New Kids on the Block? A Bibliometric Analysis of Emerging COVID-19—Trends in Leadership Research

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented challenges for society. The effects on organizations have been drastic and such tough times have demanded new organizational solutions as well as strong and new forms of organizational leadership. Leadership scholars have accelerated their research efforts in the quest to identify what is needed to lead in these uncertain times. In this paper, we adopt a bibliometric review to unravel the emerging trends in leadership research in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in doing so, identify commonalities and divergences in these themes with respect to leadership approaches and assess potential avenues for future research. The findings reveal that research on the topic has emerged along six main clusters: (1) leadership and employee health during pandemic times, (2) public leadership, (3) leadership in health care, (4) leadership and diversity, (5) educational leadership, and (6) leadership and persuasive communication. The findings reveal that across these clusters, the pandemic has sparked research on leadership approaches that deal with change and uncertainty as well as those that are less hierarchical and person centered in nature. We also notice a novel attention to context. Rather than “new kids on the block,” these trends are largely continuations of established leadership theories and approaches that see their particular importance increase in this unprecedented situation. Finally, we outline some distinct avenues for further research with regard to leadership in COVID-19 times.

Learning to Lead from a Distance: Reflexive Learning during a Pandemic

“…Compared to other crises, such as natural disasters or economic crises, the COVID-19 pandemic has been persistent and involved a high degree of insecurity both on a personal and professional level and left us hanging between the "normal" ways of working and searching for the "new normal" while surviving in the temporary workplace brought by social distancing [3]. Recent research also suggests that there is a lack of empirical illustrations that shed light on how leaders working from home adjust to, respond to, and learn to work and lead remotely [2,3,13]. Furthermore, few studies have embraced a longitudinal approach when studying leadership and the changing nature of work during the COVID-19 pandemic [13].…”

“…Recent research also suggests that there is a lack of empirical illustrations that shed light on how leaders working from home adjust to, respond to, and learn to work and lead remotely [2,3,13]. Furthermore, few studies have embraced a longitudinal approach when studying leadership and the changing nature of work during the COVID-19 pandemic [13]. Instead, many studies have provided us with "snapshots" of illustrations from the pandemic [cf.…”

Leader Psychological Need Satisfaction Trickles Down: The Role of Leader-Member Exchange

“…We focus on nurses given that the broader healthcare sector presents a challenging context where employees and their leaders are challenged by stressful circumstances, high work pressures, demanding patients and shift work ( Smith, 2014 ; Tahghighi et al, 2017 ; Chênevert et al, 2019 ). The current pandemic has only exacerbated such circumstances, necessitating additional research to develop appropriate leader responses ( Bauwens et al, 2021 ). Health policy reports (e.g., Rafferty et al, 2019 ) show that Belgium nurses face comparable professional challenges and remuneration compared to their European counterparts.…”

"Four Cases, the Same Story? The Roles of the Prime Ministers in the V4 Countries During the COVID-19 Crisis"

“…The evolution of leadership under the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic has already attracted the interest of many researchers (Bauwens et al, 2022). However, the results of their research have not yet addressed all research gaps.…”