Understanding entrepreneurial leadership and roles: An exploratory study of Filipino American entrepreneurs managing a sustainable business venture in Alaska

Entrepreneurial leadership is an emerging phenomenon. In the new era of a rapidly changing market economy, entrepreneurs are taking proactive roles utilizing a knowledge-based approach to create an environment that fosters innovation and entrepreneurial creativity. Particularly, minority entrepreneurs are adapting to the market environment by maximizing resources and developing a business leadership strategy to remain competitive and maintain relationships within and outside of business activity. This qualitative study provides an overview of the sustainable business operations of Filipino American entrepreneurs in Alaska. Participants in the study responded to questions regarding factors influencing a sustainable operations and characteristics describing their understanding of entrepreneurial leadership and roles. Categories such as motivation, challenges, best practices, and leadership style formed the conceptual framework for this study to identify critical elements of entrepreneurial leadership and roles. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from 21 participants of the study. Data was coded and analyzed to reveal four themes that were essential to Filipino American entrepreneur's understanding of entrepreneurial leadership and roles (e.g., business passion and achievement of goals, understanding of roles and responsibilities, long-term relationships, and internal locus of control).