The perceived effect of leading employees in an entrepreneurial way in small and medium sized enterprises

Recognizing opportunities can provide competitive advantage in a fast changing environment. The role of leaders has changed over the last decades and has gained more importance within an enterprise. Therefore, leading employees in an entrepreneurial way has become an innovation driver. Defining first the entrepreneurial attitudes and behavior this research continues to test the effect of applying entrepreneurial leadership style. In that sense the research approach is deductive and explanatory. In-depth interviews were conducted and statistical tests were applied. The aim of this research was to test the effect of entrepreneurial leading on the social commitment-, economic- and social-performance. The outcome showed that the relationship between applying entrepreneurial leadership style and believing in a positive effect on employee commitment, economic- and social-performance is significant. Thus, the purpose of the paper was to explore the perceived effect of leading employees in an entrepreneurial way in small and medium size enterprises.