The Influence of Intrapreneurial Behavior on Task and Contextual Performance of Employees in Healthcare Marketing Organizations: A LISREL Multigroup Modelling Study

Abstract Existing literature on the impact of intrapreneurial behavior on performance has been largely focused on individual and organizational-level performance. As a matter of conjecture, managers are assumed to display higher competence than their subordinates (operational staff) in marketing organisations. Empirical evidence is scanty on the comparison/s between managers and operational staff, on the influence of intrapreneurial behaviors on task and contextual performance in pharmaceutical marketing organisations. This paper builds on role theory to examine employee-level differences (managers vs operational staff) by testing the influence of intrapreneurial behaviors on task and contextual performance in a pharmaceutical marketing context. Covariance-based multigroup structural equation modelling in LISREL was used to develop the model and address this gap. Data was collected using a self-reported online questionnaire from 220 participants composed of managers (n=58) and operational staff (n=162) in the pharmaceutical marketing industry in Nigeria. Confirmatory factor analysis established the validity of constructs. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis established configural invariance among the groups, justifying a multigroup analysis. Intrapreneurial behavior positively influenced task and contextual performance in the general path model. Risk-taking behavior had no impact on task and contextual performance. Managers showed stronger proactive behavior on task and contextual performance compared to operational staff, while the latter group had stronger innovative behavior impact on task performance only. The study identified the low risk-taking propensity of employees as a gap in intrapreneurial behavior. Therefore, it proposes risk management training for both managers and operational staff. The study concludes that intrapreneurial behavior aligns more with proactivity for managers, while operational staff tend to be more innovative toward their core responsibilities.