Building resilience through transformational leadership in women-owned businesses

Purpose Focusing on the interplay between individual, organisational and relational dimensions, this study investigates the drivers of crisis-resilience in businesses owned by women. Design/methodology/approach Using a mixed-methods approach, a quantitative survey is combined with qualitative interviews, in order to expose the key factors shaping resilience, including transformational leadership skills, individual passion and perseverance, a familial organisational culture and social support networks. Findings Our analysis of the findings indicates perseverance and passion drive transformational leadership, which itself fosters organisational resilience through robustness, agility and integrity. Research limitations/implications Future research could consider the institutional dimensions of resilience, particularly across different cultural and economic contexts. Practical implications Practitioners, women entrepreneurs, can employ these insights to create targeted strategies that enhance resilience and sustainability in times of crisis. Originality/value This study augments the existing literature on the importance of resilience in leadership, illustrating the critical role of gendered experiences and social support structures play in women-owned businesses. Furthermore, it bridges the gap between theoretical models and real-world contexts by demonstrating how resilience is useful in practice.