Empowering frontline managers: the unsung heroes of innovation in high-tech

Purpose This study explores the under-researched role of frontline managers (FMs) in corporate entrepreneurship (CE). FMs play a crucial role in driving innovation; however, they are often seen as task executors. This research examines how their position in CE is perceived and performed in the high-tech sector. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative design was employed, based on the thematic analysis of 19 semi-structured interviews with FMs working in the high-tech manufacturing sector. This was appropriate given the limited studies on this group's CE role, and the study's goal to explore their roles within dynamic technological and organisational contexts. Purposeful sampling targeted FMs engaged in external innovation-related activities. Findings The study reveals that FMs enact their roles in CE by proactively engaging with external customer demand, adapting their role performance in response to shifting organisational expectations, and asserting technical expertise to influence innovation activities, as interpreted through organisational role theory. They play an agentic role by initiating, integrating and implementing entrepreneurial initiatives. These findings illustrate how FMs' role behaviours shape entrepreneurial activity within organisations' operational core. Originality/value This article enriches the CE literature by focusing on FMs as embedded entrepreneurial actors and empirically clarifying their role as initiators and integrators of innovation. Their technical expertise and responsiveness to external changes reveal how CE emerges through operational practices, addressing the identified gap in FMs' roles in CE.