University of Nottingham Part 1: Research Document: Leadership’s influence on Corporate Entrepreneurship in Indian Textile firm’s Anshul Muthe MBA Entreprenuership Supervisor: Christopher Mahon Year of Publication: 2010/2011 1 Abstract Leadership styles such as transformational, transactional, context-fitting and authentic influence corporate entrepreneurship in new textile firms. Leadership studies in India are very limited but have increased in the past decade. Research needs to be carried out to determine which leadership style influences new textile firms in India. As part of my research, I have conducted qualitative research using qualitative methods. The two methods I employed are narratives and ethnography. These methods have helped me identify leadership styles such as transactional, transformational etc. The findings suggest that there seem to be a generalised view on leadership and its constructs. After data analysis I found that four leadership styles emerged transactional, transformational, contextual and authentic, although most of my findings were consistent with current theorists. With most researches there are limitations, I have voiced my concerns on the limitations which occurred during my research such as gender, culture and other contextual factors therefore I have carefully provided recommendations that hopefully will pave the path for future researchers. 2 Acknowledgements I would like to take this opportunity to thank my supervisor Christopher Mahon, who has constantly guided me through my dissertation and the programs. Needless to say without his constant motivation and enthusiasm the dissertation would not have been enjoyable. Chris has constantly guided me through the process. I would like to sincerely thank all the participants who took part in my research; they have been a central part of this dissertation. Their prompt responses and willingness will not be forgotten. Lastly I would like to thank my friends and family for constantly motivating me. One individual (Nikita Khandelwal) has constantly been there to support and motivate me. 3 Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgements............................................................................................................................. 3 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 6 Chapter 1: Literature Review .............................................................................................................. 7 1.1Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 7 1.2 Overview of Indian Textile firms ............................................................................................... 7 1.3 Leadership throughout the years.............................................................................................. 7 1.4 Role of Leadership in Corporate Entrepreneurship ................................................................ 16 1.5 CE Framework Analysis ........................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 2: Methodology ................................................................................................................... 20 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 20 2.2 Why Qualitative Research ....................................................................................................... 20 2.3 Methodologies ........................................................................................................................ 23 2.3.1 Ethnography .................................................................................................................. 23 2.3.2 Narratives ...................................................................................................................... 25 2.4 Data Collection ........................................................................................................................ 26 2.4.1 Data Collection Process ................................................................................................. 26 2.4.2 Ethnography .................................................................................................................. 26 2.4.3 Narratives ...................................................................................................................... 27 2.5 Interpretation of Data ............................................................................................................. 28 Chapter 3: Results ............................................................................................................................. 29 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 29 3.2 Narrative Data Analysis ........................................................................................................... 29 3.3 Ethnography Analysis .............................................................................................................. 34 3.4 Summary of Analysis ............................................................................................................... 36 3.5 Discussion................................................................................................................................ 38 Chapter 4: Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 40 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 40 4.2 Limitations of Research ........................................................................................................... 40 4.3 Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 41 4.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 42 References ............................................................................................................................................ 43 Appendix 1………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….50 4 Appendix 2…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………51 Appendix 3…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………52 Word Count: 11581 5 Introduction Corporate entrepreneurship is a widely debated topic in recent years. Over the years many researchers and academics have explained that organizations need to hire entrepreneurs to revitalize their companies and improve the financial position of the company. According to J.G. Covin and M.P. Miles, corporate entrepreneurship is potentially a viable means to develop and sustain corporate competitiveness (1999). It is important to note that often they do not focus on the characteristics that are required for an entrepreneur to be successful in an organization. Through my research I intend to understand leadership’s styles and their influence on corporate entrepreneurship. 6 Chapter 1: Literature Review 1.1 Introduction This chapter will provide a review of historical studies that have been conducted in relation to the different issues and styles of leadership. This will be analysed in-depth according to the research question on how these leadership styles influence corporate entrepreneurs in textile firms. The chapter firstly will provide a brief overview of the current state of textile firms. Secondly it will provide a detail history of how leadership styles have emerged throughout the years, this is important since there has been a lot of literature written although there is no single consensus on leadership itself. Thirdly it will focus on literature written on corporate entrepreneurship and leadership influence and lastly it will examine qualitative work done on leadership styles. 1.2 Overview of Indian Textile firms The current Indian economy has experienced exponential growth and is expected to grow within the next 15 years. The textile industry is the second largest in the world with china being the largest. Most textile firms in India are export house who have run their companies for generations. R.K Overseas, Shaw Brothers, Oswal group is companies which have experienced tremendous growth through their lifecycle. There has been little literature that has been written on the leadership styles adopted by these companies throughout their company lifecycle. My research will focus on companies like this and how leadership styles influence these corporate entrepreneurs. 1.3 Leadership throughout the years Leadership is a critical dimension of how organisations are effective. It is important to note according to Frank Heller (1997) that the United States library of congress in 1896 did not have even one book dedicated to the subject of leadership. There have been radical advancements in the subject of Leadership which are diverse and focus on different aspects. Raplh Stogdill (1950, p 3) 7 “defined leadership as an influential process aimed at goal achievement”. He focused on leadership in three main criteria, leadership as an interpersonal approach, a social construct and its role on goal achievement. Although these criteria do apply it is important to note that many aspects of leadership such as its context and personalities is left out. Most definitions of leadership often fall in a generalised and broad category. Frank Heller (1997) questioned the definition of Leadership and explained that individuals have many personalities and it is difficult to rationalise one definition on leadership for everyone. Leadership throughout the years has advanced, according to Alan Bryman (1996) leadership perspectives have shifted throughout the years. He explains that leadership styles like trait-spotting which had been popular in the 1940’s and contingency theories in the 1980’s had dominated much of the literature. The author further explains that these attempts are not made to disregard pervious research but are mere advancements. There have been many researches that have been influenced by the ‘great man theory’. The theory which was popularised by Thomas Carlyle (1888) he explains that great men are often born leaders and regardless of social and organizational constructs they often take control. This is mainly an historical construct and Raplh Stodgill (1948) influenced by the theory conducted research on the traits of individuals. It is critical to note that this is mainly an historical perspective and this theory does not take into consideration many aspects such as traits into consideration. Edger F. Borgatta et al, (1954), explains that the group will be the most effective if they have a ‘great man’ who according to the authors is an allround leader. Author’s Ralph Stodgill (1948) and Rosemary Steward (1963) conducted studies to identify personality traits and qualities that contribute to leadership such as ambition and goal oriented but these traits are too general and often inconsistent. These studies did not take into consideration the organisation culture and context amongst others. Furthermore Bird (1940) had a more generalised list of personality traits which influence leadership. His list consisted of more than 80 characteristics. Shaw (1976) also contributes to the generalisation of personality traits of leadership although he refers to this in the group dynamics aspect. Furthermore Fraser (1978) also generalises the influence of personality traits on leadership in small groups. Throughout the early 8 half of the 20th century much of the literature was focused trait spotting in individuals. Most of the authors assumed that these traits can be identified and therefore once you can identify them these individuals could be promoted in higher positions within the organisation. Much of the literature focused on general traits such as ambition, responsibility, goal-orientation, motivation etc... These theories provide researchers with a general perception of leadership traits with little focus on organisational structures and individual behaviour configurations. According to Timothy Judge et al (2002) they explain that much of the research on personality traits in accordance to leadership has been vague and inconsistent. The authors have tried to renew this aspect by qualitative and quantitative methods. Leigh and Walters (1998) have also tried to renew the belief of trying to identify leaders by personality traits. Much of the research shifted to identifying leadership styles such as autocratic, directive, democratic etc. Katz et al (1950) explained two dimensions that effect leadership behaviour. The two dimensions they focused on is employee centric behaviour which is the individual’s focus on building relationships and employee needs and the second is job-centric which is focused on completing the job. The dimension is more related to goal-orientation. Edwin Fleishman and Ralph Stodgill (1953) had conducted similar research to Katz at al (1950). They also identified two categorizes consideration which is similar to employee-centric behaviour and which is more focused on the relationships of employees and Initiating structure which is slightly different to job-centric behaviour. This focuses on the ability to plan for the future verses getting the job done. These studies were quite different at the time and focused on leadership styles instead of the traits within individuals. Both the studies were critical in understanding the contrasting leadership styles between democratic which could be understood as employee centric and autocratic which is more goal-orientated. Although there has been much written on these two categorizes of leadership, Goran Ekvall and Jourko Arvonen (1991) explain that a third category is identified where the supervisor is more of a visionary who makes quick decisions and accepts employees opinions. Jane Mouton and Robert Blake (1964) argued against this differentiation of literature that leaders often display both goal-orientated and employee-orientated behaviour. Although leaders can portray any 9 of this behaviour there is no conclusive theory which explains the benefits of this was an important step in leadership literature. According to Renis Likert (1961), effective supervisors adopted either a participative style or democratic style. He devised four systems which identified different aspects of leadership. The first he explains as exploitative autocratic which is controlling, dominating form of leadership, where the individual could threaten employees to motivate them and often does not have interpersonal skills. The second he clarifies is a benevolent authoritative which is more on the considerate side. He could motivate the employees by reward and takes employees opinion in decision making. The third behaviour style of leadership he identifies as Participative where he encourages employees to take part in discussion but ultimately he is the decision maker. The fourth is democratic leadership where aspects such as trust and confidence is high in the employees thus shifts some of the decision making power to them. Until this research most of the authors only mention a particular leadership style but did not mention if the style was effective. Through the 1960’s there was much criticism of the style-counselling studies of the two researchers from Michigan and Ohio. It is important to note that these studies focused much of their research on high levels of consideration and initiating structures. Robert Tannenbaum and Warren Schmidt (1958) provided a different perspective to leadership. He explained that leaders could be both autocratic and democratic. This was merely an extension of the employee and job-centered leadership styles. These contingency theories added a critical dimension to leadership. Robert Tannenbaum and Warren Schmidt (1958) explained that the particular style a manager might adopt could be contingent on three aspects, personality traits within the manager, the behaviour or characteristics of subordinates and a critical dimension which is the situation itself. The research during this era turned to finding a leadership style which is the best suited for a particular situation. This gave rise to a new set of contingent theories. Fred Fiedler (1967) provided more of a regulated approach to leadership. He based his research on contextual factors. The author identified leaders 10 whose performance was easy to measure then he created a LPC (Least Preferred Co-worker) score. He assessed leaders by the simple criteria that if the score was 57 or lower than the individual was more task orientated and if the individual scored more than 64 then he was more relationship or employee orientated. The first attempt by Fiedler was not successful he tried to relate the LPC scores with the performance of the groups. In doing so he developed conditions based on three criteria. The structure of the task, the power the leader has and the relationship between the leader and his co-workers. Based on these characteristics he developed three situations or conditions. He explained that in situations where conditions are favourable individuals who are task-orientated perform better than individuals who are relationship orientated. In a situation where the task is unstructured he explains that relationship-orientated leaders perform better. Task-orientated leaders often ignore relationships and thus lead to declining situations. The third and last condition he clarifies that in situations where the conditions are worst, task-orientated leaders perform better since relationship-orientated leaders often fail to put pressure on their co-workers to complete the tasks. According to Abraham Korman (1973) he explains that there are major theoretical assumptions that the contingency theories applies. The author explains three main assumptions while trying to identify the scores which are deemed critical on certain levels. First the actual construct must be valid. Second researchers often use situational parameters to measure behaviour at different levels; this often leads to conflicting results and lastly the author mentions that the relationships or situations which are measure do not vary, which in reality is a naïve assumption. Even with the latest research it is difficult to understand human behaviour characteristics which define leadership styles. It is critical that Fielders systematic model (1967) does not take into account various needs of co-workers and the least-preferred co-worker is largely an extreme case thus it is difficult to base the theory around it. Although there is much criticism on contingency theories Fielders research served two purposes, one exemplified the importance of contextual factors in leadership styles and secondly the research he conducted in-directly proved that managers often find it difficult to change the particular styles they adopt. Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard 11 (1988) further explain that in-order to be an effective leader the individual must have the ability to analyse the situation and adjust their particular leadership style to the type of situation they are in. Although Fiedler explained that managers find it difficult to change their leadership style, the authors argued against this and explained that leaders often change their leadership styles. They termed this type of Leadership as ‘situational Leadership’. Furthermore Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard (1958) add an important element to leadership which is the readiness of the followers. They relate this aspect to the behaviour patterns such as task behaviour and relationship behaviour. This aspect was missing in Fielder’s contingency theory model. He did not consider subordinate’s behaviour or willingness to follow. According to Ronald K. Hambelton and Ray Gumpert (1982) they explain that the significance of Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard’s contingency theory is that it is much simpler and utilises much less variables than most of the situational leadership theories. An important question they raise is that it is still unclear whether managers who use situational leadership are more effective than managers who do not use it. Alan Bryman (1986, p. 149) also explains that there are certain limitations to the situational leadership model. The author explains there is a lack of practical evidence and certain elements have no particular reason to be interlinked. Daniel Goleman (2000) conducted a research and identified six leadership styles. The author chose these styles based on its impact on the working atmosphere and the potential linkage to the financial performance of the firm. His research suggested that an effective leader uses all these styles and each style reflects an aspect of emotional intelligence. According to Salovey and Mayer (1990) emotional Intelligence is defined as “the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and other’s feeling and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and action”(p.189). Daniel Goleman included emotional intelligence into leadership which is a critical dimension. According to Ashforth and Humphery (1995) who argued that emotion is inseparable from the organizational setting. Daniel Goleman (2000) explicates those individuals who have perfected four or more leadership styles out of six will be the most effective leaders. Furthermore he explains that it is important for individuals to be 12 flexible and adapt to different situations. Many contingency theories state that for a leader to be effective, he or she must adapt their style according to the context. Although there has been a great deal of research, there is little evidence that a ‘one fit’ solution exists to leadership. There have been many criticisms of contingency theories, according to Ayman, R., Chemers, M. M., & Fiedler, F. (1995) the greatest weakness is in its construct. The LPC has little validity and even less reasoning, this makes it difficult to justify its results. There is also a lack of structure or process which makes it difficult to understand and apply the model. Many contingency theories do not question the managers or leaders ability to diagnose the situation itself. There is little focus on the level and type of situations leaders face on a day to day basis. Key aspects such as organisation culture, gender, external environment factors and technology are absent when considering the type of leadership or the context in which the leader should choose his particular leadership style. According to Laurent, A, (1986) the structure is considered a critical factor in leadership styles. He conducted a research between French and American management styles and the results indicated that the two groups had different perceptions on the management structures of their respective organizations. This is critical since contextual factors such as structure and culture cannot be ignored. His research was important since it brought an international perspective to leadership styles and recognized the cultural influence on management structures, which ultimately effect leadership. At the turn of the 21st century the global environment had changed, there were advancements in technology, the management processes became more complex, and there was a shift from the traditional industries like steel to more technologically orientated industries. With a global environment becoming more complex, the need for a strategic vision and re-thinking the traditional role of leadership was evident. According to Gregory Dess and Joseph Picken (2000) leaders needed to place less importance on traditional organizational structure and focus on creating a strategic vision, motivating employees, scanning the external environment and trying to achieve the creative edge. The role of leadership had changed to being a visionary, a motivator and using charm to develop relationships at all levels. Duane Ireland and Michael Hitt (2000, pp. 43) define strategic 13 leadership as “a person’s ability to anticipate, envision, maintain flexibility, think strategically and work with others to initiate changes that will create a viable future for the organization”. The author further explains that the complexity of the strategic leadership may lead to developing a sustainable competitive advantage which is a critical element in the 21st century. According to Manz and Sims (1991) the most appropriate type of leadership is one who can lead others to lead themselves. They explain that in the 21st century, leadership will deviate from its traditional role of one leader to a leader who can coach and motivate his subordinates to become leaders. The authors termed this individual as a ‘super leader’. Manz and Sims (1990) also explain that in order for this the individual to lead teams to lead themselves, the individual should have leadership behaviours such as selfevaluation, encouraging employees, empowering them to be critical about themselves. Another critical dimension in the 21st century that researches focused on was organizational culture. According to Ronald Sims (2000) new leadership is critical to successfully changing organizational culture. Furthermore Bernard Bass and Bruce Avolio (1993) explain that effective organisations need to think strategically and develop culture. The authors also explain that leaders often change their organization culture by understanding it and then aligning it with a new direction or vision (Bass, 1985). Managers today rely on different aspects of leadership; they use motivation as a tool to encourage employees. McGregory Burns (1978) conducted a study on political leaders to differentiate between transactional and transformational leadership. He explained that transactional leaders are those who treat their employees in terms of an exchange or reward them based on the tasks needed to pursue the set goals. Transformational leaders on the other hand are those who influence, motivate and inspire employees and form more of a relationship with them. According to Bernard Bass (1990) transformational leadership occurs when leaders expand and look after the interests of their employees. Furthermore he adds that transformational leaders possess characteristics like a charismatic leader, a visionary and guide their employees. Transactional leaders are more structured 14 and reliant on rewards. He places more emphasis on transformational leadership, explaining that it influences the overall performance of the firm, the corporate image and could be an influential factor in recruiting new employees. Bernard Bass (1990, pp.27) states that transformational leadership can be learned and should be the subject of management training and development. Although this might be true he fails to mention that Leaders might have personalities which are not flexible and could be difficult to alter also the results were collected from one engineering firm. It would have been interesting to understand how different contextual factors such as culture and structure would affect transformational leadership? Bernard Bass (1997) added contextual factors such as culture to transformational and transactional leadership. In his study he explained that some of these contextual factors are inevitable and there seems to be high variances in them but in a general sense he found that transformational leadership tends to be more effective than a reward based system. He also identified a critical aspect that culture influences leadership for. E.g. He mentions that Europe seemed to be more towards the transactional side of leadership. There has been much debate on whether leadership is essential in an organisation or what qualities classify a leader. According to Bernard Bass (1990) transformational leaders have charisma, intellectual stimulation and inspiration. Rakesh Khurana (2002) mentions that it is assumed that the secret behind being a successful CEO is leadership. He explains that aspects such as strategic thinking, industry knowledge are important but are becoming less essential to organisations. He lays emphasis that leaders are often chosen based on their charisma, thus many organisations overlook viable candidates. Furthermore he states that charisma is hard to define and the impact it has on CEO’s is exaggerated. There have been many studies conducted through the years to identify a ‘one fit’ leadership style or find out what characteristics make an effective leader. Recent literature has focused on authentic leadership, according to Kernis (2003, pp. 85) authenticity is the” unobstructed operation of one’s true self in daily enterprise”. George et al (2007) state that no one can become authentic by imitating someone else, they explain that in our for an individual to have authentic leadership he or 15 she needs to learn from their own experience, be self-aware and implement their own beliefs and thoughts. This type of leadership is critical of today’s entrepreneurs as they need to establish their own style of leadership which is an important aspect to success. 1.4 Role of Leadership in Corporate Entrepreneurship There have been a lot of studies conducted on corporate entrepreneurship and leadership that explain the need for companies to hire entrepreneurs to create a strategic renewal through innovation, stimulation of corporate venturing, enhancing entrepreneurial intensity and encouraging employees to act entrepreneurial. With companies looking to diversify and the economic landscape becoming increasingly globalised, it is becoming critical for companies to hire entrepreneurs. According to Jeffrey Covin and Morgan Miles (1999) corporate entrepreneurship has been a potential viable option for creating a sustainable competitive advantage. Morris and Kurato (2002, pp. 28) define Corporate Entrepreneurship as ‘entrepreneurial behaviour inside established midsized and large organizations’. While this definition might hold true, the word entrepreneurial behaviour is too vague and generalised. Sharma and Chrisman (1999) explain that corporate entrepreneurship is a process within an existing organization, where an individual or a group of individuals instigate renewal or innovation within that organization. This definition is more precise and defines Corporate Entrepreneurship as a process. Zahra (1991) defined Corporate Entrepreneurship as an activity which looks at new venture creation. Each of these definitions focus on different aspects but fail to mention any context or stage the organisation might be when Corporate Entrepreneurship is implemented. Furthermore there is a lack of information on what kind of individual would develop new ventures or innovation. Through the years there has been much written on the constructs on Corporate Entrepreneurship. With the emergence of Corporate Entrepreneurship companies focused their efforts on innovation, entrepreneurial qualities such as risk-taking and rapid product innovation. According to Serpa (1987) Organizations saw Corporate Entrepreneurship as a means to renew their strategic goals, enter new 16 markets, create new products, enhance financial performance and reduce their business risk. John Stopford and Charles Baden-Fuller (1992) explain that Corporate Entrepreneurship exhibited many different types of attributes such as pro-activeness, team orientation, Aspirations beyond current capability, capabilities to resolve dilemmas and learning capability. These are critical aspects that entrepreneurs within organizations need to demonstrate. Pralad and Hammel (1989) state that the attribute: ‘aspirations beyond current capability’ is necessary for an organization to achieve their strategic intent and they are more likely to gain market leadership. Zahra et al (1999) mention that although there is empirical evidence that Corporate Entrepreneurship increases company performance by creating pro-activeness within the firm but he mentions that studies should now focus on its link with the company’s financial performance. This is a critical aspect which has not been clearly identified as yet. Furthermore there have been many frameworks of how Corporate Entrepreneurship leads to organizational performance but still there is little consensus on an ideal framework. In addition most of the frameworks focus on the strategy that the firm should adopt versus the type of leadership or attributes of leadership which leads to successful Corporate Entrepreneurship. 1.5 CE Framework Analysis Corporate Entrepreneurship is more of a strategy by which a firm can renew its processes and look for an entire new direction. It can also be implemented in a time when a firm might be faced with serious business risk. There have been many frameworks that explain how Corporate Entrepreneurship can be implemented but little consensus remains. Burgelman (1983) examined the management of new ventures and their structure in large organisations. He explains that much has been written regarding the need for strategy and diversification but there is still little understanding of the process of new venture development. In his framework he examines internal corporate venturing and the role of middle managers in the process. The main aspect he explains is that two corporate level functions are segregated, business development and new venture creation from 17 research and development and other general management functions. Furthermore he explains that the main engine behind corporate entrepreneurship is the new initiatives created by individuals at an operational level. Although this might be true, it would be interesting to see what kind of leadership styles this individual could portray and if they would enable new venture creation also the study is limited to large organisations and does not focus on start-ups and mid-size firms. William Guth and Ari Ginsberg (1990) expanded on Burgelman’s model of new venture creation (1983) they identified two key ingredients new business within the organization and strategic renewal. An important aspect to note is that they incorporated strategic management into the framework and identified several factors that influence corporate entrepreneurship like the external environment, organizational conduct and performance. Although this framework incorporates strategic leadership, it does not explain what kind of characteristics, styles and beliefs are required to influence corporate entrepreneurship. Hornsby et al (1993) explain that Corporate Entrepreneurship is complex and presents various challenges; they explain that on a practical level companies need to establish guidelines on a daily basis in order to implement internal strategies. On a theoretical level there needs to be a constant re-assessment of the constructs of corporate entrepreneurship. The framework identifies organizational and individual characteristics which could lead to new venture creation. More so the framework analyses key components of individual characteristics such as the need for locus of control, ability to take risks and goal-orientated. It would be interested to analyse if these aspects have commonality to leadership styles. For e.g. ‘goal orientation’ could be linked to transactional leadership which focuses on achieving the task. This would provide an in depth analysis of how a leadership style could influence corporate entrepreneurship. Colvin and Slevin (1991) present a firm-behaviour model of corporate entrepreneurship. They explain that behaviours rather than attributes influence the entrepreneurial process. According to the authors entrepreneurial posture is present in three behavioural aspects of management which is risk-taking, product innovation and technological leadership. Although this model incorporates external, strategic and internal variables, these variables are extremely broad in 18 nature. It also provides a very generic description of the framework with entrepreneurial posture not clearly being defined. Lumpkin and Dess (1996) explain that Entrepreneurial Orientation possess some of the characteristics that can lead to new venture creation. They identify the characteristics to be risk-taking propensity, innovativeness, pro activeness, competitive aggressiveness and autonomy. Some of these attributes have been identified by previous researches like Colvin and Slevin (1991) but the author’s mention that these attributes may differ based on the organizational context and other factors. Furthermore the authors argue that this occurs merely at a firm-level and in large organizations. This is in agreement with Schumpeter’s (1942) explanation that firm’s eventually become powerhouse entrepreneurs as they dedicate more resources. It would be interesting to see if these characteristics hold true for start-up companies or if one of these characteristics would be more important to an entrepreneur than the other. In contrast with Lumpkin and Dess (1991) view that Entrepreneurial Orientation is critical, Morgan and Hughes (2007) explain that not all facets of Entrepreneurial Orientation are positive. In addition they mention that only pro activeness and innovativeness will have a positive impact on a firm while risktaking could have negative consequences. Corporate Entrepreneurship frameworks in the past have mainly focused on the strategic aspect of business and have given little attention to leadership. Ireland et al (2003) specify that in order for Corporate Entrepreneurship to generate wealth it is important to integrate opportunity and advantage seeking behaviours into the framework. The author identifies two keys aspects: First Entrepreneurial mind set, which they define as a growth-orientated perspective through innovation, creativity and flexibility and second Entrepreneurial culture and leadership. Ireland et al (2003) go indepth on the leadership aspects; they explain that there are six attributes that are critical. It is important to note that the authors mention leadership through an entrepreneurial perspective but do not mention a particular style that would fit this. This entrepreneurial leadership moves away from the traditional school of thought of leadership such as autocratic, democratic, it instead focuses on a visionary aspect, an opportunity recognition aspect and entrepreneurial behaviour. 19 Chapter 2: Methodology 2.1 Introduction In order to identify the facets of leadership and its influence on corporate organisations in textile firms, I choose a qualitative research method. My dissertation made use of qualitative method in order to understand some of the issues mentioned in the literature review. This section has been broken down into four parts. The first section proves a justification for why qualitative research is necessary in analysing leadership aspects. In the second section I explain the methodologies which I have used. This section provides insight into past literature on narratives and ethnography. The third section will explain the data collection process and the various techniques I used to gather my primary data. It will also describe the interview process. The last section will explain how I intended to interpret the data. The highlights of the data collected for the purpose of my dissertation have been transcribed in the Appendix 3. To ensure that the data is collected systematically and in an ethical manner I have created a simple numbering system which highlights the transcript of the data. All the interviews were conducted in an ethical manner through narratives and ethnography. 2.2 Why Qualitative Research There have been many articles written on the two types of research, qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative research helps identify crucial underlying factors that help researches understand the thought process behind consumers or interviewees. Gephart (2004) described qualitative research as “a multi-method research that uses an interpretive, naturalistic approach to its subject matter (Denzin & Lincoln, 1994)” and “addresses questions about how social experience is created and given meaning” (Gephart, 2004: 454–455). While interviewing entrepreneurs it is important to understand their thought process and their past experience. Since qualitative research according to (Denzin & Lincoln, 1994) studies phenomena in the environments that they naturally occur it proves a better perspective to the interpreter. Quantitative research on the other hand emphasis on the analysis and relationship between variables (Denzin & Lincoln 2000). According to Gephart (2004) 20 qualitative researchers strive to explain concepts through observation. Through the interview process I reviewed and understood the behaviour of individuals who carried out a consistent leadership style or used a style in a particular context. I applied theory and tried to observe them in their natural environment. Furthermore Schultz (1973) states that qualitative research helps researchers to understand the meanings which are used in societies and therefore reveals their direct everyday life realities. Quantitative research on the other hand imposes scientific meanings and thus may not reflect the true reality Gephart (2004). Conducting a qualitative research engages the interviewee into a dialogue versus quantitative research which provides a direct answer. This provides an opportunity to understand why an individual would provide the specific answer. Qualitative research provides a humanistic approach which allows the interviewee to provide his understand of perhaps the understanding of the concepts being asked versus quantitative is involved in getting the results and statistically analysing it. According to Joerges (2004) qualitative research is a naturalistic form which is more persuasive since it looks at life through different lenses. Cooper et al (2005) while analysing authentic leadership explains that there need to be specific dimensions which need to be identified for research. He specifies that qualitative method might be a useful way in identifying these dimensions. Furthermore he states that other forms of research in leadership have largely benefited from the use of qualitative methods. He adds that qualitative method might help understand the behaviour and attributes that influence the leadership style. Conger (1998) argues that leadership is a complex phenomenon and qualitative research must play a critical role no matter what the stage of research it is in. Furthermore he explains that qualitative research can refine and validate some of the prior hypothesis generated by researchers. Conger (1998) identifies a crucial aspect of quantitative research explaining that leadership is a dynamic process and in analysing it, quantitative research only identifies the static moments at a time. Therefore it is unable to understand how certain events unfolded and did any contextual factors play a role. In my use of qualitative research it is important to understand what the entrepreneur was going though at the point of certain decisions he made. For e.g. One of the interviewees had labour 21 problems in his office and at that point he was forced into using a more strict approach such as transactional leadership. This context would be difficult to understand under a quantitative method. Swanson (2005) mentions that organisations are entities created, conceptualised and run by humans and Cycyota, and Harrison (2006) explain that most of the data collected for research comes from its people. The data collected within organisations can potentially shape integral processes, strategies and communication. It is critical to understand the intrinsic factors of human beings which are often captured by qualitative research. Human beings often bring in their own assumptions and past experiences while answering questions which are better interpreted in qualitative research. Conger (1998) states that qualitative methods have been underutilized in the field of leadership. In his article he explains that quantitative methodology fails to capture some of the facets of leadership and has left us with a generalised understanding of leadership. He urges researchers to employ qualitative methods such as narratives, ethnography and interview based approaches. Although there have been many studies done using qualitative methods researchers should be cautious to this approach. According to Stenbacka (2001, pp. 551) there is a basic validity question that arises that is whether the intended object measured has actually been measured. Throughout my research I found this as a challenge since it was easy for the interviewee and I to strive from what was intended to be researched. Another aspect that researchers should be cautious about is the characteristics and the interpretation of data. Unlike quantitative research qualitative research engages in dialogue and requires various skills in interpretation. The interviewer must understand the contextual factors such as culture, structure etc. in order to interpret the data in an ethical manner. According to Marshall and Rossman (1999) when conducting a qualitative research it is critical to be systematic and careful in order to understand the phenomenon. This is crucial aspect which must be carried out in qualitative research. 22 Despite certain limitations mentioned above according to Conger (1998) qualitative methods are ideally suited to identify leadership’s dimensions. He explains when the research is conducted well it can provide in-depth data and offer researchers flexibility to further examine the research topic. 2.3 Methodologies For the purpose of my dissertation I have chosen ethnography and narratives as a method to understand how leadership influences corporate entrepreneurship in textile firms. I first embarked upon ethnography as it would give me a better understanding on contextual factors that influence leadership and then I choose narratives to understand the styles of leadership employed by entrepreneurs in firms. 2.3.1 Ethnography The first method that I employed for understanding leadership in corporate entrepreneurship is ethnography. It is a method which has been used by many organisational researchers and is a preferred approach to scholars. According to Silverman (2001) ethnography involves interviews, surveys and other methods, the importance lies in the observation. This method involves the researcher becomes a part of the organisation and observes them. Van Maanen (1979, pp.540) states that the principal aim of organizational ethnography - is to “uncover and explicate the ways in which people in particular work settings come to understand, account for, take action, and otherwise manage their day-to-day situation”. I was part of a textile firm named R.K. Overseas where I observed three entrepreneurs who were the owners of the companies. They considered themselves as leaders and through observation I was able to understand their leadership style. I monitored their day to day activities and understood the context that they worked in. This helped me understand how these entrepreneurs operated. Rosen (1991) mentions that the researcher has a choice of continuing the research as an outsider or employee of the company. I felt that to understand the attributes and the type of leadership style it was important for me to be an 23 employee of the company. It is often when you are working with participants and living within the group that you uncover details. Schwartzman (1993) states that studying participants in their own environment helps in understanding the facets of the organisation and its culture. Ybema, Yanow, Wels and Kamsteeg (2009) mention that ethnographers lay emphasis on the need to study people in their natural settings in order to get a clear picture of the complexity, sophistication and daily manners of the organisational life. Understanding these complexities and daily routines help identify the characteristics of human behaviour, which influence important aspects such as decision making. When observing participants every time an individual had to make a decision I found that they portrayed a particular leadership style. Research in organisations often includes getting data from the employees about their seniors or about the practices in the organisation which the employees are reluctant or dubious to share. Since ethnography involves observation technique as a major tool for collection of data, a lot can be understood by observing the actions and behaviour of the people in the organisation without them actually telling the researcher. Rosen (1991) mentions that one advantage of ethnography allows the researcher to get close to the participants who might provide the interviewer with details unlike quantitative research where the interviewer might not have any relation with the participant. Access is an important aspect of ethnography, by employing this method the interviewer has greater access to details of the organisation versus a quantitative method. Since was the case it helped me in not only collecting data but also improved the accuracy of the data. Buchanan and Byrman (2009) explain that since ethnography is a method where the researcher becomes part of what is being researched, he can capture the formal and informal activities of the organisation. In my research I was able to capture some of the informal activities such as conversations between participants and brief discussions which took place. Ethnography can reveal some of the intricacies of individuals if used correctly and in an ethical manner. Agar (2010) mentions that the proven capability of ethnography has recently caught the attention of researchers as being a suitable method. Based on these theoretical and practical aspects of ethnography, I utilised this method while working at R.K Overseas for one and a half month. This 24 method helped me understand different attributes and details on the leadership styles and structure of the organisation. 2.3.2 Narratives There are numerous benefits of conducting a narrative analysis and an increasing number of researchers are opting for this approach in an organisation. As part of my research I created a guideline of questions which would serve as a format when conducting narratives analysis. According to Soin and Scheyett (2006) incidents or actions can tell or explain stories which are integral part of our lives. These stories can be analysed and studied this is known as narrative analysis. Sandelowski (1991, pp. 163) explains that the very act of storytelling can illustrate how lives are understood and transformed in stories. Humans have a habit of telling stories as it helps relate to others and understand ourselves better. Fisher (1984, pp 6) referred humans as “homo narrans”, while Currie (1998, pp 2), termed our species as “homo fabulans – the tellers and interpreters of narrative”. Human beings have been born with the facet of storytelling and through my experience in gathering data this approach helped me understand contextual factors and attributes of entrepreneurs. Organisations are often driven by people and therefore they adapt the nature of human beings such as storytelling. Humpherys and Brown (2007, pp. 447) state that organisation are literally the narratives that individuals share and re-tell in ways which explain reality. A contextual factor which influences leadership is organisational culture and this according to Soin and Scheytt (2006) is well captured in the stories that individuals tell about the organisation and people around it. Organisations have different stories as part of my narrative analysis I was able to interview 5 entrepreneurs from different organisations. This provided me with different leadership styles that were portrayed by entrepreneurs in different contextual settings. In one instance one of the entrepreneurs provided me with a detailed story explaining his life journey and how he had managed to successfully start his own textile company. Stutts and Barker (1999) explain that storytelling has provided a rich body of knowledge which sometimes is unavailable through other 25 methods. Dennig (2004) mentions that stories are effective means by which an organisation can realign itself, improve one’s competitive position and culture. Narrative analysis can be carried out in organisations in different ways besides just listening to individuals stories. Researchers can review past records of the company, in certain cases the infrastructure, public statements and publications. These different mediums make narrative analysis an important method for leadership and entrepreneurial research. Soin and Scheytt (2006) clarify that stories can be gathered via different methods such as formal meetings, at a restaurant or at a party. In my research I focused on conducting interviews and listening to the stories of entrepreneurs in a formal manner. These stories were collected in the entrepreneur’s offices. Stories are can be never ending and therefore it is critical to use in narrative analysis. I found this method to be very insightful while conducting my research. 2.4 Data Collection The collection of data in any research plays a critical role. According to Polkinghorne (2005) researchers that use qualitative methods to gather data use it as evidence for their findings. For the purpose of my dissertation I collected primary data via two methods ethnography and narratives. 2.4.1 Data Collection Process This study was carried out in India. As part of my dissertation I decided to look at textile firms in India. In the start I found a few challenges while trying to narrow which firms I should focus on. After consulting with friends and family I had decided to conduct research via two methods. Highlights of the data have been transcribed in the Appendix 3 and the portion which is in italics is used in the analysis. 2.4.2 Ethnography 26 As part of this research method researchers become a part of the organisation and use observational techniques to understand human behaviour within an organisation. According to Agar (2010) ethnography has become a chosen method for qualitative research. I was part of R.K Overseas a mid-size textile firm for a month and half. While working there I monitored three entrepreneurs in the organisation who were are at an operational, strategic and managing director level. This gave me insights on not only how entrepreneurs use leadership styles at a top level but also at an operational level. All data was collected neatly in a notebook and then transferred to MS. Word. The data was recorded on an ad-hoc basis with most of it being in a conversation, in a meeting or at lunch. I also monitored daily interactions between employees and entrepreneurs themselves. In order to record data in a systematic way, I devised a numbering system for this method. Each Entrepreneur was given a number E1 and a conversation number to it. For e.g. E1C1 would be the first individual and the first conversation captured, E1C2 would be the first individual and the second conversation captured etc. This helped me keep a daily record on the conversations. 2.4.3 Narratives As part of this research method, I was able to identify five entrepreneurs in textile firms. Narrative inquiry according to Leavy (2009, pp.27) is a kind of social research which involves, “a collaborative method of telling stories, reflecting on stories, and re-writing stories”. Narratives are a descriptive form of research and therefore the interviews I conducted were in a conversational manner. It involved the entrepreneurs explaining their history, the situations they have been in, the general understanding of leadership and their views. In order to guide these entrepreneurs, I provided them with a brief on what my topic was. For getting ethical and non-biased answers I choose not to reveal all the information and let the entrepreneurs provide their descriptions and viewpoints. The brief is listed in the Appendix 2. Although the conversations varied in time, an average time spent with the entrepreneur was approximately 35 minutes, with some conversations being extended over an hour. In order to record the data systematically all conversations were recorded in a notebook and 27 immediately transferred to MS. Word. A numbering system was devised to record the narratives. Each entrepreneur was numbered as P1 and their conversation as C1. 2.5 Interpretation of Data At the end of data collection, the most important step according to me is the interpretation of data. Hammersly (1992) and Miller (1986) state that almost all research involves subjective perception and when you try to analyse data it will produce different perspectives but these authors argue that it is critical to understand the underlying reality. I have personally collected the data myself through narrative analysis. This involved conversations and descriptions with the entrepreneurs. Since analysing data is the final stage of research it places even more importance since through this data a conclusion might be made. According to Stenbecka (2001) basic elements should be questioned while interpreting data such as validity, reliability and quality. In order to validate my data I had chosen entrepreneurs from different organisations. After the conversations and story-telling I reiterated the conversation to make sure that the data was accurate. As seen in the results section the data obtained had some overlap from participants but each entrepreneur had a different story. 28 Chapter 3: Results 3.1 Introduction The purpose of the dissertation is to understand how leadership influences corporate entrepreneurship in textile firms hence this chapter focuses on analysing the data collected through ethnography and narrative methods. In this chapter I will first provide an analysis of data which was collected through five interview sessions. These sessions were in a narrative format and the highlights of the transcript will be used in the analysis. Secondly I will focus on analysing data which was collected when I worked at R.K.Overseas. Thirdly I will provide a brief summary of my analysis which will provide an analysis of the particular leadership styles used by entrepreneurs in organisations and lastly i will discuss the results. 3.2 Narrative Data Analysis Through the narrative analysis there was a general opinion about leadership. More or less the participants interviewed explained their stories and in certain situations provided a detailed description of how they tackled a specific problem. All participants generally agreed that leadership is required to guide their employees in a direction. They explain that often people need to provide the guiding light. The informants explained that most of their employees needed a clear direction for them to understand some of the company’s goals and objectives. This is consistent with theorist, Ralph Stogdil (1950), explained that leadership is an influencial process. As seen by the statement below.The participant explains that at the beginning every individual needs to be guided. He mentioned that I had to influence the employees by teaching them the basics. P1(C4): “Every individual has his learning curve, so I felt that at the beginning I had to mentor all my workers, I taught them the A-Z of textiles”. In trying to understand the participant’s views on leadership and its influence I felt that it was quite generalised in cases. Many researchers Frank Heller (1997) have provided a broad definition and a generalisation on leadership. George et al (2009) explain an important point which is consistent with 29 one of the participant’s responses. The interviewee had explained that through his past experiences working in a textile mill he had learnt how people interacted with each other and gained most of job-related experience through it. In my opinion this is critical and it does influence and teach an individual certain characteristics. It is the past experiences that may build the characteristics which could ultimately influence your leadership style. P1(C1): “I worked in a mill for about five years, oiling machines, spinning yarn and turning to learn as much as I can”. This participant felt that his past experiences influenced his thought process which ultimately played a role in his leadership style of choice. People also learn from daily or past interactions with individuals. As most of these corporate firms were sole proprietors or family owned business there seemed to be a strong connection with a super human being influencing their leadership style. P1(C2): “My father was a true inspiration for me he had single handedly raised the whole family and contributed a lot to the community in Nepal. I feel that he made me work and provided me with education which was a blessing in itself.” P2(C1): “I learnt a great deal from him… never waste time is what he use to say.. and if you say something you are going to do.. you better do it.” In both the participants above there seems to be a common element a father figure, an inspirational leader or a person who has mentored them throughout their career. This falls in line with the great man theorist Thomas Carlyle (1988) who explains that great leaders are born and it cannot be taught. Each of these individuals during their interviews had explained the personality traits that their fathers had exhibited. Traits such as goal-oritated, ambition and visionary are something that the participants explained were visible in their fathers. Most literature through the 1950’s was focused on understanding personality traits in leadership and what personalities make an effective leader. Although Borgetta et al mention that a group needs a ‘great man’ to lead in order for it to be effective. In my narratives where the participants explained that the father figure inspired these 30 individuals there was no evidence whether this was an effective style. The participants mention that this influences their thought and leadership style. Through my interviews I found that in order for these entrepreneurs to be successful or their employees to work it was important for them to form relationships. These have been much theory on leadership styles that focus on relationships with employees. Transformational leadership focuses on aspects such as caring for the employees, motivating them and inspiring them. This was a constant theme through the participants. P1(C6): “I treated them as family not employees and I know they like that… infact most of my staff have been working for me for over 15 years…. I believe in creating friendships and relationship with clients.” P3(C2): “ I formed great relations with my employees … I found the need to motivate them continuously through bonuses and other compensation…” As seen by the conversations I had with the participants, they explain that relationships with the employees is very important. One of the participants mentioned that these employees worked for him for 15 years, since he had kept good relationships with them. I believe that the relationships you form with your employees often help you progress in your career and it sometimes helps getting the task done. In the statements listed above and the context in which they have been made it was inferred that these individuals used transformational leadership in their organization. In one instance the participant mentioned that they had helped an employee’s mother by paying for her operation. These are the kind of relationships these entrepreneurs formed with their employees. Benard Bass (1991) explains that transformational leaders often have ‘charisma or intellectual simulation’. These qualities were evident in most of the participant’s leadership style. As seen below one of the participants mentioned that he had to use more of his charm to convince union leaders to convey messages to their individuals to return to work. In my opinion it is important to have ‘charisma’ so that you could lead, motivate and influence people. In this case it did work for him as the workers eventually came back to work. Leaders need to be persuasive and have personalities 31 which can develop relationships. Some theorist like Rakesh Khurana would disagree with this statement as he explains that ‘charisma’ itself is difficult to define and even less proven. P5(C2): “I feel that I had to use a lot of charm, convincing union leaders who have to convince their people to come back to work….”. One important factor I realised was that one of the participants mentioned that I have great relationships with the employees and i find the need to motivate them continuously through financial aspects. This was quite contrary to Benard Bass (1997) who mentions that relationships are more effective than a reward based system. Although in these organisations transformational leadership might have be successful the same participant (P1) goes on to mention that he has realised that he might have sacrificed financial rewards personal or companies in order to generate these relationships. P1(C7): “I feel that sometime people have to let go of some financial aspects, in my life I know I could have minimized some of the costs.. I mean employee wages etc.. But I feel it’s not worth it.” This participant brings up an interesting point whether an individual can have both transactional and transformational qualities. There has been limited literature on this point. He mentioned that there was a need to sacrifice financial aspects for relationships. Although this might be the case for this participant it is important to note that it might not be successful in someone else’s case. For e.g. another participant (P3) mentions that although I had formed great relationships with my clients at one point I could help business slip away. P3(C3): “Within three hours I realised that I was going to lose more that 80 percent of my business.. I had tried my best to explain my order delivery success rate, quality and whole relation aspect…” P3(C4): “I believe the true character of a person or leader is seen in the worst situation… I through these tough times kept my relationships with my employees, suppliers clients etc.. but it didn’t work out… “ 32 In this case even though the entrepreneur had tried using his relationship with his clients, they explained that it was purely a transaction. Since they could find products at a cheaper cost in China they had switched suppliers. In these situations there is not much a person can do. In fact even his employees who he had through the years had good relations with turned their backs on him. I feel like some theorist that leadership needs to take place in a certain context. An individual can adapt his or her leadership style to the situation. An interesting aspect which I noticed was the need for a relatively need concept called authentic leadership. In one of my interviews the participant explained that there was no definition for leadership. He said you just carry out your duties and based on the situation you make dicisions. He had explained that I really don’t think of him having one leadership style that a person can copy or have. P4(C3): “ Leadership to me can’t really be defined… I feel that in my company it depends on the situation.. there are so many things going on I just take it as it comes… “ Theorists have often agreed with this statements explaining that researchers have over generalized on leadership. Frank Heller (1997) explained that leadership is so vast and there are so many attributes that it is difficult to rationalize one particular style. This was consistent with what the participant meant. Although he went on to explain that leadership cannot be taught and individuals need to have personalities within themselves. P5(C1): “I feel leaders are individuals who rise above the crowd.. someone who inspires… but I believe this can’t be taught… (WHY:me).. people have to have it within themselves certain personalities… you have seen Amitabh Bachann right.. he walks in the room and you know hes a leader. I mean its about one’s personality…” This participant mentions that leaders are often born with the personalities and leadership cannot be taught. There has been little written on authentic leadership, I felt that what this participant wanted to explain was that there needs to be authenticity in leaders. 33 The participant had mentioned that through his past experiences he had learnt a great deal and therefore he felt that leadership can be taught it needs to be developed by the person themselves. 3.3 Ethnography Analysis Through this method I had worked in R.K Overseas for one and half month, in this time I observed three entrepreneurs. For the purpose of the assignment I have identified three situations which I felt these entrepreneurs displayed their leadership style. (E2) New Product Development: Corporate entrepreneurship theorist Burgelman (1983) William Guth and Ari Ginsberg (1990) mention the need for strategic renewal and new venture creation. Through my observation I found one of the entrepreneurs to display high levels of strategic and innovation thinking. This individual I found had a knack of finding a new way to conduct business. One clear example was when an international client wanted a particular style and design of a shawl. Through the manufacturing process the company had said that this style was not possible. There were intricacies in the weaving process that would not allow the design to be feasible. The entrepreneur displayed excellent ‘entrepreneurial Orientation’. Table 1: Innovativeness Pro-activeness Competitive Autonomy Risk-Taking Aggressiveness Combined lycra, Travelled silk and wool to the allow hand-woven alone, material to be seen to The other client Acted alone Took the task on her factories would have definitely throughout asked got the order. Hence the process friends in the she same business turned this around in 2 weeks. 34 hands and had promised the client that deliver. she would Client relationships could have been lost. As seen in the table above the entrepreneur was successfully able to implement what researchers Lumpkin and Dess (1991) had described as Entrepreneurial Orientation. In order to get the tasks achieved this entrepreneur had utilised transformational leadership style by convincing the clients, managers and the manufacturers to give this new product material a test. (E3) Production Issues: R.K Overseas is facing tremendous competition from Chinese manufactures; one of their clients had demanded that they reduce the manufacturing costs. The entrepreneur was in-charge of logistics, operation and production was faced with a serious challenge. Due to the large volume of the order and the client been a very important one. The entrepreneur had to negotiate with the client in an transactional manner. In this case he had to lay three individuals off and have strict monetary negotiations. Theorists have mentioned that individuals employ transactional leadership styles and this was something that the entrepreneur displays. While observing his relationship with employees I noticed that he often treated them in a monitory aspect. His rewards were based on performance and interactions were based on if the goal were achieved. I found this individual very structured in his work and to be extremely goal-orientated. Although this occasion he had no choice but to take active measure his relationship with employees were consistent with transactional leadership behaviours. (E1) Strategic Renewal 35 The third entrepreneur who I had observed was the CEO of the company. His main role was to provide strategic vision. I carefully observed his characteristics. Corporate entrepreneur theorist mention that it is essential to have innovativeness, risk-taking and opportunity-seeking behaviours, this was quite contrary to what I observed in this entrepreneur. In observing him I found that this individual was more on a transactional style of leadership. He had established measures such as a matrix that would reward employees based on the sales orders they provide. In one observation he mentioned that “Ultimately money pays the bills”. He explained to me several times that you need to treat the business as a business and not as a relationship hub. I found that this leadership style was more autocratic and fit the traditional leadership school of though. Through my numerous conversations with him I felt that he didn’t display many of the entrepreneurial aspects such as looking for innovativeness. I found this to be quite a contrast to an individual who was running the company. Ethnography helped me understand the three entrepreneurs in their natural environment. As I was part of the company I understood who individuals made decisions and their leadership style. It gave me a better perspective on how these leadership styles influence corporate entrepreneurs. 3.4 Summary of Analysis Listed below is the summary of corporate entrepreneurs and their leadership styles. The data analysis has helped me categorize these individuals into a particular leadership style. The table below provides, the respondents leadership style, the position that they occupied in the organization and their gender. Table 2: 36 Number Organization Method Name E1 R.K Overseas Participants Leadership Style Gender Position Ethnography Managing Autocratic/Transactional Male Director E2 R.K Overseas Ethnography Product Transformational Female Transactional Male CEO Transformational Male Designer E3 R.K Overseas Ethnography Operations Director (Partner in the firm) P1 P2 P3 P4 Currents Narrative Buying Agents Analysis Ankur Exports Narrative Managing Autocratic Analysis Director Transactional Goradia Narrative CEO Transformational Textiles Analysis Sarju Narrative International Analysis & Male & Male Transactional CEO Authentic & Contextual Male Bang Group of Narrative Production Transformational Male Companies Director LTD. P5 Analysis 37 3.5 Discussion After analysing data I realised that most of the participants had more or less a general view of leadership. The conversations and stories through ethnography provided direct answers to the style of leadership which the participants employed in their organisations. There were many similarities between the participants. I felt that transformational leadership was more employed by the entrepreneurs. Out of eight entrepreneurs whom I interviewed and observed four displayed characteristics of transformational behaviours with their employees. The general view throughout the interviews I felt was that leaders needed to provide clear direction to their staff and motivate these individuals often. An important facet of leadership which I discovered was motivation. In almost all of the firms I observed the employees were easily motivated by financial rewards this was consistent with Maslow hierarchy of needs by Bob Poston (2009). This theory mentions that until physiological needs are not met which as food water etc... Are not met one cannot progress to a higher level of satisfaction. This was quite evident, although the aim of my project was not to observe motivation and its relationship with leadership. Although most of the viewpoints on leadership tend to be similar there appeared to be contrasting views in the minds of the participants. In certain cases participants displayed both a transactional and transformational side. In observation I felt that it was difficult to identify one particular fit for some of these entrepreneurs. In analysing the data I felt that I was able to get a better understanding of the individual’s leadership style through ethnography. Since I was able to work in the company for a month and half it helped me understand the characters better. This gave me a better analysis on how these individuals react to certain situations. Literature in the 1960’s has mentioned contextual factors such as culture to influence leadership but in my findings I felt that organisation culture is best understood only once you are within the company. I felt the best judge of this was the ethnography study. 38 Overall I was satisfied with the data I received as it provided me with good insights on how leadership influences these corporate entrepreneurs. 39 Chapter 4: Conclusion 4.1 Introduction In this chapter I will summarise the data which has helped answer my research question. I will first provide some of the limitations I have noticed during my research. Second I will provide recommendations on further research and lastly I will provide a conclusion on my entire research. 4.2 Limitations of Research During the course of my research there were many limitations which I encountered. Leadership throughout the years has been hard to define. Individual’s perspective on leadership differs from person to person and there are numerous personality traits, behaviours and contexts that influence it. In my research I found four limitations. Culture: Every organisation has a culture and this often influences leadership. Since I conducted narratives in five organisations and ethnography in one, I felt that I was better able to understand culture in one organisation. Bernard Bass (1997) mentioned that there are variances in organisational culture and this influences leadership. I felt that I was restricted in this aspect in analysing cultures influence on leadership. Another key point which Hofstede (1986) explains is the influence of national culture in organisation. Since this research was conducted in India, it was unable to analyse if national culture played an important role in these individuals’ leadership styles. Gender: In my research seven out of eight entrepreneurs in the organization were male. Theorists have mentioned that there is a lack of research on women leadership as mentioned by Wilson (2002). In analysing most of the data pointed towards transformational leadership but gender could have put a limitation in the conversations I would have got. 40 Context: There has been much written on contextual factors playing an important role in leadership. With ethnography as a chosen method I was able to understand the leadership styles better but in narratives I was not able to capture some of the contextual factors such as culture in the data. Methodology: Narratives are an effective method of research but there are certain limitations that researchers should be cautious about. In conducting the qualitative analysis I was limited to understanding what these entrepreneurs’ opinions on leadership were. Narratives and ethnography are interpretive methods and therefore require careful interpretation. I had to be careful on what stories these individuals had described and I tried to ensure that these individuals provided lots of information on their own. Since the methods are interpretive different individuals might interpret the data differently. Although leadership and corporate entrepreneurship have many constructs I felt that in analysing the data I had to narrow my focus certain leadership styles. All data was collected and interpreted in a non-biased fashion. 4.3 Recommendations The research carried out was narrow in its scope as it focused on eight entrepreneurs. I would like to recommend as with any other research that theorists focus on a larger sample size. I felt that there has been much written on organization cultures but little on how it relates to leadership. After analysis I felt that researchers need to focus on in depth analysis on what actual occurs within the organisations. I feel that there has been a lot of generalised research conducted on leadership. Researchers need to focus on organisation or situation specific leadership, smaller and more focused groups could pave the way to understanding attributes and how individuals drive organisation. In addition national cultures should also be studied, researchers can conduct analysis in developing countries to examine if the leadership styles are copied from western countries or authentic leadership occurs more in developing countries. 41 There has been a lack of gender studies conducted in Indian firms. This would be a great opportunity for researchers to study women in leadership positions and how they influence corporate entrepreneurs. 4.5 Conclusion India is one of the fasted growing economies in the world therefore leadership and corporate entrepreneurship are crucial elements that can help the economy grow. In my dissertation I have attempted to answer leadership’s influence on corporate entrepreneurship in textile firms. Through reviewing literature on leadership and corporate entrepreneurship I had realised that much of the views of leadership were of traditional school of thought. After analysing the data I was extremely pleased to understand that most of the contemporary styles of leadership such as transformational, transactional, contextual and authentic have played a critical role in corporate entrepreneurship. Corporate entrepreneurship consists of many frameworks and there is much mention on the attributes of entrepreneurs such as risk-taking and how they influence the organisation. I was pleased to find the similarities between these attributes and contemporary leadership styles. The qualitative methods employed in this research have been fruitful. To the best of my ability I was able to interpret data via ethnography which gave me a better understanding of leadership within an organisation and how it influences corporate entrepreneurship. Narratives on the other hand helped me understand some of the past experiences of entrepreneurs in organisations which influence their leadership style. Leadership and Corporate entrepreneurship are two facets of literature which can really contribute to the real world. These need to be studied in greater depth. Hopefully this dissertation has done just to answer the research question of leadership’s influence on corporate entrepreneurship in textile firms. The literature review, methodology, data analysis and recommendations hopefully provide new insights on leadership scholars and pave the way to new specialised theories. 42 References Agar, Michael. (2010). “On the Ethnographic Part of the Mix.” Organizational Research Methods 13 (2): 286–303. Ashforth, B. E., & Humphery, R.H (1995), Emotion in the workplace: A reappraisal. Human Relations, 48 (2), 97-125. Ayman, R., Chemers, M. M., & Fiedler, F. (1995). The contingency model of leadership effectiveness: Its level of analysis. 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London: Sage. 50 Appendix 1 List of Organizations where entrepreneurs were interviewed. Number Organization Name Method E1 E2 E3 R.K Overseas R.K Overseas R.K Overseas Ethnography Ethnography Ethnography P1 Currents Buying Agents Ankur Exports Goradia Textiles Sarju International LTD. Bang Group of Companies Narrative Analysis Participants Position Managing Director Product Designer Operations Director (Partner in the firm) CEO Narrative Analysis Narrative Analysis Narrative Analysis Managing Director CEO CEO Narrative Analysis Production Director P2 P3 P4 P5 Note:Since Narratives and Ethnography methods seek to gain inside knowledge about the organizations listed above, the names of the entrepreneurs have been withheld. 51 Appendix 2 The Entrepreneur Brief For the purpose of my dissertation at the University of Nottingham, I had proved a brief to the entrepreneurs. Since the purpose of narrative analysis is to let the interviewee themselves explain and describe the situations which they have been in through story-telling. I have purposely not provided them with an extensive brief, although there have been times in the interview where I have guided these individuals. The brief provided to the interviewees is listed below. The Entrepreneur Brief: I would like to understand your views on leadership and past experiences that you can share with me. Kindly let me know how you and your companies have progressed through the years and any specific situation or problems you have dealt with. All the data collected will be held confidential. 52 Appendix 3 Highlights of the Transcripts: Data that is in italics has been used in the analysis section. P1: I am originally from Nepal and came to Bombay with only 1000 rupees in my pocket. I had done a bachelor’s degree back at that time in textiles in Nepal… hmm you will hear about this later.. With no job and no place to stay Bombay was a difficult city to live in.(C1) I worked in a mill for about five years, oiling machines, spinning yarn and turning to learn as much as I can.. it was quite a struggle.. by 1987 I was somewhat settled and I approached a lot of people to start a new business. No one was willing at that time to start business with me except kharel, he was my best friend. I think in business you have to have luck and find some sort of opportunity. In the initial months it was only me and Kharel who worked trying to find clients.(C2) My father was a true inspiration for me he had single handedly raised the whole family and contributed a lot to the community in Nepal. I feel that he made me work and provided me with education which was a blessing in itself. I feel that without his guidance and work ethic I would have not learnt much. Around 1988 I had two to three orders from international clients but with two people working around the clock (C3) I felt overwhelmed, with less money and need to hire more people I felt I was taking a big risk. I put much of my life-savings and fathers earnings into this company… Since Karel was mostly a financial guy, I had to direct him and teach him jobs such as quality checks, his English was quite poor too so I had to talk and form relations with my clients to get more orders. Coordination and communication with employees and clients are extremely important; people fail miserably to do this. I hired more individuals as the company began to grow.. (C4)Every individual has his learning curve, so I felt that at the beginning I had to mentor all my workers, I taught them the A-Z of textiles. 53 (C5) I think I made them larger that they were. One thing I have realised and it worked for me is I treated my staff properly and with respect. I literally spoke to them on a constant basis. This helped me a lot. (C6)I treated them as family not employees and I know they like that… infact most of my staff have been working for me for over 15 years…. I believe in creating friendships and relationship with clients. (C7)I feel that sometime people have to let go of some financial aspects, in my life I know I could have minimized some of the costs.. I mean employee wages etc.. But I feel it’s not worth it. P2: All life I have struggled Anshul, sometimes 70 hours a week… this phone doesn’t stop ringing. I was brought up in textile orientated family my dadji (grandfather) was a wealthy man in Punjab I as a young boy was very inquisitive. I enjoyed reading books and learning new things… In 1970 I started working for my Dad, in our family we are expected to join the business…you know what I mean…. (C1)I learnt a great deal from him… never waste time is what he use to say.. and if you say something you are going to do.. you better do it. Discipline is something my dad instilled in everyone.. through the factory… (C2)I consider myself to be a strict person.. very disciplined like my father. I demand a lot from my workers and I do this to keep them on their toes… In my factory have seen people just not work because they are lazy.. I have sharp measures that I judge every person in the company.. Though I keep my work and family life separate… Something I hate about people is that they come to me with a problem but not one person’s thinks about the solution…(C3) I have to guide every to try and think outside the box… I am at times harsh on my employees since I need to get my work done but feel that this needs to be carried out.. 54 (C4) All decisions are made mostly by me.. I like to make sure I have a control on situations.. In a company it is important to place controls because I see people lose business interest and take advantage of your work. (C5)Discipline is the key to success and make sure people who work for you follow it.. I spend some time everyday making sure and running checks on my employees and clients to make sure my business is running smoothly.. P3: Anshul do you believe in faith, it is important.. I feel. I had owned one of the most state of the art facilities which was based in Amritsar, Punjab.. you ask anyone out there have you heard of Goradia Textiles… they will surely nod their heads.. In 1991 we built a brillant factory with donear loom machines capable of capacity which was unheard of at that time… I had over 100 people working for in the late 90’s.. massive clients such as Macy’s and Ikea… (C1)At that time what I didn’t realise was that I was knee deep in manufacturing… I was unable to see the world around me…. Manufacturing will do that to you… The business was great by 1999 I was turning over well more than 6 crore rupees.(C2) I formed great relations with my employees … I found the need to motivate them continuously through bonuses and other compensation… Transactions were good but I had little time on my hand…. I lost track of peoples work, the environment changed so quickly I didn’t know what hit me.. by 2004 most of my clients were looking at China. I lost two biggest orders to China… I ran my company very ethicallyy one particular meeting stands out.. I had invited two of my biggest clients for dinner to my farm house.. (C3)Within three hours I realised that I was going to lose more 55 that 80 percent of my business.. I had tried my best to explain my order delivery success rate, quality and whole relation aspect… but they said Mr. Goradia we are getting goods cheaper sorryy… What would you do?..... hmmm It became unfordable to run my company.. I always encouraged my employees… motivated themm through numberous benefits.. but when the times were tough… employees get going… you know right… (C4)I believe the true character of a person or leader is seen in the worst situation… I through these tough times kept my relationships with my employees, suppliers clients etc.. but it didn’t work out… P4: I was a young entrepreneur like you.. I set up a plant in Chembur (Bombay).. Business through the years was good (C1)I feel that motivation is something which plays a critical role in managing people.. I motivate myself by different ways… You got to have a desire buddy… I have three daughters who I have to take care of and they serve as my motivation everyday… (C2) I have 25 people working for me but the thing is everyone is motivated through salaries.. increase them and they will work.. Last two years I have been increasing salaries and still they are not happy… One worker Sujal I have personally helped the person.. I treated this person as family and helped her mother through a surgery.. I paid for the charges. (C3)Leadership to me can’t really be defined… I feel that in my company it depends on the situation.. there are so many things going on I just take it as it comes… If I can’t afford to provide bonuses I can’t help it. I feel that people need to respect each other and work together… this is a business but can also generate your best friends. 56 I feel that one has to evaluate yourselves capabilities before directing people.. (C4)Life is beyond a desk… anyone can put information in a column… people need to think differently an challenge people… It is how you take it forward.. P5: Labor is one of India’s biggest problems I feel.. I had around 75 employees working for me at one point of time… It was delightful… Most of them Maharastrian (my cast)… so I though easer to communicate right.. With 75 people working for me I need to be on my toes.. I used to have twice monthly meetings with the entire staff and hand out certificates every quarter… this I think helped the employees.. (C1)I feel leaders are individuals who rise above the crowd.. someone who inspires… but I believe this can’t be taught… (WHY:me).. people have to have it within themselves certain personalities… you have seen Amitabh Bachann right.. he walks in the room and you know hes a leader. I mean its about one’s personality… I ran into workers problems since I was involved with unions. Through some false information… individuals though I a different political party follower and this information had travelled up to the Union leaders. 57 58