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, vii 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.