Innovation and Leadership Styles: a case study of Portuguese SMEs

Abstract

´In a globalized world, organizations and individuals face an increased number of daily challenges. It surfaces

the ability to be effective, efficient and capable to optimize processes, as well as being different and having the ability of

bringing novelty into the market. This apparent paradox dramatically changed the reality of firms, both internally and in

the external operational context. The Integration of functions and blurred job descriptions requires new knowledge and a

new ways of understanding knowledge and communication, and demands new skills and new behaviour patterns, from

both the employee and firms‟, that better respond to an ever-changing environment, customer demands, rapid technical

changes and uncertainty.