Ileadership: the Leadership Style of Steve Jobs
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Pepperdine University Pepperdine Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations 2014 iLeadership: the leadership style of Steve Jobs Christopher J. Valentine Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd Recommended Citation Valentine, Christopher J., "iLeadership: the leadership style of Steve Jobs" (2014). Theses and Dissertations. 716. https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd/716 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Pepperdine Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Pepperdine Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology iLEADERSHIP: THE LEADERSHIP STYLE OF STEVE JOBS A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership by Christopher J. Valentine August, 2014 June Schmieder-Ramirez, Ed.D.- Dissertation Chairperson This dissertation, written by Christopher J. Valentine under the guidance of a Faculty Committee and approved by its members, has been submitted to and accepted by the Graduate Faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION Doctoral Committee June Schmieder-Ramirez, Ph.D., Chairperson Kent Rhodes, Ed.D. Joseph G. Cutcliffe, Ph.D. © Copyright by Christopher J. Valentine (2014) All Rights Reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... vii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................. viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. ix VITA ................................................................................................................................................x ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................. xiii Chapter I...........................................................................................................................................1 Background ..........................................................................................................................3 Statement of the Problem .....................................................................................................6 Purpose and Importance of the Study ..................................................................................7 Research Questions ..............................................................................................................8 Scope of the Study ...............................................................................................................9 Definition of Terms..............................................................................................................9 Limitations and Assumptions of the Study ........................................................................12 Summary ............................................................................................................................13 Chapter II: Review of the Literature ..............................................................................................15 Key Characteristics of Leadership .....................................................................................15 Leadership Theory .............................................................................................................19 Transformational Leadership .............................................................................................24 Key Characteristics of Transformational Leadership ........................................................28 Why Transformational Leadership? ..................................................................................36 The Story of Steve Jobs .....................................................................................................38 The Beginning ........................................................................................................39 Growing Apple.......................................................................................................41 Departure................................................................................................................46 Return .....................................................................................................................47 Legacy ....................................................................................................................54 Summary ............................................................................................................................55 Chapter III: Methodology ..........................................................................................................56 Restatement of the Purpose ................................................................................................56 Restatement of Research Questions ...................................................................................56 Research Design.................................................................................................................57 v Nature of the Study ............................................................................................................58 Research Methodology ......................................................................................................58 Analysis of the Data ...........................................................................................................62 Institutional Review Board ................................................................................................64 Significance of the Study ...................................................................................................64 Summary ............................................................................................................................65 CHAPTER IV: iLeadership: The Leadership Style of Steve Jobs. ...............................................67 Stage I: The Beginning ......................................................................................................68 Stage II: Growing Apple ....................................................................................................71 Stage III: Departure............................................................................................................74 Stage IV: Return ................................................................................................................77 Stage IV: Legacy................................................................................................................82 Profitable Innovative Growth ............................................................................................85 Research Question One ......................................................................................................87 Research Question Two .....................................................................................................97 Summary ..........................................................................................................................106 CHAPTER V: Conclusion and Recommendations......................................................................108 Summary of Research Study ............................................................................................111 Summary of Procedures ...................................................................................................113 Key Findings ....................................................................................................................114 Research Question One ....................................................................................................114 Research Question Two ...................................................................................................115 Implications......................................................................................................................115 Significance......................................................................................................................116 Conclusions ......................................................................................................................117 Recommendations for Future Research ...........................................................................118 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................119 APPENDIX A: List of EDOL Courses ........................................................................................128 APPENDIX B: Apple's Products Since 1997 ..............................................................................130 APPENDIX C: Institutional Review Board Exemption Notice .................................................131 vi LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1. Process for Answering Each Research Question