The effect of small business leaders' organisational mindfulness and social learning on opportunistic behaviour to survive the COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeThis research aims to test the relationships between organisational mindfulness, social learning and opportunistic behaviour of small business leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews were conducted with six small business leaders from various sectors to explore and better grasp the unprecedented phenomenon. An online survey on small business owners and managers in Indonesia was then employed as the main study, resulting in 291 valid responses for further analysis. The data were analysed using regression on SmartPLS 3.0 software.FindingsThis research finds that organisational mindfulness and social learning have positive and significant associations with the ability of small business leaders to discover and exploit opportunities. The path analysis suggests that organisational mindfulness plays a pivotal role as it also partially mediates the relationship between social learning and opportunistic behaviour.Originality/valueThis is the first paper to test the relationships between organisational mindfulness, social learning and opportunistic behaviour, particularly in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. This work also contributes by emphasising the critical linkages between internal and external capabilities triggered by small business leaders to survive the pandemic.

Innovation Cloning to Small Business Success: Entrepreneurial Perspective

It is challenging to run a business during the Covid-19 pandemic because the owners and the small business leaders must be responsible for success. Leaders need to innovate and look for sources of innovation, including practical inventions such as innovation cloning. In this study, innovation cloning consisting of creativity cloning (CC) and implementation cloning (IC) is analyzed for its relationship to business success, in the form of owner's interest (OI) and financial performance (Fn) perspectives. This study aims to reveal the role of innovation cloning, CC and IC, in achieving business success based on OI and Fn. The study uses an explanatory survey. The number of samples is 155 entrepreneurs/small business leaders in Bandung City, Indonesia. Data processing uses descriptive statistics and multiple regression with the help of SPSS and Amos 23 software. This study found that CC and IC affected OI, and IC was shown to affect Fn. In contrast, CC does not affect Fn. CC and IC are correlated with each other. It is proved CC and IC are one unit or part of cloning innovation. The leadership's expertise in choosing the object to be cloned and adapting it to consumer needs will facilitate company goals. For small businesses, utilizing innovation cloning and modifying it is a practical way to achieve success.

Encouraging or expecting flexibility? How small business leaders’ mastery goal orientation influences employee flexibility through different work climate perceptions

The employee flexibility desired in changing and uncertain business environments is amplified in small business settings. How can small business leaders facilitate the employee flexibility needed in this context? In the present study, we proposed that mastery goal-oriented leaders who are concerned with learning and competence development would create a work climate that promoted employee flexibility in their firms. We tested our hypotheses with multi-wave, multi-level data collected from leaders and employees in 141 small accounting firms in Norway. Findings revealed that leaders’ mastery goal orientation (MGO) was positively related to employee flexibility through a work climate that encouraged learning and development (a mastery climate). Yet, we also found that leaders’ MGO was negatively related to employee flexibility through a work climate that emphasized the expectations to be adaptive and flexible (an adaptability climate). Taken together, our study suggests that leaders’ mastery goal orientation may fuel employee flexibility when encouraging flexible-related behavior yet backfire when they signal that the same behavior is expected.

EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP IN ONLINE SMALL BUSINESSES: AN EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY

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.

Using simulation to develop business strategy skills of entrepreneurs - Some reflections on a pilot

It is recognized that the value of entrepreneurship education and the recruitment of practising entrepreneurs for such learning programmes can be problematic. This raises an important and challenging issue for universities when they are increasingly being asked to develop the leadership and management capabilities of entrepreneurs. In this account of practice, the authors explore the role for business simulation in the development of existing entrepreneurs’ and small business leaders’ strategic decision-making skills. The article describes and reflects on a pilot business simulation course, considering the challenges in the planning, the engagement of entrepreneurs and the delivery of the programme. It provides insights into the value of introducing this form of learning experience and exposes the significant challenges associated with engaging small business leaders.

Total Worker Health: A Small Business Leader Perspective

Total Worker Health® (TWH) frameworks call for attention to organizational leadership in the implementation and effectiveness of TWH approaches. It is especially important to study this within in the small business environment where employees face significant health, safety, and well-being concerns and employers face barriers to addressing these concerns. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of how small business leaders perceive employee health, safety, and well-being in the context of their own actions. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 small business senior leaders and used a qualitative coding approach to analyze the transcripts to determine the frequency with which leaders discussed each code. When we asked leaders about their leadership practices for health, safety, and well-being, leaders reflected upon their business (65%), themselves (28%), and their employees (7%). Leaders rarely discussed the ways in which they integrate health, safety, and well-being. The interviews demonstrate that small business leaders care about the health of their employees, but because of the perceived value to their business, not to employees or themselves. Thus, they may lack the knowledge and skills to be successful TWH leaders. The present study supports a need for continued small business TWH leadership research.