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.