Human Service Organizations as an Arena for Social Intrapreneurship: A Cross-Country Analysis

A comprehensive comparative study using qualitative methodology was conducted in Israel and the U.S. to examine the goals that social workers seek to achieve through social intrapreneurship, measures of success for social intrapreneurship and motivations to act as social intrapreneurs. Categorical content analysis was used to identify recurring themes according to predetermined study questions. The research findings provide insights into the role of social organizations and social work education systems in designing policies that promote the involvement of social workers in social intrapreneurship to address complex and ongoing social problems. Understanding social intrapreneurship from the perspective of social workers employed in human service organizations may help social work human service managers understand how to promote organizational mechanisms for engaging in social intrapreneurship.Social work human service managers can increase social workers' motivations to engage in social intrapreneurship by refining job requirements and providing knowledge, resources, and professional skills.Human service organizations should promote an organizational culture of measurement and evaluation of social initiatives that may increase social workers' sense of responsibility.