The effect of transformational leadership on corporate entrepreneurship in Tunisian SMEs

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether transformational leadership matters in promoting corporate entrepreneurship in Tunisian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It has been argued that transformational leadership is a multidimensional construct which is composed of intellectual stimulation, idealized influence, inspirational motivation and individual consideration. Corporate entrepreneurship is also a multidimensional construct composed of new business venturing, innovativeness, self-renewal and proactiveness. Hence, it has been hypothesized that transformational leadership positively and directly influences corporate entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach A hypothetico-deductive and quantitative approach was adopted to test the suggested research model. A 2 × 2 survey was conducted on a random sample of a set of Tunisian SMEs’ workers. Data analysis was performed using the structural equation modeling. Findings The results highlight the relatively relevance of transformational leadership’s components in triggering the corporate entrepreneurship’s patterns. Originality/value The author reports on the importance of transformational leadership in the corporate entrepreneurship development in the Tunisian business context. The paper should be of interest to readers in the areas of management and entrepreneurship. This work seems to be relevant to the extent that few works have highlighted the association between the components of both transformational leadership and corporate entrepreneurship. The findings seem interesting insofar as they show mainly the important effect of the intellectual stimulation and the inspirational motivation, triggered by transformational leaders, on workers’ innovativeness, proactiveness and new business venturing.

Transformational leadership and non-family employee intrapreneurial behaviour in family-owned firms: the mediating role of adaptive culture and psychological empowerment

“…Positive correlation exists between transformational leadership and innovative behaviour (Afsar and Umrani, 2019;Amankwaa et al, 2019;Farrukh et al, 2021;Huynh, 2021). Through creative self-efficacy, horizontal participation, resource availability and a supportive climate, transformational leaders can encourage employee creativity process engagement (Boukamcha, 2019;Moriano et al, 2014;Rigtering and Weitzel, 2013;Yariv and Galit, 2017). When it comes to solving corporate problems, transformational leadership may motivate individuals to change and improve subordinates to think creatively from multiple perspectives and consider novel solutions (Khalili, 2016).…”

Exploring the relationship between corporate entrepreneurship and firm performance: the mediating effect of strategic entrepreneurship

“…Harrison et al (2018) define entrepreneurial leadership as affecting and directing the performance of employees toward the achievement of organizational objectives, which, in turn, leads to business growth. According to Boukamcha (2019), entrepreneurial leadership in firm performance should embrace leadership potential combined with entrepreneurial skills that encourage innovation.…”

“…Boudreaux (2020) considers strategic entrepreneurship a new concept in the realm of entrepreneurship, which can be assigned as a combination of strategic management and entrepreneurship. Boukamcha (2019) argues that entrepreneurship and strategic management are dynamic capabilities that directly relate to business efficiency. He explains that one of the challenges that businesses face is how to obtain and maintain a competitive advantage.…”

The effect of transformational leadership on nonfamily international intrapreneurship behavior in family firms: the mediating role of psychological empowerment

“…Transformational leadership dimensions are positively related to innovative behavior (Afsar and Umrani, 2019; Amankwaa et al , 2019; Huynh, 2021; Sanders and Shipton, 2012; Shafi et al , 2020; Tung, 2016). Transformational leaders might promote employee creativity process engagement with the creative-self-efficacy, horizontal participation, resource availability and supportive climate (Boukamcha, 2019; Mahmood et al , 2019; Moriano et al , 2014; Rigtering and Weitzel, 2013; Yariv and Galit, 2017). Transformational leadership can motivate individuals to change and improve subordinates to think creatively, problem analysis from multiple angles and look at new solutions when solving corporate problems (Khalili, 2016).…”