Research Handbook on Entrepreneurship and Leadership
(to be published by Edward Elgar)
R. T. Harrison and C. M. Leitch (eds)
Call for Chapter Proposals
While there may be no agreement as to what ‘leadership’ is, despite over 50 years of quantitative and qualitative research, there is a widespread consensus that it is important and that it is situational. Most leadership research has been situated in corporate contexts and there has been much less attention given to issues of leadership and leadership development in the context of entrepreneurial and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). For some, this is not problematic, and entrepreneurship is simply a type of leadership that occurs in a specific setting, that is, the entrepreneurial or small business is the situation and, as such, available leadership theory can be applied to understanding it. For others, the study of entrepreneurs as leaders is a gap in both the leadership and the entrepreneurship literatures – exploring the founder/entrepreneur of small and emerging firms as a leader has yet to be a major area of study. However, the research that has been done suggests that the impact of leaders and leadership is a crucial factor in the success or failure of smaller entrepreneurial firms and has implications for our understanding of new venture viability and growth. Thus, understanding leadership in this context is particularly pertinent, given the importance attached to entrepreneurship as an agent of economic development and restructuring.
There are, however, specific issues in the entrepreneurial and SME context that suggest leadership development needs to be conceptualised differently from that in the corporate context. For instance, there is rarely a clear separation between leadership and managerial responsibilities. Nevertheless, entrepreneurial settings provide a venue, in terms of being characterised by highly organic, non-formalised simple structures, where the impact of leadership is likely to be most pronounced. However, the higher likely impact of leadership in this setting is matched by greater difficulty in developing that leadership. Indeed, there may often be a conflict between leadership development and the entrepreneurial situational context. This is because such firms tend to be influenced by dominant individual(s), who are associated with a lack of flexibility, engagement, openness and responsiveness, whereas leadership development requires reflection and feedback in safe environments if lessons are to be learnt and individuals are to develop.
This Research Handbook will for the first time produce a systematic overview of the entrepreneurship and leadership fields, providing a state of the art perspective and highlighting unanswered questions and opportunities for further research. It is intended to consolidate existing theory development, stimulate new conceptual thinking and include path-breaking empirical explorations. Chapter proposals from various disciplinary perspectives (including both those in management and other social sciences) as well as research conducted from a range of philosophical and methodological perspectives will be welcome. All units of analysis (individual, team and the organisation, and the dynamic interrelationships between them) are appropriate. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
• Perspectives on entrepreneurship and leadership
• Applications of leadership theories to the entrepreneurial and SME context
• The nature and role of leadership in entrepreneurial firms, including
o New and start-up venture
o The growing company
o Family business
o Social entrepreneurship
o Technology-based entrepreneurship
o The internationalisation process
• The role of gender in entrepreneurial leadership
• International perspectives on entrepreneurial leadership, including cross cultural comparative research and regional/ national studies drawn from, for example, China/ East Asia, India, Africa and Latin America in addition to the more common Western focused research
• The implications of recent theoretical developments, including, emotion, passion, cognition, effectuation and trust inter alia
This book is geared towards academics and those interested in entrepreneurship and leadership from a theoretical perspective. We are happy to have a mix of theoretically and empirically oriented chapters. Additionally, we would consider chapters grounded in theory but which draw exemplars from practical experiences/ observations. With regard to word length, we are aiming for chapters around 8000 words excluding references and tables/ diagrams etc.
Timescale
Submission of 2-page chapter proposals to both editors: 17 February 2014
Notification of acceptance: 28 February 2014
Submission of draft chapters: 31 July 2014
Review and feedback to contributors: 31 October 2014
Submission of revised chapters: 31 January 2015
Final editing and submission of manuscript to publisher: 30 March 2015
Further details and discussion of potential submission are welcome:
Professor Richard T Harrison, University of Edinburgh Business School, 29 Buccleuch Place, Edinburgh, EH8 9JS: email:
R.Harrison@ed.ac.uk
Professor Claire Leitch, Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster, UK LA1 4YW: email
c.leitch@lancaster.ac.uk
Professor Richard T Harrison
Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation
University of Edinburgh Business School
29 Buccleuch Place
Edinburgh, UK
EH8 9JS
E:
R.Harrison@ed.ac.uk
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The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
Scotland, with registration number SC005336.
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