Intrapreneurship describes the process of developing new products, services, and lines of business within an existing company. It is perhaps best understood as a form of internal entrepreneurship that takes place with the encouragement and support of management. An employee who takes responsibility for developing an innovative idea into a marketable product is known as an intrapreneur. Management consultants Gifford and Elizabeth Pinchot coined the term in 1976 and helped popularize the concept of intra-corporate entrepreneurship in their pioneering book Intrapreneuring: Why You Don't Have to Leave the Corporation to Become an Entrepreneur (1985).

The Pinchots and other experts recognized that entrepreneurial ventures often lost their innovative edge as they grew into established companies. In order to help organizations remain creative and competitive as they grew, the consultants came up with guidelines and models to foster this entrepreneurial spirit among employees. "There are many advantages in working with intrapreneurs in...