Building resilience through transformational leadership in women-owned businesses

Abstract

Purpose – Focusing on the interplay between individual, organisational and relational dimensions, this study investigates the drivers of crisis-resilience in businesses owned by women. Design/methodology/approach – Using a mixed-methods approach, a quantitative survey is combined with qualitative interviews, in order to expose the key factors shaping resilience, including transformational leadership skills, individual passion and perseverance, a familial organisational culture and social support networks. Findings – Our analysis of the findings indicates perseverance and passion drive transformational leadership, which itself fosters organisational resilience through robustness, agility and integrity. Research limitations/implications – Future research could consider the institutional dimensions of resilience, particularly across different cultural and economic contexts. Practical implications – Practitioners, women entrepreneurs, can employ these insights to create targeted strategies that enhance resilience and sustainability in times of crisis. Originality/value – This study augments the existing literature on the importance of resilience in leadership, illustrating the critical role of gendered experiences and social support structures play in women-owned businesses. Furthermore, it bridges the gap between theoretical models and real-world contexts by demonstrating how resilience is useful in practice.