Entrepreneurial Leadership at a Crossroads
16 Pages Posted: 11 Oct 2015
Date Written: June 6, 2015
Abstract
There is confusion in the extant literature over the connection of entrepreneurial leadership and leadership. Is entrepreneurial leadership a theory or a style? Is its focus on setting direction, gaining commitment, and achieving results? Or, is it focused on influencing others or recognizing and exploiting opportunities?
The paper is structured as follows. First, we situate entrepreneurial leadership within the extant theoretical leadership literature. Then, we present the definitional confusion within the literature and describe three paths advantage seeking, opportunity seeking, and strategic. We argue that what is missing in the extant literature is a research agenda focused on the entrepreneur as a leader who seeks wealth creation by seeing, recognizing, and exploiting opportunities without regard to the resources available, and creating an entrepreneurial culture in their team or organization. We close with research questions that would support the development of this theory.
Keywords: Vertical and Horizontal Leadership, entrepreneurial leadership, entrepreneurship
JEL Classification: L29, M19
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation