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Demystifying Leadership in Iceland

An Inquiry into Cultural, Societal, and Entrepreneurial Uniqueness

  • Introduces the uniqueness of Icelandic business leadership
  • Places a major emphasis on gender equality and power distances
  • Provides interesting case studies to illustrate the paths in development of leadership

Part of the book series: Contributions to Management Science (MANAGEMENT SC.)

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Table of contents (16 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xi
  2. Leadership and Culture

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. Introduction

      • Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej
      Pages 3-6
    3. Societal Culture in Iceland: From the Past to the Present

      • Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej
      Pages 7-14
    4. Leadership in Iceland: A Historical Context

      • Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej
      Pages 15-25
    5. Organizational Culture in Iceland: Welcoming the Uncertainty

      • Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej
      Pages 27-38
    6. Beyond the Daily Catch: Desired Leader Profile in Iceland

      • Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej
      Pages 39-50
  3. Transforming Leadership: An Entrepreneurial Perspective

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 51-51
    2. Small, but Mighty: Icelandic Business Environment Before and After the Financial Crisis of 2008

      • Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej
      Pages 53-60
    3. Born to Enterprise? Entrepreneurial Intent Among Icelanders

      • Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej
      Pages 61-68
    4. What’s Next? From Tourism Bubble to the Future of Business Leadership in Iceland

      • Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej
      Pages 69-77
  4. Transforming Leadership: Gender Issues

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 79-79
    2. Gender and Leadership in Iceland: The Journey to the Top of the Global Gender Gap Index

      • Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej
      Pages 81-88
    3. Before and After: Effect of Gender Quota on Icelandic Landscape of the Boards of Directors

      • Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej
      Pages 89-97
    4. The Untold Story of Gender Quota Effects in Iceland

      • Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej
      Pages 99-108
  5. Leadership in Action: Specific Cases

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 109-109
    2. Moving Icelandic Companies Global Through Visionary Leadership: The Case of Alvogen

      • Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej
      Pages 111-124
    3. A Comedian Who Changed the Leadership Script in Reykjavik: The Case of Jón Gnarr

      • Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej
      Pages 125-136
    4. Navigating Leadership in the Fishing Industry: The Case of Iceland

      • Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej
      Pages 137-150
    5. Sports Leadership and the Biggest Small Nation in the World

      • Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej
      Pages 151-160

About this book

This book explores the nature and uniqueness of leadership in Iceland within a business and economic context. Starting with an analysis of Iceland’s geographical location, historical development and societal culture, the authors critically examine the major elements of the Icelandic business environment from an individual to a global level, and from economic prosperity to financial collapse. They particularly focus on leadership and human resource management within this unique societal culture and discuss the specific issues that are unique to Iceland, i.e. entrepreneurship, gender egalitarianism, equality,  low power-distance, reflecting on, and orienting within contemporary leadership theories. The book covers a variety of analytical methods and cases, providing a unique introduction to leadership in Iceland, and opening avenues for further research into this relatively new phenomenon.


Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland

    Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir

  • Institute of Quality Management and Business Administration (IQB-FHS), FHS St. Gallen, University of Applied Sciences, St. Gallen, Switzerland

    Olga Stangej

About the authors

Dr. Inga Minelgaite is an Assistant Professor at the School of Business, University of Iceland. Her main research field is (cross-cultural) leadership and gender. Inga is also interested in emerging fields of leadership such as neuroscience of leadership and followership. Inga has fifteen years of experience working in senior and top management positions in various sectors of business and in multiple countries. Inga is a North-East-Central Europe Area Manager for the Global Preferred Leadership and Cultural Values and a member of a number of other research networks.

Dr. Svala Guðmundsdóttir is an Associate Professor and Vice Chair for the School of Business at the University of Iceland. Her research has focused on cross-cultural adjustment, cultural intelligence, and the national culture of Iceland, along with local human resources. For the past nine years she has been teaching change management, human resources as well as international relations at B.S., M.S., and in theMBA program.

Dr. Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir is an Associate Professor at the School of Business within the University of Iceland, where she teaches an elective course on Future of work and Leadership. Her research areas are leadership, gender equality, and career development. Árelía has published books and articles on leadership, gender equality, employment relations, career and self-development. Árelía has worked as a consultant for major Icelandic organizations for over twenty years and has participated in public debate in both Icelandic and UK media on her field of expertise.

Dr. Olga Stangej is a Visiting Researcher at the Institute for Quality Management and Business Administration (IQB-FHS) at the FHS University of Applied Sciences St. Gallen, Switzerland. She is also a founder of the Baltic Institute of Family Business. Olga has been simultaneously engaged in academic research, business and management teaching, consulting, and practice. Her research, educationalactivities, and projects lie in the field of management with a particular focus on leadership and family business.


Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Demystifying Leadership in Iceland

  • Book Subtitle: An Inquiry into Cultural, Societal, and Entrepreneurial Uniqueness

  • Authors: Inga Minelgaite, Svala Guðmundsdóttir, Árelía E. Guðmundsdóttir, Olga Stangej

  • Series Title: Contributions to Management Science

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96044-9

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Business and Management, Business and Management (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-96043-2Published: 15 October 2018

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-07138-7Published: 25 January 2019

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-96044-9Published: 28 September 2018

  • Series ISSN: 1431-1941

  • Series E-ISSN: 2197-716X

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XI, 161

  • Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations, 3 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Business Strategy/Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Cross-Cultural Management, Gender and Economics

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access