Understanding the Nature of Entrepreneurial Leadership in the Startups Across the Stages of the Startup Lifecycle

Abstract

Start-ups are important part of the world economy. Despite the astonishing rate of the start-up creation, their viability and success remain to be relatively low. Reasons behind the failure are diverse and complex. The leadership has been recognized as an important factor influencing the performance of start-ups. The paper argues that entrepreneurial leadership theory can effectively capture the complex processes in start-ups. Τhe paper explores a broader understanding of the entrepreneurial leadership by examining the context around which the entrepreneurial leadership occurs. Additionally, it includes leader and follower perspective in constructing the phenomenon. Lastly, the research reveals that it is important to view the Entrepreneurial leadership as a process developing along the stages of the start-up life cycle. The findings suggest that leadership is changing across the lifespan of the start-ups and distinct conditions and features are characteristic for the entrepreneurial leadership within each respective stage.