Leadership of Entrepreneurship at the Macro-Level

Abstract

The study assesses the state of leadership of entrepreneurship at the macro level. It further explores the effectiveness of leadership; the gaps, issues and challenges; and the roles of government and the private sector with regards to entrepreneurship leadership. At its core, the study challenges the assumption that entrepreneurship must be led by government and considers the alternative proposition that entrepreneurship can be led by itself – by an independent body of entrepreneurs. The research finding is that entrepreneurship is not effectively led: 1) Several private and public sector initiatives exist to support entrepreneurs, but remain largely uncoordinated. 2) There are a lack of standards and benchmarking at the macro level, even though entrepreneurs could benefit from accreditation, guidelines, governance and strategy frameworks. 3) Entrepreneurship lacks a unified voice. 4) The stakeholders of entrepreneurship compete, rather than collaborate. Government does not understand or effectively communicate with entrepreneurs. The private sector does not always have the best interests of entrepreneurs at heart, due to conflicting interests. Incubators, accelerators and universities compete among themselves for funding and accolades, which hinders their assistance to entrepreneurs. 5) Entrepreneurship carries a negative culture. 6) The leadership style applied to entrepreneurship is inappropriate. 7) There is little vision and direction setting for entrepreneurship as industry or fraternity.

Keywords

• entrepreneurship
• leadership
• governance
• entrepreneurship policy
• macro-level
• entrepreneurship industry