Definitions
Invention and Innovation
Invention directs the design of a new development or device. Innovation, on the other hand, is making modifications to an existing product or procedure and presenting new forms or ideas. Scientific findings or technical breakthroughs often cause vision, while innovation is driven by market or client requirements.
Invention requires a higher level of creativity and risk tolerance than creation, which demands a more methodical problem-solving process (Cameron & Green, 2019). Therefore, invention creates a new idea or product, while innovation enhances a product’s functionality and performance. It can be cumulative or disruptive, depending on the capacity for change.
Change Manager, Intrapreneur, and Entrepreneur
A change manager is crucial in initiating and implementing changes aligned with the company’s business goals, ensuring that change occurs quickly and effectively. Additionally, the manager fosters a positive perception of these goals among the staff and serves as a coach to the management team.
Entrepreneurs are the people who start and operate their businesses, taking financial risks in pursuit of profit (Blanka, 2019). Entrepreneurs act independently to create and manage their businesses. Intrapreneurs are employees who apply entrepreneurial skills and thinking to drive innovation and growth (Blanka, 2019). Intrapreneurs work in existing companies to develop new products, services, or business strategies.
The Organizational Context
Change Manager
A change manager’s organizational context is often unstable and can vary depending on their workplace. Change managers can work in large and small corporations (Cameron & Green, 2019). This can be explained by the fact that any company faces changes in its activities and tries to implement them.
The primary responsibilities of such managers include introducing new technologies, modifying business processes, or reorganizing the company (Cameron & Green, 2019). Generally, a change manager works closely with management in any company and maintains regular contact with ordinary staff. This is because this work style allows them to analyze and stimulate the current state of innovation in the team.
Intrapreneur and Entrepreneur
Intrapreneurs are individuals who can operate effectively within a broad organizational context. They demonstrate the traits of entrepreneurs but hide within the power and resources allocated to them. In general, intrapreneurs work in large enterprises engaged in innovation or invention (Blanka, 2019). They stimulate employees’ creative activity and propose innovative projects to entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, are individuals who create their own businesses and organizational contexts (Blanka, 2019). They accept the risks of creating the organizational structure, staffing, and choosing the company’s activities. Accordingly, entrepreneurs implement their vision of business activities in an organizational context.
Success Achievement
Change Managers
To achieve success, change managers must communicate effectively so employees clearly understand the purpose and benefits of upcoming changes. By evaluating how employees perceive these changes, managers can identify concerns and adapt their approach. Accepting and applying the right strategies requires active listening, which helps managers gather meaningful feedback and build trust. Through strong strategic thinking, they can align change initiatives with organizational goals and guide the team toward long-term improvement.
Intrapreneurs and Entrepreneurs
In order to become a successful intrapreneur, it is necessary to establish positive relationships with the company’s management and employees. This will allow receiving support from management and funding for new experiments (Blanka, 2019). At the same time, subordinates will help to develop ideas and put them into practice. Furthermore, one needs to be creative and constantly try to experiment to create a unique product (Blanka, 2019).
Moreover, to become a successful entrepreneur, it is imperative to be aware of the main business trends and assemble a professional team. Entrepreneurs need to act quickly and smoothly in a competitive business environment, which is why they need to be effective managers and funders.
Similarities Between Roles
It is crucial to note that a change manager, an intrapreneur, and an entrepreneur are all people who aim to improve organizations through change. Accordingly, they share a common goal and understanding of leadership. In other words, a change manager, intrapreneur, and entrepreneur have developed leadership skills and applied them in the team to encourage employees to grow (Cameron & Green, 2019). They also work with risk, meaning that the change manager always faces the risk that employees will not accept innovations, the entrepreneur has constant financial risks, and the intrapreneur is constantly experimenting and is not convinced of the result. Thus, these people have in common the following characteristics: leadership, adaptation to situations, and responsibility for risks.
Differences Between Roles
However, a change manager, an intrapreneur, and an entrepreneur operate in different organizational contexts. For example, managers work in established organizations, entrepreneurs create them, and intrapreneurs work under the direction of employees with a certain amount of autonomy (Blanka, 2019). They also have various powers: sub-entrepreneurs have complete control over all the organization’s affairs, change managers deal only with their job duties, and intrapreneurs have a scope of action only in a narrow area. Moreover, they are focused on different industries; change managers work with staff and focus on implementing organizational strategies. In contrast, intrapreneurs focus on developing new ideas to drive innovation and create new products (Cameron & Green, 2019). Furthermore, entrepreneurs are more concerned with organizational issues and trying to operate successfully in the market.
Models of Change Management
Levin’s Model
Change management is a proven method to assist organizations in successfully executing a significant shift or a detailed set of modifications. One of the most famous and successful examples of change management, created by Kurt Lewin, has determined transformation in human innovation as “change in three stages” (Yun et al, 2020). Unfreezing is a preparatory stage that helps those affected by the reform break the current stagnation state and recognize that change is inevitable (Yun et al, 2020). Change is the employee involvement phase, and good communication is used to implement the change. A refreeze phase must be performed to root the change in the freeze phase.
Kotter’s Theory
The change management model consists of eight steps. First, to create a sense of urgency, build a leadership coalition, and create a strategic vision and initiatives. Then it is crucial to find the champions of change and innovation to involve all the others in the process and make them implement the necessary changes (Hayes, 2022). It is also essential to activate action by removing barriers, that is, to change and redecorate them. After that, one has to create short-term victories, support them, and institutionalize change.
References
Blanka, C. (2019). An individual-level perspective on intrapreneurship: a review and ways forward. Review of Managerial Science, 13(5), 919-961. Web.
Cameron, E., & Green, M. (2019). Making sense of change management: A complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers.
Entrepreneur and Management Solutions. (n.d.). Innovation vs Invention. Web.
Hayes, J. (2022). The theory and practice of change management. Bloomsbury Publishing.