EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP IN ONLINE SMALL BUSINESSES: AN EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY:

Mandy Smith

doi:10.37335/ijek.v8i2.117

EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP IN ONLINE SMALL BUSINESSES: AN EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY

Smith, M. (2020). Effective Leadership in Online Small Businesses: an Exploratory Case Study. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Knowledge, 8(2), 27-41. doi: 10.37335/ijek.v8i2.117

Mandy Smith University of Phoenix

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37335/ijek.v8i2.117

Keywords: leadership styles, leadership practices, online leaders, online businesses, exploratory case study

Abstract

The exploratory case study, with a positive deviance approach, was used to address the problem that online small business leaders lack effective leadership skills and actions. Generally, online small business leaders face challenges separate and unique from traditional ground business leaders and different than big ecommerce business leaders who are turning ground businesses to online global businesses. Specifically, online small business leaders lack effective leadership skills and actions to address the unique challenges of online small businesses, resulting in a 90% first-year failure rate. Ten online small business leaders answered interview questions to explore best practices and processes. Data analysis revealed six themes of online small business leadership qualities but not particular leadership qualities practiced by online small business leaders. The major six qualities of the online small business leaders in this study consisted of having passion and intrinsic motivation for their work, having a heightened awareness of time and time management, maintaining old fashioned face-to-face interactions, historically having someone of positive influence in their lives, being adaptable to change, and having high problem-solving and decision-making skills. Based on these new findings, more exploration of how these online small business leadership qualities could contribute to higher success rates is recommended.

Author Biography

Mandy Smith, University of Phoenix

Dr. Mandy Smith, Professor and Program Coordinator

Dr. Mandy Smith holds a B.A. and M.A. in Sociology and a Doctorate of Management in Organizational Leadership from the University of Phoenix. She has been teaching in higher education for 14 years from Associate’s to Master’s level students, including 12 years at the University of Phoenix. In addition, she has taught and lectured at Riverside Community College, University of California, Riverside, California Baptist University, and La Sierra University. She has been a social worker in various capacities for five years and is currently the Program Coordinator for the Love Your Neighbor Collaborative (LYNC) through Path of Life. She has served on various committees and boards, including Riverside International Relations Council and RUSD LCAP Advisory Committee, to advocate positive change in her community.

Published

2020-12-31

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 2 (2020): International Journal of Entrepreneurial Knowledge

Section

Articles

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International Journal of Entrepreneurial Knowledge (ISSN 2336-2960) is published by the Center for International Scientific Research of VŠO and VŠPP in cooperation with the following partners:

University College of Business in Prague, Czech Republic
University of Entrepreneurship and Law, Prague, Czech Republic
School of Business and Administration of the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, Portugal
Faculty of Operation and Economics of Transport and Communications, University of Zilina, Slovakia

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