From intrapreneurship to entrepreneurship: the role of displacing events

This paper aims to identify which factors affect the decision of intrapreneurs to transition into entrepreneurship and found their own company. We examine the relation between their intention to transition and their actual transition. Building on Shapero & Sokol's (1982) Entrepreneurial Event model and recent insight from the career management literature, we argue that the relation between intention to transition and their actual transition will be reinforced by the number of disruptive events that happen in the intrapreneur's work-related and personal life. We test and confirm our hypotheses using time-lagged survey data on 292 intrapreneurs. Our findings improve our understanding of why intrapreneurs do or do not become entrepreneurs. They also add to the entrepreneurial intention and the career literature, which hitherto have mainly presented qualitative evidence on the role of disruptive events. They further have important practical implications for policy makers concerned with innovation in established firms and new ventures.