The impact of entrepreneurial leadership on innovation work behaviour and opportunity recognition in technology start-ups

Faiza Kiran ()
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Faiza Kiran: National University of Science and Technology

Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 2025, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-21

Abstract: Abstract High-tech SMEs focused on entrepreneurialism have found it challenging to succeed in economies in transition, such as the United Kingdom. Businesses have to reconsider their strategies and adapt their operations to keep up with technological developments to thrive in such an unstable market. In this setting, innovation has been seen as a primary factor in the continued existence, prosperity, and competitiveness of high-tech businesses. In accordance with this, the present study aimed to explore the impact of entrepreneurial leadership on employees’ innovative work behaviour and opportunity recognition in technology start-ups. Primary quantitative research methods were used to collect and analyse the data. Purposive sampling was applied to collect the data from 400 founders, CEOs, managers, and staff members of technological-based start-ups in the UK through a structured online survey questionnaire. The study used structural equation modelling (SEM) to analyse the data, which included confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis. The study found that there was a positive association between entrepreneurial leadership and workers’ inventive work behaviour in technological start-ups, lending credibility to the concept that entrepreneurial leaders stimulate creative production in their teams. The research emphasised the significance of a firm’s innovation culture as a mediator. It showed that a company’s creative culture mediates the association between entrepreneurial leadership and innovative work behaviour among its workers. This implied that creating an innovative work environment was critical for converting entrepreneurial leadership into more inventive work behaviour. This study’s results indicated that creativity in knowledge-based SMEs would benefit from the use of entrepreneurial leadership. The research also shed light on the processes through which entrepreneurial leadership would affect IWB. The study’s limitations included that it was done for the region of Iran and the UK. This study will be replicated for specific regions such as other international markets for start-ups based on technology and to assess its specific barriers and challenges before concluding on the scope for further implementation of technology start-ups. Similarly, the firm’s creative culture was found to directly impact the link between entrepreneurial leadership and workers’ capacity to see possibilities, emphasising the necessity of developing an environment accessible to opportunity identification.

Keywords: Entrepreneurial leadership; Employees’ innovative work behaviour; Employees’ opportunity recognition; Firm’s innovative culture; Technology start-ups (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1186/s13731-025-00599-1

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