Why is ‘bootlegging’ important for intrapreneurship?

3M has been known for decades as an entrepreneurial company that pursues growth through innovation (see Case insight 2.3). In the late 1920s, it developed a policy of allowing researchers to spend up to 15 per cent of their time working on their own projects. To this day, it tries to make innovation part of the corporate culture by encouraging staff to spend some of their time working on pet ideas that may one day become new products for the company. Staff are encouraged to ‘bootleg’ (borrow) resources early in its development; once an idea is accepted they can be allocated a budget to buy equipment and hire extra help. To get an idea accepted, they must fi rst get the personal backing of a member of the main board. An interdisciplinary team is then set up to take the idea further.
Membership of these teams is encouraged and often voluntary. Failure is not punished, but success is well rewarded.