Leadership in small and medium sized enterprises

The research agenda will focus on the importance that effective leadership can have on the success of companies as they grow and transform into larger enterprises. Small companies and especially innovative small companies have been an increasingly important focus for government, regional and public investment and promise for economic development.
Although much research has been undertaken in the area of leadership challenges, roles and types in larger organisations, there is a real need to analyse and understand the important role of leadership as small innovative companies grow and inevitably face increasing organisational, strategic and commercial challenges.
This research will explore the factors affecting leadership and the types of leadership that are evident in small and innovative companies and SMES as these companies encounter challenges and increasing organisational complexity. It is envisaged that specific research questions will address leadership style transitions and leadership models under contextual boundaries, the influences and challenges on the leadership requirement in such companies, and the motivations and experience set of leaders operating in the small and medium company space.

本研究议程将聚焦于有效领导力在企业成长并转型为大型企业的过程中，对其经营成功所具备的重要价值。小型企业，尤其是创新型小微企业，近年来愈发受到政府、区域与公共投资的关注，亦是经济发展的重要潜力载体。尽管针对大型组织的领导力挑战、职能与类型已有诸多研究成果，但针对创新型小微企业在成长过程中，不可避免地遭遇日益复杂的组织、战略与商业挑战时，领导力所发挥的关键作用，仍有待系统性分析与深入理解。本研究将探索影响创新型小微企业与中小企业（SMES）领导力的各类因素，以及此类企业在面临挑战与组织复杂度不断提升的背景下所展现出的领导力类型。研究拟设定的具体研究问题将涵盖：情境边界下的领导力风格转型与领导力模型、此类企业对领导力的需求所面临的影响与挑战，以及中小企业领域领导者的从业动机与经验储备。