Development of Entrepreneurial Leadership Competencies: the Case of Ceos of Mid-sized Kenyan Companies
Abstract
This thesis analyses how executives operating successful mid-sized companies have
acquired their entrepreneurial leadership competencies. The importance of
entrepreneurial leadership especially in African economies cannot be overemphasized.
Entrepreneurial leadership contributes to development, as entrepreneurship is an
important channel to convert innovative ideas into economic opportunities; as the basis
for competitiveness through the revitalization of social and productive networks; as a
source of new employment; and as a way of increasing productivity and economic
growth. As such, the supply of entrepreneurial leaders and development of their
entrepreneurial leadership competencies is very important.
Despite the instrumental role played by entrepreneurial leadership in development
process and the potential entrepreneurial leadership hold in enhancing firm performance,
little research work has been done to understand ways and strategies through which
entrepreneurial leadership competencies are acquired and developed in Kenyan context.
Research on entrepreneurial leadership in Africa is still embryonic; as a result, most of
the studies and literature available is on Western countries. The relevance of that
literature notwithstanding, developing countries face a different set of social, economic
and political circumstances than their counterparts in developed economies. These
differences are rooted in the underlying economies in which they operate and also sociocultural
and geographical variations. This study sought to contribute to the field of
entrepreneurial leadership by investigating the ways and strategies through which
entrepreneurial leadership is developed among the CEOs of mid-sized companies in
Kenya. Closely related and informing this objective, the study also aimed to establish the
personal characteristics and motivations of entrepreneurial leaders; identify core
entrepreneurial leadership competencies needed by Kenyan CEOs; examine the methods
and strategies that Kenyan CEOs employ in developing these competencies and also
establish how family and social groups influence entrepreneurial leadership development
and choice of strategies in Kenya.
The study used a mixed methods research design which combined three different data
collection methods to generate rich primary data, which were then subjected to both
quantitative and qualitative analysis. This study used primary data obtained from CEOs
of mid-sized companies and entrepreneurial leadership experts through a survey, case
studies and delphi methods. The combination of these methods was intended to help
improve the validity of results and also allow for complementarity in data collection for
the purposes of attaining high levels of completeness.
The research established that the top entrepreneurial leadership competencies are:
Innovativeness; proactiveness; being decisive; adaptability and flexibility; foresight; risk
taking; being ambitious and performance oriented; ability to identify and articulate a
vision; ethics and integrity; being informed; positive; effective bargainer; having
intellectual versatility; emotional intelligence and personal mastery; being improvement
oriented and organizational savvy. Others included being independent, being
intellectually stimulating, being diplomatic and having global mindset. The study
investigated the methods and strategies that can be relied upon to develop, inculcate and
harness entrepreneurial leadership competencies. The main methods include mentoring,
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coaching and action learning. Other leading methods and strategies include formal
education, observational learning and entrepreneurial self-development. In addition,
executive lectures, job rotation and case studies are the other ways through which
entrepreneurial leadership competencies can be nurtured. The study also found out that
family and social groups play a very instrumental role in shaping entrepreneurs. They
offer financial, moral and emotional support; they provide a platform for early exposure
to business thereby inculcating business acumen at early age; offer knowledge through
education system; plays a role in inducting and socializing upcoming entrepreneurs
harness the necessary norms and values; some family members are also supportive in
entrepreneurial pursuits – they provide financial support especially during start-ups and
in case of financial distress; provide moral and psychological support – especially
providing conducive environment for relaxation, reinvigoration and rejuvenation after
taxing entrepreneurial obligations; they also assist in performing some entrepreneurial
duties.
We conclude this work with a call for scholars and experts in the area of entrepreneurship
to continuously re-examine the leadership competencies required for success in the
dynamic, complex and uncertain competitive business landscape. This is largely because
competencies are context specific. This will help to update the key competencies in
tandem with the emerging challenges and therefore effectively guide the process of
entrepreneurial leadership development especially in regard to necessary competencies to
be nurtured and the methods and strategies to achieve that. There is need for sustained
investment in research on entrepreneurial leadership competencies. This will provide a
framework to state and non-state actors involved in promoting entrepreneurial leadership
development among the citizenship.
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Subject
Leadership CompetenciesRights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
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