The perceived personal characteristics of entrepreneurial leaders

179 Pages·2017·1.87 MB·English

Edith Cowan University
Research Online
Teses: Doctorates and Masters Teses
2014
Te perceived personal characteristics of
entrepreneurial leaders
Ling He
Edith Cowan University
Recommended Citation
He, L. (2014).Te perceived personal characteristics of entrepreneurial leaders. Retrieved from htps://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1338
Tis Tesis is posted at Research Online.
htps://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1338
Edith Cowan University 

Copyright Warning 

You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose 
of your own research or study. 

The University does not authorize you to copy, communicate or 
otherwise make available electronically to any other person any 
copyright material contained on this site. 

You are reminded of the following: 

 Copyright owners are entitled to take legal action against persons 
who infringe their copyright. 

 A reproduction of material that is protected by copyright may be a 
copyright infringement. Where the reproduction of such material is 
done without attribution of authorship, with false attribution of 
authorship or the authorship is treated in a derogatory manner, 
this may be a breach of the author’s moral rights contained in Part 
IX of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). 

 Courts have the power to impose a wide range of civil and criminal 
sanctions for infringement of copyright, infringement of moral 
rights and other offences under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). 
Higher penalties may apply, and higher damages may be awarded, 
for offences and infringements involving the conversion of material 
into digital or electronic form.
USE OF THESIS

The Use of Thesis statement is not included in this version of the thesis.
THE PERCEIVED
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF
ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERS

LING HE
STUDENT ID: 10206645
MASTER OF MANAGEMENT BY RESEARCH

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW
EDITH COWAN UNIVERSITY

JULY 2014
ABSTRACT

The concept of entrepreneurial leadership has attracted growing interest from leadership
scholars but research is still in an early stage and empirical studies are rare. This thesis
explores this new concept in an empirical study of the personal characteristics of
entrepreneurial leaders (ELs). The study is underpinned by the “common characteristics”
model in which ELs have characteristics of both entrepreneurs and leaders. Semi-structured
interviews and a short questionnaire were used to explore business owners’ and corporate
managers’ perceptions of the personal characteristics of ELs. Responses were summarised
with thematic analysis and descriptive statistics.
The findings show participants perceived EL as a distinctive leadership style applicable to
both small ventures and large organisations. ELs were differentiated from non-leader
entrepreneurs in motivation and leadership capabilities, and integrity was considered
particularly important in ELs as entrepreneurs were seen to have questionable ethics. ELs
were differentiated from non-entrepreneurial leaders in managerial style, for example being
less risk-adverse and more achievement-driven. These findings partially support the common
characteristics model, but also suggest ELs have some unique attributes not shared with
entrepreneurs and/or leaders.
EL’s characteristics are categorised into more fixed distal attributes (e.g., cognitive abilities,
motives, values and personality) and more changeable proximal attributes (e.g., problem
solving skills and attitudes). A model linking distal to proximal attributes was created to
enable future researchers to predict the effects of individual difference variables on leader
effectiveness. The most important proximal attribute is having a growth-oriented, values-
based vision. Several distal characteristics of entrepreneurs appear particularly important to
leading in turbulent times. ELs are perceived to be more pragmatic and more resilient in the
face of failure than non-entrepreneurial peers. The attributes of pragmatism, resilience and
ethical leadership appear to give EL’s a unique leadership ‘style’. These attributes are related
to recent studies of emotional intelligence and authenticity in leadership.
ELs can be either business owners or corporate managers. Respondents perceived that
business-owner ELs were more likely to succeed in venture growth and also more ethical
ii
than pure entrepreneurs. Corporate ELs were perceived to be more effective in achieving
results and acting as a driving force for corporate entrepreneurship.
Overall the findings suggest that entrepreneurship scholars should see EL as a distinct form
of leadership of great relevance to research and training programs in today’s entrepreneurial
economy. Implications for both leader and entrepreneur development are presented.

iii
DECLARATION
I certify that this thesis does not, to the best of my knowledge and belief:
1. incorporate without acknowledgment any material previously submitted for a
degree or diploma in any institution of higher education;
11. contain any material previously published or written by another person except
where due reference is made in the text of this thesis; or
111. contain any defamatory material.
IV
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It would not have been possible to write this thesis without the help and support of the kind
people around me, to only some of whom it is possible to give particular mention here.
My deepest appreciation goes to my supervisors, Dr. Peter Standen and Dr. Alan Coetzer, for
their guidance, encouragement, care and patience. Their excellent supervision helped me to
not only complete the thesis but also develop critical thinking and confidence. Peter was my
principal supervisor. His mentorship was paramount through all stages of this research
journey. I am greatly indebted to him for his tremendous support to my study as well as my
career goals. His wisdom, knowledge and commitment to the highest standards inspired me
to achieve more. Alan was my associate supervisor whose advice was invaluable to me. He
always provided timely and insightful feedback and patiently corrected my writing. I
sincerely thank him for the opportunity to assist in his research work, which was a very
rewarding experience.

I would like to express my gratitude to Ms Bev Lurie, the Faculty Research Coordinator, for
her professionalism and kindness. She was always available to provide support and assistance
whenever I had an enquiry or encountered a problem, no matter whether it was about course
enrolment, the progress report, allowance payment, or even the access card. I am also grateful
to Mrs Tina Fleming for her generous help with my thesis writing. I have benefited from her
considerable experience in academic writing and professional editing.

Special thanks must also go to all my interview participants. Data collection is considered the
most important but difficult part of a research project, and recruiting quality research
participants is very challenging, especially for a research student. I was very fortunate to have
many wonderful people who kindly agreed to support my research, despite their busy
schedules. Without them, this paper would not have materialised.

Finally, I thank my husband, my ‘soul provider’, whose devotion contributed to this
accomplishment.
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................................... ii
DECLARATION ................................................................................................................................................... iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...................................................................................................................................... v
TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................................................................... vi
LIST OF TABLES.................................................................................................................................................. x
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................................... xi
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Definition and Importance of Entrepreneurial Leadership ........................................................ 2
1.2 Current Research: Different Perspectives and Focuses ............................................................. 3
1.3 Theoretical Background ............................................................................................................. 4
1.3.1 The intersection of leadership and entrepreneurship ...................................................................... 4
1.3.2 Leadership traits and leadership perceptions .................................................................................. 5
1.3.3 Perceptions and implicit theories of leaders ................................................................................... 6
1.4 Research Objectives and Research Questions ........................................................................... 6
1.5 Significance of the Study ........................................................................................................... 8
1.6 Thesis Structure ......................................................................................................................... 9
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................................... 10
2.1 Leadership and Entrepreneurship ............................................................................................ 10
2.1.1 Leadership research ...................................................................................................................... 10
Trait theory of leadership ....................................................................................................................... 12
Implicit Leadership Theory .................................................................................................................... 16
2.1.2 Entrepreneurship research ............................................................................................................. 17
Entrepreneurial Characteristics ............................................................................................................. 18
2.1.3 The intersection of entrepreneurship and leadership .................................................................... 21
2.2 Entrepreneurial Leadership ...................................................................................................... 22
2.2.1 Gupta et al.’s (2004) five-role model ............................................................................................ 23
2.2.2 Common characteristics models of entrepreneurial leadership ..................................................... 25
2.2.3 Personal characteristics of entrepreneurial leaders ....................................................................... 27
2.2.4 Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 30
2.3 Ethical Leadership and Entrepreneurial Ethics ........................................................................ 32
2.3.1 Ethical leadership .......................................................................................................................... 32
2.3.2 Entrepreneurial ethics ................................................................................................................... 34
2.3.3 Surie and Ashley’s (2008) model of pragmatism and ethics in entrepreneurial leadership .......... 35
2.4 Entrepreneurs and Leaders Attitudes to Failure ....................................................................... 36
vi
2.4.1 Entrepreneurial failure and entrepreneurs’ positive attitudes to failure ........................................ 36
2.4.2 Leading in the face of failure ........................................................................................................ 37
2.4.3 Resilience in entrepreneurship and leadership .............................................................................. 38
2.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 39
CHAPTER 3: METHOD .................................................................................................................................... 41
3.1 Conceptual Framework ............................................................................................................ 41
3.1.1 Conceptual model: the common characteristics model ................................................................. 41
3.1.2 Research questions ........................................................................................................................ 43
3.2 Research Design ...................................................................................................................... 43
3.2.1 Design of the questionnaire .......................................................................................................... 44
3.2.2 Design of the interview schedule .................................................................................................. 46
3.3 Sample and Participants ........................................................................................................... 47
3.4 Data Collection and Analysis ................................................................................................... 49
3.4.1 Data collection .............................................................................................................................. 49
3.4.2 Questionnaire data analysis........................................................................................................... 50
3.4.3 Interview data analysis .................................................................................................................. 50
3.5 Pilot Study ................................................................................................................................ 54
3.6 Ethical Considerations ............................................................................................................. 55
3.7 Trustworthiness and Reliability ............................................................................................... 55
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS .................................................................................................................................... 57
4.1 Results of the Questionnaire .................................................................................................... 57
4.1.1 Characteristics common to entrepreneurs and leaders .................................................................. 59
4.1.2 The distinctive characteristics of entrepreneurs and leaders ......................................................... 60
4.2 Characteristics of ELs (Research Question One) ..................................................................... 63
4.2.1 Awareness of entrepreneurial leadership ...................................................................................... 63
4.2.2 Entrepreneurs versus leaders......................................................................................................... 65
Two perspectives: The entrepreneur perspective and the leader perspective ........................................ 65
Three opinions on the relationship between entrepreneurship and leadership ...................................... 68
4.2.3 Characteristics of ELs ................................................................................................................... 70
Vision...................................................................................................................................................... 70
Ability to attract talent and build a strong team .................................................................................... 72
Risk-taking propensity ............................................................................................................................ 73
Creativity and innovation ....................................................................................................................... 75
Pursuit of opportunity ............................................................................................................................ 76
Need for achievement ............................................................................................................................. 77
Other personal characteristics ............................................................................................................... 78
4.2.4 Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 80
4.3 Pragmatism and Ethics (Research Question Two) ................................................................... 81
4.3.1 ELs are more pragmatic and more ethical than non-ELs .............................................................. 82
4.3.2 Three approaches to pragmatism and ethics in ELs ...................................................................... 83
vii