The main objective with the chapter is to develop theoretical and empirical insights into how university spin-offs use inter-organizational networks to cope with the uncertainties that surround the entrepreneurial process of market creation. We rely on effectuation theory to contrast between the use of predictive and emerging approaches to network strategies during early stages of venture development. In the chapter, we first employ a case study of a single university spin-off originating from Lund University. This inductive approach is followed by a questionnaire survey to university spin-offs in incubators across Sweden, where we test our tentative findings from the case study on a broader sample of fi rms. In all, we find that the use of predictive or emerging approaches is influenced by the entrepreneurial experience of the founder but also that it shifts depending on the network position of the spin-off firm during different stages of development. Moreover, the use of emerging approaches decreases over time when the spin-off ventures beyond the post-commercialization stage and when facing uncertainty about likely responses from competitors.

This paper outlines a conceptual framework with a research model for understanding innovation-promoting board leadership in entrepreneurial small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The framework and research model depict the behavioural aspects of board leadership and how these are related to strategy development and the entrepreneurial strategic posture of entrepreneurial SMEs. Engaging in innovation is identified as a fundamental strategic posture in entrepreneurial SMEs. The advantages of a team production perspective on board leadership embedded in behavioural theories are discussed, as are the theoretical and managerial implications of the proposed framework and research model.

This dissertation has identified, developed and empirically tested concepts associated with the capacity of chairpersonship to promote innovation in entrepreneurial small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A multi-methodological approach is applied in five studies, comprising a systematic literature review, three empirical studies and a concluding conceptual paper.

The dissertation focuses on how the chairperson of the board of directors influences value creation in entrepreneurial SMEs. Value creation in this context is about the performance of strategic leaders at entrepreneurial firms’ upper echelons in acting and making strategic choices aimed at increasing firms’ capability to engage in innovation. Innovation is defined as the generation and/or adoption of an idea or behaviour, relating to a product, service, device, system, policy or program, which is new to the adopting organization.

Innovation has been widely recognized as a concept central to economic growth and societal development. Governance is widely recognized as essential for the support and development of innovations in firms. However, the academic literature is scarce regarding how the chairperson of the board can contribute to and promote innovation in SMEs.

This dissertation offers theoretical and empirical insights into how the chairperson of the board of directors influences value creation in entrepreneurial SMEs. In this respect, the dissertation offers a conceptual framework and a research model for understanding board leadership in promoting innovation in entrepreneurial SMEs. The framework and research model emphasize the behavioural aspects of board leadership and show how these are related to the development of entrepreneurial SMEs.

Furthermore, the findings in this dissertation provide actionable knowledge for practitioners and policymakers. In this respect, the dissertation contributes theoretical and empirical understandings of the benefits of employing external chairpersons with relevant knowledge and experience in SMEs. These insights also provide practitioners with advice on the qualifications and processes that can help them to develop innovation-promoting boards.

The board of directors is often emphasized as an untapped resource in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). However, literature and research addressing issues of boards and governance has by tradition focused on large publicly held corporations while leaving the SME context largely unexplored. In this study, the aim is to examine how board leadership and the external chairperson may contribute to value creation in owner managed SMEs. More specifically, this study adopts a process perspective by looking at the role of the external board chairperson in owner-managed SMEs and how this role is carried out by the chairperson by engaging in different tasks and interpreted by the owner-managers. The study is based on a case study and interviews with chairpersons, board members and owners of two owner-managed SMEs. The tasks and processes of the board of directors in SMEs are thus discussed. The leadership responsibility of the board is in the center of attention and an eclectic theoretical perspective is applied to the discussion. Findings provide theoretical and practical insights into chairperson’s task involvement in owner managed SMEs. Suggestions about implications and further research are presented.

In this paper we present a framework of how board chairperson practices may promote innovation in small entrepreneurial firms. A case study approach is employed involving interviews with experienced board members. In our analysis we identify a set of chairperson practices related to issues such as structure, processes and culture, which serves as prerequisites for effective board work. In addition, we distinguish another set of innovation-driving chairperson practices related to the cognitive aspects of the board’s work. Overall, our findings provide a conceptual foundation for the value creating potential of board leadership embedded within the boundaries of the entrepreneurial firm and its operations. 

A critical issue when setting up a board of directors in small and medium-sized enterprises relates to the chairperson position. This study examines whether and how chairperson’s experience and leadership influence the extent to which the board of directors is involved in strategy. We rely on survey data from multiple respondents in 326 firms and use regression analysis to test our hypotheses. We find that chairpersons’ board experience and leadership efficacy have a positive and significant effect on boards’ involvement in strategy. Our findings provide ample support for the significance of chairperson behaviours in explaining board outcomes in firms.   

This paper presents a systematic literature review of 139 articles on board leadership that were published in business and management journals since 1980s. Journal names, author country affiliations, topics and focus levels, theories, empirical contexts, and methodologies are presented and analysed. We also assemble and analyse this data thematically in order to identify and frame developments and trends in researchers ideas on board leadership. This analysis provides guidance for researchers by identifying different research streams on board leadership. The analysis may also serve as basis for theory development in board leadership research that can inform policymaking and best practice recommendations. Copyright © 2014 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

For decades boards of directors have been strongly encouraged to take on an active strategy role. However, while such behaviour is generally seen as an indicator of board effectiveness much is still unknown about drivers of board strategic involvement. This is particularly true for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that make up around 95 percent of all business enterprises. A critical issue when setting up a board of directors in SMEs relate to the chairperson position. In this study we seek to contribute to scholarly research and literature on actual board behaviour in SMEs by examining whether and how the experience and leadership efficacy of the chairperson influence the extent to which the board of directors are involved in setting the strategic direction of the firm. We rely on questionnaire data collected from multiple respondents in 324 Norwegian SMEs. The variables used are based on validated scales related to behavioral aspects of actual board work developed by corporate governance scholars. We use multiple regression analysis to test our hypotheses. Overall, we find that the board experience and leadership efficacy of the chairperson has a positive and significant effect on the extent to which the board of directors are involved in strategy in SMEs. To this end, our findings suggest that chairperson behaviours have a greater impact compared to structural leadership conditions in explaining board outcomes in SMEs.