This seems not to be very applicable in Romania although specific information about the extent at
which ICT companies in Romania outsourced could not be retrieved. However, several applications
indicate that Romania seems to be one of the emerging countries on providing IT outsourcing
services for other countries (Flinders, K. 2013; Székely T., 2014).
? Providing outsourcing services for the ICT sector in ROMANIA
Romanian companies do provide IT outsourcing services for other countries and Romania seems to
37
be one of the emerging countries in this domain. In fact, it is referenced as one of ‘India’s
competitors on IT outsourcing’ and it is illustrated in the top 10 countries on IT outsourcing globally.
? Remote work practices/telecommuting
About 2.5% of workers are involved in telework for about a quarter of their working time. A 0.7% of
workers are working involved in teleworking fulltime (Eurofound, 2010).
? The main identified obstacles for intrapreneurship in the existing management/organizational
structure in ICT sector in ROMANIA
Employee attachment to a corporation is low. Managers seem not to involve the employees in the
strategic and tactical planning of processes of the company. So they do not have the chance to
speak-up and make their suggestions or take initiatives. To become more intraprenarial and more
innovative, Romanian companies need to deconstruct management orthodoxies and embrace
new principles (Aiello, M., Borres, A., Bucor, M., 2008).
4. Educational offer of Intrapreneurship courses in ROMANIA
Offer of educational organizations. No relevant course or workshop that draws its solid focus on
intraprenership has been identified by this research. However, forthcoming courses intend to include
‘corporate entrepreneurship’ as part of their syllabus. More specifically:
? Bucharest Business School of the Bucharest University of Economic Studies
32
A module on interprenership will be introduced within its INDE Romanian-French MBA. The degree will
be offered on full-time and part-time bases so as professionals can also attend and will be
introduced in academic year 2016-2017. The module will be taught for 3 hours per week and has
duration of 14 weeks. The module on ‘corporate entrepreneurship’ will be associated to 125 ECTS
and topics to be covered include: basics of interpreneurship, how to develop interpreneurship
behaviours and strategies, how to manage intrerpreneurship projects and how to assess and foster
change in organisational culture so as to promote intrerpreneurship.
It is to be mentioned that Bucharest University of Economic Studies hosts UNESCO chair of training
and research applied to business development in countries in economic transition.
Offer by companies of any in house training. No information on a relevant activity retrieved.
5. Best Practices of Intrapreneurship in ICT Sector in ROMANIA
Case 1. The Impact Hub (http://www.impacthub.ro/about-us/) is a hub for supporting innovation and
innovative ideas, providing training etc. It is mainly targeting mainly entrepreneurs but in the about us
section, it mentions also that they have corporate intrepreneurs as members (note that impact hub is
based in several countries and not only Romania).
6. REFERENCE
? Aiello, M., Borres, A., Bucor, M.(2008). Organisational Practices in Romania and US: Are We So
Different?, Organisation Management CR505, pp. 9, DeSales University, December 7, 2008.
Retrieved throughhttp://www.slideshare.net/venturaab/organizational-practices-in-romania
32
http://www.inde.ro/Syllabus/AN 2/SEM 2/ANT 2014 EN.pdf
38
? Benyovsizki, A., Nagy, A., Petru, T.P. (2013) Is there a difference between intrapreneurs and
early-stage enterpreneurs in Romania?. Journal of Theoritical and Applied Economics, Vol.
XX, 6(583), pp.53-60. Retrieved through:http://store.ectap.ro/articole/870.pdf
? Borza,Maier,Bordean [2012]. Identifying The Intensity of Intraprenership Within the Companies
of the Northwest Region Of Romania. In Proceedings of the 6
th
International Management
Conference “Approaches in Organizational Management”, pp.77-78. 15-16 November 2012,
Bucharest, Romania. Retrieved through:http://conferinta.management.ase.ro/archives/2012/pdf/8.pdf
? Deloitte [2014]. Romania Corporate R&D Roport 2014. Retrieved through:http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/About-
Deloitte/CE_RD_Romania_2014.pdf
? European Foundation For The Improvement Of Living and Working Conditions (2010).
Telework In the European Union. Retrieved through:http://eurofound.europa.eu/sites/default/files/ef_files/docs/eiro/tn0910050s/tn0910050s.pdf
? Flinders, K. (2013). Is Eastern Europe India’s biggest threat for IT outsourcing?. Published via
Computer Weekly, Investing Outsourcing Blog. Retrieved through:http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/outsourcing/2013/09/is-eastern-europe-indias-
biggest-threat-for-it-outsourcing.html
? Székely T. (2014), Romania among top 10 Outsourcing Locations Globally. Outsourcing
Journal, Special Edition “CEE. A Colorful Outsourcing Landscape”. Retrieved through:http://www.outsourcing-journal.org/cee-2/915-romania-among-top-10-outsourcing-
locations-globally
39
Spain
Population 46,727,890
(projection at 2013)
1. Overview of the ICT sector in Spain
? Statistics information
33
The Gross domestic product (GDP) in Spain for 2014 amounts to Euro 1 058 469 MIL while GDP in ICT
sector accounts for Euro € 83.171.951(for 2012)
34
.
The employment rate in Spain in 2011 (Eurostat) amounted to 57.7% while 7.6%
35
accounts for
employment in ICT sector in the year 2013. According to Eurostat (values for 2012), the labour cost,
wages and salaries, and direct remuneration in ICT sector, expressed in unit “Per employee in full-
time units, per month”, are the following:
Total labour costs (excluding apprentices) – Euro 3,976
Wages and salaries (excluding apprentices) – Euro 2,964
Direct remuneration, bonuses and allowances – Euro 2,616
The investment in research in ICT sector in Spain accounts for Euro €995,833 (as of 2012).
? Profile of ICT companies in Spain
Number and size
36
. ICT companies currently present in Spain are 29277. The scenario of companies
classified by size into small (>10 people), medium and large is the following:
Small (11-50): 86,64%
Medium (50-250): 12,67%
Large (>250): 0,68%
Type of business. According to the statistical segmentation for the ICT sector, there are four main
sectors of ICT companies in Spain determined:
? Computer programming, consultancy and other computer related activities
? Telecommunications
? Websites, data processing, hosting
? Editing of software (gaming and other software)
Start-up companies. In 2012 the total of start-up companies in Spain was 287.311, of which 3920 i.e.
almost 13.38%, were ICT companies. This number amounts for the 1.36% of the overall number of the
ICT companies on Spain (previous section).
2. Organizational Culture of ICT sector in Spain
? Common organizational culture in ICT sector in Spain
37
. The Spanish ICT sector is highly fragmented
since more than 80% of ICT sector companies are SMEs. The capabilities and resources at the
disposal of these companies to implement and maintain management policies are very limited
compared to large companies.
Although there are certain responsibility profiles in most companies, CTO, marketing and human
33
Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). Indicadores del sector TIC (CNAE-2009)
34
Instituto Nacional de Estadística
35
EL PAIS Newspaper (2012)
36
http://www.ontsi.red.es/ontsi/sites/default/files/informe_del_sector_ticc_2013_edicion_2014.pdf
37
CONETIC, 2012. Informe del estudio retributivo del Sector TOC Español.
40
resources director, project managers and area managers in general, the structures are mixed and
very horizontal. As stated policy, there seems to be no differentiated structure. There are some
profiles with multiple roles: project-oriented, services, etc. so to establish a tree structure in the
company. Moreover, the views of these companies and professionals indicate a clear future trend
pointing to a pyramidal structure under a defined career plan; currently, this seems to be an
expectation for the future. There no significant differences with organisational structure among ICT
sector.
? Research and Development
38
. The percentage of ICT companies that have in-house R&D division
amounts to 16,3% of ICT companies.
Focus on intrapreneurship in general in Spain. This is a new term for companies (in general). For
example, it can be stated that if inserted in popular research engines, the term “Intrapreneurship” (in
Spanish Intraemprendimiento) produces 50,900 results while the term “Intrapreneur” (in Spanish
Intraemprender) produces 3,580 results. Hence, the general feeling of this research is that the term is
spreading but there is no further data that can confirm that all companies in Spain have a focus on
Intrapreneurship.
Focus on intrapreneurship in ICT companies in Spain
39
. This concept is a mainstream in the ICT sector
based on the commitment to innovation, involving the employee, improving quality and providing
services or products with higher added value is emerging in Spain. The commitment to innovation in
ICT companies generally allows a major involvement of the professionals, improving aspects of the
company. There are innovation-oriented SMEs promoting the involvement of its employees with the
aim of promoting eventual spin-offs from innovative technological ideas through Innovation contests
with prizes related to the sector (mobile, consoles, electronic devices in general).
3. Management practice of ICT sector in Spain
40
,
41
Management practice in general in Spain is permissive autocratic.
Management practice in ICT companies in Spain is participative/democratic. A deeply rooted
concept for SMEs does not seem to be clearly structured. SMEs do not normally hold on a clear
organizational structure, with employers and employees having close links between them.
Using outsourcing and crowdsourcing in ICT companies in Spain. This phenomenon does not occur
specifically often among companies in Spain.
Providing outsourcing services for the ICT sector in Spain. The consolidation of cloud computing
services and technologies are generating new business opportunities for the sector, while generating
a reduction in IT departments. Increasingly, companies see a viable opportunity to reduce their ICT
capital costs and opt for outsourcing services in specialized companies which, in many cases, are
located in other countries.
Remote work practices/telecommuting seems to be a growing practice but it is not very common
yet.
The main identified obstacles for intrapreneurship in the existing management/organizational
structure in ICT sector in Spain seems to be current economic crisis. The national ICT sector seems to
be very permeable in terms of new management/organizational structures/cultures to promote
intrapreneurship. However, the current economic situation will increasingly complicate the retention
and attraction of talent.
38
Instituto Nacional de Estadística
39
CONETIC, 2012. Informe del estudio retributivo del Sector TOC Español.
40
Grupo de Responsables de Formación de Entidades Financieras (GREF)
41
CONETIC, 2012. Informe del estudio retributivo del Sector TOC Español.
41
4. Educational offer of Intrapreneurship courses in Spain
Offer of educational organizations.
A specific course in Spanish language is identified at:
? European University Miguel de Cervantes
42
Course title: University Expert for Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs, “Experto Universitario para
Emprendedores e Intraemprendedores”
Duration: 700 hours
Cost: € 2,900
Credits: 28 credits
Offer by companies of any in house training. No information found.
5. Best Practices of Intrapreneurship in ICT Sector in Spain
Case 1 – ALTRAN (http://www.altran.es/)
National award for Innovation and Design in 2011 (Innovative Human Resources).
95% of the jobs Altran has created in the last two years have a high technological profile.
Additionally, the number of contracts reached 294. This represents an interesting figure compared
with the total workforce of the company reaching 2,000 employees, which places the company as
one of the main technology companies generating sustainable employment in Spain.
In addition, Altran has created an innovative training and staff development model based on
Innovative learning activities implemented internally focused on creativity and Innovation
Techniques and the promotion of a center of Excellence: Intelligence, Technology Radar,
Intelligence Seminars or workshops to foster team creativity and innovation.
Case 2 – Telefónica
Telefonica is one of the major telecom in Spain and also has an international profile as it is present in
21 countries and employs an average of 120,000 professionals. Its consolidated revenues as in 2014
were 37,978 million euros in January-September 2014 and more than 316.1 million customers in
September. It also has various initiatives to promote entrepreneurship among its employees, such as
the Idealab (a blog for ideas from employees, i.e.http://www.aunclicdelastic.com/la-era-de-la-
innovacion/), canal de emprendedores (entrepreneuship channel) and Optima (corporate
efficiency). More than 10% of the workforce of Telefónica Spain is approaching to participate in
these initiatives; such initiatives affect over 3,000 people who are leading the development of new
initiatives within Telefónica. The logic behind these initiatives is to promote projects and initiatives
within the company with average duration of four months and if they achieve the objectives
pursued, they may have the opportunity to compete for prizes within the company.
Case 3 – A blog INTRAEMPRENDER (Intrapreneur)http://intraemprender.blogspot.com.es/
42http://www.uemc.es/posgrados/experto-universitario-para-emprendedores-e-intraemprendedores
42
6. REFERENCES
? EL PAIS Newspaper: 17/06/2012.http://economia.elpais.com/economia/2012/06/15/actualidad/1339777853_083430.html.
Retrieved 12 January 2015.
? GDP: International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 1 November 2014
? Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). Indicadores del sector TIC (CNAE-2009).
Correspondent to 2012.http://www.ine.es/ Retrieved 12 January 2015.
? Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). Estadística sobre Actividades de Investigación
Científica y Desarrollo Tecnológico. Indicadores del sector TIC (CNAE-2009). Correspondent
to 2012.http://www.ine.es/. Retrieved 02 February 2015.
? Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). Indicadores del sector TIC (CNAE-2009).http://www.ine.es/prensa/np856.pdf. Retrieved 02 February 2015
? Observatorio Nacional de las Telecomunicaciones y de la Sociedad de la Información.http://www.ontsi.red.es/ontsi/sites/default/files/informe_del_sector_ticc_2013_edicion_2014.p
df Retrieved 02 February 2015.
? Fajardo J., El directivo español no entrena a su equipo, Grupo de Responsables de
Formación de Entidades Financieras (GREF); accessed viahttp://www.gref.org/nuevo/articulos/articulo040404.pdf. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
? Confederación Española de Empresas de Tecnologías de la Información, Comunicaciones y
Electrónica (CONETIC), (2012), INFORME DEL ESTUDIO RETRIBUTIVO DEL SECTOR TIC ESPAÑOL.http://www.conetic.info/Archivos/Descargas/Publicaciones/Estudio_Retributivo_CONETIC_ve
rsion%20final.pdf. Retrieved 02 February 2015.
43
EU FRAMEWORK
Policy framework
The European market is a very dense business network in which small medium enterprises (SMEs)
account for 99% of all businesses in the EU. Moreover, as stated by DG Growth (Internal Market,
Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs), over the past five years SMEs have created around 85% of new
jobs and provided two-thirds of the total private sector employment in the Europe. SMEs and
entrepreneurship are considered the backbone of the economic growth, innovation, job creation,
and social integration in the EU.
Some concrete actions taken to promote entrepreneurship by the EC include (a) the Small Business
Act for Europe (SBA) that illustrates the SME policy for EU institutions and countries and (b)
Entrepreneurship Action Plan on “Reigniting the entrepreneurial spirit in Europe”. In particular, the
Action plan identifies three main areas of intervention: entrepreneurial education and training to
support growth and business creation; removing existing administrative barriers and reigniting the
culture of entrepreneurship and nurturing the new generation of entrepreneurs.
In particular, the emphasis is given for the need of awareness rising of entrepreneurship concept in
education and knowledge transfer. “Budapest Agenda”, a document issued 2011, is an attempt to
provide “a catalogue of measures to be drawn upon by stakeholders at all levels "within the world of
education, business and the wider community in order to take forward the development of teacher
education in entrepreneurship”.
The EC has made an effort in several directions to support and put emphasise on entrapreneurship.
A summary of some important initiatives would include:
? Recommendation of the European Parliament and the Council: entrepreneurship a key
competence for all (2006)
? Commission Communication on “Fostering entrepreneurial mindsets” (2006)
? Oslo Agenda on Entrepreneurship Education in Europe (2007): a detailed menu of actions
? Small Business Act for Europe (2008)
? EU 2020 strategy: focus school curricula on creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship (2010)
? Budapest Agenda (2011)
Another interesting initiative that fosters innovative way of thinking is Watify
43
- a not-for-profit
initiative supported by the EC and DG growth, based on several sessions of serial entrepreneurs
explaining how they have overcome their doubts while starting or digitizing their own business. As
stated by the EC website, Whatify “supports digital start-ups by mentoring young entrepreneurs,
empowering them to succeed”.
On the other side, there is not specific distinction between "entrepreneurship“ and
"intrapreneurship“ in official EC communications. The documents often refer to creativity, innovation
and risk taking, as well as the ability to plan and manage projects. As highlighted by the project
“Intrapreneurship – the new aim of vocational education and training”, in particular countries of
Europe, the term “Intrapreneurship” is not included in the official documents, the strategies and
national programmes refer more to entrepreneurship or business competences. Furthermore,
entrepreneurship is included in the national curricula of general secondary schools in only a minority
of European countries. In higher education, the entrepreneurship courses are offered mostly in
business and economic studies, as illustrated by this report.
43
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/dem/watify
44
Social networks, conferences and relevant initiatives
An international event worth of mentioning in this section is the Intrapreneurship conference
organised on annual bases since 2011 across Europe
44
. In addition to the promotion of the event
itself, the community supports intrapreneurship concept through a blog dedicated to creative
colleagues tackling issues such as intrapreneurship, innovation and leadership and a selection of
studied webinars around intrapreneurship and corporate innovation.
Social networks and media are also crucial instruments to ensure communication and awareness
rising of the intrapreneurship concept as they are the “agoras” of today for young and creative
minds. For example, a linked-in group of Intrapreneurs was established in 2009 as a private group
while an ICT intrapreneurs exists since 2013 .
For example, the European Business Network for Corporate Social Responsibility has launched a
European Social Intrapreneurship Programme create awareness about intrapreneurship and
recognise leading companies that offer an enabling environment for innovation and
entrepreneurship as well as to support the efforts of individuals who are leading new social -business
innovations from within companies.
It could therefore be suggested that the concept of entrepreneurship is a basis for the
Intraprenuership culture in the organisation and that it should be majorly fostered and educated
within the sector of vocational education and training.
Another significant initiative on EU level is a project Innosupport co-funded under the Lifelong
Learning programme. The project regards an extended and updated practical Guide to Support
Innovation in Small and Medium Enterprises that was released in May 2009. Its content covers
subjects which are part of the innovation process. The guide provides reach information to support
intracompany innovation in SMEs, closely related with intrapreneurial cultures.
EUCIO experience
European Chief Information Officer (EuroCIO), a not-for-profit representative for the large IT-users
(demand side of IT), both private and public, is one of the partners of INTRAPRISE project. In order to
have a first insight on the state of awareness of intrapreneurship concept among companies an
initial short survey was conducted on following aspects:
What are the current initiatives for the ICT sector that promote intrapreneurship? (Digital
Agenda for Europe, Future Internet PPP etc.)
EuroCIO is a partner in the Secretariat of the Grand Coalition project (previously called the Thematic
Network) which has the objective of disseminating the results of the digital agenda initiatives. The 13
goals of the Digital Agenda were primarily concerned with internet availability and usage. Pillar V
Research and innovation specifically refers to research and innovation. However, there was very
little knowledge or recognition or experience across the members of these initiatives.
Specific mention was made of the ‘les poles de compétitivité’ initiative in France and the
competitiveness clusters they have created. A competitiveness cluster brings together large and
small firms, research laboratories and educational establishments, all working together in a specific
region to develop synergies and cooperative efforts. Other partners may be brought in, such as
public authorities, either local or national, as well as firms providing business services. Some of these
clusters include 'promoting innovation' as an objective and it was agreed that local initiatives such
as this could yield benefits.
44http://www.intrapreneurshipconference.com/
45
As one of the best practices involving EuroCIO is the GUIDE project, which addresses e-Leadership
skills requirements. As part of this project, it was clearly identified by EuroCIO that one of the barriers
to innovation is a shortage of appropriate skills. ICT skills were referenced specifically, but it was
agreed that many of the skills and capabilities that promote innovation and entrepreneurial
behaviours within organisations are in short supply.
Are there any directives or norms that add value to this process?
EuroCIO members could not identify any external policies, directives or norms that facilitate
entrepreneurial activity within their organisations.
Do you use any incentives (financial, learning and education, networking, P2P experiences) to
encourage intrapreneurship within your organization?
Some companies provide financial incentives, such as bonus payments, to reward good ideas. If
the idea is considered to be of commercial significance, it will get funding for pilot projects or
additional market research to validate the proposition. One of EuroCIO members, a media
company, organises yearly innovation awards where 20 to 30 projects are submitted and 2 to 3
receive approval. Experience sharing events are conducted to promote communication and
collaboration within the organisation. This again reflects the fact that the member organisations are
more likely to rely on internal mechanisms to promote ‘intrepreneurship’ at this time.
Do you have any best practices that you can share?
Some of the member organisations have internal schemes that reward entrepreneurial behaviour
and activity. It was generally felt that internally generated schemes were the most common
approach to fostering innovation within organisations.
One such example is a business innovation group (implemented by a European car manufacturer)
where ideas are collected and supported up to the point that the employees get funds and are fully
freed up from their normal duties. Two commercially successful ventures began in this way.
Another organisation has implemented a lab of approximately 10 people who are co-located in a
fresh environment and have the following objectives: (a) capture external innovation (open
innovation with start-ups, market watch, partner with venture capitalist funds); (b) Promote internal
innovation (support the Bus organic growth, support intrapreneurs, launch and incubate projects)
and (c) Investigate breakthrough ideas (contribute to the corporate strategic planning).
Other member organisations use similar ‘incubation’ schemes to both identify and validate new
innovative business concepts.
EuroCIO members conclude that the vast majority of schemes and processes to encourage
entrepreneurial behaviour within the member organisations are internal in nature. The experiences
are hence very self-contained rather than collaborative but members are definitely very available
and interested to the concept. It is acknowledged that staff can be an engine but the concept is
still not fully embraced. The EuroCIO members agreed there is a demand for educational
programmes that would ‘train and develop’ entrepreneurial capabilities and are available to
respond to future recommendations in this direction.
46
SOME FIRST FINDINGS OF INTRAPRISE PROJECT
Main user needs
? Awareness rising on intrapreneurship. Need to better understand the concept in general and
the benefits that could derive on economic and social level
? Cross cultural management. For example, in Belgium the work seems to be more effective
when it is clear among colleagues that Belgians generally like working in teams and
collaborate well across hierarchical lines. Role allocation within the team is generally quite
clearly defined and people will take greater responsibility for their specific task than for the
group as a whole.
A tentative list of interesting inputs on contents for the course and modules
Both for employers and employees: better understanding and getting acquainted with the concept
of “intrapreneurship”.
Company level:
? Awareness of the organisational culture of a company and comprehension of the ‘big
picture’;
? Linking the business horizon of a company with personal entrepreneurial aspirations;
? Belgian tax law provides the opportunity to benefit from a special investment deduction for
investments in research and development of new products and forward-looking technologies
that are environment friendly (not harming the environment). This innovative law has
encouraged the formation of R&D divisions. The investment deduction creates the possibility
for taxpayers to claim a tax deduction - in addition to the normal tax depreciations - when
making qualifying R&D investments. Awareness rising could be made on this and similar
initiatives across EU/countries of the consortium;
? Focus on steering complex projects within a business, i.e., multi-faceted strategic projects, in
various domains (finance, information systems, human resources, marketing, supply chain,
etc.);
? Recognising the ‘valuables’ within a company;
? Rethinking the ‘department philosophy’, letting knowledge and ideas circulate;
? Bio-technology and telecommunications, among medium to large companies, have a
greater focus on intrapreneurship than other sectors;
? Outsourcing: better insight of the phenomenon in general.
Individual level:
? ‘I have an innovative idea’: development of personal ideas and how to implement them,
people to talk to within the institution, steps to follow;
? Risk taking within a company: way to evaluate the risk, what are the limits; way to
treat/reward/promote such behaviour;
? Taking initiative: perceiving a bigger context around a single task;
? Awareness of own and others’ strengths: identify the proper strengths and those of others;
building teams with complementary strengths;
? Practical exercise: a successfully complete a concrete project, acquiring competencies
related to personal development (soft skills): taking initiative, teamwork, better self-
knowledge (personal development).
47
CONCLUSIONS
The traditional management structure of most organizations simply focuses on performing
old tasks more efficiently, instead of creating new tasks or new ideas to address new
challenges. However, as suggested by Fig 4., the attitude towards entrepreneurship across
EU countries is quite relevant. If organisations would realize the competitive advantage
innovation provides, they could learn to stimulate, support, and protect their intrapreneurs
as part of their corporate strategies. In this sense, companies and organisations should
become more creative and responsive in recognizing and preserving the strengths and
skills of employees to promote individual and overall growth in performance and efficiency.
Top managers should combine reactiveness, risk-taking, innovativeness, competitive
aggressiveness, and autonomy.
The literature strongly suggests that any foreseen training in this sense should target two
directions: (1) intrapreneurial mind-set and (2) knowledge of processes and factors for
building this action plan. Hence, the target communities of such trainings could be both
employees but also managers and employers. In this manner the entire value chain of
service providers would be covered and more exposed to awareness rising of
intrapreneurship concept and it benefits, economic as well as cultural and social.
Fig. 4 Entrepreneurial intention across INTRAPRISE partner countries in 2014
(data for Cyprus missing)
Source: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM),
data from Global Entrepreneurship Research Association (GERA)
48
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Articles and publications
Ahmad N. & R. G. Seymore (2008), Defining Entrepreneurial Activity: Definitions Supporting
Frameworks for Data Collection, OECD Statistics Working Paper accessed viahttp://www.oecd.org/industry/business-stats/39651330.pdf
Bloom N. et al., (2005) Management practices: the impact on company performance. Centrepiece,
10 (2). pp. 2-6. ISSN 1362-3761 accessed viahttp://eprints.lse.ac.uk/4604/1/Management_Practices_the_Impact_on_Company_Performance.pdf
European Commission (2013), Digital Agenda, Chapter 3 ICT R&D, innovation and growth, accessed
viahttp://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/sites/digital-agenda/files/KKAH12001ENN-chap4-PDFWEB-
4_0.pdf
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound (2010),
Telework in the European Union accessed viahttp://www.eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/eurwork/comparative-information/telework-in-the-
european-union
Final summary paper (2011), Intrapreneurship concept and its importance in Lifelong Learning,
accessed viahttp://www.intrapreneurship.cz/wp-
content/uploads/2011/12/summary_A5_brochure_printable_format.pdf
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2014 Global Report (2015), ed. Singer S., Amoros J. E., Arreola D. M.
and Global Entrepreneurship Research Association (GERA) accessed viahttp://gemconsortium.org/docs/download/3616
Goleman D. (2000), Leadership that gets results, Harward Business Review, March - April Issue 2000
accessed viahttps://hbr.org/2000/03/leadership-that-gets-results
HKU, (2010), The Entrepreneurial Dimension of the Cultural and Creative Industries, Hogeschool vor
de Kunsten Utrecht, Utrecht accessed viahttp://bookshop.europa.eu/en/the-entrepreneurial-
dimension-of-the-cultural-and-creative-industries-pbNC0213130/
Mas M.& de Guevara Radoselovics J. F. The 2013 Predict Report: An Analysis of ICT R&D in the EU
and Beyond (2014), Rohman I. K., De Prato G., Desruelle P. (ed.), Report EUR 26828 EN,
doi:10.2791/12522
Wennekers et al. (2010), Intrapreneurship - An international study, accessed viahttp://www.researchgate.net/publication/48322618_Intrepreneurship_-_An_International_Study
Web link and databases
European Commission, DG Growth viahttp://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/index_en.htm
EUROSTAT, Population projection of all consortium countries to 2013 upon last census data (2011)
accessed viahttp://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-datasets/-/tps00002 andhttp://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tps00002&plu
gin=1
EUROSTAT, Gross Domestic Products (GDP) for all consortium countries (provisional values for Cyprus,
Greece, Romania and Spain) accessed viahttp://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-datasets/-
/namq_10_gdp andhttp://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/refreshTableAction.do?tab=table&plugin=1&pcode=tec00001&la
nguage=en
49
EUROSTAT, Labour cost, wages and salaries, and direct remuneration in ICT sector for all consortium
countries accessed viahttp://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database
European social statistics, 2013 edition, Eurostat pocket books accessed viahttp://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3930297/5968986/KS-FP-13-001-EN.PDF/6952d836-7125-
4ff5-a153-6ab1778bd4da (reference for employment rate in all consortium countries for persons
aged 15-64 in 2011, last census in Europe)
50
ANNEX I: O1-A1 – Defining research and survey methodology,
guidelines and tools
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
ANNEX II: STATE OF THE ART ANALYSIS REPORT OF MANAGEMENT
PRACTICES AND ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN THE ICT SECTOR IN YOUR
COUNTRY: GUIDELINES FOR DATA COLLECTION AND HOMEWORK FOR
PARTNERS
Introduction
As stated by the INTRAPRISE project, “companies today need to find that ‘added extra’ in order to
stay competitive to their existing customers and attract new customers. One way to do this is to
encourage innovative and creative behaviour within the organisation that is to say to encourage
intrapreneurs”.
Intrapreneurship as a term was conceived and first written in 1978 by Gifford Pinchot III, an American
entrepreneur and his wife Elizabeth Pinchot. In 1992, The American Heritage Dictionary of English
language has acknowledged the popular use of this new word and it included it in its 3rd 1992
Edition. “Intrapreneur”, to mean "A person within a large corporation who takes direct responsibility
for turning an idea into a profitable finished product through assertive risk-taking and innovation"
45
. In
fact, Intrapreneurship is now known as the practice of a corporate management style that
integrates risk-taking and innovation approaches, as well as the reward and motivational
techniques, that are more traditionally thought of as being the province of entrepreneurship. An
intrapreneur could thus enable businesses to expand into other areas of their market by identi fying
new products or services to existing or new customers. Intrapreneurship could therefore be defined
as any entrepreneurial activity performed within an organization.
For purposes of the INTRAPRISE project, all participating countries will firstly examine the
management practices and organisational culture, in particular in ICT sector, in their country. This
initial collection of information, data and references will give an overview not only of the state of the
art in a single country, but also a picture of the possibilities for implementing intrapreneurship as a
more common practice and for supporting it if /where already existent.
Methodology and guidelines for data collection
In order to access the state of the art of management practices and organisational culture across
the countries of INTRAPRISE consortium, some specific issues will be examined by the partners. The
information will be collected by the following partners: CUT and R&Do (Cyprus), Militos &
Found.ation (Greece), Scienter (Spain), SINLO (Romania), Melius (Italy) and MTC (Belgium).
The issues are groupped into the following categories:
7. Overview of the ICT in (country name)
8. Organizational Culture of ICT sector in your country
9. Management practice of ICT sector in your country
10. Offers of Intrapreneurship courses in your country: Business/other schools, educational
organizations and/or training courses
11. Best Practices of Intrapreneurship in ICT Sector in your country
12. Feedback on this document
45
https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=intrapreneur&submit.x=38&submit.y=27
58
PARTNER ACTION - complete the following template for your country following these steps:
6. Read carefully the description of O1 in the Application form document (pp.46-49)
7. Read carefully the question of this document and perform desktop research following the
TIPs indicated for each category.
8. Consult the Powerpoint working document discussed among partners (attached to this
document)
9. Provide answers to all the questions of this document for your country and send the
feedback to the coordinator of this action.
General remark:
There is a probability that many of the information requested will not be so straight forward to find in
every country. For this reason, it is good practice to look into all sorts of documents and literature,
both official ones and those that are less formal. Please, ALWAYS refer to the source of your
information with citation (bibliography) or a web link. In case the information is simply missing,
informal, dated or not well documented, it could still be very useful for the report but specify this
issue clearly in your report.
59
Country Profiles
STATE OF THE ART IN NAME OF YOUR COUNTRY
Name of the Country:
1. Overview of the ICT in NAME OF YOUR COUNTRY
1.1 Statistics information
QUESTIONS ANSWERS
a. What is the population in your country at last census (2011)
46
?
b. What is the Gross domestic product (GDP) of the area
according to the last census?
c. What is the GDP in ICT sector?
d. What is the Employment rate in your country?
e. What is the employment rate in ICT sector in your country?
f. What are labour cost, wages and salaries, and direct
remuneration in ICT sector in your country?
g. What is the investment in research (if any) in ICT sector in your
country?
Note: If necessary, express this amount in percentage of the national
budget.
TIP: to answer questions from the section 1.1 please refer to (1) EUROSTAT website
here:http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/statistics/search_database and
(2) to the website of the National Institute of Statistics in your country (e.g. ISTAT in
Italy, INE in Spain, ELSTAT in Greece etc.).
If case you are not familiar with your National Institute check here:http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/natl_e.pdf
1.2 Profile of ICT companies in your country
QUESTIONS ANSWERS
a) Number: how many ICT companies are present in your
country?
b) Size: Classify ICT companies by size SMALL, MEDIUM AND
LARGE
Note: consider small enterprises with 10 person and above
c) Type: What is the main business sector of ICT companies in your
country? What are other sectors?
Note: Use sectors provided by your national source or use these
categories: creative industry, gaming, hardware, software, IT security,
tourism, other?
d) Start-up companies
What is the number of start-up
47
companies in your country?
What is the number of ICT start-up companies in your country?
Calculate the ratio “Start-up ICT/all ICT” (use response from 1.2a)):
46
Year of the last Census in Europe
47
In order to have the most updated information, the limit should be kept up to last 5 years.
60
start-up companies in ICT sector/overall number of companies in ICT
Calculate the ratio “Start-up ICT/all Start-up”:
start-up companies in ICT sector/overall number of start-up companies
in the country
TIP: to answer questions from the section 1.2 consult the websites of following bodies
and institutions in your country:
Chamber of commerce, Cluster organizations of ICT companies, single ICT
companies (small, medium or large).
Please specify the source of your information.
Name of the Country:
2. Organizational Culture of ICT sector in your country
QUESTIONS ANSWERS
a) What is the common organizational culture in ICT sector
in your country?
For example:
? Do all ICT companies have divisions such as:
Management, Commercial, Research&Development,
Implementation&Assistance?
? How about the way of ‘doing things’ – what is the
mission, vision, values of ICT companies?
? What is the organisational ‘paradigm’ and power
relations roles of company leaders?
? If possible, illustrate how are the tasks are delegated
and how conflicts are dealt with?
? If possible, illustrate how ideas are circulating and
exploited and how team work is facilitated?
b) What is the percentage of companies that have in-
house R&D division?
Consider also the aspect of “openness”: in what way is the
company open to innovative inputs ideas from outside?
c) Can you identify any differences in organizational
structure among ICT sector?
If yes, what are these differences?
d) Do companies (in general) in your country have a
focus on Intrapreneurship? If yes, in which sector?
If there are more branches state all of them.
e) Do ICT companies in your country have a focus on
Intrapreneurship? If yes, is there a specific branch in your
country ICT sector that has a focus on Intrapreneurship (e.g.
gaming industry, software development, creative industries,
on-line and mobile banking and payment services, IT Security
etc.?)
Name of the Country:
3. Management practice of ICT sector in your country
QUESTIONS ANSWERS
a) What is the management practice in general in your
61
country? If possible, identify which management style
48
is
mostly pursued among autocratic, consultative, participative,
democratic etc.
49
?
b) You can also consider some more recent management
styles such as “chaotic style” or “lassez-fair”
50
, too.
c) What is the management practice in ICT sector in your
country? Is it in anyway different to general management
practice? If yes, how?
d) Do ICT companies in your country rely on outsourcing or
crowdsourcing i.e. do they shift some of their activities to an
outside company, which can do them more cost-effectively?
If yes, what is this percentage of this action and in which
countries? (or what is the number of ICT companies that do it)
e) On the contrary of 3c) do ICT companies in your
country provide outsourcing services i.e. do ICT companies
from your country perform activities of ICT companies
established in other countries? If yes, for which companies
(countries)?
f) Do ICT companies in your country rely on remote work
practices/telecommuting employees?
If yes, what is this percentage of this action? (or what is the
number of ICT companies that do it)
g) From the information you gathered, what seem to be
the main obstacles for intrapreneurship in the existing
management/organizational structure in ICT sector in your
country?
Name of the Country:
4. Offers of Intrapreneurship courses in your country: Business/other schools,
educational organizations and/or training courses
QUESTIONS ANSWERS
Are there any specific courses (public/private) within University
degrees in your country?
If yes, please specify:
- Name of the institution
- Name of the course degree (Master in …, Bachelor
in …)
- Duration
- Cost (free or upon payment)
- Credits given to students (if any)
Is there any in house training in companies?
48
The method of leadership that an administrator usually employs when running a business. Depending on business
circumstances, a manager might need to employ more than one management style in a more or less formal way to achieve
the highest degree of effectiveness in their role. A variety of management style types exist, such as autocratic, paternalistic,
laissez-faire, democratic, informal, participatory, supervisory, etc. and a particular style might be more suitable for a certain
type of business or employee group than another (as retrieved from:http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/management-style.html#ixzz3MALpegfp).
49
http://www.haygroup.com/downloads/fi/leadership_that_gets_results.pdf
50
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management_styles
62
If yes, please specify:
- Name of the company
- Name of the course
- Duration
- Cost (free or upon payment)
- Accreditation (if any) given to participants (e.g.
Diploma or similar?)
TIP: Have a look at the offers from Universities and companies. Also, try to look for
publicly offered courses. In some countries, due to the recent economic crisis, the
creative approach (and hence Intrapreneurship) was very much fostered by public
institutions. Some of them have organized specific courses to help people looking for
a job. Perhaps there are some good examples in your country.
Name of the Country:
5. Best Practices of Intrapreneurship in ICT Sector in your country
Illustrate from 1 to max 5 cases of best practices indicating aspects such as good
practices (e.g. awards, competitions, special publications, conferences, events, fairs
etc.), other related initiatives and local champions (people that could inspire others
with their story).
TIP on Words Count: 200-250 words per case
Case 1
Case 2
Case 3
Case 4
Case 5
TIP: use info from local and national newspaper and means of communications as
well as chamber of Commerce and ICT Cluster organisations. Local dimension is very
important in this segment. We should illustrate cases that have already inspired other
people or that can inspire new ones.
Overview in Europe (only for EUROCIO)
Name of the Country: EUROPE
1. Policy: Overview on current initiatives relevant for ICT sector (e.g. Digital
Agenda for Europe, Future Internet PPP, etc.)
63
2. Directives&Norms
3. Incentives (financial, learning and education, networking, P2P experiences)
4. Best practices (EU projects/internal experiences among EU stakeholders, etc.)
Case 1
Case 2
Case 3
…..
Comments
Name of the Country:
Feedback on this document
Please provide any feedback or comments on this exercise.
For example, did you have any difficulties filling in this document? If yes, for which
questions in particular?
Did you find any interesting information that you did not know where to fill-in? Please
state it here.
Any other comments?
TIP: Your feedback in this section will be valuable inputs for O2 survey that will take
place in the following phase of the project.
doc_622610582.pdf
During this such a brief data about infusing entrepreneurial skills in the corporate ict environment.
INTRAPRISE – Infusing Entrepreneurial skills in the corporate ICT
environment
Proj.no: 2014-1-CY01-KA202-000274
STATE OF THE ART ANALYSIS REPORT OF
MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND ORGANIZATIONAL
CULTURE IN THE ICT SECTOR
(In project countries Cyprus, Belgium, Greece,
Italy, Romania, and Spain)
This report has been produced by the consortium of the Erasmus+ funded project
Intraprise. You can use the information contained, by acknowledging the Intraprise
consortium and project (www.intraprise-project.eu)
2
Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................... 3
INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 5
METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH ADOPTED FOR THE DESKTOP RESEARCH .................................. 7
COUNTRY SPECIFIC PROFILES ............................................................................................................. 9
Belgium .............................................................................................................................................. 9
Cyprus .............................................................................................................................................. 17
Greece ............................................................................................................................................ 23
Italy ................................................................................................................................................... 29
Romania .......................................................................................................................................... 35
Spain ................................................................................................................................................ 39
EU FRAMEWORK ................................................................................................................................. 43
Policy framework ........................................................................................................................... 43
Social networks, conferences and relevant initiatives ............................................................. 44
EUCIO experience ......................................................................................................................... 44
What are the current initiatives for the ICT sector that promote intrapreneurship? (Digital
Agenda for Europe, Future Internet PPP etc.) ........................................................................ 44
Are there any directives or norms that add value to this process? .................................... 45
Do you use any incentives (financial, learning and education, networking, P2P
experiences) to encourage intrapreneurship within your organization? .......................... 45
Do you have any best practices that you can share? ......................................................... 45
SOME FIRST FINDINGS OF INTRAPRISE PROJECT ............................................................................. 46
Main user needs ............................................................................................................................. 46
A tentative list of interesting inputs on contents for the course and modules ...................... 46
Company level: .......................................................................................................................... 46
Individual level: ........................................................................................................................... 46
CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................................... 47
BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................................... 48
ANNEX I: O1-A1 – Defining research and survey methodology, guidelines and tools ............ 50
ANNEX II: STATE OF THE ART ANALYSIS REPORT OF MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN THE ICT SECTOR IN YOUR COUNTRY: GUIDELINES FOR DATA
COLLECTION AND HOMEWORK FOR PARTNERS ............................................................................ 57
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 57
Methodology and guidelines for data collection..................................................................... 57
Country Profiles ............................................................................................................................... 59
Overview in Europe (only for EUROCIO) ..................................................................................... 62
Comments ...................................................................................................................................... 63
3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In an increasingly competitive environment that contemporary society is facing today,
companies need to find that ‘added value’ to stay competitive, to retain existing and
attract new customers and to conquer new markets. Intense global competition and fast
changing consumer needs have put the pressure on traditional companies to diversify,
increase productivity, and develop new innovative practices. The most cost effective
solution of achieving these goals, along with long term growth, is by taking advantage of
the untapped potential and talent that already exists within organizations. One way of
doing so is to encourage people with innovative and creative attitude within the
organisation, that is to say to encourage the “intrapreneurs”.
Fig. 1 Research and development expenditure (% of GDP).
Source: World bank website
The surveys conducted by Global Entrepreneurial Monitoring (GEM) confirm that “the level
of entrepreneurial activity varies among countries at a fairly constant rate, thus additionally
confirming that it requires time and consistency in policy interventions in order to build
factors that contribute to entrepreneurial activity”. In addition, it was found that
“entrepreneurial activity, in different forms (nascent, start-up, intrapreneurship), is positively
correlated with the economic growth”. Literature suggests that this relationship differs along
phases of economic development. Another important factor influencing creativity and
competitiveness in business seems to be attention to research and development sector
that could be related to R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP, so called GERD (Fig 1).
On the other side, the Business R&D expenditures, commonly known as BERD, illustrates the
readiness of business to actually invest in research and development hence into innovative
solutions and people. ICT BERD, the Business R&D expenditures on ICT sector, was
thoroughly examined by Digital Agenda in “ICT R&D, innovation and growth” and by The
2013 Predict report: An Analysis of ICT R&D in the EU and Beyond of European Joint
Research Centre (JRC). Founding shows that in 2010, EU ICT business expenditure on R&D
(ICT BERD) amounted to 26 billion euros, 2.46% more than in 2009 (25.4 billion euros). This
represented 17.05% of the total EU BERD in 2010 (Fig. 2).
4
Fig. 2 ICT BERD share of total BERD by Member State (2009, 2010).
Source: Eurostat, elaborated JRC-IPTS and IVIE
The key enabling role of ICT to achieve smart, sustainable and inclusive economy and
society has already been widely recognized. The use of ICT in all vital sectors of the
economy like education, health, tourism, transport and generally in the exercise of every
business activity is of paramount importance for the development of EU market. It has
direct impact on the increase of GDP, the creation of new high-value jobs, the
modernization and productivity increase of the public sector, the increase of transparency
and the promotion of democracy and culture.
The creative attitude towards research and innovation is a characteristic of people that
have an entrepreneurial approach, even in their own organisation. These individuals are
“Intrapreneurs” who are already sitting within existing organizations at the intersection of
innovation, social good, and entrepreneurship. They can be found at all levels of the
organization and from any generation, working under the radar and struggling against
bureaucracy to launch new programs, products, and initiatives that leverage the change
making ability of established institutions. Intrapreneurs focus on revitalizing and
strengthening firm competencies to acquire skills and innovative capabilities. The roles they
play in achieving competitive advantages are increasingly gaining interest. The main
source of this advantage lies in the firm’s resources, the attitudes of employees and the
capabilities identified with intangible resources. Hence, the resource based view considers
intrapreneurship as a fundamental instrument for the accumulation, conversion and
leveraging of resources for competitive purposes.
The desktop research here presented examines several similar factors relevant to
entrepreneurship in general and corporate entrepreneurship (or intrapreneurship) in
particular. The aim of this exercise was to highlight main limitations and bottlenecks when it
comes to intrapreneurship concept implementation in ICT sector and to identify
opportunities for its further deployment and awareness rising, among the employers and
employees in the companies of the consortium countries as well as in Europe.
5
INTRODUCTION
This report is the Intellectual output of the Project “Infusing entrepreneurial skills in the
corporate ICT environment – INTRAPRISE” funded under the Erasmus Plus Programme, Key
Action 2: Strategic Partnerships under agreement number: 2014-1-CY01-KA202-000274. This
report is not an exhaustive study about the intrapreneurship in Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) sector across Europe. The report represents a summary of
all information and findings collected by the project partners, in particular regarding the
countries of this consortium: Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Romania and Spain.
The term “intrapreneurship” was used for the first time in 1976 by G. Pinchot III, that refers to
intrapreneurs as “dreamers that do”. Pinchot’s text entitled “Intra-Corporate
Entrepreneurship” in fact defines an intrapreneur as an “entrepreneur within the larger
society” that is to say a person with entrepreneurial skills but acts within a larger company
or organisation. The paper further states that “such a new way of doing business would be
a social invention of considerable importance, both for the individuals in it, and for the
productivity and responsivity of the corporation.” In the past decades more attention was
given to this phenomenon so further studies were produced examining the activity of
entrepreneurship within existing organisations. It is usually referred to as “corporate
entrepreneurship”, “corporate venturing” or “intrapreneurship”.
Recent studies examine the intrapreneurship trend in order to understand its dynamics and
tendencies. The interest to this occurrence in organisational culture is of interest for both
researchers and industrial investors as it touches upon management practices, social
tendencies but also economic aspects and expectations of both the individual and the
organisation itself. Wennekers et al. (2010) argue that the aspect of the broader macro
context has not been sufficiently taken into account. The study provides an interesting
contribution with: a) an international comparative study on intrapreneurship in low and
high income countries i.e. effects of macro context on prevalence and nature of the
phenomena; and b) an insight into a relationship between independent entrepreneurship
and intrapreneurship at the national as well as individual level. The findings show that,
although intrapreneurship is not a widely spread phenomenon (on average less than 5% of
the employees), it seems to be twice as high in high income countries than in low income
countries. Moreover, higher level of autonomy in employees is encountered in high income
countries that in those with lower income, leading to the conclusion that that the former
might be more open to entrepreneurial behaviour in large organisations. This study also
takes into account countries outside Europe while only the case of Spain is common to this
research and the consortium. The report will therefore not take into consideration these
assumptions for the overall conclusion but the paper remains important for this study as a
part of literature overview.
An intrapreneurial culture supports an entrepreneurial spirit with emphasis on:
• strategic renewal and survival (major structural or organizational changes within a
firm)
• fostering innovation (introduction of a new product, service or process in the market)
• corporate venturing (corporate entrepreneurial efforts that lead to the creation of
new business organizations within the larger corporate umbrella organization)
6
• increased long term profitability and liquidity
• gaining knowledge of future revenue streams and international success
• retention of key HR assets
• building of knowledge assets and knowledge dissemination/exploitation
Finally, the aim of this report is to highlight the nature of effective managerial practice and
successful pro-intrapreneurship organizational structures in the partner countries and in
Europe, in particular in the ICT sector. It provides an insight of intrapreneurial training and
competences for successful implementation i.e. current situation at country and EU level,
regulatory frames, implemented initiatives/policies towards the improvement of
employability / management, etc.
This report provides an explanation on the methodology adopted for the desktop research
(section 2) and gives an overview on the intrapreneurship, in particular intrapreneurship in
ICT sector in the partner countries (section 3). The European prospective of opportunities
together with some main inputs of members of European CIO Association is illustrated in
Section 4. Some preliminary inputs regarding the users’ needs and recommendations on
potential contents of the course to be developed by the project are outlined in the
Conclusions of this document.
7
METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH ADOPTED FOR THE DESKTOP RESEARCH
In the vision of INTRAPRISE, the intrapreneurs are actors who can enable businesses to
expand into other areas of their market by identifying new products or services to existing or
new customers. In larger organisations this may challenge the management team, so an
attitude towards accepting and promoting intrapreneurial behaviour needs to be
incorporated within the strategy. Management practices need to adapt and undergo a
change from a culture of imposing orders and rules to one with sufficiently flexible
behaviour to stimulate innovation and creative visions that could guide and focus the
efforts of potential intrapreneurs.
The methodological approach (O1-A1)in this analysis was based on a desktop research
and a thorough exploration of papers, documents, interviews, websites and social media
with a focus on the concept of intrapreneurship, in the ICT sector particular. The state-of-
the-art illustrated in the next section attempts to depict a portrait of the current scenario in
participating countries on issues the management practices and organisational culture.
The general methodology approach applied was discussed with partners in joint
conference calls and is illustrated in Annex I.
Fig. 3 An extract from Annex I illustrating a general methodology applied for desktop research
(O1-A1 – Defining research and survey methodology, guidelines and tools)
In order to facilitate the information collection, the partners were provided with a
questionnaire (Annex II), developed by Cyprus University of Technology (coordinator of this
action).
8
The parameters were grouped into the following categories:
1. Overview of the statistic information on ICT sector in your country
2. Organizational Culture of ICT sector in your country
3. Management practice of ICT sector in your country
4. Offers of Intrapreneurship courses in your country: Business/other schools,
educational organizations and/or training courses
5. Best Practices of Intrapreneurship in ICT Sector in your country
6. Feedback on the document
All partners have examined several specific issues in their countries (Activity O1-A2). The
information was collected by: CUT and R&Do (Cyprus); Militos & Found.ation (Greece);
SINLO (Romania); Melius (Italy) and MTC (Belgium). The steps followed during desktop
research included:
1. Consultation of the Power Point working document discussed among partners;
2. Careful examination of the questionnaire and desktop research performance;
3. Desktop research and collection of well referenced data;
4. Feedback to the coordinator of this action (CUT);
5. Final discussion among all partners.
Furthermore, one-on-one Skype meetings followed in order to elaborate on the responses
given by partners and provide some additional feedback. The report was further shared
with all partners for the final revision and evaluation.
This collection of information, data and references has served to give an overview of the
current situation, to identify possible limits and bottleneck in managerial organisations but
also to give suggestions on possible solutions for better implementation of intrapreneurship
in practice. Finally, an attempt to identify the user requirements and define inputs for further
learning content was done in the section “Some first findings of Intraprise project”.
9
COUNTRY SPECIFIC PROFILES
Belgium
Population 11 161 642
(projection at 2013)
1. Overview of the ICT sector in Belgium
? Statistics information
The Gross domestic product (GDP) in Belgium for 2014 amounts to Euro 402 270 MIL, while GDP in ICT
sector in 2010 accounted for Euro € 17,089,305,600 i.e. 4.64% of GDP of that year.
The employment rate in Belgium in 2011 (Eurostat) amounted to 61.9% while a partner’s source for
December 2014 indicates 91.7%. In the tear 2010, 2.84% accounts for employment in ICT sector.
According to Eurostat, the labour cost, wages and salaries, and direct remuneration in ICT sector,
expressed in unit “Per employee in full-time units, per month” are the following:
? Total labour costs (excluding apprentices) – Euro 7,440
? W GEM ages and salaries (excluding apprentices) – Euro 5,322
? Direct remuneration, bonuses and allowances – Euro 4,803
The investment in research in ICT sector accounts for 1.96% of the national budget (for 2011)
1
.
? Profile of ICT companies in Belgium
Number and size
2
. ICT companies currently present in Belgium are 35038 (in 2012)
3
. The scenario of
companies classified by size into small (>10 people), medium and large is the following:
Small (11-50): 99%
Medium (50-250): 0,7%
Large (>250): 0,2%
Type of business. According to the statistical segmentation for the ICT sector, the main type of
business in Belgium is Telecommunications, Other sectors of ICT companies in Belgium are:
? Manufacture of computers, electronics and optics
? Wholesale of ITC and communication equipment
? Software Publishing
? Computer programming, consultancy and related activities
? Data processing, hosting and related activities; internet portals
? Repair of computers and communication equipment
NOTE. Belgium’s ICT sector currently contributes over 4% of Belgium’s gross domestic product, and
between 1997 and 2007 it accounted for a sixth of the country’s growth in GDP. The latest IT Industry
Competitiveness Index 2009 ranked Belgium in eighteenth place worldwide
4
.
Start-up companies. No specific information was provided on start-ups, however in 2012 the total of
new businesses was 28 086 out of 560 222 active companies.
1
Innovation Union Competitiveness report 2011 (Country profile)
2
http://www.ontsi.red.es/ontsi/sites/default/files/informe_del_sector_ticc_2013_edicion_2014.pdf
3
http://economie.fgov.be/fr/binaries/0274-13-01-baromètre_2013_tcm326-226083.pdf page 69
4
http://business.belgium.be/en/investing_in_belgium/key_sectors/ict/
10
2. Organizational Culture of ICT sector in Belgium
Common organizational culture in ICT sector in Belgium. ICT companies tend to reflect traditional
divisions, though there is evidence that some companies, particularly start-ups, are influenced by
practices in Berlin and London and are beginning to follow a Silicon Valley model, encouraging
team-working on projects, participation, workplace democracy and the encouragement of side
projects. Company leaders still tend to take the lead and make the important decisions, but
consultations is more likely with specialists from within and outside the company (see secti on 3 for
outsourcing).
Research and Development. In Belgium, benefits are provided regarding special investment
deduction for investments in research and development of new products and forward-looking
technologies that are environmentally friendly
5
. This innovative law has encouraged the formation of
R&D divisions. The investment deduction creates the possibility for taxpayers to claim a tax
deduction - in addition to the normal tax depreciations - when making qualifying R&D investments. A
sense of openness stems from communication networks such as social networks, start-ups, and ICT
cluster organisations, conferences and events.
? Organizational structure among ICT sector
Differences in structure will generally be related to size and/or maturity of the company. Although
Belgium is not studied specifically in Bloom et al., 2012, some compelling arguments of this paper
seem to apply across the borders. Government, family, and founder owned firms are usually poorly
managed, while multinational, dispersed shareholder and private-equity owned firms are typically
well managed. Stronger product market competition and higher worker skills are associated with
better management practices. Less regulated labour markets are associated with improvements in
incentive management practices such as performance based promotion.
Focus on intrapreneurship in general in Belgium. Intrapreneurship generally seems to be a focus in
global companies with a branch network internationally, although there is evidence that much of
this could be related to public relations activities.
Focus on intrapreneurship in ICT companies in Belgium. It appears that sectors such as bio-
technology and telecommunications, among medium to large companies, have a greater focus on
intrapreneurship than other sectors.
3. Management practice of ICT sector in Belgium
? Management practice in general in Belgium
The business set-up in Belgium is hierarchical. Cross-cultural management relies on understanding
that Belgians are formal and courteous. They adhere to established rules of protocol for most
situations and expect others to do the same. They respect corporate hierarchy and those who have
attained a senior-level position and they do not readily mix their private and business lives.
Workers in Belgium generally like working in teams and collaborate quite well across hierarchical
lines. The communication within a team is generally quite collegial, albeit somewhat direct. Role
allocation within the team is generally quite clearly defined and people will take greater
responsibility for their specific task than for the group as a whole. It is expected of the leader to
harness the talent of the group assembled, and develop any resulting synergies. The leader will be
referred to as the final authority in any decisions that are made, but they do not dominate the
discussion or generation of ideas: praise is given to the entire group as well as to individuals.
Belgium is a controlled-time culture and adherence to schedules is important and expected. Missing
5
Federal Public Service - Finance
11
a deadline is a sign of poor management and inefficiency, and will shake people’s confidence.
Successful cross-cultural management will depend on the individual’s ability to meet deadlines.
However, it is not a common practice to employees to work late or on weekends in order to meet
targeted deadlines. Intercultural tolerance and readiness for change is medium. Changes are
made, albeit slowly, and require considerable amount of thought, planning and evaluation.
Centralized decision-making based upon information that has been gathered by all concerned
parties is accustomed. Supervisors and managers make most decisions for their work group, even
ones that would be implemented by subordinates in other cultures. When managers delegate their
authority, they provide explicit details about what is to be done and how it is to be accomplished.
Since decision-making occurs at the highest levels and each reviewing level is expected to verify
that the matter has been researched thoroughly and that all interested parties have been
consulted, decision-making can be a time-consuming and laborious process. Each individual’s role
remains clearly defined although global and intercultural expansion means that employees are now
beginning to feel that they are authorized by station, education, or position, to either aspire to
leadership or to express themselves freely in management circles. Negotiations are direct, however
pushing for an immediate decision is seen as aggressive.
In Flanders (Dutch speaking part of Belgium), decisions are group or consensus focused. In Wallonia
(French speaking part of Belgium), business seem to be more hierarchical and the top-ranking
person at the meeting makes decisions.
? Management practice in ICT companies in Belgium
Although management practices in Belgium are traditionally hierarchical there has always been an
appreciation for teamwork (though with a clear leadership structure). This element is more to the
forefront in the ICT sector. In fact, there is a new culture developing, led by ICT companies,
particularly start-ups, although it is still immature in many ways and does not compare to other top
scenes in Europe, such as London or Berlin. The community is building up and there are events
thriving in all cities of the country on weekly basis. Furthermore, there seems to be a shift in working
mentality: local entrepreneurs have come to realize they have something original to offer to
customers from around the world.
Local authorities have also started to adapt to this new state of mind and now offer a variety of
programs to help entrepreneurs jump start their business. Whether in Flanders, in Wallonia or in the
Brussels region, initiatives emerge and funding is more readily available than ever to test drive ideas
or bring them to the market, braving Belgium’s political landscape complexity and traditional
hierarchical ways of organising.
Using outsourcing and crowdsourcing in ICT companies in Belgium. No specific figures are available
on this issue. However, many companies offering outsourcing refer to the fast growth and cost-
effectiveness of their services in Belgium.
Providing outsourcing services for the ICT sector in Belgium. This does not generally appear to be the
case in Belgium. Companies offering outsourcing generally appear to have a global perspective
and are multi-national in nature.
Remote work practices/telecommuting In Belgium the majority of teleworkers are men with high
educational qualifications, who work in the information and communication technologies (ICT)
sector and occupy a management position (Taskin and Vendramin, 2004). In addition, the majority
of teleworkers live in urban areas and are not willing to lose time commuting. Women are
underrepresented among teleworkers in Belgium, as fewer women work in ICT (Eurofound, 2010). 24%
of Belgians consider themselves to be at least in part telecommuters (worldwide 35%)
6
.
6
http://www.ipsos-na.com/download/pr.aspx?id=11326
12
The main identified obstacles for intrapreneurship in the existing management/organizational
structure in ICT sector in Belgium:
o Regulated labour market: Belgium is a highly regulated labour market. Studies have shown
that less regulated labour markets are associated with improvements in incentive
management practices such as performance based promotion. This also has implications for
innovation and corporate entrepreneurship. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM)
report however shows that Belgium and the Scandinavian countries score high in terms of
intrapreneurship. As stated by Prof. Meuleman of Vlerick Business School (2013), the reason
for this lies in the employment system: “Just like in Finland, Sweden and Denmark, we enjoy a
high level of employment protection and social security. People with a safe job seek their
challenges within their position instead of taking the risk of becoming self-employed
entrepreneurs. In other countries people with an entrepreneurial profile will more easily
consider setting up their own company.”
o Hierarchical management: Belgium (especially Wallonia) has generally hierarchical
management practices, which make it less likely that those in non-managerial positions feel
able to take risks and innovate in a way associated with entrepreneurial behaviour.
o Time flexibility: While respecting schedules and deadlines, Belgian workers can tend to be
less time-flexible than their counterparts in other countries.
As found in GEM 2012 Report “Four areas were detected by experts to be critical in constraining or
fostering entrepreneurial activity in Belgium using both open questions and Likert scales: Government
Policy is valued most negative and recommendations are formulated concerning: (1) the difference
in social benefits of the employee and self-employed status inhibiting pulled entrepreneurship; (2)
high labour costs inhibiting job creation aspirations; (3) complex and changing regulations regarding
taxes, legal certainty, environmental legislation; and (4) administrative burden interfering with an
essential entrepreneurial pace.
Specific recommendations are formulated for a gender neutral policy, incentives for proactive
behaviour, and measures against perception of failure for life. In general, the need for a consistent
long-term policy and political stability is expressed.
Cultural & Social Norms is valued negative and recommendations are formulated concerning: (1) a
risk-averse culture with negative connotation of failure; (2) absence of communication on the
advantages of the self-employed regarding work-life balance; (3) a discouraging public opinion
and media; (4) a lack of transparency in corporate culture withholding employees of entering in
entrepreneurship themselves; (5) a general encouragement to become managers, not leaders.”
4. Educational offer of Intrapreneurship courses in Belgium
Offer of educational organizations.
o Liège University
o Intrapreneurs Program at the second year of Master’s degree in Business Management
Postgraduate, full-time
Nominal duration: 2 years
Awards: MSc
13
Tuition fee: 850,00 € per year
This training year takes an original approach focused on guiding a strategic project in an
enterprise: establishing a CRM, expanding the range of e-business services, improving or developing
a management control system, a skills management system, a traceability system along the entire
logistics chain, optimizing the flows of raw materials in a production system, etc. The student adds
depth to the content of the project by consulting experts; analyzes the context of its implementation
by making audits; proposes concrete solutions and analyzes their potential impact; comes up with a
strategy for managing the change linked to the project; and finally, implements it (process). The
student also attends theoretical seminars relevant to the project at the University over about 5 days
at the end of each month. In this way, an exchange of expertise is activated at all levels: the
student receives expertise from the enterprise and from HEC-Ulg, but exchange also takes place
between scientific and professional experts.
o Master’s degree in Business engineering with specialisation in HEC-ULG Intrapreneurs.
Postgraduate, full-time
Nominal duration: 2 years
Awards: MSc
Tuition fee: 850,00 € per year
This action-training focuses on steering complex projects within a business, i.e., multi-faceted
strategic projects, in various domains (finance, information systems, human resources, marketing,
supply chain, etc.). Based on an inductive approach using problem-based learning, it consists of a
full year of alternating between Company and University in order to achieve a better connection
between academic and professional demands. It has the following objectives: detailed study of a
particular topic as the object of a complex project (the content); use of diagnostic tools from the
context in which this project takes place (audit of an organization, audit of the information systems,
financial audit, marketing audit, financial audit[TO1] , etc.); explore and put into action tools relating
to the process of change (project management, management of human aspects of change).
Successfully complete a concrete project, acquiring competencies related to personal
development: taking initiative, teamwork, better self-knowledge (personal development).
Offer by companies of any in house training.
? Vlerick Business School, Ghent
o Growth Through Innovation: Lead your organisation towards innovative results
Duration: 4 days and Cost: Euro 3095 (excl. 21% VAT)
o In Search of New Business Opportunities: Installing an entrepreneurial culture in your
organisation
Duration: 4 days and Cost: Euro 3495 (excl. 21% VAT)
o SME excellence: Management education combined with coaching for entrepreneurs in the
professionalisation phase
Duration: 10 days and Cost: Euros 4895 (excl. 21% VAT)
? Trends Vlerick Business Academy programme includes Intrapreneurial track.
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5. Best Practices of Intrapreneurship in ICT Sector in Belgium
Case 1 – Janssen Pharmaceutica
A game for children with ADHD, goggles against winter depression, a new test to avoid a sudden
cardiac arrest. These are just a few examples of successful projects which once originated in the
fantasy of Janssen employees, and, which thanks to the Entrepreneurial Boot Camp became
concrete projects with an important added-value for patients and healthcare alike. The
Entrepreneurial Boot Camp is a 4 to 6 month training and coaching process which deals with all
aspects of successfully setting up a new business. It helps employees to convert their innovative ideas
for better healthcare in a solid business plan. This process is organized by the Janssen Campus
Office, which was set up to promote innovative collaboration between internal and external
partners. After much brainstorming and fine-tuning, the teams present their plan to a jury and the
senior management in a 15 minute presentation. "The methodology we use allows us to decide
quickly whether new ideas have a chance of (commercial) success", says Tom. "Promising ideas can
become projects with an added-value for our patients.”. The concept will eventually leave the
coaching process once there is a clear vision about how the product or service will be further
developed. And this can be done within the Janssens structure. But the product or service can also
be further developed according to a specific independently operating business model.
Case 2 – Alcatel-Lucent
Another element of a corporate intrapreneurship program is about bringing entrepreneurship in the
workplace, for instance through creating internal ventures, as shared by Olivier Leclerc from
Alcatel-Lucent. Starting with an inspiring quote “Innovation is the responsibility of everyone
within a company” (tweet), Olivier Leclerc developed and led an intrapreneurial Bootcamp within
his company during 6 years. Engaging at first only the 1% of employees focused on technical
innovation, during its third year the Bootcamp was already open to all the 10,000 employees of
Alcatel-Lucent throughout Belgium and France. The Bootcamp, run once every six months, first
collects ideas through an existing IT platform in the company, and then narrows from about 35
propositions to five selected teams pitching their projects. The openness of the process stays until the
end, with all the employees being invited to attend this event, on top of the Innovation Board made
up of sixteen individuals from everywhere in the corporate group. Before pitching, the teams of
intrapreneurs follow a 3-month training from experts and entrepreneurs coming from partner Business
Schools and incubators. In the end, despite losing 30 participants out of the 150 participants,
including 10 starting new businesses, the program has allowed successes like the diversification of the
products portfolios; some revenues from the projects; a new image for the company and a
reinforced employees engagement through a culture change, innovation in return of engagement,
fulfilment and happiness at work.
Case 3 – Nick de Mey, Co-founder Board of Innovation, Intrapreneurship evangelist
“I support large international corporates to innovate as start-ups. As co-founder of Board of
Innovation, I give structure to innovation & entrepreneurship programs. I get most motivated when I
see the impact on the people I work with.
Everyone in our team is able to pull people out of their comfort zone. We give them the tools &
frameworks to become effective innovation champions. By acting as a start-up we unlock the
entrepreneurial potential of employees. Seeing someone evolve from "corporate rat" to "start-ups
founder" is one of the most motivation aspects of the work I do. People hire me and our team for:
disruptive innovate challenges (avoid your Nokia/Kodak Moment), training & workshops, brainstorms
& innovation boot camps, Co-entrepreneur in a new venture team and keynotes & lectures. I steer
bright people and their innovation team in generating new business ideas. I try to live 5 years ahead
and make that future comprehensible and tangible in the economic reality we live in today. By
15
studying trends and societal evolutions I'm in a perfect position to bring inspiration to the table.
An innovation project will take up several months. On a shorter term I facilitate brainstorm sessions
and structure workshops to find new revenue streams. On top of that I give training and coaching for
management teams, spin-offs and start-ups. I consider myself a digital mobile nomad. Our company
is built on a mix of digital/new media services: dropbox, wunderlist, wordpress, skype, harvest and
niche products. Over the past years I've worked for a variety of sectors. From retail, automotive,
chemistry/pharma, IT, e-commerce, web, finance over Food/Beverage, Government, Non-profit,
Consumer and the Space industry.”, as extracted from Board of Innovation website
(http://www.boardofinnovation.com/).
Case 4 - Anis Bedda, Cofounder and transformer in chief at “transforma bxl”, Public speaker and
Intrapreneurship evangelist
“After working in Tunisia, Turkey, Spain, and Canada, I finally settled down in Brussels, Belgium where I
cofounded BottomUp Innovation, a company helping organisations innovate from the bottom up
using the principles of Intrapreneurship, open innovation and crowd sourcing. We help organisations
tap into the potential of their staff to generate these years, I passionately lived the leadership
development experiences provided by this wonderful network and helped members and
stakeholders develop and become change agents. This experience has shaped the man that I am
today (Entrepreneur, innovation enabler, multilingual and a global citizen...) and left me with one
obsession: Personal fulfilment at work. I speak 5 languages fluently (Arabic, French, English, Italian,
Spanish) and Dutch (intermediate level). My international insight has enabled me to develop a
cultural awareness that is critical to successfully building relationships and communicating effectively
with multicultural audiences. Building up on this international experience I followed a couple of
trainings on intercultural communications to strengthen my knowledge of the topic: Cultural
detective and Initiation à l’approche interculturelle - Centre Bruxellois d’Action Interculturelle.”, as
extracted from Bedda, 2013.
Case 5 - Spirit of Freedom INGO - Young Entrepreneurs Society, (YES),http://www.yesforeurope.eu/
“YES is an informal educational platform, based in Belgium, to support young entrepreneurs in the
field of Personal Development, Entrepreneurship and Financial education. YES will challenge you to
think different, to increase your knowledge and to develop yourselves as young sustainable
entrepreneur who deliberate creates his own live experiences by taking responsibility for their actions
and results.”
CountryHopper is an informal program developed to practise the intrapreneurs skills and gaining life
& street experience. SoF INGO believes that you can only learn if you practise and live your
knowledge. As a young intrapreneur you go on a short mission to another country where you will
participate in their culture, nature, traditions, habits, businesses and networking activities. Youngsters
from all over the world can participate to YES.
6. REFERENCES
? Bloom N., Genakos C., Sadun R. and Van Reenen J., “Management Practices Across Firms
and Countries”, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Working Paper No. 17850
February 2012 JEL No. M1, retrived athttp://www.nber.org/papers/w17850.pdf
? European Foundation For The Improvement Of Living and Working Conditions - Eurofound
(2010). Telework In the European Union. Retrieved through:http://eurofound.europa.eu/sites/default/files/ef_files/docs/eiro/tn0910050s/tn0910050s.pdf
? Innovation Union Competitiveness report 2011 Country profile – Belgium + NRP BE 2011
16
? Taskin, L. and Vendramin, P., Le télétravail, une vague silencieuse, Louvain-la-Neuve, Presses
Universitaires de Louvain, 2004.
? Federal Public Service - Finance, “Tax Incentives for R&D activities. 10 reasons to invest in R&D
in Belgium”, accessed viahttp://www.minfin.fgov.be/portail2/belinvest/downloads/en/publications/bro_r_and_d.pdf
? Meuleman M., (2013) Turn your employees into entrepreneurs, accessed viahttp://www.vlerick.com/en/research-and-faculty/knowledge-items/knowledge/turn-your-
employees-into-entrepreneurs
? Bedda A. (2013), Why Intrapreneurship is More Than Just Another Innovation Buzzword, within
blog Business Fights poverty accessed viahttp://community.businessfightspoverty.org/profiles/blogs/annis-bedda-why-
intrapreneurship-is-more-than-just-another-innova
? Bosma N., Holvoet T., Crijns H. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2012, Report for
Belgium & Flanders (2013), accessed viahttp://www.gemconsortium.org/docs/download/3311
17
Cyprus
Population: 865,878
7
.
(projection at 2013)
1. Overview of the ICT sector in Cyprus
? Statistics information
The Gross domestic product (GDP) in Cyprus for 2013 amounts to Euro 17 506, 3 MIL, while GDP in ICT
sector accounts for Euro 732,2 MIL.
8
The employment rate in Cyprus in 2011 (Eurostat) amounted to 67.6% while the Statistical Service of
Cyprus (Cystat) cites a value of 49,3% for 2013. For the same year (2013) 2,4% of employment was in
the ICT sector (Information and Communication sector).
2
According to Eurostat (values for 2012), the
hourly rates for labour cost, wages and salaries, and direct remuneration in ICT sector in Cyprus,
expressed in unit “Per employee in full-time units, per month”, are the following:
Total labour costs (excluding apprentices) – Euro 3,513
Wages and salaries (excluding apprentices) – Euro 2,767
Direct remuneration, incl. bonuses & allowances (excl. apprentices) – Euro 2,415
However, according to the report from Cystat, on 7 January 2014, the average salary of an ICT
employee in Cyprus in 2012 was 1,964 euros monthly, while the average salary of an ICT employee in
Cyprus in 2013 was 1,666 euros monthly, indicating a decrease of 15%.
The Cystat report shows a more realistic image of the private sector of ICT in Cyprus while the
Eurostat figures are more representative of the public sector of ICT in Cyprus. In 2013, the public
sector experienced tiered cuts in salaries from 10% to 17%.
The investment in Research and Development in Cyprus accounts for Euro 83.322.000, which is 0,47%
of GDP. More specifically the expenditure in the Engineering and Technology sector is Euro
19.618.000, which is 0,1% of GDP.
2
and is still struggling to develop the proper strategies and
mechanisms through which to promote innovation and technological growth but are faced with
strong social and political barriers. R&D expenditures as a share of GDP are amongst the lowest of all
member states
? Profile of ICT companies in Cyprus
Number and size
9
. ICT companies currently present in Cyprus are 1027 enterprises (2013), 114 of
which have more than 10 employees. The scenario of companies classified by size into small (>10
people), medium and large is the following:
7
Censuses after 1974 refer to the Government controlled area. Figures have been adjusted for under-enumeration as well as
to include certain population groups not covered by the census.
8
CYPRUS IN FIGURES 2014 (CYSTAT)
http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statistics.nsf/All/77F7F7493CC4EBBEC2257705004843DB/$file/CYPRUS_IN_FIGURES-2014-
E%CE%9D-291214.pdf?OpenElement
9
http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/st...main_en/labour_33main_en?OpenForm&sub=3&sel=4
BUSINESS REGISTER 2013. Number of Enterprises by Economic Activity NACE (Rev. 2) and Size Group (2013)
18
o Small (11-50): 93 (2013)
o Medium (50-250): 16 (2013)
o Large (>250): 5 (2013)
Type of business. According to BUSINESS REGISTER 2013
10
, the main sector of ICT companies in Cyprus
is Computer programming, consultancy and related activities where 45 enterprises are present.
Other sectors are:
o Publishing activities (26)
o Motion picture, video and television programme production, sound recording and music
publishing activities (8)
o Programming and broadcasting activities (13)
o Telecommunications (13)
o Information service activities (9)
? Start-up companies
Number in Cyprus: No actual numbers are available. However, several incubators and facilitators in
ICT were identified:
o Diogenes incubator of the University of Cyprus
o CYBAN (Cyprus Business Angels Network)
o Junior Achievement - Young Enterprise (JA-YE) Cyprus
o Industry Disruptors - Game Changers
o CEL (Cypriot Enterprise Link)
Note: the last four are in partnership with the national telecommunications provider CYTA.
When it comes to setting new businesses, even start-ups, Cyprus has three key strengths: a robust
professional services sector, favourable tax legislation and energy resources. Despite all odds and
amidst dire financial crisis, nascent grass roots entrepreneurial activity with disruptive innovation tech
start-ups, hackathons, meet-ups and a start-up accelerator are sprouting fast in Cyprus.
However, as stated by Cyprus Entrepreneurship Ecosystem: A Roadmap for Economic Growth
11
“The
key determinants of the demand side of Venture Capital (VC) are entrepreneurial activity and
pipeline, R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP and favourable company law and tax regime
for start-ups and SMEs.” The figures show that a very small percentage of national GDP is invested in
research in Cyprus “therefore on the supply side of VC while Cyprus shows the highest density of new
business registrations per capital, the numbers don’t follow suit when it comes to ICT start-ups and
investment in R&D as a percentage of GDP.”
2. Organizational Culture of ICT sector in Cyprus
? Common organizational culture in ICT sector in Cyprus
The local economy is rather small and therefore flexible but also sensitive in time of crisis.
Organizational culture and management practices in Cyprus reflect the links present in a small
community, due to the population of Cyprus being only 800,000 people. The geo-political situation of
the country has affected all social sectors such as education, public administration, legislation and
hence the market; eventually affecting the ways companies are developed, organized and
10
http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/st...main_en/labour_33main_en?OpenForm&sub=3&sel=4
BUSINESS REGISTER, 2013. Number of Enterprises by Economic Activity NACE (Rev. 2) and Size Group (2013)
11
Cyprus Entrepreneurship Ecosystem: A Roadmap for Economic Growth, Curveball Ltd., November 2012
19
managed. The inherent structure of most ICT companies are geared towards a community mentality
as opposed to a corporate mentality. Cyprus is still struggling to develop the proper strategies and
mechanisms through which to promote innovation and technological growth but are faced with
strong barriers, which are predominately political and societal. The political elites are unable to
appreciate the multiplier effect on the economy from investing in innovation and R & D and are
unable to justify the investment. The society at large prefers to see the available funds directed to
other policy areas such as a major construction projects, better road network and direct transfers to
different groups such as professional classes, farmers, business and home owners.
? Companies with in-house R&D division
There is no specific information on this issue.
? Organizational structure among ICT sector
There is no specific information on this issue.
? Focus on intrapreneurship in general in Cyprus
Intrapreneurship is a novel aspect in the country. In general, it is not taken up by companies but it is
mostly recognised by the ICT sector.
? Focus on intrapreneurship in ICT companies in Cyprus
For example, the largest Telecommunication company in the country (public/private) is
implementing an internal intrapreneurship program. From the company’s website (accessed Feb
27th 2015)
12
:
“Cyta is in the stage of the development of an intrapreneurship program that will be applied
internally. In the developmental state of the program, several factors are being considered such as
the regime of the organization, its status as well as the culture within. It is expected that Cyta’s
intrapreneurship program will provide not only new opportunities for the company and the
employees but will also renew a sense of optimism to employees and as a result encourage the
development of skills and ideas, allowing for the creation of start-ups.”
3. Management practice of ICT sector in Cyprus
? Management practice in general in Cyprus
Managerial behaviour and eventually management practices of Cypriot managers and Cypriot
companies/enterprises conflate cultural characteristics/idiosyncrasies into a new composite whole.
However there seems to be no thorough research sources or data available justifying ortesting this
cross/multi-cultural aspects as an hypothesis. In particular, none seem to be done for the ICT sector.
Some effort have been done to describe the general situation in terms of blogs or dedicated
websites (Kwintessential)
13
: “Cypriot business is hierarchical and managers are more autocratic than
in many other countries. There are remnants of social class distinctions in the business arena.
Managers do not seek a consensus before making decisions, as they believe it would make them
appear weak.” Furthermore, management practice in Cyprus could often be very paternalistic:
“Managers may take a somewhat paternalistic attitude toward their employees. They may
demonstrate a concern for employees that goes beyond the workplace and strictly professional
concerns. This may include involvement in their family, housing, health, and other practical life
issues.” However, no further research has been found on this issue.
12
https://www.cyta.com.cy/intrapreneurship/en
13
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/intercultural/management/cyprus.html
20
? Management practice in ICT companies in Cyprus
Managerial practice in ICT sector does not appear to be different that in general.
? Using outsourcing and crowdsourcing in ICT companies in Cyprus
Enterprises in Cyprus - predominantly small or very small – do follow outsourcing practices even
though they are often not aware of such practices are labelled as outsourcing, e.g. shifting activities
like accounting services, production, e-sales services, etc. (Partners experience)
? Providing outsourcing services for the ICT sector in Cyprus
Companies is Cyprus perform and advertise their outsourcing services well. This is particularly true for
the ICT sector due to several factors including an excellent talent pool, competitive wages, and
geographic location. The main markets served are USA., UK, Australia and India (mainly all English
speaking markets and/or ex British colonies).
? Remote work practices/telecommuting
Remote work and telecommuting in Cyprus, both at the institutional as well as at the business level, is
not generally practiced. About 5.7% of workers are involved in telework for about a quarter of their
working time, while no workers are working involved in teleworking fulltime (Eurofound, 2010).
? The main identified obstacles for intrapreneurship in the existing management/organizational
structure in ICT sector in Cyprus:
No reference found specifically on ICT sector. However, some generally encountered barriers that
could be taken into account are (Kwintessential):
o Paternalistic management practices
o Labour-intensive nature
o Reliance on public sector
o Necessity driven entrepreneurship
o Bureaucratic structures hindering development
o Lack of targeted education and training (intracompany or else)
4. Educational offer of Intrapreneurship courses in Cyprus
Offer of educational organizations: Specific courses targeting intrapreneurship are not available in
Cyprus. However, although it is not promoted as a distinct field, some higher education institutions
do include intrapreneurship as part of the curricula, as an entrepreneurial practice. In particular, the
following courses are proposed:
? University of Cyprus
The Department of Business and Public Administration (BPA)
Optional course for Concentration in Management (Undergraduate Bachelor degree)
BPA 434: Entrepreneurship (6 ECTS)
The purpose of this course is to explore the many dimensions of new venture creation and growth.
While most of the examples in class will be drawn from new venture formation, we will also draw on
cases from intrapreneurship, social and non-profit entrepreneurship. The class sessions will be
devoted to the process of conceptualizing, developing, and managing successful new ventures,
ideas or products towards the creation of a business plan. Prerequisites for BPA434: BPA231, BPA131,
or approval by the instructor. (as from the website of the Department)
14
14https://www.ucy.ac.cy/bpa/en/undergraduate/courses-description
21
? University of Central Lancashire, Cyprus
The Centre for Entrepreneurial Development and Research (CEDAR)
CEDAR faculty and associate fellows are of international repute and are credited with local, regional
and global initiatives seeking to promote teaching, executive education, research, consulting and
outreach activities in the entrepreneurship discipline and other interdisciplinary fields, including All
types of Entrepreneurship (e.g. familial entrepreneurship; green entrepreneurship, social enterprising,
intrapreneurship, etc.). (as from the website of the Department)
15
Offer by companies of any in house training. In house training is under development by Cyprus
Telecommunications Authority (Cyta) Please refer to section 2.
It is important to note that the overall environment does not support the establishment of
collaborations between universities and business, does not encourage entrepreneurial activities and
risk taking. A possible failure may be detrimental to the future career prospects of aspiring
entrepreneurs. As a result of these factors and the others discussed above, the best and the brightest
graduates seek jobs within the extended public sector to secure a respectable living and social
status.
In the absence of an appropriate vision and specific goals for the R&D and business development
and faced by the recent economic crisis, the Government has almost stopped all funds going
towards R&D and has absorbed most of the liquidity in the market. As a tragic consequence of this
action, Cyprus is denied in most cases EU funds available to Cyprus for projects because the state
can’t contribute the 15% local contribution. Along the same lines the Research Promotion
Foundation, the main vehicle for the promotion of R&D in Cyprus, has been struggling for the past
few years to support the already awarded grants and to secure new funds for the future. At this
point the outlook looks bleak.
5. Best Practices of Intrapreneurship in ICT Sector in Cyprus
Case 1: InfoScreen company is a specialist software developer for the professional services sector
since 1995. Tony Ellinas, founder and Managing Director of Infoscreen, was recently recognised as a
Digital Icon for Cyprus by the European Commission’s Whatify Initiative. The interview with Mr. Ellinas
can be found on the webiiste of the European Commission (https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-
databases/dem/watify) or youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yomXpc1oaY).
6. REFERENCES
? Christodoulou E. et al, ICT Past Assessment in Cyprus: Visioning Future Key Innovative Digital
Enhancements and Trends, Proceedings of the 4th European Conference on e-Government
(ECEG 2004), Dublin, pp. 179-192. accessed viahttp://www.researchgate.net/publication/228795394_ICT_Past_Assessment_in_Cyprus_Visioni
ng_Future_Key_Innovative_Digital_Enhancements_and_Trends
? Curveball Ltd. (2012), Cyprus Entrepreneurship Ecosystem. A Roadmap for economic growth,
accessed via
15
www.uclancyprus.ac.cy
22
http://www.kpmg.com/CY/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesAndPublications/Documents/Survey-
Reports/Cyprus-Entrepreneurship-Ecosystem.pdf
? CYSTAT (Statistical Service of Cyprus), Number of Enterprises by Economic Activity NACE (Rev.
2) and Size Group (2013) accessed via
?http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statistics.nsf/All/50130941CC7F6243C2257DB000333608/$f
ile/ENTERPRISES_NACE2_SIZE-2013-161214.pdf?OpenElement
? CYSTAT (Statistical Service of Cyprus), 2014, Cyprus in figures (edition 2014), Press and
Information Office accessed via
?http://www.cystat.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statistics.nsf/All/77F7F7493CC4EBBEC2257705004843DB/
$file/CYPRUS_IN_FIGURES-2014-E%CE%9D-291214.pdf?OpenElement
? Ministry of Communications and Works, Department of Electronic Communications, Republic
of Cyprus (2012), Digital Strategy for Cyprus, accessed viahttps://ec.europa.eu/digital-
agenda/en/news/digital-strategy-cyprus-full-version
? Ministry of Education and Culture, Department of Higher and Tertiary education (2014),
Higher Education in Cyprus, Press and Information Office, accessed viahttp://www.highereducation.ac.cy/information_booklet/index.html
? Kwintessential (2014), Intercultural Management – Cyprus (Blog article) accessed viahttp://www.kwintessential.co.uk/intercultural/management/cyprus.html
23
Greece
Population: 11,062,508
(projection at 2013)
1. Overview of the ICT sector in Greece
? Statistics information
The Gross domestic product (GDP) in Greece for 2013 amounts to Euro 179 080,6, while GDP in ICT
sector accounts for Euro 5 874 MIL
16
.
The employment rate in Greece in 2011 (Eurostat) amounted to 55.6% while National statistical
agency refers to a value of 74.5% (2014Q3)
17
. Employment in ICT sector accounts for 2.1%
18
in the
year 2013. According to Eurostat (values for 2012), the labour cost, wages and salaries, and direct
remuneration in ICT sector, “Per employee in full-time units, per month”, are the following:
- Total labour costs (excluding apprentices) – Euro 2,985
- Wages and salaries (excluding apprentices) – Euro 2,333
- Direct remuneration, bonuses and allowances – Euro 2,154
In addition, as found by the local daily paper (I Kathimerini) the salaries in ICT sector in Greece on
annual bases account to ca. Euro 30 000 for a Developer and ca. Euro 50 000 for a Programmer-
analyst.
The investment in research in ICT sector in Greece accounts for Euro 95 MIL (as of 2011) that is to say
for 19, 5% of the national budget.
19
? Profile of ICT companies in Greece
Number and size. ICT companies currently present in Greece are 4500
20
. The scenario of companies
classified by size into small (>10 people), medium and large is the following:
Small (11-50): 45%
Medium (50-250): 12%
Large (>250): 2%
Type of business. According to the statistical segmentation for the ICT sector (?????? 2008, NACE
Rev.2), there are 5 sub-sectors of ICT companies in Greece determined:
? Manufacturing
? Software
? Telecoms
? IT-Computer services
? Commerce
In terms of the actual ICT market, the ICT sector comprises of the IT-Computer services sector (86%)
and the Telecoms sector (14%), the one actually “feeding” the other through collaborations,
predominantly focused on Telecoms services and production. According to data available up to
2012, the Telecoms sector is carrying thus out approx. 60% of the gross production of the whole
16
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sepegr
17
http://www.statistics.gr/portal/pag...eleases/A0101_SJO01_DT_QQ_03_2014_01_F_GR.pdf
18
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sepegr
19
http://www.startupgreece.gov.gr/sites/default/files/Exploring ICT market in Greece.pdf
20
http://www.investingreece.gov.gr/default.asp?pid=36§orID=39&la=2
24
sector.
Thus, the business sectors of ICT companies in Greece, following the actual taxonomies in the world
of the market, are as follows:
? IT Equipment (ref. to Manufacturing)
? IT Services (ref. to IT-Computer services)
? Software (ref. to Software)
? Telecom Equipment (ref. to Manufacturing and Telecoms)
? Telecom Services (ref. to Telecoms)
?
Sources:
? ICT Market Report 2014/2014 Update, ?????? ??? ??? ????? ??????????? ???????????? ???
???????????? 2014/2015, ?????? 8, ????????? & ?????????? 2014. ???? (?????????
???????????? ???????????? & ???????????? ???????, The official EITO (European Information
Technology Observatory) partner in Greece
? General Secretariat of Research and Technology – Ministry of Education and religious Affairs
(July 2013, Dept. of IT and Communications)
Start-up companies. In 2013 the total of start-up companies in Greece was 144
21
,
22
, of which 72
23
i.e.
almost 50%, were ICT companies. This number amounts for the 1.6% of of the overall number of the
ICT companies on Greece (previous section).
2. Organizational Culture of ICT sector in Greece
? Common organizational culture in ICT sector in Greece. Until very recently, there were only large IT
companies, subsisting on public/government funded projects. This more or less determined their
organisational cultures, relying and being heavily depended on the public sector, eventually
assimilating organisational cultures to the ones present in the public sector bodies and organisations.
However, these large companies were surrounded by smaller ones, being somewhat bad ‘replicas’
of the larger ones. Actual business planning and expertise were largely missing, accounting for
extremely weak knowledge - intensive models. These factors have had and are still having, although
to a lesser extent, a substantial negative impact on a developmental potential which could be
based on innovative and more effective organisational cultures.
An emerging start-up ecosystem in the ICT sector which is rather young, is steadily enough changing
the ‘paradigm’ in the sector because first, it draws in new talent and unconventional thinking, and
second, it provides the opportunity to the traditional, large IT companies of the past to pursue
collaborations and strategic/clustering partnerships, more likely to effectively respond to the needs
of the highly competitive ICT sector at international level.
? Research and Development. The overall contribution of the ICT sector of Greece to achieving the EU
2020 target (i.e. 3% of GDP invested in R&D, ICT Business R&D expenditures) is one of the lowest
among EU member-states (less than 0,2%) compared to 1,3% at EU level.
Organizational structure among ICT sector. In 2005, the Information Society Observatory
(http://www.infosoc.gr) introduced a segmentation model for the ICT sector businesses and
enterprises consisting of established companies, rapidly developing ones, and low performing
companies. This model makes implications to the organisational structures in play, which either are
more or less present, or have to substantially change.
For the established ones, the appropriate strategy in order to respond to the challenges of the ICT
21
http://www.away.gr/2014/03/20/greek-startup-scene-infographic/
22
http://www.tovima.gr/finance/article/?aid=578841
23
http://www.tovima.gr/finance/article/?aid=578841
25
sector is to diversify products and services, meeting the needs of new markets and customer base.
This is eventually calling for diversification in terms of organisational structure as they know it. This
would particularly involve strategic partnerships, investment in R&D, and eventually knowledge-
intensive structures and models, which is a far cry from the bureaucratic or even post-bureaucratic
organisational structure of the recent past.
For the rapid developing ones, a necessary strategy focusing on international markets would also
allow for the emergence of alternative, more innovative organisational structures.
For the low performers, the future seems to be bleak, allowing them however to benefit by focusing
on niche markets which, by nature, ask for flexible and innovative organisational structures.
In any case, since the demand of the public sector is substantially shrinking – especially now during
the economic crisis – while the private sector and household demand is increasing, all of the three
aforementioned categories of ICT enterprises are gradually abandoning the organisational
structures of the past, which were more or less determined by the overt dependence on public
sector demand.
Focus on intrapreneurship in general in Greece. There are no concrete or easily accessible data
documenting the uptake of intrapreneurship in Greek companies in general. However, according
to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2103 Global Report, the total ‘entrepreneurial employee
activity’ rate (a term related to “intrapreneurship” or “corporate entrepreneurship”) in Greece is very
low (below 0, 3%) compared to the average rate for the rest of innovation-driven economies at
international level.
Focus on intrapreneurship in ICT companies in Greece. No official data are available. As
demonstrated above, large companies in the ICT sector follow traditional, bureaucratic models of
management. The emergent start-up ecosystem, especially in the field of ICT exhibits some
characteristics of intrapreneurial attitudes. A special mention could be made with respect to spin-off
companies established by researchers in the field of Academy and Research centres. Key ICT
clusters across major cities of Greece, comprising of industrial and academic members, for example,
display very high rate in the development of talents (137,5 % growth rate in the years 2006-2008).
Thus, by implication only, Research Centres, spin-offs, as well as key clusters across the country,
relying heavily on innovation, can be considered as facilitators of value-adding talent pool, allowing
for intrapreneurial endeavours.
3. Management practice of ICT sector in Greece
Management practice in general in Greece. Management practices/styles/models are closely
associated with the concept of organisational culture, as well as leadership. In the case of Greece
they cannot rely on the presence of a stable, continuous, long-term ‘culture’, which could condition
notions of relationships between businesses and the state mechanism, the market, and the
consumers. This eventually affects certain management styles practised within companies. Most
enterprises in Greece are SMEs or even micro-enterprises, usually family businesses. Organisational
cultures and thus management styles in Greece are rather human-cantered than business-cantered,
i.e. interpersonal relationships both within companies, but also with respect to the institutional level
are a determining factor in ‘doing business’. Moreover, they are rather individualistic, and at the
same time paternalistic, collective and hierarchical in nature. Furthermore, the concepts of
“leadership”, “strategy” and “trade-unionism” are grasped in extremely diverse ways, building
communication break-downs between employees, employers, and diverse actor in the field of
economy and businesses.
Although there are certain researches, addressing the ‘Greek management model’, no well-
documented aspects are available. What is actually of importance here, is the fact of how common
26
wisdom addresses the concept of management, rendering it ‘suspicious’, defensive in sharing
knowledge and information, based on a rather emotional approach of relationships and problems,
and following a ‘putting out fires’/situational approach.
As demonstrated in a relevant publication: ‘…The [Greek] business system is characterized by a
majority of micro firms and a small minority of medium and larger firms and multinational
corporations. The role of business is precarious; the firm is kept under the control of the owners, in a
small organic form characterized by a strong entrepreneurial spirit, which is responsive, flexible, and
opportunistic, inhabiting markets with unstable conditions’.
Management practice in ICT companies in Greece. Apart from new, innovative start-ups, spin-offs,
and ICT clusters, the large ICT companies rely mostly on standard, traditional management
practices. Unfortunately, no further, adequate data are available.
Using outsourcing and crowdsourcing in ICT companies in Greece. Although Greek enterprises -
predominantly small or very small – are following ‘outsourcing’ practices without even knowing that
such practices are labelled as outsourcing, e.g. shifting activities like accounting services,
production, e-sales services, etc., outsourcing as such is a relatively novel concept in the business
world in general. (No further data are available).
Providing outsourcing services for the ICT sector in Greece. Based on the fact that in the past 10
years Greece has shown significant growth in combination with significant increase in higher
education orientation, especially in electrical and computer engineering education, outsourcing
seems to be a much promising practice.
At the moment, no concrete data are available, besides bilateral communication between the
institutional level and the ICT sector representative bodies, showing interest to turn the country to an
outsourcing ‘paradise’ in South-eastern Europe. Towards this goal, Greece is exhibiting certain
advantages for the provision of outsourcing services such as ;
- Excellent talent pool
- Competitive wages
- Geographic location
- Strong market (regional headquarters)
However, significant players in the Greek ICT sector, as well as key clusters, provide outsourcing
services in the following fields:
a) IT resourcing & professional services
b) Application management services
c) Infrastructure management & IT support
d) Service desk outsourcing
Remote work practices/telecommuting. Remote work and telecommuting is rather uncharted in
Greece, both at the institutional, as well as at the business level. ICT companies seem to have the
leading role in telecommuting practices; however, no well-documented data are available.
According to the latest available data (2010), remote workers account only for 0, 5-1% of the entire
work-force. The absence of statistical data – i.e. registering telecommuting as a distinct form of
‘employment’ – doesn’t allow for elaborate information.
The main identified obstacles for intrapreneurship in the existing management/organizational
structure in ICT sector in Greece:
? Paternalistic management practices
? Labour-intensive nature
? Reliance on public sector
? Necessity driven entrepreneurship
27
Bureaucratic structures hindering development
? Lack of targeted education and training (intracompany or else)
4. Educational offer of Intrapreneurship courses in Greece
Offer of educational organizations: Targeted intrapreneurship courses at all levels are not available in
Greece. Higher education institutions, business management departures across Greek Universities,
include sporadically intrapreneurship as part of the curricula, as an entrepreneurial practice,
however not promoting it as a distinct field in curricula.
Private institutions in the field of Business Management and Entrepreneurship move along similar lines.
Indicative higher education institutions of the public sector and operating business management
departments where ‘intrapreneurship’ has been spotted as part of the educational material include
the:
? Athens University of Economics and Business
? Democritus University of Thrace
? National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
? University of Ioannina
? University of Piraeus
Offer by companies of any in house training. No information found.
5. Best Practices of Intrapreneurship in ICT Sector in Greece
Case 1: Corallia - Hellenic Technology Clusters Initiative (2006) - www.corallia.org
Corallia is an example of a so-called ‘inborn entrepreneurial innovation’ exploiting ‘knowledge
capital’ as an asset, that is, the shared, managed, sought-after information and skills of the human
factor per se, rather than labour, land, (economic) capital, the traditional
(physical/tangible/generic) factors of production. In turn, the initiative is heavily relying on
knowledge-intensive innovation and production principles, extroversion, and transnational synergies.
Not being a ‘best practice’ for intrapreneurship in strict terms, this initiative is not a ‘company’ having
introduced intrapreneurial practices in an existing ‘organisational culture’, but rather, it has been
structured on the underlying principles of intrapreneurship in a way. Its own essence seems to be
about what intrapreneurship stands for.
6. REFERENCES
? General Secretariat of Research and Technology – Ministry of Education and religious Affairs
(July 2013, Dept. of IT and Communications)
? Hellenic Federation of Enterprises www.sev.org.gr
? Hellenic Statistical Authorityhttp://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/BUCKET/A0101/PressReleases/A0101_SJO01_
DT_QQ_03_2014_01_F_GR.pdf
? Information Society – The official Greek portal www.infosoc.gr
? Innosupport – Supporting innovation in SMEhttp://www.innosupport.net/
? Invest in Greece Agency, Exploring ICT investment opportunities in Greece, January 2011http://www.investingreece.gov.gr/http://www.investingreece.gov.gr/default.asp?pid=36§orID=39&la=2
28
? McKinsey&Company, ? ?????? 10 ?????? ???????: ??????????????? ?? ??? ??????
??????? ????????? (??????????? 2011)
? Prouska. R, Kapsali M. eds., ‘Business and management Practices in Greece – A comparative
context’, (2011), Business & Management Collection 2011
? SEPEgr ???? (????????? ???????????? ???????????? & ???????????? ???????)https://www.linkedin.com/in/sepegr
? SEPEgr ???? (????????? ???????????? ???????????? & ???????????? ???????), The official
EITO (European Information Technology Observatory) partner in Greece: ICT Market Report
2014/2014 Update, ?????? ??? ??? ????? ??????????? ???????????? ??? ????????????
2014/2015, ?????? 8, ????????? & ?????????? 2014.
? Startup Greece (Information, networking and collaboration space, aimed at creating a new
generation of entrepreneurs in Greece)http://www.startupgreece.gov.gr
? WorldBusinessCulture portalhttp://www.worldbusinessculture.com/Greek-Management-
Style.html
Online news pages and aggregators (mass and special media)
? awaygr, Online media property (special media)http://www.away.gr/2014/03/20/greek-
startup-scene-infographic/
? Eleftherotypia (I), Online newspaper (mass media),http://www.enet.gr/?i=news.el.article&id=209160
? Kathimerini (I), Online newspaper (mass media)http://www.kathimerini.gr/782859/article/oikonomia/ellhnikh-oikonomia/poia-epaggelmata-
exoyn-zhthshhttp://www.kathimerini.gr/63426/article/epikairothta/ellada/axartografhth-h-thlergasia-sthn-
ellada
? Nea (Ta), Online newspaper (mass media),http://www.tanea.gr/news/economy/article/5096292/elstat-sta-181-1-dis-eyrw-anhlthe-to-
aep-ths-elladas-to-2013/
? Vima (To), Online newspaper (mass media),http://www.tovima.gr/finance/article/?aid=578841
29
Italy
Population: 59 685 227
(projection at 2013)
1. Overview of the ICT sector in ITALY
? Statistics information
The Gross domestic product (GDP) in ITALY for 2014 amounts to Euro 1 616 047,6 MIL. The information
on GDP in ICT sector
is not available.
The employment rate in ITALY in 2011 (Eurostat) amounted to 56.9% while the National statistical
agency (ISTAT) refers to a value of 86,6% for 2014. The employment in ICT sector accounts for 2,66%
in the year 2010
24
. According to Eurostat (values for 2012), the hourly rates for labour cost, wages
and salaries, and direct remuneration in ICT sector, expressed in unit “Per employee in full-time units,
per month”, are the following:
- Total labour costs (excluding apprentices) – Euro 4,857
- Wages and salaries (excluding apprentices) – Euro 3,491
- Direct remuneration, incl. bonuses & allowances (excl. apprentices) – Euro 3,044
In addition, additional information was collected from the National Statistics Office. In 2012, the
labour cost per employee in enterprises and institutions of the private and public sectors with at least
10 employees was euro 41,330 per year. Wages and salaries per employee were euro 29,895 per
year, accounting for 72.3% of the total labour cost. Social contributions accounted for 27.3% of the
labour cost with statutory contributions at 20.4%, those collectively agreed, contractual and
voluntary at 0.4% and provision for the end-of-service- pay-out (Tfr-Trattamento di fine rapporto) at
3.9%. The ratio of vocational training costs over the labour cost was 0.2%. In the private sector, on
average, 28.8% of the Tfr was paid to supplementary pension funds. In the enterprises with more than
1,000 employees, this share was 43.5%; therefore, the wages and salaries per hour worked were euro
20.20. The difference between enterprises and institutions with over 1,000 employees and those with
10-49 employees was 7.00 euro.
In the North-west and in the Centre areas of Italy, hourly wage and salaries were higher than the
national average (+3.8% and +2.4%, respectively) while in North-East, South and Islands areas it was
lower (-3.6%, -4.7% and -2.3%). The average number of hours worked per employee was 1,480,
accounting for 83% of the hours paid (1,784). The average number of hours worked for a part-time
employee was 990, on average 63.3% of the number for a full time employee (1,565 hours).
Excluding the sectors of Public administration, defence and compulsory social security, the hourly
labour cost was euro 23.60 in Eu28 and 28.4 in the Euro area. Italy's position was below the Euro area
either for the hourly labour cost (euro 27.5) or for the wages and salaries (19.90 euro vs 21.20). In the
same sectors the share of social contributions over the labour costs in Italy (27.7%) was above those
of Eu28 (23%) and of Euro area (25.4%).
With regard to ICT sector, this is hardly identifiable by means of official statistics, as tables give the
amount per code (code J as below described), and in any case general statistics for Industry and
Services are available up to 2012. Secondary sources (e.g. ICT enterprises associations as ASSINTEL)
reports for 2013, gross total salaries: Directors € 98,803; Managers/supervisors € 52,468; Employee €
27,333.
24
ISTAT (Italian National statistics Agency)
30
NOTE: This amount is provided according to National Collective Agreements, but the labour market
in Italy is very uneven, and the practice of having independent in-house staff is rather common. They
are not formally employees, but self-employees or freelancer, having only one employer.
Business R&D expenditures (BERD) in ICT sector as a percentage of the total R&D expenditure
(EUROSTAT) indicated as last available data the value of 0,64% (2006). According to European ICT
BERD distribution by Member State (Digital Agenda, 2009), in Italy this value accounts for 8,53%
? Profile of ICT companies in ITALY
Number and size
25
. ICT companies currently present in ITALY are 97,280 enterprises (2013), 6,033 of
which have more than 10 employees. The scenario of companies classified by size into small (>10
people), medium and large is the following:
o Small (11-50): 5,100 (2013)
o Medium (50-250): 765 (2013)
o Large (>250): 168 (2013)
Type of business. According to BUSINESS REGISTER 2013
26
, the main sector of ICT companies in ITALY is
Software production, IT consultancy and related activities where there are present 2885 enterprises.
Other sectors are:
o Publishing activities (509)
o Motion picture, video and television programme production, sound recording and music
publishing activities (507)
o Programming and broadcasting activities (224)
o Telecommunications (230)
o Information service activities (1,678)
? Start-up companies.
Number in ITALY: According to the Registro Imprese (“Enterprises Record”), which is national based
and managed by the Chambers of Commerce, at the beginning of 2015 (19/01/2015) the number
of “Innovative start-ups” were 3,185. However, official data do not take into consideration all the
types of existent start-ups, but only those referred to Certificate Incubators defined by Law (Decree
Crescita 2.0, “Growth 2.0”, 2012). A general database which includes on all start-ups is managed by
EconomyUp, which is a private company working on the editorial sector
(http://www.economyup.it/startup), however this not includes statistics. Another reputed source of
information, which includes several types of start-ups, is the Osservatorio Italia Startup, by the
Politecnico di Milano(Polytechnic University in Milan), focused on high-tech start-ups.
ICT start-up companies in ITALY: According to the report published by Osservatorio Italia Startup for
2014
27
, the number of ICT companies accounts for 3,427.
2. Organizational Culture of ICT sector in ITALY
? Common organizational culture in ICT sector in ITALY
The organisational culture in the Italian ICT sector largely depends on the size of the enterprises,
25
http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/st...main_en/labour_33main_en?OpenForm&sub=3&sel=4
BUSINESS REGISTER 2013. Number of Enterprises by Economic Activity NACE (Rev. 2) and Size Group (2013)
26
ISTAT, Movimprese
27
www.italiastartup.it
31
which are mostly micro or small enterprises. In addition, ICT companies also deal with the Italian
scenario with regard to organisational culture and management, which – as literature suggests – is
characterised by three main elements, namely (Masino 2008):
? the State’s influence, since for many decades Italy had a protectionist economic policy;
? the family character of many enterprises (both small and large);
? the relevance of the territory, in other words, all those social and cultural elements that
characterise Italy as a community of communities, the aggregate of a number of different
specific local (and very diverse) environments.
All this leads to a predominant fidelity model in recruiting managers, while performance models are
still less developed than in other European countries (Bandiera et al 2008): the consequence is often
a less defined management style, except of the “ownership style” (a type of corporate governance
model which is basically based on the control from owners/family members in case of family firms). A
corporate culture based on explicit long-term planning and focused on human capital
development is not yet totally mainstreamed in Italy (Ceccarini 2011, Bandiera et al 2008) and
policies addressed to favour shift are rather recent.
As there is no study or data source on organizational culture and management style addressing the
ICT sector, we can only assume that most of the ICT firms are aligned with the general Italian
scenario. We acknowledge however that this is a not verified statement.
? Companies with in-house R&D division
There is no specific information on this issue. In past years, several OECD reports pointed out a low
innovation capacity of Italian SMEs, which can also be a consequence of the short term orientation
of organisational culture, where R&D requires a long-term perspective. In the past few years, policies
and public financial support has been focused on investments on R&D for SMEs, and some
advancement have been made with respect to this. However, given the size of most ICT companies
in Italy, it is unlikely that in-house R&D divisions are common.
? Organizational structure among ICT sector
Besides the logical difference between large and small companies, it was not possible to identify
specific elements in organisational structures. Recruitment and staff wages (Assintel report, 2014)
suggest that large firms count on more permanent workers than SMEs, which have a higher number
of independent staff. This, of course, affects a lot organisational structures; however, it can depend
by the current evolving situation of the Italian labour market, characterised by a number of
independent workers who work in-house.
? Focus on intrapreneurship in general in ITALY
? No examples have been identified. Intrapreneurship is mentioned in some academic environments
and top management courses (see below), but according to results of this desk research, it is not
widespread.
? Focus on intrapreneurship in ICT companies in ITALY
No evidence of this has been identified. An example, however, can be Engineering Informatica
S.p.A.
28
declaring: “Creating a company requires responsibilities at all levels. Engineering prefers the
culture of doing, our employees strive for goals in a welcoming environment with young, motivated
colleagues. Our internal organization, based on merit, leaves room for widespread managerial
abilities, autonomous choices, the horizontal principle of delegation and subsidiarity. We have
organized our thirty years of expansion and growth around these values. Our way of doing business is
a success model that has been explained in three volumes of books published by Il Sole 24 Ore and
28
www.eng.it
32
Guerini e Associati.”
3. Management practice of ICT sector in ITALY
? Management practice in general in ITALY
Management style in Italian firms is mostly authoritative than participative. However, this can
dramatically change in micro-companies, that usually have a very participative approach.
? Management practice in ICT companies in ITALY
There no information available on managerial practice in ICT sector being different to the ones in
general.
? Using outsourcing and crowdsourcing in ICT companies in ITALY
No precise sources of information could be found on this issue, but secondary data (e.g. statistics on
start-ups, staff surveys, etc.) lead to believe that ICT companies usually don’t rely on outsourcing,
unless their statute includes other organisations delegated to some activities (as the case of
university spin offs).
? Providing outsourcing services for the ICT sector in ITALY
ICT companies in Italy do provide outsourcing services extensively, both to public bodies and private
firms. No precise data is available to this respect; considering, however, that classes (62) and (63)
above mentioned both refer to consultancy services, it could be assumed that the most part of the
companies provide outsourcing (although not specified). With regard to internationalisation of
services, for the period 2008/2011 the import/export of IT services highlighted a loss ratio (Celata
2013): the 87% of the Italian export has European countries as destination, and the 86% of import is
with EU countries as well. The first export partner is Ireland, followed by Germany and UK.
? Remote work practices/telecommuting
“Smart Work” has been promoted in Italy since 2004, through national legislation, and has been also
recently promoted through laws related to job contracts. However the potential of such practice
has not been fully exploited by enterprises so far. Although it is not possible to estimate the extent of
telecommuting in the ICY sector in Italy, the Observatory on Smart Work report 2014 points out that
8% of the companies (large and medium companies) have already applied smart work plans (in
food sector, ICT, telecommunications and manufacturing).
? The main identified obstacles for intrapreneurship in the existing management/organizational
structure in ICT sector in ITALY
The main barrier seems to be the size of the company. To some extent this weakness is also an
opportunity, as particularly micro-companies are based on strong team-groups, where each of the
members is implicitly an intrapreneur.
4. Educational offer of Intrapreneurship courses in ITALY
Offer of educational organizations. Intrapreneurship is generally included as a study topic in courses
of business, economics, human resources management. In particular, a course identified is:
? University of Pisa
A module of a not-curricular PhD plus (post graduate level). Duration and credits not specified,
costs are included in the PhD fee.
Offer by companies of any in-house training. No in-house training was identified by this desk
33
research. However, a couple of learning events offered by other organizations were found:
? ISTUD (independent business school)
“Intrapreneurship” | 2 days (seminar) | Cost Euro 1,200 | No accreditation mentioned.
? Innovitis (no profit company working in facilitating relations between start-ups and managers)
“Obiettivo Intrapreneurship” (no details mentioned)
5. Best Practices of Intrapreneurship in ICT Sector in ITALY
Case 1. Engineering (http://www.eng.it/) ICT company (software and IT services) which has been
studied as good practice for original HR management and organisational culture, based on the
promotion of intrapreneurship (in Italian “intraprenditorialità”).
Case 2. Gruppo Loccioni (www.loccioni.com) This is a service company that includes ICT and
technological transfer, known as good practice for its openness and its insertion program, where
students are trained to learn “how to improve as persons and as entrepreneurs”. Their approach is
definitely based on intrapreneurship.
6. REFERENCE
? Assintel (2012). L’osservatorio delle competenze nell’ICT. Scenari, retribuzioni e tariffe 2012.
? ASSINTEL (2014). Assintel Report 2014
? Bandiera O., Guiso L., Sadun R. (2008). Italian managers: fidelity of performance?
? Bordignon M. (2010). Evoluzione e sviluppo d’impresa.
? Capitani, G. (2014). Presentation of the 45° Assinform report.
? Cavasin S. (2014). Gestione del capitale umano, Mercato del Lavoro, Retribuzioni.
Osservatorio delle Competenze Digitali 2014
? Celata G, (2013). Progetto di internazionalizzazione delle imprese ICT.
? Ciccarini B. (2011). Understanding management style differences between Germany,
Sweden and Italy – considering environmental and social viewpoints.
? Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (2011). Il benessere, il clima e la cultura delle
organizzazioni: significati ed evoluzioni in letteratura.
? De Vio S. (2010). Engineering 30 anni. Da impresa italiana a multinazionale dell’IT.
? European Commission (2014). Scheda Informativa SBA 2013. Italia.
? EUROSTAT (2012). Entrepreneurship determinants: culture and capability. Statistical books.
? EUROSTAT (2014). Key figures in Europe. 2014 edition. Pockebooks.
? EUROSTATA. Statistics.
? FUB Fondazione Ugo Bordoni (2011). Il ruolo del capitale umano nel settore ICT.
? Guidi F. (2014). Report to the Parliament on the implementation of regulations in support of
the innovative start up ecosystem.
? Informest (2011). Il settore dell’information and communication technologies (ICT) in Italia.
? ISTAT (2013). 9° censimento dell’industria e dei servizi e Censimento delle istituzioni no profit.
Primi risultati.
? ISTAT. Statistics. Tables 2012, 2013, 2014
? Lewis, R.D. (2006). When cultures collide – Leading across cultures
? Mas M., Fernandez Radovelosics F.J. (2014). The 2013 predict report: an analysis of ICT R&D in
the EU and beyond. JRC science and policy reports.
? Masino G. (2008). Culture and management in Italy: tradition, modernization and new
challenges.
34
? Ministero dello sviluppo economico (2014). Small Business Act. Le iniziative a sostegno delle
micro, piccole, medio imprese adottate in Italia nel 2013.
? OECD (2014), OECD Studies on SMEs and Entrepreneurship. Italy: Key Issues and Policies
? Osservatori.net (2013). Le priorità 2013 per il settore ICT.
? Osservatorio Start-up Hi-Tech (2014). The Italian start-up ecosystem. Who is who.
? Schien E.H. (2000). Culture d’impresa.
? Symbola (2013). Italian quality and beauty. Compact Report on Cultural and Creative
Industries in Italy.
35
Romania
Population: 20,020,074
(projection at 2013)
1. Overview of the ICT sector in ROMANIA
? Statistics information
The Gross domestic product (GDP) in ROMANIA for 2014 amounts to Euro 150 018,5 MIL, while GDP in
ICT sector accounts 5% of the GDP for 2014
29
.
The employment rate in ROMANIA in 2011 (Eurostat) amounted to 58.5% while partner’s source
indicates 63.1% in 2013. The information regarding employment in ICT sector is not available.
According to Eurostat (values for 2012), the hourly rates for labour cost, wages and salaries, and
direct remuneration in ICT sector, expressed in unit “Per employee in full-time units, per month”, are
the following:
Total labour costs (excluding apprentices) – Euro 1,237
Wages and salaries (excluding apprentices) – Euro 963
Direct remuneration, incl. bonuses & allowances (excl. apprentices) – Euro 881
The investment in Research and Development in ROMANIA accounts for 0,49% of GDP.
30
? Profile of ICT companies in ROMANIA
Number and size. No structured information on number, size or type of business for Romanian ICT
companies was found available by this research.
? Start-up companies.
According to the RomanianStartups
31
the number of this kind of companies is 261.
2. Organizational Culture of ICT sector in ROMANIA
? Common organizational culture in ICT sector in ROMANIA
According to a recent empirical study in northwest Romania, 80% of the investigated companies say
that the communication between managers and employees exists within the Romanian companies,
and over 60% of them are focused on teamwork. Although about 65% of the investigated
companies offer employees the freedom to use their skills, only 34% of them offer them the freedom
to use their own judgment, which to some extent limits the freedom of employees to come up with
new and innovative ideas at their workplace. Research indicates that the companies from the
northwest region of Romania have an organizational culture that is able to support and sustain
intrapreneurship (Borza, Maier, Bordean 2012).
? Companies with in-house R&D division
Although the exact percentage of companies that have in-house R&D in Romania could not be
retrieved from a valid source, important information about what is perceived as R&D in Romania
29
RomanianNationalNewAgency (2014), retrieved athttp://www.agerpres.ro/english/2014/12/03/industry-agriculture-
communications-have-greatest-contribution-to-gdp-growth-11-57-11
30
Deloitte (2014)
31
http://www.romanianstartups.com/
36
could be derived. More specifically, according to the Romanian companies participating in
the 2014 Corporate R&D survey, while R&D is perceived as the development of new products,
processes and services (68%), it is seen even more as making significant changes or improvements to
existing ones (79%). Almost half of the firms involved consider that R&D includes the joint realisation of
research projects aimed at improving or developing new products and services in collaboration with
other group entities/companies (46%). However, according to the report, a percentage of 19% of
respondents indicated that their companies didn’t have an R&D policy whereas a 29% of
the companies surveyed in Romania are said to be familiar with and make use of R&D grant
programmes. Finally, according to the same report, only 3% of Romanian respondents denoted that
they spend nothing at all on R&D (Deloitte, 2014).
? Organizational structure among ICT sector
No information found.
? Focus on intrapreneurship in general in ROMANIA
Although entrepreneurship initiatives and related activities in Romania are recorded to a large
extend and seem to be supported, according to recent studies comparing entrepreneurs and
intraprenereus in Romania, the intraprenership activity rate in Romania is foreseen to be
approximately 3-4% (Benyovsizki, A., Nagy, A., Petru, T.P., 2013).
? Focus on intrapreneurship in ICT companies in ROMANIA
According to recent research results and indications, Romanian companies, irrespective of their size
can be Intrapreneurial (Borza, Maier, Bordean, 2012).
3. Management practice of ICT sector in ROMANIA
? Management practice in general in ROMANIA
Romanian organisations have a low uncertainty avoidance ranking, which means a ready
acceptance of change and greater tolerance for risk-taking. According to recent research results,
there seems to be absence of a balance of power within society short-term orientation and a higher
power distance. This could be an indication that individualism is more prevalent than collectivism in
Romania. This conclusion is helpful in understanding how managers and employees approach their
work in this culture. In general, Romanian firms have a greater number of hierarchical levels than
their international counterparts. To this end, an autocratic management style and culture is typical
and participative management is seldom to be seen or practised. Furthermore, due to this structure
of hierarchy, communication at the same level is slight or minimum, depended if information is
required to fulfil each employee’s own tasks. Everybody is focused on accomplishing their objectives
and tasks and less interested in how decisions, outputs affects a peer’s tasks or the company’s
performance” (Aiello, M., Borres, A., Bucor, M., 2008).
? Management practice in ICT companies in ROMANIA
No additional information found on ICT sector in particular.
? Using outsourcing and crowdsourcing in ICT companies in ROMANIA
This seems not to be very applicable in Romania although specific information about the extent at
which ICT companies in Romania outsourced could not be retrieved. However, several applications
indicate that Romania seems to be one of the emerging countries on providing IT outsourcing
services for other countries (Flinders, K. 2013; Székely T., 2014).
? Providing outsourcing services for the ICT sector in ROMANIA
Romanian companies do provide IT outsourcing services for other countries and Romania seems to
37
be one of the emerging countries in this domain. In fact, it is referenced as one of ‘India’s
competitors on IT outsourcing’ and it is illustrated in the top 10 countries on IT outsourcing globally.
? Remote work practices/telecommuting
About 2.5% of workers are involved in telework for about a quarter of their working time. A 0.7% of
workers are working involved in teleworking fulltime (Eurofound, 2010).
? The main identified obstacles for intrapreneurship in the existing management/organizational
structure in ICT sector in ROMANIA
Employee attachment to a corporation is low. Managers seem not to involve the employees in the
strategic and tactical planning of processes of the company. So they do not have the chance to
speak-up and make their suggestions or take initiatives. To become more intraprenarial and more
innovative, Romanian companies need to deconstruct management orthodoxies and embrace
new principles (Aiello, M., Borres, A., Bucor, M., 2008).
4. Educational offer of Intrapreneurship courses in ROMANIA
Offer of educational organizations. No relevant course or workshop that draws its solid focus on
intraprenership has been identified by this research. However, forthcoming courses intend to include
‘corporate entrepreneurship’ as part of their syllabus. More specifically:
? Bucharest Business School of the Bucharest University of Economic Studies
32
A module on interprenership will be introduced within its INDE Romanian-French MBA. The degree will
be offered on full-time and part-time bases so as professionals can also attend and will be
introduced in academic year 2016-2017. The module will be taught for 3 hours per week and has
duration of 14 weeks. The module on ‘corporate entrepreneurship’ will be associated to 125 ECTS
and topics to be covered include: basics of interpreneurship, how to develop interpreneurship
behaviours and strategies, how to manage intrerpreneurship projects and how to assess and foster
change in organisational culture so as to promote intrerpreneurship.
It is to be mentioned that Bucharest University of Economic Studies hosts UNESCO chair of training
and research applied to business development in countries in economic transition.
Offer by companies of any in house training. No information on a relevant activity retrieved.
5. Best Practices of Intrapreneurship in ICT Sector in ROMANIA
Case 1. The Impact Hub (http://www.impacthub.ro/about-us/) is a hub for supporting innovation and
innovative ideas, providing training etc. It is mainly targeting mainly entrepreneurs but in the about us
section, it mentions also that they have corporate intrepreneurs as members (note that impact hub is
based in several countries and not only Romania).
6. REFERENCE
? Aiello, M., Borres, A., Bucor, M.(2008). Organisational Practices in Romania and US: Are We So
Different?, Organisation Management CR505, pp. 9, DeSales University, December 7, 2008.
Retrieved throughhttp://www.slideshare.net/venturaab/organizational-practices-in-romania
32
http://www.inde.ro/Syllabus/AN 2/SEM 2/ANT 2014 EN.pdf
38
? Benyovsizki, A., Nagy, A., Petru, T.P. (2013) Is there a difference between intrapreneurs and
early-stage enterpreneurs in Romania?. Journal of Theoritical and Applied Economics, Vol.
XX, 6(583), pp.53-60. Retrieved through:http://store.ectap.ro/articole/870.pdf
? Borza,Maier,Bordean [2012]. Identifying The Intensity of Intraprenership Within the Companies
of the Northwest Region Of Romania. In Proceedings of the 6
th
International Management
Conference “Approaches in Organizational Management”, pp.77-78. 15-16 November 2012,
Bucharest, Romania. Retrieved through:http://conferinta.management.ase.ro/archives/2012/pdf/8.pdf
? Deloitte [2014]. Romania Corporate R&D Roport 2014. Retrieved through:http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/About-
Deloitte/CE_RD_Romania_2014.pdf
? European Foundation For The Improvement Of Living and Working Conditions (2010).
Telework In the European Union. Retrieved through:http://eurofound.europa.eu/sites/default/files/ef_files/docs/eiro/tn0910050s/tn0910050s.pdf
? Flinders, K. (2013). Is Eastern Europe India’s biggest threat for IT outsourcing?. Published via
Computer Weekly, Investing Outsourcing Blog. Retrieved through:http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/outsourcing/2013/09/is-eastern-europe-indias-
biggest-threat-for-it-outsourcing.html
? Székely T. (2014), Romania among top 10 Outsourcing Locations Globally. Outsourcing
Journal, Special Edition “CEE. A Colorful Outsourcing Landscape”. Retrieved through:http://www.outsourcing-journal.org/cee-2/915-romania-among-top-10-outsourcing-
locations-globally
39
Spain
Population 46,727,890
(projection at 2013)
1. Overview of the ICT sector in Spain
? Statistics information
33
The Gross domestic product (GDP) in Spain for 2014 amounts to Euro 1 058 469 MIL while GDP in ICT
sector accounts for Euro € 83.171.951(for 2012)
34
.
The employment rate in Spain in 2011 (Eurostat) amounted to 57.7% while 7.6%
35
accounts for
employment in ICT sector in the year 2013. According to Eurostat (values for 2012), the labour cost,
wages and salaries, and direct remuneration in ICT sector, expressed in unit “Per employee in full-
time units, per month”, are the following:
Total labour costs (excluding apprentices) – Euro 3,976
Wages and salaries (excluding apprentices) – Euro 2,964
Direct remuneration, bonuses and allowances – Euro 2,616
The investment in research in ICT sector in Spain accounts for Euro €995,833 (as of 2012).
? Profile of ICT companies in Spain
Number and size
36
. ICT companies currently present in Spain are 29277. The scenario of companies
classified by size into small (>10 people), medium and large is the following:
Small (11-50): 86,64%
Medium (50-250): 12,67%
Large (>250): 0,68%
Type of business. According to the statistical segmentation for the ICT sector, there are four main
sectors of ICT companies in Spain determined:
? Computer programming, consultancy and other computer related activities
? Telecommunications
? Websites, data processing, hosting
? Editing of software (gaming and other software)
Start-up companies. In 2012 the total of start-up companies in Spain was 287.311, of which 3920 i.e.
almost 13.38%, were ICT companies. This number amounts for the 1.36% of the overall number of the
ICT companies on Spain (previous section).
2. Organizational Culture of ICT sector in Spain
? Common organizational culture in ICT sector in Spain
37
. The Spanish ICT sector is highly fragmented
since more than 80% of ICT sector companies are SMEs. The capabilities and resources at the
disposal of these companies to implement and maintain management policies are very limited
compared to large companies.
Although there are certain responsibility profiles in most companies, CTO, marketing and human
33
Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). Indicadores del sector TIC (CNAE-2009)
34
Instituto Nacional de Estadística
35
EL PAIS Newspaper (2012)
36
http://www.ontsi.red.es/ontsi/sites/default/files/informe_del_sector_ticc_2013_edicion_2014.pdf
37
CONETIC, 2012. Informe del estudio retributivo del Sector TOC Español.
40
resources director, project managers and area managers in general, the structures are mixed and
very horizontal. As stated policy, there seems to be no differentiated structure. There are some
profiles with multiple roles: project-oriented, services, etc. so to establish a tree structure in the
company. Moreover, the views of these companies and professionals indicate a clear future trend
pointing to a pyramidal structure under a defined career plan; currently, this seems to be an
expectation for the future. There no significant differences with organisational structure among ICT
sector.
? Research and Development
38
. The percentage of ICT companies that have in-house R&D division
amounts to 16,3% of ICT companies.
Focus on intrapreneurship in general in Spain. This is a new term for companies (in general). For
example, it can be stated that if inserted in popular research engines, the term “Intrapreneurship” (in
Spanish Intraemprendimiento) produces 50,900 results while the term “Intrapreneur” (in Spanish
Intraemprender) produces 3,580 results. Hence, the general feeling of this research is that the term is
spreading but there is no further data that can confirm that all companies in Spain have a focus on
Intrapreneurship.
Focus on intrapreneurship in ICT companies in Spain
39
. This concept is a mainstream in the ICT sector
based on the commitment to innovation, involving the employee, improving quality and providing
services or products with higher added value is emerging in Spain. The commitment to innovation in
ICT companies generally allows a major involvement of the professionals, improving aspects of the
company. There are innovation-oriented SMEs promoting the involvement of its employees with the
aim of promoting eventual spin-offs from innovative technological ideas through Innovation contests
with prizes related to the sector (mobile, consoles, electronic devices in general).
3. Management practice of ICT sector in Spain
40
,
41
Management practice in general in Spain is permissive autocratic.
Management practice in ICT companies in Spain is participative/democratic. A deeply rooted
concept for SMEs does not seem to be clearly structured. SMEs do not normally hold on a clear
organizational structure, with employers and employees having close links between them.
Using outsourcing and crowdsourcing in ICT companies in Spain. This phenomenon does not occur
specifically often among companies in Spain.
Providing outsourcing services for the ICT sector in Spain. The consolidation of cloud computing
services and technologies are generating new business opportunities for the sector, while generating
a reduction in IT departments. Increasingly, companies see a viable opportunity to reduce their ICT
capital costs and opt for outsourcing services in specialized companies which, in many cases, are
located in other countries.
Remote work practices/telecommuting seems to be a growing practice but it is not very common
yet.
The main identified obstacles for intrapreneurship in the existing management/organizational
structure in ICT sector in Spain seems to be current economic crisis. The national ICT sector seems to
be very permeable in terms of new management/organizational structures/cultures to promote
intrapreneurship. However, the current economic situation will increasingly complicate the retention
and attraction of talent.
38
Instituto Nacional de Estadística
39
CONETIC, 2012. Informe del estudio retributivo del Sector TOC Español.
40
Grupo de Responsables de Formación de Entidades Financieras (GREF)
41
CONETIC, 2012. Informe del estudio retributivo del Sector TOC Español.
41
4. Educational offer of Intrapreneurship courses in Spain
Offer of educational organizations.
A specific course in Spanish language is identified at:
? European University Miguel de Cervantes
42
Course title: University Expert for Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs, “Experto Universitario para
Emprendedores e Intraemprendedores”
Duration: 700 hours
Cost: € 2,900
Credits: 28 credits
Offer by companies of any in house training. No information found.
5. Best Practices of Intrapreneurship in ICT Sector in Spain
Case 1 – ALTRAN (http://www.altran.es/)
National award for Innovation and Design in 2011 (Innovative Human Resources).
95% of the jobs Altran has created in the last two years have a high technological profile.
Additionally, the number of contracts reached 294. This represents an interesting figure compared
with the total workforce of the company reaching 2,000 employees, which places the company as
one of the main technology companies generating sustainable employment in Spain.
In addition, Altran has created an innovative training and staff development model based on
Innovative learning activities implemented internally focused on creativity and Innovation
Techniques and the promotion of a center of Excellence: Intelligence, Technology Radar,
Intelligence Seminars or workshops to foster team creativity and innovation.
Case 2 – Telefónica
Telefonica is one of the major telecom in Spain and also has an international profile as it is present in
21 countries and employs an average of 120,000 professionals. Its consolidated revenues as in 2014
were 37,978 million euros in January-September 2014 and more than 316.1 million customers in
September. It also has various initiatives to promote entrepreneurship among its employees, such as
the Idealab (a blog for ideas from employees, i.e.http://www.aunclicdelastic.com/la-era-de-la-
innovacion/), canal de emprendedores (entrepreneuship channel) and Optima (corporate
efficiency). More than 10% of the workforce of Telefónica Spain is approaching to participate in
these initiatives; such initiatives affect over 3,000 people who are leading the development of new
initiatives within Telefónica. The logic behind these initiatives is to promote projects and initiatives
within the company with average duration of four months and if they achieve the objectives
pursued, they may have the opportunity to compete for prizes within the company.
Case 3 – A blog INTRAEMPRENDER (Intrapreneur)http://intraemprender.blogspot.com.es/
42http://www.uemc.es/posgrados/experto-universitario-para-emprendedores-e-intraemprendedores
42
6. REFERENCES
? EL PAIS Newspaper: 17/06/2012.http://economia.elpais.com/economia/2012/06/15/actualidad/1339777853_083430.html.
Retrieved 12 January 2015.
? GDP: International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 1 November 2014
? Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). Indicadores del sector TIC (CNAE-2009).
Correspondent to 2012.http://www.ine.es/ Retrieved 12 January 2015.
? Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). Estadística sobre Actividades de Investigación
Científica y Desarrollo Tecnológico. Indicadores del sector TIC (CNAE-2009). Correspondent
to 2012.http://www.ine.es/. Retrieved 02 February 2015.
? Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). Indicadores del sector TIC (CNAE-2009).http://www.ine.es/prensa/np856.pdf. Retrieved 02 February 2015
? Observatorio Nacional de las Telecomunicaciones y de la Sociedad de la Información.http://www.ontsi.red.es/ontsi/sites/default/files/informe_del_sector_ticc_2013_edicion_2014.p
df Retrieved 02 February 2015.
? Fajardo J., El directivo español no entrena a su equipo, Grupo de Responsables de
Formación de Entidades Financieras (GREF); accessed viahttp://www.gref.org/nuevo/articulos/articulo040404.pdf. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
? Confederación Española de Empresas de Tecnologías de la Información, Comunicaciones y
Electrónica (CONETIC), (2012), INFORME DEL ESTUDIO RETRIBUTIVO DEL SECTOR TIC ESPAÑOL.http://www.conetic.info/Archivos/Descargas/Publicaciones/Estudio_Retributivo_CONETIC_ve
rsion%20final.pdf. Retrieved 02 February 2015.
43
EU FRAMEWORK
Policy framework
The European market is a very dense business network in which small medium enterprises (SMEs)
account for 99% of all businesses in the EU. Moreover, as stated by DG Growth (Internal Market,
Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs), over the past five years SMEs have created around 85% of new
jobs and provided two-thirds of the total private sector employment in the Europe. SMEs and
entrepreneurship are considered the backbone of the economic growth, innovation, job creation,
and social integration in the EU.
Some concrete actions taken to promote entrepreneurship by the EC include (a) the Small Business
Act for Europe (SBA) that illustrates the SME policy for EU institutions and countries and (b)
Entrepreneurship Action Plan on “Reigniting the entrepreneurial spirit in Europe”. In particular, the
Action plan identifies three main areas of intervention: entrepreneurial education and training to
support growth and business creation; removing existing administrative barriers and reigniting the
culture of entrepreneurship and nurturing the new generation of entrepreneurs.
In particular, the emphasis is given for the need of awareness rising of entrepreneurship concept in
education and knowledge transfer. “Budapest Agenda”, a document issued 2011, is an attempt to
provide “a catalogue of measures to be drawn upon by stakeholders at all levels "within the world of
education, business and the wider community in order to take forward the development of teacher
education in entrepreneurship”.
The EC has made an effort in several directions to support and put emphasise on entrapreneurship.
A summary of some important initiatives would include:
? Recommendation of the European Parliament and the Council: entrepreneurship a key
competence for all (2006)
? Commission Communication on “Fostering entrepreneurial mindsets” (2006)
? Oslo Agenda on Entrepreneurship Education in Europe (2007): a detailed menu of actions
? Small Business Act for Europe (2008)
? EU 2020 strategy: focus school curricula on creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship (2010)
? Budapest Agenda (2011)
Another interesting initiative that fosters innovative way of thinking is Watify
43
- a not-for-profit
initiative supported by the EC and DG growth, based on several sessions of serial entrepreneurs
explaining how they have overcome their doubts while starting or digitizing their own business. As
stated by the EC website, Whatify “supports digital start-ups by mentoring young entrepreneurs,
empowering them to succeed”.
On the other side, there is not specific distinction between "entrepreneurship“ and
"intrapreneurship“ in official EC communications. The documents often refer to creativity, innovation
and risk taking, as well as the ability to plan and manage projects. As highlighted by the project
“Intrapreneurship – the new aim of vocational education and training”, in particular countries of
Europe, the term “Intrapreneurship” is not included in the official documents, the strategies and
national programmes refer more to entrepreneurship or business competences. Furthermore,
entrepreneurship is included in the national curricula of general secondary schools in only a minority
of European countries. In higher education, the entrepreneurship courses are offered mostly in
business and economic studies, as illustrated by this report.
43
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/dem/watify
44
Social networks, conferences and relevant initiatives
An international event worth of mentioning in this section is the Intrapreneurship conference
organised on annual bases since 2011 across Europe
44
. In addition to the promotion of the event
itself, the community supports intrapreneurship concept through a blog dedicated to creative
colleagues tackling issues such as intrapreneurship, innovation and leadership and a selection of
studied webinars around intrapreneurship and corporate innovation.
Social networks and media are also crucial instruments to ensure communication and awareness
rising of the intrapreneurship concept as they are the “agoras” of today for young and creative
minds. For example, a linked-in group of Intrapreneurs was established in 2009 as a private group
while an ICT intrapreneurs exists since 2013 .
For example, the European Business Network for Corporate Social Responsibility has launched a
European Social Intrapreneurship Programme create awareness about intrapreneurship and
recognise leading companies that offer an enabling environment for innovation and
entrepreneurship as well as to support the efforts of individuals who are leading new social -business
innovations from within companies.
It could therefore be suggested that the concept of entrepreneurship is a basis for the
Intraprenuership culture in the organisation and that it should be majorly fostered and educated
within the sector of vocational education and training.
Another significant initiative on EU level is a project Innosupport co-funded under the Lifelong
Learning programme. The project regards an extended and updated practical Guide to Support
Innovation in Small and Medium Enterprises that was released in May 2009. Its content covers
subjects which are part of the innovation process. The guide provides reach information to support
intracompany innovation in SMEs, closely related with intrapreneurial cultures.
EUCIO experience
European Chief Information Officer (EuroCIO), a not-for-profit representative for the large IT-users
(demand side of IT), both private and public, is one of the partners of INTRAPRISE project. In order to
have a first insight on the state of awareness of intrapreneurship concept among companies an
initial short survey was conducted on following aspects:
What are the current initiatives for the ICT sector that promote intrapreneurship? (Digital
Agenda for Europe, Future Internet PPP etc.)
EuroCIO is a partner in the Secretariat of the Grand Coalition project (previously called the Thematic
Network) which has the objective of disseminating the results of the digital agenda initiatives. The 13
goals of the Digital Agenda were primarily concerned with internet availability and usage. Pillar V
Research and innovation specifically refers to research and innovation. However, there was very
little knowledge or recognition or experience across the members of these initiatives.
Specific mention was made of the ‘les poles de compétitivité’ initiative in France and the
competitiveness clusters they have created. A competitiveness cluster brings together large and
small firms, research laboratories and educational establishments, all working together in a specific
region to develop synergies and cooperative efforts. Other partners may be brought in, such as
public authorities, either local or national, as well as firms providing business services. Some of these
clusters include 'promoting innovation' as an objective and it was agreed that local initiatives such
as this could yield benefits.
44http://www.intrapreneurshipconference.com/
45
As one of the best practices involving EuroCIO is the GUIDE project, which addresses e-Leadership
skills requirements. As part of this project, it was clearly identified by EuroCIO that one of the barriers
to innovation is a shortage of appropriate skills. ICT skills were referenced specifically, but it was
agreed that many of the skills and capabilities that promote innovation and entrepreneurial
behaviours within organisations are in short supply.
Are there any directives or norms that add value to this process?
EuroCIO members could not identify any external policies, directives or norms that facilitate
entrepreneurial activity within their organisations.
Do you use any incentives (financial, learning and education, networking, P2P experiences) to
encourage intrapreneurship within your organization?
Some companies provide financial incentives, such as bonus payments, to reward good ideas. If
the idea is considered to be of commercial significance, it will get funding for pilot projects or
additional market research to validate the proposition. One of EuroCIO members, a media
company, organises yearly innovation awards where 20 to 30 projects are submitted and 2 to 3
receive approval. Experience sharing events are conducted to promote communication and
collaboration within the organisation. This again reflects the fact that the member organisations are
more likely to rely on internal mechanisms to promote ‘intrepreneurship’ at this time.
Do you have any best practices that you can share?
Some of the member organisations have internal schemes that reward entrepreneurial behaviour
and activity. It was generally felt that internally generated schemes were the most common
approach to fostering innovation within organisations.
One such example is a business innovation group (implemented by a European car manufacturer)
where ideas are collected and supported up to the point that the employees get funds and are fully
freed up from their normal duties. Two commercially successful ventures began in this way.
Another organisation has implemented a lab of approximately 10 people who are co-located in a
fresh environment and have the following objectives: (a) capture external innovation (open
innovation with start-ups, market watch, partner with venture capitalist funds); (b) Promote internal
innovation (support the Bus organic growth, support intrapreneurs, launch and incubate projects)
and (c) Investigate breakthrough ideas (contribute to the corporate strategic planning).
Other member organisations use similar ‘incubation’ schemes to both identify and validate new
innovative business concepts.
EuroCIO members conclude that the vast majority of schemes and processes to encourage
entrepreneurial behaviour within the member organisations are internal in nature. The experiences
are hence very self-contained rather than collaborative but members are definitely very available
and interested to the concept. It is acknowledged that staff can be an engine but the concept is
still not fully embraced. The EuroCIO members agreed there is a demand for educational
programmes that would ‘train and develop’ entrepreneurial capabilities and are available to
respond to future recommendations in this direction.
46
SOME FIRST FINDINGS OF INTRAPRISE PROJECT
Main user needs
? Awareness rising on intrapreneurship. Need to better understand the concept in general and
the benefits that could derive on economic and social level
? Cross cultural management. For example, in Belgium the work seems to be more effective
when it is clear among colleagues that Belgians generally like working in teams and
collaborate well across hierarchical lines. Role allocation within the team is generally quite
clearly defined and people will take greater responsibility for their specific task than for the
group as a whole.
A tentative list of interesting inputs on contents for the course and modules
Both for employers and employees: better understanding and getting acquainted with the concept
of “intrapreneurship”.
Company level:
? Awareness of the organisational culture of a company and comprehension of the ‘big
picture’;
? Linking the business horizon of a company with personal entrepreneurial aspirations;
? Belgian tax law provides the opportunity to benefit from a special investment deduction for
investments in research and development of new products and forward-looking technologies
that are environment friendly (not harming the environment). This innovative law has
encouraged the formation of R&D divisions. The investment deduction creates the possibility
for taxpayers to claim a tax deduction - in addition to the normal tax depreciations - when
making qualifying R&D investments. Awareness rising could be made on this and similar
initiatives across EU/countries of the consortium;
? Focus on steering complex projects within a business, i.e., multi-faceted strategic projects, in
various domains (finance, information systems, human resources, marketing, supply chain,
etc.);
? Recognising the ‘valuables’ within a company;
? Rethinking the ‘department philosophy’, letting knowledge and ideas circulate;
? Bio-technology and telecommunications, among medium to large companies, have a
greater focus on intrapreneurship than other sectors;
? Outsourcing: better insight of the phenomenon in general.
Individual level:
? ‘I have an innovative idea’: development of personal ideas and how to implement them,
people to talk to within the institution, steps to follow;
? Risk taking within a company: way to evaluate the risk, what are the limits; way to
treat/reward/promote such behaviour;
? Taking initiative: perceiving a bigger context around a single task;
? Awareness of own and others’ strengths: identify the proper strengths and those of others;
building teams with complementary strengths;
? Practical exercise: a successfully complete a concrete project, acquiring competencies
related to personal development (soft skills): taking initiative, teamwork, better self-
knowledge (personal development).
47
CONCLUSIONS
The traditional management structure of most organizations simply focuses on performing
old tasks more efficiently, instead of creating new tasks or new ideas to address new
challenges. However, as suggested by Fig 4., the attitude towards entrepreneurship across
EU countries is quite relevant. If organisations would realize the competitive advantage
innovation provides, they could learn to stimulate, support, and protect their intrapreneurs
as part of their corporate strategies. In this sense, companies and organisations should
become more creative and responsive in recognizing and preserving the strengths and
skills of employees to promote individual and overall growth in performance and efficiency.
Top managers should combine reactiveness, risk-taking, innovativeness, competitive
aggressiveness, and autonomy.
The literature strongly suggests that any foreseen training in this sense should target two
directions: (1) intrapreneurial mind-set and (2) knowledge of processes and factors for
building this action plan. Hence, the target communities of such trainings could be both
employees but also managers and employers. In this manner the entire value chain of
service providers would be covered and more exposed to awareness rising of
intrapreneurship concept and it benefits, economic as well as cultural and social.
Fig. 4 Entrepreneurial intention across INTRAPRISE partner countries in 2014
(data for Cyprus missing)
Source: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM),
data from Global Entrepreneurship Research Association (GERA)
48
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Articles and publications
Ahmad N. & R. G. Seymore (2008), Defining Entrepreneurial Activity: Definitions Supporting
Frameworks for Data Collection, OECD Statistics Working Paper accessed viahttp://www.oecd.org/industry/business-stats/39651330.pdf
Bloom N. et al., (2005) Management practices: the impact on company performance. Centrepiece,
10 (2). pp. 2-6. ISSN 1362-3761 accessed viahttp://eprints.lse.ac.uk/4604/1/Management_Practices_the_Impact_on_Company_Performance.pdf
European Commission (2013), Digital Agenda, Chapter 3 ICT R&D, innovation and growth, accessed
viahttp://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/sites/digital-agenda/files/KKAH12001ENN-chap4-PDFWEB-
4_0.pdf
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound (2010),
Telework in the European Union accessed viahttp://www.eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/eurwork/comparative-information/telework-in-the-
european-union
Final summary paper (2011), Intrapreneurship concept and its importance in Lifelong Learning,
accessed viahttp://www.intrapreneurship.cz/wp-
content/uploads/2011/12/summary_A5_brochure_printable_format.pdf
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2014 Global Report (2015), ed. Singer S., Amoros J. E., Arreola D. M.
and Global Entrepreneurship Research Association (GERA) accessed viahttp://gemconsortium.org/docs/download/3616
Goleman D. (2000), Leadership that gets results, Harward Business Review, March - April Issue 2000
accessed viahttps://hbr.org/2000/03/leadership-that-gets-results
HKU, (2010), The Entrepreneurial Dimension of the Cultural and Creative Industries, Hogeschool vor
de Kunsten Utrecht, Utrecht accessed viahttp://bookshop.europa.eu/en/the-entrepreneurial-
dimension-of-the-cultural-and-creative-industries-pbNC0213130/
Mas M.& de Guevara Radoselovics J. F. The 2013 Predict Report: An Analysis of ICT R&D in the EU
and Beyond (2014), Rohman I. K., De Prato G., Desruelle P. (ed.), Report EUR 26828 EN,
doi:10.2791/12522
Wennekers et al. (2010), Intrapreneurship - An international study, accessed viahttp://www.researchgate.net/publication/48322618_Intrepreneurship_-_An_International_Study
Web link and databases
European Commission, DG Growth viahttp://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/index_en.htm
EUROSTAT, Population projection of all consortium countries to 2013 upon last census data (2011)
accessed viahttp://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-datasets/-/tps00002 andhttp://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tps00002&plu
gin=1
EUROSTAT, Gross Domestic Products (GDP) for all consortium countries (provisional values for Cyprus,
Greece, Romania and Spain) accessed viahttp://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-datasets/-
/namq_10_gdp andhttp://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/refreshTableAction.do?tab=table&plugin=1&pcode=tec00001&la
nguage=en
49
EUROSTAT, Labour cost, wages and salaries, and direct remuneration in ICT sector for all consortium
countries accessed viahttp://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database
European social statistics, 2013 edition, Eurostat pocket books accessed viahttp://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3930297/5968986/KS-FP-13-001-EN.PDF/6952d836-7125-
4ff5-a153-6ab1778bd4da (reference for employment rate in all consortium countries for persons
aged 15-64 in 2011, last census in Europe)
50
ANNEX I: O1-A1 – Defining research and survey methodology,
guidelines and tools
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
ANNEX II: STATE OF THE ART ANALYSIS REPORT OF MANAGEMENT
PRACTICES AND ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN THE ICT SECTOR IN YOUR
COUNTRY: GUIDELINES FOR DATA COLLECTION AND HOMEWORK FOR
PARTNERS
Introduction
As stated by the INTRAPRISE project, “companies today need to find that ‘added extra’ in order to
stay competitive to their existing customers and attract new customers. One way to do this is to
encourage innovative and creative behaviour within the organisation that is to say to encourage
intrapreneurs”.
Intrapreneurship as a term was conceived and first written in 1978 by Gifford Pinchot III, an American
entrepreneur and his wife Elizabeth Pinchot. In 1992, The American Heritage Dictionary of English
language has acknowledged the popular use of this new word and it included it in its 3rd 1992
Edition. “Intrapreneur”, to mean "A person within a large corporation who takes direct responsibility
for turning an idea into a profitable finished product through assertive risk-taking and innovation"
45
. In
fact, Intrapreneurship is now known as the practice of a corporate management style that
integrates risk-taking and innovation approaches, as well as the reward and motivational
techniques, that are more traditionally thought of as being the province of entrepreneurship. An
intrapreneur could thus enable businesses to expand into other areas of their market by identi fying
new products or services to existing or new customers. Intrapreneurship could therefore be defined
as any entrepreneurial activity performed within an organization.
For purposes of the INTRAPRISE project, all participating countries will firstly examine the
management practices and organisational culture, in particular in ICT sector, in their country. This
initial collection of information, data and references will give an overview not only of the state of the
art in a single country, but also a picture of the possibilities for implementing intrapreneurship as a
more common practice and for supporting it if /where already existent.
Methodology and guidelines for data collection
In order to access the state of the art of management practices and organisational culture across
the countries of INTRAPRISE consortium, some specific issues will be examined by the partners. The
information will be collected by the following partners: CUT and R&Do (Cyprus), Militos &
Found.ation (Greece), Scienter (Spain), SINLO (Romania), Melius (Italy) and MTC (Belgium).
The issues are groupped into the following categories:
7. Overview of the ICT in (country name)
8. Organizational Culture of ICT sector in your country
9. Management practice of ICT sector in your country
10. Offers of Intrapreneurship courses in your country: Business/other schools, educational
organizations and/or training courses
11. Best Practices of Intrapreneurship in ICT Sector in your country
12. Feedback on this document
45
https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=intrapreneur&submit.x=38&submit.y=27
58
PARTNER ACTION - complete the following template for your country following these steps:
6. Read carefully the description of O1 in the Application form document (pp.46-49)
7. Read carefully the question of this document and perform desktop research following the
TIPs indicated for each category.
8. Consult the Powerpoint working document discussed among partners (attached to this
document)
9. Provide answers to all the questions of this document for your country and send the
feedback to the coordinator of this action.
General remark:
There is a probability that many of the information requested will not be so straight forward to find in
every country. For this reason, it is good practice to look into all sorts of documents and literature,
both official ones and those that are less formal. Please, ALWAYS refer to the source of your
information with citation (bibliography) or a web link. In case the information is simply missing,
informal, dated or not well documented, it could still be very useful for the report but specify this
issue clearly in your report.
59
Country Profiles
STATE OF THE ART IN NAME OF YOUR COUNTRY
Name of the Country:
1. Overview of the ICT in NAME OF YOUR COUNTRY
1.1 Statistics information
QUESTIONS ANSWERS
a. What is the population in your country at last census (2011)
46
?
b. What is the Gross domestic product (GDP) of the area
according to the last census?
c. What is the GDP in ICT sector?
d. What is the Employment rate in your country?
e. What is the employment rate in ICT sector in your country?
f. What are labour cost, wages and salaries, and direct
remuneration in ICT sector in your country?
g. What is the investment in research (if any) in ICT sector in your
country?
Note: If necessary, express this amount in percentage of the national
budget.
TIP: to answer questions from the section 1.1 please refer to (1) EUROSTAT website
here:http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/statistics/search_database and
(2) to the website of the National Institute of Statistics in your country (e.g. ISTAT in
Italy, INE in Spain, ELSTAT in Greece etc.).
If case you are not familiar with your National Institute check here:http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/natl_e.pdf
1.2 Profile of ICT companies in your country
QUESTIONS ANSWERS
a) Number: how many ICT companies are present in your
country?
b) Size: Classify ICT companies by size SMALL, MEDIUM AND
LARGE
Note: consider small enterprises with 10 person and above
c) Type: What is the main business sector of ICT companies in your
country? What are other sectors?
Note: Use sectors provided by your national source or use these
categories: creative industry, gaming, hardware, software, IT security,
tourism, other?
d) Start-up companies
What is the number of start-up
47
companies in your country?
What is the number of ICT start-up companies in your country?
Calculate the ratio “Start-up ICT/all ICT” (use response from 1.2a)):
46
Year of the last Census in Europe
47
In order to have the most updated information, the limit should be kept up to last 5 years.
60
start-up companies in ICT sector/overall number of companies in ICT
Calculate the ratio “Start-up ICT/all Start-up”:
start-up companies in ICT sector/overall number of start-up companies
in the country
TIP: to answer questions from the section 1.2 consult the websites of following bodies
and institutions in your country:
Chamber of commerce, Cluster organizations of ICT companies, single ICT
companies (small, medium or large).
Please specify the source of your information.
Name of the Country:
2. Organizational Culture of ICT sector in your country
QUESTIONS ANSWERS
a) What is the common organizational culture in ICT sector
in your country?
For example:
? Do all ICT companies have divisions such as:
Management, Commercial, Research&Development,
Implementation&Assistance?
? How about the way of ‘doing things’ – what is the
mission, vision, values of ICT companies?
? What is the organisational ‘paradigm’ and power
relations roles of company leaders?
? If possible, illustrate how are the tasks are delegated
and how conflicts are dealt with?
? If possible, illustrate how ideas are circulating and
exploited and how team work is facilitated?
b) What is the percentage of companies that have in-
house R&D division?
Consider also the aspect of “openness”: in what way is the
company open to innovative inputs ideas from outside?
c) Can you identify any differences in organizational
structure among ICT sector?
If yes, what are these differences?
d) Do companies (in general) in your country have a
focus on Intrapreneurship? If yes, in which sector?
If there are more branches state all of them.
e) Do ICT companies in your country have a focus on
Intrapreneurship? If yes, is there a specific branch in your
country ICT sector that has a focus on Intrapreneurship (e.g.
gaming industry, software development, creative industries,
on-line and mobile banking and payment services, IT Security
etc.?)
Name of the Country:
3. Management practice of ICT sector in your country
QUESTIONS ANSWERS
a) What is the management practice in general in your
61
country? If possible, identify which management style
48
is
mostly pursued among autocratic, consultative, participative,
democratic etc.
49
?
b) You can also consider some more recent management
styles such as “chaotic style” or “lassez-fair”
50
, too.
c) What is the management practice in ICT sector in your
country? Is it in anyway different to general management
practice? If yes, how?
d) Do ICT companies in your country rely on outsourcing or
crowdsourcing i.e. do they shift some of their activities to an
outside company, which can do them more cost-effectively?
If yes, what is this percentage of this action and in which
countries? (or what is the number of ICT companies that do it)
e) On the contrary of 3c) do ICT companies in your
country provide outsourcing services i.e. do ICT companies
from your country perform activities of ICT companies
established in other countries? If yes, for which companies
(countries)?
f) Do ICT companies in your country rely on remote work
practices/telecommuting employees?
If yes, what is this percentage of this action? (or what is the
number of ICT companies that do it)
g) From the information you gathered, what seem to be
the main obstacles for intrapreneurship in the existing
management/organizational structure in ICT sector in your
country?
Name of the Country:
4. Offers of Intrapreneurship courses in your country: Business/other schools,
educational organizations and/or training courses
QUESTIONS ANSWERS
Are there any specific courses (public/private) within University
degrees in your country?
If yes, please specify:
- Name of the institution
- Name of the course degree (Master in …, Bachelor
in …)
- Duration
- Cost (free or upon payment)
- Credits given to students (if any)
Is there any in house training in companies?
48
The method of leadership that an administrator usually employs when running a business. Depending on business
circumstances, a manager might need to employ more than one management style in a more or less formal way to achieve
the highest degree of effectiveness in their role. A variety of management style types exist, such as autocratic, paternalistic,
laissez-faire, democratic, informal, participatory, supervisory, etc. and a particular style might be more suitable for a certain
type of business or employee group than another (as retrieved from:http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/management-style.html#ixzz3MALpegfp).
49
http://www.haygroup.com/downloads/fi/leadership_that_gets_results.pdf
50
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management_styles
62
If yes, please specify:
- Name of the company
- Name of the course
- Duration
- Cost (free or upon payment)
- Accreditation (if any) given to participants (e.g.
Diploma or similar?)
TIP: Have a look at the offers from Universities and companies. Also, try to look for
publicly offered courses. In some countries, due to the recent economic crisis, the
creative approach (and hence Intrapreneurship) was very much fostered by public
institutions. Some of them have organized specific courses to help people looking for
a job. Perhaps there are some good examples in your country.
Name of the Country:
5. Best Practices of Intrapreneurship in ICT Sector in your country
Illustrate from 1 to max 5 cases of best practices indicating aspects such as good
practices (e.g. awards, competitions, special publications, conferences, events, fairs
etc.), other related initiatives and local champions (people that could inspire others
with their story).
TIP on Words Count: 200-250 words per case
Case 1
Case 2
Case 3
Case 4
Case 5
TIP: use info from local and national newspaper and means of communications as
well as chamber of Commerce and ICT Cluster organisations. Local dimension is very
important in this segment. We should illustrate cases that have already inspired other
people or that can inspire new ones.
Overview in Europe (only for EUROCIO)
Name of the Country: EUROPE
1. Policy: Overview on current initiatives relevant for ICT sector (e.g. Digital
Agenda for Europe, Future Internet PPP, etc.)
63
2. Directives&Norms
3. Incentives (financial, learning and education, networking, P2P experiences)
4. Best practices (EU projects/internal experiences among EU stakeholders, etc.)
Case 1
Case 2
Case 3
…..
Comments
Name of the Country:
Feedback on this document
Please provide any feedback or comments on this exercise.
For example, did you have any difficulties filling in this document? If yes, for which
questions in particular?
Did you find any interesting information that you did not know where to fill-in? Please
state it here.
Any other comments?
TIP: Your feedback in this section will be valuable inputs for O2 survey that will take
place in the following phase of the project.
doc_622610582.pdf