Efficacy of William Lyons of Jaguar Land Rover as an Entrepreneurial Leader

MR. JAGUAR, SIR WILLIAM LYONS: INTRODUCING ENTERPRISE AND ENTREPRENEUR
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Table of Contents 1. Introduction. 2 2. Sir William Lyons – Behavioral Characteristics and Motivation. 2 3. Jaguar Land Rover – Business Model and Modern Business Pressures. 5 4. Recommendations for Sustainability Assurance. 8 5. Recommendations for Entrepreneurial Culture in Organization. 10 6. Conclusion. 12 7. References. 14 8. Appendices. 18
MR. JAGUAR, SIR WILLIAM LYONS: INTRODUCING ENTERPRISE AND ENTREPRENEUR
1. Introduction
Leadership is a fundamental component of a successful organization. Leaders envision progressive organizations with contemporary beliefs, distinct behaviors, and entrepreneurial mindsets. One of the examples is Jaguar Land Rover (Jaguar), a reputed and celebrated name in the global automotive sector. The company was founded by Sir William Lyons (William) in 1935 after World War II (WWII). Over the years, William has been recognized in the global automotive industry for his entrepreneurial leadership style (Doyle, 2022). By definition, entrepreneurial leaders can transform challenges into opportunities by creating social and economic value for people, internally and externally. Entrepreneurial leaders are more likely to take personal responsibility for managing change and align the business model with changing macroenvironment (Herlina, Tukiran, and Anwar, 2021). Arguably, William was one of the most celebrated entrepreneurial leaders that introduced a paradigm shift in the automobile industry.
This paper aims to analyze, discuss, and measure the efficacy of William as an entrepreneurial leader. The discussion would base on the theoretical concepts to measure the performance excellence and gaps in leadership practices of William. The investigation would also measure the business model relevance of Jaguar based on the paradigm shifts and challenges emerging in the modern business environment.
2. Sir William Lyons – Behavioral Characteristics and Motivation
William is the co-founder of Swallow Sidecar Company, which became a Jaguar after WWII. William is often referred to as Mr Jaguar in the global automotive sector. Theoretically, entrepreneurial leaders are visionary and creative. Entrepreneurial leaders would propose contemporary ideas that challenge the industry's status quo (Mehmood, Jian, Akram, and Tariq, 2021). William challenged the status quo for automotive manufacturing during WWII, which introduced a paradigm shift in the industry. The automobile sector was engaged in manufacturing and repairing spare parts for aircraft in the post-WWII era. Most automotive companies were unwilling to focus on manufacturing traditional vehicles since the market was risky. William rose with a vision of manufacturing sporting saloon vehicles for consumers. The introduction of the XK engine in 1948 became an overnight success, which redirected the focus of the automotive sector (See Figure 1 and Figure 2; Carr, 2020). William's vision and creativity as an entrepreneur created a new demand for sporting saloon vehicles.
According to the Social Learning Theory (SLT), entrepreneurial leaders are observant and learn from experiences. Such leaders are proactive in detecting gaps and developing vision by capitalizing on opportunities. As a result, most entrepreneurial leaders are more likely to enjoy a first-mover advantage with proposed products and services (Mehmood et al., 2021). Based on the SLT concept, William had an observant behavior while serving his contributions as an entrepreneurial leader in the global automobile industry. William observed that vehicles manufactured before and after the WW are incompetent in designing, performance, and user-friendliness. William wanted to introduce a paradigm shift in the industry. One of the contributing behaviors possessed by William is exquisiteness in product design. Hence, Jaguar is a living example of exquisiteness and William's entrepreneurial behavior. William was an enthusiast in manufacturing contemporary designs of vehicles, combined with sporting engine performances, which became a unique selling proposition (USP) for Jaguar. Jaguar became an international signature for sporting saloons and high-performance engines rare for four-wheelers in the mid-90s (JHT, 2022).
Seibert, Nielsen, and Karimer (2021) examined the entrepreneurship characteristics using behavioral theory. The research suggested that entrepreneurs control the business environment and decisions instead of delegating tasks. Entrepreneurs are driven by the economic and social value of decisions. As a result, entrepreneurs believe that personal decisions generate more economic value than delegations (Seibert, Nielsen, and Karimer, 2021). Autocracy in decision-making is one of the distinct behaviors exhibited by William while serving as the Managing Director (MD) of Jaguar in the mid-90s. William was not an engineer by profession. However, he emphasized taking sole responsibility for vehicle design using 3-dimensional (3D) mockups. William preferred giving direct instructions to designers and production teams, making detailed emphasis on vehicle designs and sporting representation (Land Rover, 2018).
Figure 3 represents XJ6, the first vehicle model offering a luxury appeal. William proposed the design and engine performance to the production team. Besides vehicle designs and features, William simultaneously set the market price, targeting middle and upper-class audiences. XJ6 is the first luxury sporting saloon that declared the middle-class a focused audience through an affordable price bracket. The XJ series set new standards for the automotive sector after being launched at the 1968 Paris Motor Show (Land Rover, 2018). The series exhibits William's direct and autocratic engagement in critical decision-making about products and market dynamics collectively.
Based on the reinforcement theory, William was motivated by perfectionism in design, vehicle, performance, and economic value integrated into Jaguar. According to Dagyar, Kasalak, and Ozbek (2022), entrepreneurial leaders are perfectionists and are open to feedback. Such leaders would gather information through positive and negative feedback from the stakeholders and make necessary changes in the decision-making processes. William exhibited similar behavioral characteristics and was motivated to address feedback received from customers, media, and dealers. William was an enthusiast in checking the stories and facts with observant behavior. He would value criticisms and discuss with relevant teams to make necessary product design and performance changes. As a result, Jaguar remained a famous brand in a sporting saloon during the mid-90s since customers' feedback was directly dealt with by the MD and Chairman of the company (JHT, 2022). Overcoming challenges, addressing feedback, and embracing market criticisms for continuous improvements were a few motivators that drove William as an entrepreneurial leader.
The overall behavioral analysis denotes that William was a focused, visionary, and responsive entrepreneur. William introduced high-performance engines and sporting designs in the vehicles. The vision and creativity allowed Williams to shift Jaguar into a famous consumer brand during the mid-90s. The Queen of England knights William for his contributions and innovations in the automotive sector. William kept serving as a consultant for XJ and Le Man's models of Jaguar after his retirement as the Chairman. The brand motivated William and remained an inspiration for competitors and consumers worldwide.
3. Jaguar Land Rover – Business Model and Modern Business Pressures
The global automotive industry has been experiencing different pressures in recent times. Particularly after the COVID-19 outbreak, the paradigm shift in the automobile industry is unprecedented for the leading brands, such as Jaguar. According to Wanke (2019), the automobile industry experienced a sharp decline in worldwide profits. Mass audience brands like Toyota, Mazda, Volvo, and Peugeot performed poorly in a competitive business environment. The fundamental reason for profit decline is the pandemic situation. The pandemic originated in China, the largest consumer market for a mass audience and luxury vehicles like Jaguar. As a result, most brands failed to meet market expectations for stakeholders from a financial perspective (Wanke, 2019). Figure 4 indicates the profit trend for Jaguar until FY2021.
According to Mukherjee (2021), brands must maintain performance efficacy during a market crisis through distinct competitiveness. Since the macroenvironment is beyond the control of business managers, brands should make strategic decisions to deploy competitive advantages and retain customers for market sustainability (Mukherjee, 2021). In this context, the business model used by Jaguar has an ideal fit for meeting the pressures created on the automotive sector by the pandemic. The company ensured that mass production of luxury sporting saloons remained the strategic focus to increase market reach. Customers prefer purchasing sporting vehicles at economical prices compared to other propositions in the marketplace made by the competitors (Bollore, 2022). As identified in Figure 4, Jaguar had a declining profit trend. However, the difference remained nominal compared to the holistic decline experienced by the industry during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The COVID-19 outbreak also shifted the automotive sector to electric vehicle (EV) production. EVs are the new phenomenon initiated by Tesla Motors, forcing most automobile brands are shifting production processes. The business models are equally influencing the supply chain channels to embrace disruptive change simultaneously (Hofstatter et al., 2020). As evidence, China installed plants for EV production in recent times to capture a 30% supply chain market share of the global automotive sector since 2020. The Chinese supply partners provide agile and scaling facilities to entertain EV demands generated from leading automobile manufacturing brands worldwide (Hofstatter et al., 2020). Figure 5 denotes the inclining demand for electrification, focusing on automobiles globally. The disruptive change is increasing pressure on automotive brands with traditional business models.
Arguably, business models are shifting to contemporary practices. According to Schmidt (2021), the automotive industry is embracing the razor blade model to maintain relevance with the market trends related to EVs. The research explains that the razor blade business model emphasizes selling core products at affordable prices and charging a premium for accessories and support services. Jaguar is responsive to the paradigm shift in the global industry. The company announced that the production sites would only manufacture luxury electric vehicles until FY2025. Jaguar plans to launch six new EV models until FY2024, providing self-manufactured battery charging sites and related accessories, such as fuel cells (Jaguar, 2021). The shifts in the business model denote that Jaguar is embracing the market pressures through strategic decision-making. The company is making necessary changes in the product portfolio and entertaining customers through the razor blade business model by self-manufacturing accessories and related services for EVs. The company denies dependency on leading EV brands, such as Tesla, to retain its dominance in the global marketplace.
Lastly, sustainability is a continuous pressure in the automotive sector. The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions force most brands to discontinue the production line as a corporate citizenship practice. The traditional assembly lines were ignorant of sustainability factors. Processes would irresponsibly dispose of plastics, metals, and toxins, which have contaminated the environment for decades (Pohl, 2021). Today, brands like Tesla, Jaguar, Ford Motors, and other mass-audience manufacturers invest in technology and infrastructure to meet sustainability benchmarks. The non-compliance would lead brands to experience adverse responses from key stakeholders, such as customers, regulatory authorities, environmental activists, and investors (Pohl, 2021). Sustainability is a 'new normal' phenomenon in the global automotive sector, creating continuous pressure on manufacturers to reduce carbon emissions and other unhealthy business practices.
Jaguar's business model remains responsive to the sustainability issue. A recent announcement of six EV variants focused more on sustainability and environmental friendliness as the product's core features. The company also announced that nameplates would discontinue using unfriendly metals. Instead, Jaguar would install electric nameplates until FY2030 for leading variants in sedans and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) to ensure responsible disposal in the latter phases of the product lifecycle (Jaguar, 2021). The responsiveness and prospects towards sus...