Exploring the leadership development journey of SME owner-managers

Vuhuong, Jen; Edwards, Gareth

Abstract

Purpose: This research aimed to investigate influences on and opinions of leadership development in small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) business owner-managers. Therefore, the objective of this study was to respond to the research question – How do SMEs’ founder-owner-managers develop their leadership over time? Design/methodology/approach: This study applies a history narrative qualitative method to explore the leadership development journey of SMEs’ founder-owner-managers throughout their lifetime. Fifteen founder-owner-managers were interviewed. Findings: Five main themes emerge reflecting a social contextual process starting from early childhood: (1) the dominant influence of parents on leadership qualities and behaviours; (2) the importance of sports activities in shaping leadership qualities and identities; (3) the dominant influence of role models especially bad role models on leadership perceptions and behaviours; (4) the importance of self-learning, experimentation and self-reflection in developing entrepreneurship capability and (5) the importance of community-based social networks in gaining support and practicing leadership capability. Originality/value: The originality of this research lies within the methodology used whereby a history narrative qualitative method is employed to develop data for analysis purposes. Using this methodology, this study contributes to a broader understanding of SMEs’ founder-owner-managers’ leadership development journey by taking a more expansive view to explore the development process throughout their lifetime.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 18, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Apr 11, 2022
• Publication Date: Apr 26, 2022
• Deposit Date: Mar 21, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 20, 2022
• Journal: Journal of Management Development
• Print ISSN: 0262-1711
• Publisher: Emerald
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 41
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 53-69
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-10-2021-0271
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/9228544