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<p>This study examines how traditional leaders transitioned to e-leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the transitional practices they adopted and the competencies required to lead effectively in virtual work environments. Primary data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with Lebanese senior managers in small and medium-sized service firms, all compelled by the COVID-19 pandemic to adapt their leadership approaches to virtual work environment. Participants had international professional exposure across both multinational corporations and local SMEs, and their dual exposure to global and local contexts provided valuable insights into the transition to e-leadership under crisis conditions. Participants were selected through purposeful and snowball sampling, and data were analyzed using thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke’s [<CitationRef CitationID="CR9">9</CitationRef>] framework, with data collection continuing until data saturation was reached. The Lebanese context—marked by economic instability, infrastructural constraints, and crisis-driven digitalization—provided a distinctive empirical setting for examining leadership adaptation under uncertainty. Findings reveal that the transition to e-leadership was shaped by competing demands requiring leaders to balance trust and accountability, flexibility and control, and operational efficiency and relational connection. Effective adaptation was supported by communication skills, adaptability, emotional intelligence, and technological competence. The study informed two complementary models: a theoretical integrated e-leadership model capturing the dimensions shaping leadership transition, and a practical transition model illustrating how leaders balanced people-oriented and task-oriented behaviors during the shift to virtual work. While grounded in a specific regional context, the models may offer insights for understanding leadership adaptation in other crisis-affected and virtual work environments.</p>

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From traditional to e-leadership: transitional practices and leadership competencies in crisis-driven virtual work environments

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月7日

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  • Sabrine El Bitar

摘要

This study examines how traditional leaders transitioned to e-leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the transitional practices they adopted and the competencies required to lead effectively in virtual work environments. Primary data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with Lebanese senior managers in small and medium-sized service firms, all compelled by the COVID-19 pandemic to adapt their leadership approaches to virtual work environment. Participants had international professional exposure across both multinational corporations and local SMEs, and their dual exposure to global and local contexts provided valuable insights into the transition to e-leadership under crisis conditions. Participants were selected through purposeful and snowball sampling, and data were analyzed using thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke’s [9] framework, with data collection continuing until data saturation was reached. The Lebanese context—marked by economic instability, infrastructural constraints, and crisis-driven digitalization—provided a distinctive empirical setting for examining leadership adaptation under uncertainty. Findings reveal that the transition to e-leadership was shaped by competing demands requiring leaders to balance trust and accountability, flexibility and control, and operational efficiency and relational connection. Effective adaptation was supported by communication skills, adaptability, emotional intelligence, and technological competence. The study informed two complementary models: a theoretical integrated e-leadership model capturing the dimensions shaping leadership transition, and a practical transition model illustrating how leaders balanced people-oriented and task-oriented behaviors during the shift to virtual work. While grounded in a specific regional context, the models may offer insights for understanding leadership adaptation in other crisis-affected and virtual work environments.