A Conceptual Framework for SME Leader Development in Singapore

Abstract

There are currently around 188,800 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore employing 65% of the workforce. Though studies have shown that effective leadership is critical to success, it is argued that these SMEs have so far not been able to develop sufficient effective leaders to support their growth. Current leadership development initiatives proposed by the government are modeled on those of Western multinationals, which have very different organizational challenges and context. The study proposes a conceptual framework that provides a lens through which leadership development needs in Singaporean SMEs can be identified and understood. This framework is based on an extensive review of the literature concerning Singapore, leadership development, and the SME organizational context. It contains three distinct levels of analysis, covering macro-level factors involving Singapore’s socio-political influences on, and economic challenges to, SME: meso-level factors including organizational context, organizational developmental readiness and owner-manager influence; and micro-level factors such as individual developmental readiness, and learning episodes and mechanisms. The framework addresses two concerns that are crucial to leadership development. First, the need for a more contextually specific and appropriate definition of effective leadership; and second, a proposed new approach toward leadership development.