Demystifying Leadership in Iceland: An Inquiry into Cultural, Societal, and Entrepreneurial Uniqueness

Description

This book explores the nature and uniqueness of leadership in Iceland within a business and economic context. Starting with an analysis of Iceland’s geographical location, historical development and societal culture, the authors critically examine the major elements of the Icelandic business environment from an individual to a global level, and from economic prosperity to financial collapse. They particularly focus on leadership and human resource management within this unique societal culture and discuss the specific issues that are unique to Iceland, i.e. entrepreneurship, gender egalitarianism, equality, low power-distance, reflecting on, and orienting within contemporary leadership theories. The book covers a variety of analytical methods and cases, providing a unique introduction to leadership in Iceland, and opening avenues for further research into this relatively new phenomenon. Front Matter ....Pages i-xi Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Introduction (Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej)....Pages 3-6 Societal Culture in Iceland: From the Past to the Present (Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej)....Pages 7-14 Leadership in Iceland: A Historical Context (Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej)....Pages 15-25 Organizational Culture in Iceland: Welcoming the Uncertainty (Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej)....Pages 27-38 Beyond the Daily Catch: Desired Leader Profile in Iceland (Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej)....Pages 39-50 Front Matter ....Pages 51-51 Small, but Mighty: Icelandic Business Environment Before and After the Financial Crisis of 2008 (Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej)....Pages 53-60 Born to Enterprise? Entrepreneurial Intent Among Icelanders (Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej)....Pages 61-68 What’s Next? From Tourism Bubble to the Future of Business Leadership in Iceland (Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej)....Pages 69-77 Front Matter ....Pages 79-79 Gender and Leadership in Iceland: The Journey to the Top of the Global Gender Gap Index (Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej)....Pages 81-88 Before and After: Effect of Gender Quota on Icelandic Landscape of the Boards of Directors (Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej)....Pages 89-97 The Untold Story of Gender Quota Effects in Iceland (Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej)....Pages 99-108 Front Matter ....Pages 109-109 Moving Icelandic Companies Global Through Visionary Leadership: The Case of Alvogen (Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej)....Pages 111-124 A Comedian Who Changed the Leadership Script in Reykjavik: The Case of Jón Gnarr (Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej)....Pages 125-136 Navigating Leadership in the Fishing Industry: The Case of Iceland (Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej)....Pages 137-150 Sports Leadership and the Biggest Small Nation in the World (Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej)....Pages 151-160