Covid-19 Pandemic: What are the Challenges and Opportunities for e-Leadership?

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic has surprised many organizations, this condition has an impact on changing the work culture of organizations. The role of information technology has proven to be the chosen solution for maintaining organizational performance. The main objective of this study is to explore the challenges and opportunities for e-leadership. The main focus of the study is directed at educational organizations and small and medium enterprises in Indonesia. A qualitative approach is used to interview informants scattered in several regions in Indonesia by information technology mediation. An important finding in this paper is that many organizations are not ready to face this condition so that the role of e-leadership is very effective for organizations to maintain the organizations performance and leaders can change their leadership style through social learning and overcome the challenges they must face to become e-leader. In addition, we also find that female leaders tend to be superior to men as e-leader, especially in terms of information technology skills and the use of social media. This paper concludes that e-leadership can be created by leaders who can overcome challenges and seize opportunities to build competitive advantage strategies.