Act your age? Age, intrapreneurial behavior, social capital and performance
| Pages | 349-365 |
| Published date | 25 November 2019 |
| Date | 25 November 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-01-2019-0059 |
| Author | Batia Ben Hador,Galit Klein |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
Act your age? Age,
intrapreneurial behavior, social
capital and performance
Batia Ben Hador
Ariel University, Ariel, Israel, and
Galit Klein
Department of Economics and Business Administration,
Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
Abstract
Purpose –With increases in life expectancy, age diversity has emerged as a common feature of
organizations. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the connection between employee age, intrapreneurial
behaviors (i.e. introducing new ventures inside an organization), intra-organizational social capital (SC) and
their connection to employee performance.
Design/methodology/approach –A paper-based survey was distributedamong 617 participants from five
organizations. Three organizations operate in the industrial industry, while the other two operate in the
service field.
Findings –The findings show that intrapreneurial behaviors moderate the positive connection between age
and performance. That is, among employees engaged in intrapreneurship, older workers evaluated their
performance more highly compared to their younger counterparts. However, among workers who did not
participate in intrapreneurship, younger employees evaluated their performances as higher compared to older
workers. The authors also found that age was negatively connected to intrapreneurial activities, and this
connection was mediated by intra-organizational SC.
Originality/value –The results of this study highlight the contribution of older employees to
intrapreneurial activities and organizational performance while pointing to obstacles that may inhibit them
from participating in intrapreneurship. The results have both theoretical and practical implications, which
can aid HR managers in their attempt to establish a positive age-diversity climate.
Keywords Older employees, Performance, Employee age, Intra-organizational social capital,
Intrapreneurial activities
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
The last few decades have seen a consistent increase in the number of older employees.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2017 approximately 40 percent of
people aged 55 and older participated in the labor force or were actively looking for work.
Lain and Loretto (2016) found that the share of 65–69 year old employees doubled in
Britain between 2001 and 2014. Even so, Billett et al. (2011) point to the paradox between
the impulse to fill jobs with older employees and the stigma against this group. Many
advanced industrial economies will need workers in the labor force, even beyond existing
retirement ages, in order to sustain growth. However, many employers hold negative
views about the work p erformance and ad aptability of older employees, especially
their ability to contribute to innovative projects (e.g. Hennekam, 2016; Loretto et al., 2013;
Ng and Feldman, 2012). This research focuses on the connection between age
and performance an d the moderating rol e of intrapreneuri al behaviors, whic h are
intra-organizational entrepreneurial processes.
Previous work on the connection between age and performance resulted in varied results
(for review, see Dordoni and Argentero, 2015). Backes-Gellner and Veen (2013) argue that the
inconsistency in the literature can be explained by several reasons such as different
measurement. However, they note the presence of moderating factors as a primary contributor.
Employee Relations: The
International Journal
Vol. 42 No. 2, 2020
pp. 349-365
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-01-2019-0059
Received 10 January 2019
Revised 16 July 2019
8 September 2019
Accepted 9 September 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
349
Social capital
and
performance
They indicated that taskrequirements and,specifically, amount of task creativity, arethe most
impactful moderators between age and employee performance.
Although creative thinking is part of many work processes, the ability to think creatively
is critical when employees engage in intrapreneurial behaviors (Zhu et al., 2014).
Intrapreneurship, or corporate entrepreneurship (CE), describes innovation activities
conducted by workers within an existing organization. These activities aim to develop new
products, services, technologies, administrative practices and strategies within established
firms (Antoncic and Hisrich, 2003; Baruah and Ward, 2015). Extensive research on the
contribution of intrapreneurial behavior to small and medium-sized firms has demonstrated
a positive association between intrapreneurship and organizational revenues, particularly in
cases of dynamic and hostile environments (e.g. Antoncic and Hisrich, 2001; Blanka, 2018;
Augusto Felίcio et al., 2012; Kacperczyk, 2012). Multiple studies explored the antecedents for
participating in intrapreneurship projects in the firm. Pinchot (1985) argued that
intrapreneurs are crucial for organizational survival since they think beyond routine work
and across business unit boundaries. Guerrero and Peña-Legazkue (2013) added that they
represent the foundation for innovation and subsequent competitive advantage. Since
creative thinking and innovative behaviors are part of intrapreneurial behavior, we address
Backes-Gellner and Veen’s (2013) argument to inquire: Is the connection between age and
worker performance also moderated by intrapreneurial behaviors? That is, do older workers
who engage in IB evaluate their performance differently than their younger IB counterparts
as well as older workers who do not engage in IB?
To fully understand the connection between worker age and intrapreneurial activities,
we also investigated whether their social capital (ISC) serves as a mediator. Social capital
(SC) refers to the benefits derived from interactions between people (Ben Hador, 2017). Team
collaboration and trust between team members are referred to as intra-organizational social
capital (ISC), factors that are essential elements during the development of new projects
(Monnavarian and Ashena, 2009; Toledano et al., 2010). As Belousova and Gailly (2013)
demonstrated, intrapreneu rship is an extensive process dema nding organizational
coordination, teamwork and individual effort. Therefore, the ability to rely on one’sSC
tends to assist in the implementation of ideas. Thus, the current study evaluates how ISC
impacts the connection between age and intrapreneurial behavior. In other words, do older
and younger employees possess the same amount of connections and how do they affect the
ability to become an intrapreneur?
The results of this study may expand knowledge about the role of older employees in
intrapreneurial activities and the impact of age and intrapreneurial activities on
performance. Both of these aspects have hardly been explored, with our work seeking to
address this gap in the organizational literature. In addition, our results carry some practical
implications, which may contribute to reducing antagonism toward older employees as well
as contributing to HR practices in shaping age-diversity programs and strategies.
2. Theoretical framework
2.1 Influence of employee age on performance
Modern societies are characterized by ageing populations and intensifying economic
competition (Heidemeier and Staudinger, 2015). A central question in the organizational
literature is the effect of age and age diversity on worker and organizational performance.
From the employee perspective, the picture remains inconclusive as to the connection
between age and performance. Some studies have found negative connection (Heidemeier
and Staudinger, 2015; Oster and Hamermesh, 1998), while others suggest an inverted
U-shaped relation (Frosch, 2011). In the latter, productivity reaches its apex around
35–45 years of age and then begins to decrease. In contrast, some studies indicate that,
under certain conditions, older employees increase performance (Göbel and Zwick, 2012;
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