Intrapreneurship and Family Owned SMEs: An HRM Tool Pathway to Succession

An SME is an organizational system characterized by a division of labor and coordination; it is a social construct with rules, customs, power dynamics, and a corporate culture. The human resources function is present, either through personnel administration or in a more strategic form, Human Resources Management. The hypothesis put forward is that, in the absence of Human Resources Management, intrapreneurship appears to be an effective way to develop the capabilities of this type of company and enables succession planning. The study focuses on a family-owned SME that has been in operation for over 32 years. When I was called in to resolve a recruitment challenge, I discovered that the real issue was unresolved succession regarding both assets and management. In the absence of a decision-maker and a consistent human resources policy, everyone focuses their efforts on a technical aspect without taking a step back to consider the overall management of the company. Intrapreneurship then emerged as a transitional solution toward a structured succession plan involving the appointment of a manager with full authority.