Awad et al. (2024) conducted a cross-sectional study among undergraduate nursing students in Thailand, revealing that a significant number of students exhibit high levels of entrepreneurial leadership. The entrepreneurial characteristics of nursing education can improve students' skills and readiness for innovative healthcare practices. Clark et al., (2023) highlighting the implementation of entrepreneurial leadership (EL) in the public sector, EL plays a role in promoting the principles of democratic principles and can improve organizational effectiveness. Soomro et al., (2019) Observing entrepreneurial leadership behaviors among college students, they showed that activities that promote cognitive flexibility can significantly improve students' entrepreneurial leadership behaviors, thus preparing them for future leadership roles in diverse organizational settings.

An essential point in entrepreneurial leadership is to consider the concept of open innovation (Ataei et al., 2024a). Research related to EL has been widely conducted, some focusing on individual units of analysis (Abualoush et al., 2022; Cai et al., 2019; K. Ercantan et al., 2024; Hoang, Luu, et al., 2023a; Hou et al., 2024; Iqbal et al., 2022; Islam & Asad, 2024; Yang & Bentein, 2023) and organizations (Khan et al., 2024; Paudel, 2019; Sarabi et al., 2020; Sarmawa et al., 2020; Sultan et al., 2023; Wu et al., 2021). This systematic literature review aims to explore research related to EL that has been carried out so far. This study synthesizes documents based on a systematic review in four stages, similar to the approach used by (Hosany et al., 2022). However, it was further developed. The uncertain business environment makes organizations forced to continue to innovate and be able to adapt quickly to change. Entrepreneurial Leadership (EL) is able to combine opportunity recognition, innovation, and strategic decision-making in developing adaptive strategies, improving organizational performance, and being able to create a competitive advantage.

Previous studies of EL have been focused on various theoretical perspectives, contexts, and methodologies. Understanding of variables related to EL, EL in supporting innovation, and entrepreneurial leadership principles to achieve business success has not been explored. The research questions (1) What are the main themes and trends in entrepreneurial leadership research in business organizations? (2) What are the practical insights for business leaders on applying the principles of entrepreneurial leadership to achieve business organizational success? (3) What are the most commonly associated variables with EL? (4) What are the individual competencies needed to be able to effectively implement Entrepreneurial Leadership Factors in a business organization? (5) What are the outcomes arising from the implementation of EL in Business Organizations?

This literature review aims to synthesize and critically analyze existing research on the interaction between entrepreneurial leadership and organizational outcomes, focusing on research variables, hypotheses, and theoretical foundations. It offers a comprehensive overview of how different studies conceptualize and measure key variables such as innovation performance, organizational culture, and entrepreneurial success. This research employs a systematic approach, beginning with a literature search and thematic analysis. The article is structured as follows: first, defining and discussing the core characteristics of entrepreneurial leadership; second, examining various theoretical frameworks in the literature; third, reviewing common variables in the literature; and finally, analyzing prevalent themes, identifying gaps and challenges, and proposing implications for future research and practice.

Including every published article on entrepreneurial leadership was not feasible given the volume of literature retrieved; a theoretical sampling strategy following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) protocol was therefore adopted to identify representative and conceptually relevant studies. However, due to the extensive research in this field and the numerous articles identified through our search and screening process, including all relevant articles would be impractical and time-consuming. Therefore, a feasible alternative is employing theoretical sampling as per the PRISMA guidelines to achieve the study's objectives. Initially, articles were selected from a population of 364 articles from Scopus. To illustrate the article selection process, a PRISMA flowchart (Helden et al., 2023) was used, comprising four main stages: identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion. Initially, 364 articles were identified through database searches. After excluding ineligible articles (titles, abstracts, and irrelevance), 83 articles underwent full-text review, with all 83 ultimately included in the final systematic review.

This study adopts the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) protocol to ensure a transparent and systematic literature review process. The author’s steps in conducting a PRISMA protocol consist of identifying, filtering, eligibility, and inclusion of articles that have been identified using the keywords entrepreneurial leadership. The researcher conducted an initial search on journals indexed by scopus and web of science and managed to find 364 articles with entrepreneurial leadership research topics. In the second stage, the researcher screened articles based on abstract content, obtained 221 articles that were considered relevant and discarded 137 articles because they had the same title. In the third stage, the researcher read the full articles in the background, literature review, methodology, and data availability, so that 115 articles that met the eligibility criteria were obtained. Finally, the researcher only analyzed 83 articles because they were considered to have good quality in terms of methodology and completeness of the research results presented.

PRISMA will benefit authors, editors, and peer reviewers of systematic reviews, and different users of reviews, including guideline developers, policy makers, healthcare providers, patients, and other stakeholders (Page et al., 2021). In addition, this study incorporates bibliometric analysis to identify research trends, keyword co-occurrence, and influential publications. A bibliometric analysis is used to assess where the most active influen- tial research focus on this topic lies (Torrijo & Giner, 2023). The bibliometric method was used in this study to obtain a database of entrepreneurial leadership. The results of the bibliometric presented the publication of articles, countries, author affiliations, and journals with graphical analysis using VOSviewer software.

Theoretical sampling continued until saturation and completeness were achieved, which was defined as reaching a sufficient number of research articles that identified conceptualizations pertinent to entrepreneurial leadership research. In total, 83 relevant research articles contributed to identifying and explaining these conceptualizations. Analyzing articles to elucidate entrepreneurial leadership conceptualizations (see Figure 1) necessitates constant comparison (Helden et al., 2023). This process involves comparing codes and concepts to uncover and document their relationships, thereby refining labeled conceptualizations. These emergent conceptualizations serve as frameworks for subsequent article selection, guiding systematic deductions to select further articles. Memos are utilized to record emerging ideas and guide the selection of subsequent article samples. Each sampled article is scrutinized to discern its core contributions regarding the essence of entrepreneurial leadership or pivotal components within the conceptual framework of variables (Helden et al., 2023) pertinent to entrepreneurial leadership research. Only after thorough analysis does the transition occur to selecting another article for examination.

The results bibliometric analysis starting from information in Figure 2 illustrates the trend in the number of articles published from 2014 to 2025. In 2014, 11 articles were published, and this number slightly increased to 13 in 2015. However, there was a significant drop in 2016, with only 5 articles published. Starting in 2017, the number of articles began to rise steadily, reaching 16 articles that year and then jumping to 29 in 2018. In 2019, there was a slight decrease to 23 articles, followed by an increase to 33 in 2020. In 2021, the number of publications declined slightly to 30 articles but increased again in 2022 to 36 articles, and further to 45 in 2023. The highest number of articles was recorded in 2024, with a total of 73. Although there was a slight decrease in 2025 to 43 articles, the publication volume remained significantly higher compared to the earlier years.

Figure 3 is a tree map showing the classification of countries based on a specific size. In this treemap, each rectangle represents a single country, with the size of the rectangle indicating the magnitude of the value or amount associated with that country. The country of China has the largest rectangle, followed by Pakistan and Vietnam, each of which has a significant size. Indonesia also occupies a sizable area on this map. Other countries shown, albeit smaller in size, include Iran, Australia, India, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Italy, Nepal, USA, Jordan, Peru, Arabia, Germany, and South Korea. This treemap provides an effective visualization of the comparison between different countries in the context of their size or contribution to a given metric. This allows the reader to quickly understand the distribution and proportions between the countries involved.

Table 1 shows the ten institutions with the most relevant affiliations based on the number of publications related to entrepreneurial leadership research. The listed institutions are spread across different regions of the globe, demonstrating an international contribution to this research topic. The University of Tehran in Iran, Swinburne University of Technology in Australia, and the University of the West of Scotland in Southwest Scotland each lead with a total of 7 publications. The geographical distribution of these affiliations shows that entrepreneurial leadership research has received widespread attention from different countries and continents, with significant contributions from institutions in Iran, Australias, Scotland, China, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Table 2 provides insight into the journals that cite articles related to entrepreneurial leadership research, particularly those published in journals indexed by Web of Science. Sustainability is 184 citations from 9 articles, showing significant influence in this area. The European Journal of Innovation Management, recorded 146 citations from 5 articles, while Cogent Business & Management had 37 citations from 5 articles. The Journal of Small Business Management stands out with the highest number of citations, reaching 548 citations from 4 articles, signifying its great relevance in entrepreneurial leadership research. Frontiers in Psychology and Leadership & Organization Development Journal, have 11 and 72 citations from 3 articles, respectively.

Table 3 shows the research variables that most frequently appear in studies related to entrepreneurial leadership, along with the number of studies that mention those variables and their researchers. The most dominant variable is Entrepreneurial Leadership, with 56 studies contributing, among them Awad et al., 2024a; Ercantan et al., 2024; Norena-Chavez & Romani Torres, 2024. This variable was followed by Employee Creativity and Entrepreneurial Leadership, which were mentioned in 5 studies each. Researchers such as Hou et al., 2024; Yang & Bentein, 2023 are some of the researchers who are researching Employee Creativity, while Hoang, Nguyen, et al., 2023b; Sultan et al., 2023 are researching Entrepreneurial Leadership.

Table 4 shows the various theories that are often used in research related to entrepreneurial leadership, complete with the number of citations and the number of articles supporting the theory, as well as the names of relevant researchers. Social Cognitive Theory emerged as the most widely adopted theoretical framework among the reviewed studies, generating the highest total citation impact. The second most widely used theory is Resource Based View Theory. Social Learning Theory has 298 citations with 10 researchers. Dynamic Capability Theory was cited 35 times, Entrepreneurial Leadership Theory was cited 117 times and SDT Self-Determination Theory was cited 28 times. Four different researchers conducted research with Social Exchange Theory, Theory Of Planned Behavior, and Upper Echelons Theory. Contingency Theory, Effectuation Theory, Knowledge-Based View KBV Theory, Resource Dependence Theory, Social Identity Theory, Social Information Processing Theory are each used by 2 different articles.

In addition, the theories used in conducting EL research are Absorptive Capacity Theories, Cognitive-affective Personality System Theory, Collective Identity Theory, Complex Adaptive System Theory, Conservation Of Resources Theory, Creativity Theory, Culturally Endorsed Leadership Theories, Empowerment Theory, Entrepreneurial Event Theory, Entrepreneurial Vision, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Theory, Explorer Behavior EXPB, Gender Theory, Institutional Theory, Instrumental Stakeholder Theory, Intrinsic Motivation Theory, Job Embeddedness Theory, Organization Learning Theory, Person-Environment Fit Theory, Psychological Theories, Self-Efficacy Theory, Social Capital Theory, Social Construction Theory, Social Role Theory, Strategic Entrepreneurship Theory, Technology Affordances and Constraints Theory, The Affective Events Theory, Theory Of Creativity. Although only 1 article wrote each of these theories, there are theories that are cited many times, namely Social Information Processing Theory 108 times and Institutional Theory 110 times.

In Table 5, Resource-Based View Theory is used to base the research variables Accountability, Analytical Thinking, Competitive Advantage, Corporate Sustainable Development, Emotional Intelligence, Entrepreneurial Leadership, Entrepreneurial Leadership Skills, Entrepreneurial Opportunity Recognition, Entrepreneurial Success, Firm Performance, Innovation Capability, Innovative Behaviour, Micro-Entreprise Performance, Micro-Enterprise Sustainability, People-Oriented Leadership Style, Responsibility, Saudi Female Entrepreneurs, Task-Oriented Leadership Style (Abdullah Alshammari et al., 2023; Al Mamun et al., 2018; Ercantan et al., 2024; Razzaque et al., 2024; Taleb et al., 2023). These resources allow companies to create strategies that are difficult for competitors to replicate (Barney, 1991). RBV views the company as a collection of historical and “semi-permanent” resources, including physical capital, brand names, and organizational routines and capabilities. These resources are the basis for competitive advantage (Lockett et al., 2009).

Graphical information from the authors' network with the theme of Entrepreneurial Leadership was created using VOSviewer in Figure 4. Each color group in this diagram shows a cluster of authors who often work together, and some authors act as liaisons between those groups. The group of authors in red has Newman, A. as its center, suggesting that this author has many collaborations with other authors in the group, such as Manville, G., Tse, H.H.M., and Nielsen, I. These writers form a close network with strong connections between them. On the other hand, the group of authors in green is made up of Hughes, D., Lee, A., and Knight, C., which also shows significant collaboration among them, albeit on a smaller scale than the red group.

The orange group of authors consists only of Eva, N., who was connected to the red group through a collaboration with Newman, A. This suggests that although Eva N. does not collaborate well within her own group, she still plays an important role in the overall network through her connection with Newman, A. Meanwhile, the group of writers in blue is led by Bagheri, A., who has many collaborations with writers such as Asimiran, S., Lope Pihie, Z.A., Artang, A., Asadnezhad, M., and Akbari, M. This group shows a strong and interconnected collaboration dynamic. On the other hand, the group of authors in yellow consists of Burnard, K., Clark, C.M., Harrison, C., and Ahmed, F., which also shows close collaboration between them. The group was connected to the cyan-colored writers' group, consisting of Simba, A. and Omeihe, K., through a collaboration involving several writers from both groups. This diagram provides a clear visual picture of how these networks of authors are interconnected and demonstrates the importance of collaboration in academic research.

Table 6 provides an overview of Entrepreneurial Leadership Characteristics influence on Business Organization Outcomes. This table shows that the variables Individual Capability, Team Behaviour, Entrepreneurial Bricolage will affect Project Success. Career Growth Opportunities have an effect on Entrepreneurial performance. Entrepreneurial Opportunity Recognition, Knowledge Management Processes, Innovation Capability have an impact on Entrepreneurial success. Employee Creativity, Intrinsic Motivation will create New product development performance. Ambidextrous Learning, Ethical Behaviour, Perceived Organizational Support, Proactiveness, Risk Taking, Social Entrepreneurial encourage the improvement of Organizational performance. Subsidiary Organizational Inertia, Subsidiary Decision Autonomy, Subsidiary Task Complexity determine Subsidiary performance. Risk taking, Entrepreneurial Competencies, Entrepreneurial intentions can improve Enterprise performance.

Network visualization is seen in Figure 5. The most widely used keyword is entrepreneurial leadership according to the topic carried out by the author. Keywords related to individual analysis units consist of innovation, commitment, service innovation, innovation strategy, employees stress, employee enggagement, and adaptive innovation. Meanwhile, keywords related to organizational analysis units consist of business success, bank innovativeness, and project success. The leadership styles that are often related to the topic of EL.

Table 7 shows the difference between Employee Skills and Entrepreneurial Leadership Factors. To achieve sustainable competitive advantage, technical/business skills are required to achieve Big Data Analytic Capilibity, Knowledge-based Dynamic Capability, Infrastructure Capability, Dynamic Capabilities. Conceptual Skills are needed to support Product Innovation, Knowledge Management Processes, Green Innovation Behavior, Idea Generation, Strategic Flexibility, Design Thinking, Employees Intellectual Agility, and Supply Chain Resilience. Interpersonal skills focus on Innovation Work Behaviour, Employee Creativity, Proactive Work Behavior, Tacit Knowledge Sharing, Entrepreneurial Intentions, Intrinsic Motivation, and Affective Commitment. The most important skills to have are Entrepreneurial skills to create Entrepreneurial Passion, Entrepreneurial Opportunity Recognition, Individual Creativity, Self Efficacy, and Entrepreneurial Resilience.

Table 8 outlines the Outcomes of the Entrepreneurial Leadership Model. Individual outcomes in Entrepreneurial Leadership research consist of Big Data Analytic Capilibity, Knowledge-based Dynamic Capability, Knowledge Infrastructure Capability, Dynamic Capabilities, Product Innovation, Knowlede Management Processes, Green Innovation Behavior, Idea Generation, and Employees' Intellectual Agility. In addition, Entrepreneurial Leadership research also has an impact on team outcomes in the form of Team Creativity, Team Reflexivity, Team Innovation Culture, and Team Entrepreneurial Passion. Organizational Outcomes from Entrepreneurial Leadership research are in the form of Project Success, Entrepreneurial Performance, Entrepreneurial Success, Supply Chain Performance, Business Performance, Bank Performance, and Job Performance.

Research on entrepreneurial Leadership has seen significant growth in the last decade, with major contributions from developed countries such as China, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Leading organizations such as University of Tehran. The journal “Journal of Small Business Management” emerged as the primary source for this study. Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) is the most dominant theory used in the Entrepreneurial Leadership (EL) literature, followed by Resource-Based View Theory and Social Learning Theory.

In the future, research is expected to continue to develop with a focus on digitalization and globalization in the context of entrepreneurial Leadership. The areas of research that are anticipated to be the focus in the future include the role of entrepreneurial Leadership in the context of digitalization and globalization. The research is also expected to explore more deeply the impact of new technologies and innovative business models on entrepreneurial Leadership. Knowledge management processes and innovative work behavior are identified as key mediator/moderator variables linking entrepreneurial leadership style to business performance.

The findings indicate that EL research has evolved from conceptual discussions to empirical investigations focusing on multilevel, longitudinal, and multi-theoretical integration approaches. This research shows that entrepreneurial leadership is not just an alternative leadership style, but is a strategic imperative for organizations that want to survive and thrive in an era of rapid change. The implementation of EL requires a holistic approach that includes: (1) developing individual capabilities (creative self-efficacy, entrepreneurial passion), (2) strengthening team capabilities (team reflexivity, psychological safety), (3) building organizational capabilities (innovation capability, dynamic capabilities, big data analytics). Organizations that successfully integrate EL into their daily management practices will be better prepared to face uncertainty, adapt faster to change, and ultimately achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.

This study is limited to the article selection process is based on the assessment of researchers who may contain subjectivity, although efforts have been made to minimize bias. Future research should explore cross-country comparisons and incorporate mixed-method approaches. Future research is also suggested involving two or more independent researchers in the screening and coding process, documenting inter-rater reliability, and expanding the search to additional databases such as Scopus, Emerald, and ProQuest to improve the scope and representation of the broader literature.

Research related to EL can also be done by comparing the conditions of two or more countries. EL is widely carried out in business organizations, it needs to be expanded in non-business sectors such as education and health organizations. There are still many limitations of the research conducted in this study. This research is primarily based on articles available in Scopus, which may not include all publications related to Entrepreneurial leadership, so there is a possibility of bias in the publications accessed. The EL variable can also be used as a moderation and mediation variable. This is because currently many people have conducted research using EL variables to be Variable Independent and Variable Dependent.