Exploring the leadership development journey of SME owner-managers

Purpose This research aimed to investigate influences on and opinions of leadership development in small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) business owner-managers. Therefore, the objective of this study was to respond to the research question - How do SMEs' founder-owner-managers develop their leadership over time? Design/methodology/approach This study applies a history narrative qualitative method to explore the leadership development journey of SMEs' founder-owner-managers throughout their lifetime. Fifteen founder-owner-managers were interviewed. Findings Five main themes emerge reflecting a social contextual process starting from early childhood: (1) the dominant influence of parents on leadership qualities and behaviours; (2) the importance of sports activities in shaping leadership qualities and identities; (3) the dominant influence of role models especially bad role models on leadership perceptions and behaviours; (4) the importance of self-learning, experimentation and self-reflection in developing entrepreneurship capability and (5) the importance of community-based social networks in gaining support and practicing leadership capability. Originality/value The originality of this research lies within the methodology used whereby a history narrative qualitative method is employed to develop data for analysis purposes. Using this methodology, this study contributes to a broader understanding of SMEs' founder-owner-managers' leadership development journey by taking a more expansive view to explore the development process throughout their lifetime.