How Are Unicorns Being Led? A Qualitative Exploration On The Contemporary Multi-Level Leadership In Swedish Unicorns

Abstract: Innovation is imperative for companies to stay ahead of competition and achieve sustained economic growth. While leadership is seen as a great predictor of innovation, limited research has investigated the phenomenon within our contemporary business environment. Considering Stockholm being second globally in unicorns per capita and with previous research hinting at unicorns' innovative characteristics, this qualitative study explores the multi-level leadership within three Swedish unicorns. To explore this, twelve interviews at multiple company levels and three podcasts were analysed, leveraging Nimble leadership theory and Agile principles. The findings of the study demonstrate how entrepreneurial leadership is spread rather equally within the three levels of the studied unicorns, while enabling and architectural skills are more concentrated to the middle and top respectively. Moreover, cultural values and agile principles guide the leaders within these unicorns, especially the newly found shared belief of making impact that matters. As previous research has hinted at unicorns serving as role models to others, this study has implications for managers, entrepreneurs, and investors, interested in better understanding how leadership is distributed in Swedish unicorns and what skills and cultural values underpin their leadership.