Table 1 lists the nine leadership actions and their corresponding behavioural traits that an entrepreneur who wishes to increase the likelihood of success of leading change must carry out. The results of the field study included five in-depth interviews (two entrepreneurs, two executives of a large organization, and one employee) and nine responses to a survey completed by employees of a large organization. A field study was carried out to validate the identified actions and to map behavioural traits to actions. For each action, behavioural traits that enable effective leadership are identified because behaviour is intrinsically linked to the effectiveness and success of action. In this article, the top nine leadership actions that a technology entrepreneur must undertake when leading and managing a change initiative are summarized based on a broad review of change management literature.

Furthermore, a review of the change management literature revealed that up to 70% of change initiatives fail or underperform and that the role and behaviours of leaders of change are largely associated to the success and failure of change initiatives ( Miller, 2002 Higgs and Rowland, 2005). However, technology entrepreneurs may find the change management literature confusing with a plethora of lists of actions and processes that primarily focus on change in large organizations. Process-based change models, from Lewin’s three-step model ( Burnes, 2004) to Kotter’s eight-step process (Kotter, 1995), make the leader responsible for the successful management of change. Studies link leadership to the change management process (e.g., Kotter, 1995 Higgs and Rowland, 2005).

Much has been written about change management and the role and behaviours of the Chief Executive Officer (e.g., Eisenbach et al., 1999 Higgs and Rowland, 2005 Miller, 2002 Ahn et al., 2004). Entrepreneurs must then be armed with the right knowledge to ensure successful execution of change tactics as they seek to adapt their growth strategies in response to competitive, economic and technological pressures. Key to survival is adaptability, or the ability to effectively and efficiently change business models, business processes, and technologies in response to disruptive innovations and competitive threats in a rapidly evolving environment. A fundamental reason that organizations undergo change is to survive and grow hence managing change becomes a priority for all founders and entrepreneurs.

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