The Effect of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on Entrepreneurial Leadership Attributes [védés előtt]

Kivonat, rövid leírás

The Fourth Industrial Revolution represents a significant technological transformation that impacts human life, work, and interactions. This revolution is characterized by rapid advancements that merge the physical, biological, and cyber domains, facilitating artificial intelligence, machine learning, virtual reality, and novel communication methods. This technological convergence is reshaping industries, creating opportunities and challenges, and transforming the global economy by generating new markets, disrupting traditional sectors, and altering work dynamics. Innovation, particularly in leadership, is essential for organizations to thrive amid rapid technological changes and increasing technological adoption. Companies must adapt their strategic management approaches to navigate this dynamic environment effectively. The research addresses a gap in the academic literature by examining how leadership traits can enable contemporary entrepreneurs to leverage this revolution for competitive advantage. This dissertation examines the influence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on entrepreneurial leadership and innovation. It assesses how entrepreneurs adapt to emerging challenges and opportunities, analyzing transformations in leadership characteristics over time and their capacity to foster innovation within organizations—a critical factor for navigating continuously evolving industrial landscapes. The research problem is to investigate how the current industrial revolution affects the innovation paradigm, specifically how it impacts the contemporary entrepreneur in technology firms, which are most significantly influenced by the FIR. The investigation employed a qualitative methodology, utilizing Grounded Theory Method and automated content analysis of interviews and biographies of 147 entrepreneurs across various periods from the First Industrial Revolution to the present Fourth Industrial Revolution. The primary analytical tool used was Natural Language Processing (NLP) to automatically identify leadership attributes in extensive written texts. While NLP facilitated document analysis, data collection remained labor-intensive. Sources comprised electronic public documents from internet databases, libraries, and repositories, including books, firm leaders' biographies, chapters on specific firms, newspapers, journals, and related publications. The diverse and extensive nature of these sources necessitated significant effort to gather and curate, underscoring the commitment to constructing a comprehensive and reliable dataset. The research proceeded along three distinct pathways: quantitative analysis, including descriptive statistics and cluster analysis, identifying dominant leadership attributes and their evolution; Grounded Theory Method, examining the Fourth Industrial Revolution's impact on entrepreneurial leadership and the innovation paradigm; and Use-Case Analysis, which investigated six companies from different periods to provide detailed insights into the practical application of the findings. The primary scientific outcomes of this dissertation are as follows: • The Fourth Industrial Revolution (FIR) has profoundly influenced innovation, necessitating a transition from traditional, closed models to open, collaborative ecosystems. Entrepreneurs must adapt by fostering collaboration, embracing calculated risks, and prioritizing rapid growth and organizational flexibility. • The Fourth Industrial Revolution (FIR) has significantly transformed the innovation landscape, necessitating entrepreneurial leaders who demonstrate adaptability, risk tolerance, and collaborative tendencies. These leaders must integrate emerging technologies, promote collaboration within technology-driven ecosystems, and navigate the uncertainties inherent in disruptive innovation. • Visionary leadership is vital in the context of the FIR, requiring entrepreneurs to navigate a rapidly evolving technological landscape. Leaders must exhibit agility, decisiveness, resilience in the face of setbacks, and an inclination towards experimentation. Additionally, they should promote a collaborative and motivating management style that empowers employees to contribute creatively and exercise initiative. • The FIR necessitates an innovation model emphasizing agility, collaboration, and data analysis. Leaders endorsing disruptive and open innovation are crucial, requiring qualities such as risk-taking, decisiveness, open-mindedness, and networking proficiency. They should welcome diverse perspectives, incorporate external ideas, and cultivate a creative atmosphere that enables employees to contribute to innovative processes. • Organizations must adapt to the FIR by implementing flexible structures, promoting continuous learning, and fostering a collaborative and experimental culture. Identifying opportunities, assessing risks, and making data-driven decisions expeditiously are crucial in this dynamic environment. • Operating effectively within an ecosystem is critical in the FIR. Companies must accelerate go-to-market strategies, integrate external technologies, and prioritize ethical leadership and stakeholder empathy. Leaders must consider the social and environmental implications of their decisions, demonstrating a commitment to responsible and sustainable practices. • This research underscores the significance of ethical leadership and empathy in managing the complexities of FIR. This dissertation contributes to the field of innovation studies by examining the relationship between technological advancements, entrepreneurial leadership, and the innovation paradigm. The findings provide significant insights for entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers regarding the promotion of innovation and addressing the challenges and opportunities presented by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Furthermore, it emphasizes the necessity for additional research on the evolving dynamics of innovation and leadership in the context of rapid technological changes.