Cultivating an Entrepreneurial Mind-Set through Transformational Leadership: A Focus on the Corporate Context

Abstract

Corporate leaders are increasingly embracing entrepreneurial activity as a potential source of achieving a competitive advantage. Leaders adopting an entrepreneurial orientation (EO) at the firm level must foster an entrepreneurial mind-set employees. This article aims to expand understanding on how an entrepreneurial mind-set as well as transformational leadership impact levels of EO at firms in an emerging market context, South Africa. Following a survey, partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis is used to test the study hypotheses. Findings reveal positive and significant interrelationships between the study variables, where path analysis supports the study model and where both transformational leadership and an entrepreneurial mind-set amongst share a reciprocal causal relationship with higher levels of EO.

Keywords

• entrepreneurial orientation
• mind-set
• transformational leadership
• South Africa