Entrepreneurial spirit of knowledge workers as a key asset in strategic change
Kärnä, Eija; Nikina-Ruohonen, Anna; Humala, Iris (2021)
Kärnä, Eija
Nikina-Ruohonen, Anna
Humala, Iris
Haaga-Helia ammattikorkeakoulu
2021
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2023081898322
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2023081898322
Tiivistelmä
As economies experience rapid technological transformation, companies are required to innovate, persevere and to excel in managing the changing landscapes effectively. Knowledge workers are practitioners who work at the mid-levels of organizations between top management and personnel at grassroots level and at the nexus of organizations internal and external networks. As yet, the full potential of their functions is little addressed in management research. The present study aims to bridge the gap by demonstrating how the entrepreneurial spirit of these specialists, officers, team leaders, coordinators and assistants with knowledge-oriented activities in HR, communications, IT, office or service management may be one of the greatest assets in navigating the challenges of technological transformation as strategic change. The qualitative research included outlining interviews of 70 multilevel experts, 12 in-depth interviews, a constructivist approach and participative co-creating workshops. The results revealed that the entrepreneurial spirit of the knowledge workers manifests through their three super-competencies, including role-breadth self-efficacy, job crafting and proactive behavior. The outcomes of the research are significant for the managerial support in facilitating and promoting the entrepreneurial spirit in adaptive response to the rapidly changing business environment and for the benefit of future-oriented strategic change.