From Fun to Intrapreneurship: The Chain Mediating Roles of Organizational Trust and Work Engagement

Abstract

The development of employee intrapreneurial behaviour in organizations has become pivotal in the drive to remain innovative and competitive in the present day. Based on the Social Exchange Theory and Job DemandsResources model, this paper will ascertain the impact of fun at the workplace on employee intrapreneurial behaviour mediated by organizational trust and work engagement. The sample size that was used to obtain the data was 600 full time workers in manufacturing organization in Pakistan who were sampled via a mixed mode survey approach. The hypotheses put forward were tested using structural equation modeling and bootstrapping analysis. According to the findings, fun in workplace directly influences intrapreneurial behaviour of employees. Also, this relationship is mediated by organizational trust and work engagement separately. Notably, the results present support of a sequential chain mediation, i.e. the workplace fun increases organizational trust, which, in turn, elevates work engagement, ultimately resulting in intrapreneurial behaviour. The paper adds to previous literature on intrapreneurship by combining affective, relational and motivational processes and identifying fun at the workplace as a strategic organizational tool to trigger internal entrepreneurship.