Title: Impacts of leadership style on the development of small business: lessons from a Chinese family-controlled firm

Authors: Yong Wang

Addresses: Wolverhampton Business School, University of Wolverhampton, Telford, Shropshire, TF2 9NT, UK

Abstract: Professionalised management style coupled with dynamic business strategies constitutes a fundamental feature of most successful businesses, especially small-scaled firms. Often the management style in family businesses exemplifies different characteristics compared with that of professionally managed public and private sector organisations. Paradoxically, literature rarely addresses the managerial style in the family business terrain. Understanding an organisation|s managerial style and its impact on business development can provide insights on how small owner-managed firms optimise the art of management. This study portrays the entrepreneurial development of a Chinese family-controlled business, Hillwood Electrical Equipment Ltd. The primary purpose of the study is to describe different business scenarios under the two main managerial styles throughout the business|s eight-year development. It is anticipated that this study will shed lights on critical issues of family business management, such as effectiveness of leadership, strategy design, and entrepreneurial venture. Tentative enterprise recommendations for Chinese family businesses| development are elicited.

Keywords: Chinese family businesses; managerial leadership; business performance; family firms; small business; small firms; management style; entrepreneurship; strategic management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMP.2005.007136

International Journal of Management Practice, 2005 Vol.1 No.2, pp.215 - 232

Published online: 29 May 2005 *

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