Posted: September 7th, 2024

Virtual Leadership in Small Businesses during Pandemics COVID-19

Virtual Leadership in Small Businesses during Pandemics COVID-19

Abstract
The coronavirus pandemic could pose a new problem for leaders in both large and small businesses. This is because of the new health measures that would allow its employees to work remotely to avoid the coronavirus spread. However, virtual leadership would not be easy for small businesses trying to remain afloat. Resource constraints and a global economy in trouble would require the leaders to have strategies to ensure that the productivity levels of employees remained or improved. This research paper focussed on understanding the now very significant concept of virtual leadership for small businesses. The discussion has incorporated the different research scholars that have looked into the idea, including those that have suggested operating models that the leaders could include for the small businesses. As Abrahamsson & Ollander Axelsson (2020) would indicate, the successful organization in this pandemic will be one that will operate its virtual environment efficiently through proper virtual leadership.
Introduction
The current remarkably rough times due to the global coronavirus outbreak have seen different organizations face numerous challenges (Ferry, 2020). One of those challenges has been to the leadership of these organizations trying to keep their entities afloat while ensuring that their employees are heeding to the health measures put in place of social distancing (Jarrell & Likowski, 2020). Leaders are now virtually leading their teams as they work across distance, different time zones, and organizational boundaries. While large corporations may have the resources to have their employees work remotely effectively, this could be difficult for small businesses. Virtual leadership requires the leaders of these businesses to ensure that their employees have an adequate remote working environment for them to be productive. The small businesses are already struggling with the receding global economy that is extensively affecting their operations. It is, therefore, a challenge for them to try to ensure that employees’ productivity levels do not reduce.
This research paper intends to understand the virtual leadership happening in small businesses in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The research discussion will also point out how small businesses are dealing with virtual leadership in the face of numerous challenges part of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Literature Review
This literature review encompasses research scholars that have discussed the whole concept of virtual leadership and its growing importance in the current business environment specifically during the Coronavirus pandemic. A comprehensive search of peer review journals and articles was done in scholarly databases such as Google Scholar. Also, the references to the selected items were utilized in finding research articles on the topic of discussion.
According to Schmidt (2014), the idea of leadership context has increasingly become important. The original meaning entails which individual is seen as a leader, the effectiveness of that leader, and where this leadership is occurring. One increasingly important context has been that of a virtual team with members spread across different time zones, locations, and cultures (Johnson, 2010). Through technology, this team can communicate and coordinate with other members to achieve organizational objectives (Huang et al., 2010). The significant work is done to ensure virtual teams actually excel; the same is needed for virtual leadership (Hoch & Kozlowski, 2014). The leaders in charge of the organizations and employees to help them in productivity. A study by Gajendran and Joshi (2012) focussed on the impact of leaders on their virtual team behaviors. While there are still uncertainties on how the leaders should conduct themselves to achieve a successful follower performance by the employers; a streamlined communication and personal connections between the parties have a more significant positive impact on the virtual environment (Samartinho et al., 2014).
Holloway (2013) pointed out that most scholarly researchers focus on the operations of large companies and their needs. There is limited research on small businesses and their leadership, yet in most aspects, what works for the large enterprises may not work for the small ones (Ekanem, 2010). These businesses have more significant resource constraints, and their leaders may often lack the prerequisite knowledge to achieve success in the face of substantial challenges. Since these organizations have a considerable impact on the economy and the environments they work in, it is essential to receive the necessary support to see them have skilled leaders and improvise the long-term sustainability practices for long-term growth.
Nonetheless, Argenti (2020) indicated that the Coronavirus pandemic had not doomed these organizations. Each organization understands the virtual leadership needed currently. However, there are some steps that the organization needs to take, whether small or large, to ensure continuous operations. The measures include creating a team for centralized communication, constant communication with employees and customers, reassuring the shareholders, and proactivity within the communities. These steps ensure that there is still contact with essential stakeholders who play a significant function in the success of an organization. According to Danneels (2010), the importance of virtual leadership lies in the ability of the leaders to spearhead the dynamic capability of the organization in the face of challenges. According to Eisenhardt and Mardt (2000), the businesses that can strive in the face of intensive challenges are those that can change and renew their resources to survive. This should be the case for small businesses and their leaders. The coronavirus pandemic requires virtual leadership. However, they could still find ways to turn their limited resources to their advantage.
As Husbands (2020) indicates, the coronavirus pandemic should accelerate developments in the small and large institutions. It is now the time for the leaders to venture into adopting technology wholesomely because the normalcy enjoyed by the organizations has completely shifted. The operating models that are to be improvised should allow continued social distancing, change the financial emergencies, allow proper interactions among the leaders, and the employees, which also incorporates learning and devising new work patterns. To achieve a balance between the required forms of engagement and working ways will have the leadership leading virtually to come up with strategic methods that allow all the changes necessary (Macauley, 2020).
Research Methodology
This research incorporated an integrative review approach in assessing, critiquing and synthesizing the literature on virtual leadership in small businesses. A document analysis of the research articles was done specifically considering their research findings. The collected findings were analyzed and interpreted in line with this particular research. The prevalent themes in the research articles were then arranged in a cohesive manner to be presented in the discussion section.
Assignment help – Discussion
It is evident that the coronavirus pandemic would find almost all organizations, especially small businesses, in shock. While the leaders of the organizations understood the extensiveness of challenges that they could face, not many were ready for a problem that would hinder them from meeting with essential stakeholders to the organizations to keep operations learning. Nonetheless, technology has streamlined the process through virtual leadership (Gottfridson, 2010). However, controlling all employees across distinct times and locations can be difficult, especially with resource constraints in ensuring everyone has an excellent remote working environment. Notably, Saltman (2020) pointed out this should be a growth opportunity for the small business. A significant correlation exists between a virtual leader’s keen emotional intelligence and the overall work engagement with his or her members to the success of the virtual environment (Sebastian & Hess, 2019). A successful leader will be one that could balance the monitoring of work output and giving the virtual members an adequate autonomy to conduct themselves remotely.
Conclusion
This research demonstrates that virtual leadership could never have been this important. The coronavirus pandemic that toppled the operations of almost every organization, including small businesses, brought in a new challenge for its leaders. Their capacity to lead the organizations virtually in the face of limited resources and a receding global economy will determine how far the business survives through the pandemic.
References
Abrahamsson, E., & Ollander Axelsson, J. (2020). Virtual leadership: Moving teams online during the covid-19 crisis.
Argenti, P. A. (2020). Communicating through the coronavirus crisis. Harvard Business Review, 13-03.
Danneels, E. (2011). Trying to become a different type of company: Dynamic capability at Smith Corona. Strategic Management Journal, 32(1), 1-31.
Eisenhardt KM, Martin JA. 2000. Dynamic capabilities: Eisenhardt KM, Martin JA. 2000. Dynamic capabilities: October–November Special Issue 21: 1105–1121.
Ekanem, I. (2010). Liquidity management in small firms: A learning perspective. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 17(1), 123-138. doi:10.1108/14626001011019161.
Ferry, K. (2020). The Covid-19 Leadership Guide: Strategies for managing through the crisis. Retrieved from https://www.kornferry.com/content/dam/kornferry/special-project-images/coronavirus/docs/KF_Leadership_Playbook_Global_FINAL.pdf
Gottfridsson, P. (2010). Development of personalized services in small business: An iterative learning process. Managing Service Quality, 20, 388-400. doi:10.1108/09604521011057504
Hoch, J.E. & Kozlowski, S.W. (2014). Leading virtual teams: Hierarchical leadership, structural supports, and shared team leadership. Journal of applied psychology, 99(3), 390.
Holloway, D. E. (2013). Understanding leadership in small business from the perspectives of practitioners.
Huang, R., Kahai, S., & Jestice, R. (2010). The contingent effects of leadership on team collaboration in virtual teams. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(5), 1098-1110.
Husbands, C. (2020). Leading, learning, and lockdown: first thoughts on lessons for leadership from the coronavirus crisis.
Jarrell, B. E., & Likowski, A. (2020). Virtual Face to Face with Dr. Bruce Jarrell: Leadership in Crisis.
Johnson, K. (2010). Virtual leadership: Required competencies for effective leaders.
Macauley, A., (2020) ‘How COVID-19 Could Shift The College Business Model: ‘It’s Hard To Go Back’’, Forbes Magazine, https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisonmccauley/2020/04/09/how-covid19-could-shift-the-college-business-model/
Saltman, D. C. Is COVID-19 an opportunity to improve virtual leadership? Aust J Gen Pract 2020; 49 Suppl 12. doi: 10.31128. AJGP-COVID-12.[Epub ahead of print].
Samartinho, J., Silva, P., & Faria, J. (2014). Good practices in virtual leadership–thee-3cs rule (communication, trust, and coordination).
Schmidt, G. B. (2014). Virtual leadership: A vital leadership context. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 7(2), 182-187.
Sebastian K, & Hess J. (2019). Leader emotional intelligence and work engagement in virtual teams within a healthcare service setting: A quantitative study. Oklahoma State Medical Proceedings;1(4).

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