A Perspective on Leadership in Small Businesses: Is the Need for Achievement A Motive in Predicting Success?

BUS 600 - Foundational Skills
for Academic Research
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The selected peer reviewed journal article is based on the area of “leadership and
management of Start-ups, SME and family business”. The selected article seeks to demonstrate
an understanding of the behaviour of management and leaders within an organisational context
and especially within the small business and start-up context. The topic of the chosen article is
“A Perspective on Leadership in Small Businesses: Is the Need for Achievement A Motive in
Predicting Success?”. The article is of the year 2012 which depicts that the journal article is not
very current but not too old also. It is moderately current and thus can be said to be moderately
reliable and relevant to be studied on the subject of leadership and management in Start-ups and
SME context. The article is analysed from various perspectives and domains afterwards to
acknowledge its different aspects.
The chosen peer reviewed journal article explores the wide array of traits as well as skills
that are required to be present within the leaders in order to demonstrate a favourable
behavioural pattern. Such kind of behaviour demonstration provides due assistance in managing
the small businesses as well as start-ups in an effective manner. The article has also continued to
throw light on the different entrepreneurial factors that are known to stimulate the process of
attaining success for the manager as well as owner of the small businesses. The owners of the
small businesses as well as start-ups are highly committed to achieving growth and success in the
long term. These owners are excessively dedicated to the attainment of success and growth for
the business in a rapid course of time such that it can exceed the industrial standards of business
excellence.
The research hypotheses that mainly got addressed via the execution of this peer
reviewed journal article were:-
 H1 Successful owners and/or managers of small business and start-ups will gain
satisfaction from encountering success and/or being the first one to complete a tough
task.
 H2 Successful owners and/or managers of the small business and start-ups will be most
likely to achieve high standards of excellence by virtue of giving their full commitment to
attainment of business growth.
 H3 Successful owners and/or managers of small business and start-ups will most likely
be able to give preference to the jobs whereby they can enjoy freedom and consequently
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