The Impact of Leader Tenure on Proactiveness in Religious Organizations‪.‬

Executive Summary This study empirically assesses the impact that a religious leader's tenure has on his or her use of a proactive strategy. Proactiveness is one component of an entrepreneurial strategy that relies primarily on first mover advantages and typically exploits new markets and services. Proactiveness as a strategic choice is gaining increased attention; however, little is known as to the leader characteristics that drive its implementation in a religious context. The impact of tenure on proactiveness as a strategic choice in a religious context is particularly enlightening given the increased role that legitimacy arguments play in a not-for-profit context. In addition, the importance of trust, and of building relationships that are critical in ethical leadership are also indicated through this study. Therefore this study sets out to evaluate whether a longer tenure with a given organization leads to an increase or decrease in proactive behaviors in a religious organization.