Entrepreneurial Leadership and Context in Chinese Firms: A Tale of Two Chinese Private Enterprises

Asia Pacific Business Review Vol. 18, No. 4, October 2012, 505–530

Entrepreneurial leadership and context in Chinese firms: a tale of two Chinese private enterprises
Catherine L. Wanga*, Ding Ding Teeb and Pervaiz K. Ahmedb a School of Management, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham Hill, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK; bSchool of Business, Monash University, Sunway Campus, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 46150 Bandar Sunway, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

We focus on entrepreneurial leadership styles and context in Chinese firms. Drawing on exploratory case study evidence from two Chinese high-tech private enterprises, we find that the interaction of multilevel factors (i.e. philosophical traditions and cultural values, organizational, personal and transitional factors) forms a complex and dynamic context of entrepreneurial leadership in Chinese firms. Benevolent leadership rooted in Confucianism is an overarching leadership style, whilst transactional and transformational leadership styles (which find parallel with Legalism and Daoism) are contingent upon a range of factors, especially the entrepreneurial leader’s personal background and the firm’s strategic focus and developmental stage. Keywords: Chinese culture and philosophies; Chinese private enterprises; entrepreneurial leadership; multilevel leadership context; qualitative case study

Introduction Entrepreneurial leadership is a specific type of leadership that influences others to manage resources strategically in pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities (Ireland et al. 2003). This leadership style, embodying the characteristics of both entrepreneurs and successful leaders, has received much attention in new ventures and established organizations. Successful new ventures, even at the early new venture creation stage, are often the result of entrepreneurial teams motivated by a leader who is able to instil an entrepreneurial vision and influence others in the pursuit of an opportunity, rather than the effort of

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