INTENTIONAL PRACTICE OF SHARED LEADERSHIP
IN THE MARKETPLACE BY CHRISTIAN LEADERS:
A MULTI-CASE STUDY
Michael Larry Davis, Ed.D.
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2014
Chair: Michael S. Wilder
In light of the biblical roots of shared leadership it is difficult to understand the
lack of research related to the practice of shared leadership by Christian business leaders
in the marketplace. Although research of shared leadership has been robust since its
emergence in the last quarter-century, little or no research of shared leadership by
Christian leaders existed before this study. Designed as a qualitative multiple case study,
this thesis explores the practice of shared leadership in three cases for the express purpose
of discovering best practices for shared leadership in the marketplace by Christian
leaders. Although the enterprises studied are not necessarily described as Christian
companies, all clearly understand their existence as a tool for living out the Gospel in the
world.
I isolated ten established best practices of shared leadership through the
literature review. Through case observation, personal interviews, and document
collection, the established best practices were validated for each site. Additionally, five
unique best practices for shared leadership by Christian marketplace leaders were
identified. Christian marketplace leaders who practice shared leadership:
1. Seek to enrich the lives of all stakeholders as a primary purpose of the enterprise by
providing good paying jobs for employees, exceptional service to customers, and a
fair profit for owners and stockholders.
2. Encourage stakeholders to embrace biblical discipleship practices in leadership by
honoring God in their work and by treating others as they wish to be treated.
3. Seek to support corporate as well as biblical values by articulating a biblical view of
work.
4. Leverage the value of people for the common good of employees, customers, and
other stakeholders.
5. Expect stakeholders to embrace and live out biblical virtues.
Chapter 1 introduces the research problem, its theological foundation, and
practical significance. It also defines the research question while plotting the study's
limitations. Chapter 2 examines the precedent literature and recounts the history of shared
leadership as it emerged from antecedent forms of leadership. Chapter 3 presents the
research design, defines the population, establishes the selection criteria, and outlines the
instrumentation. Chapter 4 analyzes the findings, while chapter 5 presents my
conclusions. The study's ultimate aim is to enrich the literature base by acknowledging
the biblical foundations of shared leadership and the natural inclination of Christian
business leaders to practice shared leadership as a result of their Christian faith.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:SBTS/oai:digital.library.sbts.edu:10392/4856 |
| Date | 31 March 2015 |
| Creators | Davis, Michael Larry |
| Contributors | Wilder, Michael S., Parker, Shane W. |
| Source Sets | Southern Baptist Theological Seminary |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic dissertation, Text |
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