The Role of Competencies in Shaping the Leadership Style of Female Entrepreneurs: The Case of North West of England, Yorkshire, and North Wales

Abstract

This study investigates linkages between personal competencies and leadership style among female small and micro business owners. Although prior research suggests that leadership style is shaped according to a leader's traits and abilities, few empirical studies corroborate this, particularly among female owners. Using survey data from the North West of ngland, orkshire, and orth ales, we reveal that transformational leadership style is the most dominant style adopted, and it is linked to perceived human and personal competencies as well as entrepreneurial competencies.

Notes

1. According to 2013 national statistics, from 4.46 million enterprises registered in England and Wales, approximately 890,000 were registered in the examined three regions (BIS, Business Population Estimates, 2013 & Size Analysis of Welsh Businesses, 2013).

2. The three regions exhibited an 11 percent increase in the number of enterprises in 2013, whereas the relevant increase in London was 4 percent and for England and Wales together was 2 percent (BIS, Business Population Estimates).

3. Size classification is defined with respect to firm total turnover according to the EU regulation 2003/Act 361.

4. According to the 2010 BIS Small Business Survey on Female owned enterprises, only 2 percent of the population is of medium size and even less than 1 percent are large.

5. A copy of the survey questionnaire is available on request.

6. Detailed definitions for the variables are provided in Table 2.

7. Exploratory Principal Components Analysis (not reported) corroborated the convergence and discriminant validity of the above factors, with all entrepreneurial, personal, and human relations items loading on one dominant principal component. Meanwhile, although the management competencies items loaded on two components, they were seen as sufficient in measuring overall managerial competency.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Vassiliki Bamiatzi

Vassiliki Bamiatzi is lecturer in the Leeds University Business School at the University of Leeds.

Sally Jones

Sally Jones is lecturer in the Leeds University Business School at the University of Leeds.

Siwan Mitchelmore

Siwan Mitchelmore is lecturer in the Bangor Business School at the Bangor University.

Konstantinos Nikolopoulos

Konstantinos Nikolopoulos is professor in the Bangor Business School at the Bangor University.