Entrepreneurial Behavior Inside Companies Can Rapidly Boost Careers

Organizations are constantly searching for new ways to stay innovative, competitive and resilient in a fast-moving business environment. A growing body of research now shows that employees who behave entrepreneurially inside their companies can accelerate their career growth—but only when their ideas lead to real, concrete outcomes.

A new set of studies led by Alyssa Liang, a visiting assistant professor of organizational behavior at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, digs deep into how entrepreneurial actions influence promotions, compensation and leadership perceptions. The findings are detailed, practical and highly relevant for both ambitious employees and companies hoping to build a stronger internal innovation culture.

Understanding Entrepreneurial Behavior Inside Organizations

Entrepreneurial employees are not necessarily those who want to quit and launch a startup. Inside established companies, entrepreneurial behavior means something different: challenging traditional methods, spotting opportunities that others overlook, connecting with people across departments and experimenting with new solutions. These employees push organizations to think beyond existing routines and systems. Because of that, many companies actively encourage such behavior through innovation workshops, idea challenges, cross-team events and special entrepreneurial training.

But there has always been a fundamental question: Do employees who take on these entrepreneurial behaviors actually get rewarded? Do they receive promotions? Do they earn higher pay? Liang’s research provides one of the clearest answers available to date.

The First Study: Linking Behavior to Real Outcomes

The first study involved around 650 employees working in Fortune 500 companies, making it one of the more robust examinations of internal entrepreneurial activity. The researchers measured each employee’s level of entrepreneurial behavior and then tracked whether they created new internal ventures—initiatives such as new product ideas, workflow improvements or pilot programs.

The results were striking. A one-unit increase in entrepreneurial behavior increased the odds of launching a new internal venture by 50%. In other words, employees who think and act like entrepreneurs are far more likely to actually develop something new inside their company.

However, the more important part of the study came afterward. Employees who did turn their ideas into internal ventures were significantly more likely to be promoted. In large companies, they were also much more likely to receive higher compensation.

The team found that entrepreneurial behavior alone—without a tangible outcome—did not lead to better career results. Only those who turned their ideas into real, functioning internal projects experienced boosts in their career path. This distinction is crucial and is one of the main insights of the research.

Interestingly, the study also found differences between large and small organizations. In smaller companies, entrepreneurial employees tended to earn more promotions but not necessarily higher compensation. This may reflect tighter budgets or more rigid salary structures compared to large corporations.

The Second Study: Do Managers Notice Internal Innovators?

The researchers ran a second study to understand how managers perceive employees who have successfully created internal ventures. Participants with managerial experience were asked to compare résumés for candidates being considered for an internal promotion. The résumés were nearly identical, except that some included evidence that the candidate had created a new internal venture at work.

The difference in responses was consistent. Managers viewed the internal-venture creators as having greater leadership potential, making them more likely to be selected for the promotion.

This finding is especially important for employees working in large organizations, where managers often do not work closely enough with every employee to observe all of their abilities. When managers have limited visibility, a concrete new venture becomes a strong signal of capability, potential and commitment. It stands out.

What This Means for Employees Seeking Career Growth

Liang’s research offers a very clear message: if you want your entrepreneurial behavior to pay off professionally, you need to convert your ideas into real initiatives. Simply being creative, curious or proactive is not enough. Managers reward results, not intentions.

To benefit from entrepreneurial behavior, employees should:

take ownership of their ideas from start to finish
build cross-functional relationships early
document their process and outcomes clearly
seek opportunities to pitch and pilot projects
focus on solving real problems that matter to the organization

Internal ventures do not always need to be large in scope. They can include workflow optimizations, new collaboration processes, customer-feedback systems or small product enhancements. What matters most is that the idea becomes a visible and useful outcome inside the company.

What This Means for Organizations

The research also offers valuable guidance for companies seeking to become more innovative. Many organizations encourage idea submission but stop short of creating a full system that allows employees to develop and implement those ideas. According to Liang and her co-authors, companies need to do more than motivate creativity—they must support execution.

Organizations should aim to:

provide entrepreneurial training so employees can learn the core skills needed to develop ideas
create clear pathways for idea testing, development and implementation
organize cross-functional networking opportunities, since breakthrough ideas often emerge when teams interact across departments
encourage managers to value entrepreneurial efforts, rather than view them as disruptive
reward successful internal ventures through promotions, professional development opportunities or financial incentives

Companies that want an entrepreneurial culture must normalize experimentation, constructive feedback and even failure. If employees are afraid to try new ideas, no internal innovation program will succeed.

Adding More Context: What Internal Venturing Really Looks Like

Internal venturing is sometimes called intrapreneurship, and it has been practiced by major companies for decades. Some well-known internal ventures include:

Google’s Gmail, which began as a 20% side project
Sony PlayStation, originally proposed by an engineer without senior approval
3M’s Post-it Notes, created after an employee experimented with a failed adhesive formula

These examples show how powerful internal venturing can be—both for companies and for the employees who create them.

Beyond famous cases, internal venturing can also involve:

improving manufacturing processes
designing new customer-support systems
building internal knowledge-sharing tools
proposing new market opportunities
developing automation scripts that save time

What matters is ownership, initiative and execution.

Why This Research Matters

The corporate world is becoming increasingly competitive. Automation, global markets, hybrid work and constant technological shifts all force companies to adapt quickly. Employees who can think like entrepreneurs bring enormous value—and this research finally proves that when they act on their ideas and build something real, their careers advance faster.

For individuals, it highlights a practical strategy for standing out. For companies, it demonstrates the need to build systems that convert employee ideas into measurable outcomes.