Several approaches exist to address the problem of intermittency in solar wind turbulence. The traditional explanation based on spectral transfer of energy between separated scales through sequential steps within a cascade can elucidate scalings and intermittent emergence of small-scale dissipative structures. A recent point of view connects intermittency mainly with the occurrence of discontinuities and interaction of flux tube-like coherent structures. In this paper we analyze the interrelationship between skewness and kurtosis near interplanetary shocks. On the basis of a comparison of our results with the behavior of skewness and kurtosis in laboratory experiments and numerical simulations we show that large-scale boundaries and/or scalar gradient fields imposed on solar wind turbulence can lead to a local increase of small-scale intermittency via direct coupling between separated scales. As each scenario is supported by experiments, they represent a complementary way of looking at intermittency.