Superiors or subordinates – Who are the actual leaders? A case study of how leadership is constructed in a young, fast growing firm
Abstract
This study investigates how leadership is constructed in relation to CoP and how that can affect
a team and their performances within a chosen organization. The construction of leadership will
in this report have the meaning of how leadership is composed and what it contains. Further,
we also address which processes and circumstances, apart from the leader that could be of
significance when studying how leadership is constructed. This study uses a qualitative method
and is based on a case study conducted in a young, fast growing firm, where a comparison
between two teams took place as they showed significant differences although from surface
looking very similar. The data was collected during two months were 22 interviews were
conducted. During these month close observations were overseen at a weekly basis, connecting
the interviewed material to situations appearing in practice. As unlimited access to the company
was given, approximately three days per week were spent at the Gothenburg office. Based on
our findings, this case study argues for CoP to be a central part of the construction of team
leadership. The CoP also requires a key leader who includes, encourages and influences the
team in order to reach for the same collective goal. The study further shows that communication
is a central part of how leadership is constructed and highlights the importance of
communication in relation to leadership. This paper contributes to new insights in the research
field as previous studies have not focused on combining CoP with leadership literature in order
to understand teams.
Degree
Master 2-years
Other description
MSc in Management
Collections
View/ Open
Date
2018-07-03Author
Svensson, Magda
Thörn, Sara
Keywords
Leadership
Construction of leadership
Process of leadership
CoP
Group dynamics
Team leadership
Series/Report no.
Master Degree Project
2018:123
Language
eng
Metadata
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