Influence of entrepreneurial orientation on leadership styles

The context of this study is the link between entrepreneurial orientation dimensions and leadership qualities and the effect on the perceived performance of organizations. The dimensions of Entrepreneurial Orientation (Lumpkin & Dess, 1996) are risk-taking, autonomy, innovativeness, competitive aggressiveness, and proactiveness towards opportunities. The aim of this research is to investigate the entrepreneurial orientation in an organizational context. Using a combination of qualitative research and quantitative approach, the research data is gathered by 44 interviews with managers from organizations in The Netherlands and Germany. The theory shows that the transformational leadership style with a high focus on proactiveness and innovativeness contributes to higher overall business performance. The conclusion of my research is that almost all of the managers that were interviewed believe that their leadership style contributes to the economic performance of their organizations, but only less than half of the managers that were interviewed have the right combination of transformational leadership with a high focus on proactiveness and innovativeness. Better educating managers about the theory about entrepreneurial leadership is recommended.