He nández-Lina es, Remedios; López Fe nández, Ma ía C.; Kelle manns, F anz W.; e
Cunha, Miguel Pina
A icle
Leade ship in special con ex s: In oduc ion o he special
issue
BRQ Business Resea ch Qua e ly
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Asociación Cien í ica de Economía y Di ección de Emp esas (ACEDE), Mad id
Sugges ed Ci a ion: He nández-Lina es, Remedios; López Fe nández, Ma ía C.; Kelle manns, F anz
W.; e Cunha, Miguel Pina (2024) : Leade ship in special con ex s: In oduc ion o he special issue,
BRQ Business Resea ch Qua e ly, ISSN 2340-9444, Sage Publishing, London, Vol. 27, Iss. 1, pp. 2-9,
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In oduc ion
A i s bes , leade ship is b oadly conside ed as a communi y
de elopmen p ocess (Ba ke , 1994), an embedded ac i i y
(Cunha e al., 2021), and a mul i-le el p ocess un olding in
a mul ilaye ed and mul i ace ed con ex . Leade s and ol-
lowe s in e ac in dyads, g oups, and o ganiza ions o na i-
ga e an inc easingly complex, unce ain, and dynamic
en i onmen (El-E ian, 2010). Con ex , de ined as “si ua-
ional o en i onmen al cons ain s and oppo uni ies ha
ha e he unc ional capaci y o a ec he occu ence and
meaning o o ganiza ional beha io ” (Johns, 2006, p. 386),
is gene ally conside ed as one o he h ee main elemen s
in ol ed in he leade ship p ocess (Bass, 2008). The idea
ha leade ship does no occu in a acuum (Fiedle , 1978)
bu is embedded, wi h leade s and ollowe s engaging in
in e ac ions (Cunha e al., 2021), emphasizes he cen al ole
ha con ex plays in he leade ship p ocess (Oc, 2018; Wang
e al., 2023; Whi ing on e al., 2009).
The e olu ion o he leade ship ield has been condi-
ioned “by con ex ual ac o s such as wa , d ama ic g ow h
o new indus ies, ecession, globaliza ion, echnology,
e hical conce ns . . ., and he di e si ica ion o he wo k-
o ce pa icula ly in e ms o gende ” (Lo d e al., 2017, p.
434). Howe e , as in o he a eas o o ganiza ional beha -
io , he limi ed a en ion o con ex (Johns, 2017) is also a
eali y in leade ship li e a u e (Ga dne e al., 2020; Oc,
2018). Indeed, a ecen s udy (Johns, 2023) emphasizes
ha “ou unde s anding o leade s in con ex is qui e lim-
i ed” (p. 1) because “much esea ch su e s om a lack o
a en ion o he con ex in which leade ship occu s” (p. 1).
Igno ing con ex in leade ship esea ch “ es ic s i s
ange, in luences base a es, changes he na u e o
examined ela ionships, gene a es cu ilinea e ec s, o
h ea ens he gene alizabili y o indings abou leade ship”
(Oc, 2018, p. 219). O in o he wo ds,
he absence o con ex ual hinking in much leade ship
schola ship aises conce ns abou omi ed a iable bias, bo h
in s a is ical models and in heo izing. This bias leads o
model misspeci ica ion, inadequa e unde s anding o he
ela i e impac o leade ship, and a spi al in which ina en ion
o con ex compounds o e ime (Johns, 2023, p. 6).
Con ex ualizing leade ship esea ch is he e o e essen-
ial o esol e anomalous esea ch indings (Johns, 2023),
“ o be e assess he applicabili y o he heo y o indings”
(Bambe ge , 2008, p. 840), bu also o know which leade -
ship p esc ip ions migh be uni e sal and which a e
bounded by he si ua ion and ha e o be ailo ed o bee
e sus ocke s (Johns, 2023).
Leade ship in special con ex s:
In oduc ion o he special issue
Remedios He nández-Lina es1, Ma ía Concepción López-Fe nández2,
F anz Kelle manns3,4 and Miguel Pina e Cunha5
JEL CLassIFICa Ion: L20; M10; M12; M50
Keywo ds
Leade ship, special con ex s, c isis con ex s, eme ging con ex s
1
Depa amen o de Economía Financie a y Con abilidad, Uni e sidad de
Ex emadu a, Badajoz, Spain
2 Depa men o Business Adminis a ion, Uni e si y o Can ab ia,
San ande , Spain
3 Depa men o Managemen , The Uni e si y o No h Ca olina a
Cha lo e, Cha lo e, NC, USA
4WHU–O o Beisheim School o Managemen , Vallenda , Ge many
5 No a School o Business and Economics, Uni e sidade No a de
Lisboa, Lisbon, Po ugal
Co esponding au ho :
Remedios He nández-Lina es, Depa amen o de Economía Financie a
y Con abilidad, Cen o Uni e si a io de Mé ida, Uni e sidad de
Ex emadu a, A . San a Te esa de Jo ne , 38, Mé ida (Badajoz) 06800,
Spain.
Email: [email p o ec ed]
1222502BRQ0010.1177/23409444231222502Business Resea ch Qua e lyHe nández-Lina es e al.
e iew-a icle2024
Edi o ial
He nández-Lina es e al. 3
Howe e , esea ch abou leade ship con ex “con inues
o ecei e mode a e le els o a en ion” (Ga dne e al.,
2020, p. 21). The e o e, we main ain ha he ime is ipe
o he ield o leade ship o gi e con ex he same le el o
impo ance ha is no mally a ibu ed o leade s and ol-
lowe s, ins ead o ep esen ing i as a mo e o less la en ,
passi e, and ino ganic backg ound. In o he wo ds, con-
ex ma e s and some con ex s ma e mo e han o he s in
he sense ha hey a e mo e salien and isible. The e o e,
we p opose s udying he leade ship in special con ex s,
de ined as hose en i onmen s whose p esence is salien
a he han backg ound, and in e e ing a he han pas-
si e. Speci ically, we ocus on wo ypes o special con-
ex s: c isis con ex s and eme ging con ex s.
C isis con ex s and eme ging
con ex s
C isis con ex s de ine en i onmen s pe cei ed by leade s
and o ganiza ional s akeholde s as unexpec ed, highly sali-
en , and po en ially dis up i e (Bundy e al., 2017). The
c ises as a o m o con ex o en consis o a high deg ee o
unce ain y (Dasbo ough & Scandu a, 2022; Pea son &
Clai , 1998), ha migh equi e special leade ship quali-
ies, which in u n a ec who eme ges as a leade (Johns,
2023), as well as p esen ing leade s wi h p oblems and
challenges ha a e un amilia and poo ly unde s ood
(Dasbo ough & Scandu a, 2022). The COVID-19 global
pandemic highligh ed he need o add ess hese hemes and
he ensions hey b ing, namely by dis up ing plans and
ongoing ope a ions (Simpson e al., 2023). The pandemic
changed he global con ex , as i was a c isis unlike any
o he in ecen imes, no only due o i s huge scale and
o e whelming speed bu also because social isola ion and
anxie y pu men al heal h a isk wo ldwide (Hu e al.,
2020; Salas-Vallina e al., 2022). In he same ein,
employee-led ac ions in he con ex o social mo emen s,
such as he Black Li es Ma e demons a ions o he Hong
Kong p o es s, he Russian in asion o Uk aine, and he
Is ael–Hamas/Pales ine con lic , a e o cing o ganiza ions
o engage wi h poli ics.
Eme ging con ex s esul ou o economic, demo-
g aphic, sociopoli ical, and echnological changes
(Ahls om e al., 2020) ha gene a e new models o ela-
ionships and push o ganiza ions o ace new scena ios and
challenges. Technological change is shaping he con ex in
which leade ship p ocesses ake place (La son &
DeChu ch, 2020). Fo example, “many leade s and ollow-
e s in e ac h ough echnology a a dis ance, ac oss ime
zones, cul u es, and ma ke s” (Lo d e al., 2017, p. 445).
Bu echnology is only one o he possible sou ces o
eme ging con ex s, and possibly one o he mos in en-
si ely esea ched in ecen pas (Banks e al., 2022).
Howe e , o he aspec s, such as he in luence o he geog-
aphy (Vogel e al., 2021) and, speci ically, eme ging
economies (Ga dne e al., 2020), a e s ill unde s udied.
Resea ch poin s ha na ional cul u e a ec leade ship p o-
cesses (Li e al., 2021) bu academic biases, such as he
ocus “in i s wo ld, Anglocen ic o ganiza ions” (Ga dne
e al., 2020, p. 24), explain his gap in con ex analysis
(e.g., Oc, 2018). The e o e, he s udy o no only he socio-
cul u al bu also he geog aphical and geopoli ical eali ies
o leade ship and managemen , namely hose ha di e ge
om he Anglo cul u al empla e ma king he leade ship
li e a u e, is an eme ging issue ha dese e o be add essed.
Al hough we p esen c isis and eme ging con ex s as
sepa a e domains, he bounda ies be ween hem a e no
always clea ly es ablished. Mo eo e , esea ch can bene i
om conside ing in e ac ions be ween di e en ca ego ies
a he han ying o d aw dis inc ions be ween elemen s
wi hin hem (Oc, 2018). This is he case, o example, o
he in e ac ion be ween he COVID-19 c isis and he push
o he widesp ead use o digi al echnologies.
a icles in his special issue
Con inced ha “leade ship is cla i ied when i is iewed
in con ex ” (Johns, 2023, p. 6), and he ele ance o c isis
and eme ging con ex s, we launched he call o pape s o
his special issue. Thi y- ou manusc ip s we e ecei ed
in answe o ou call o pape s; eigh we e no conside ed
as hey we e ecei ed a e he deadline. F om he emain-
ing manusc ip s, only 13 (abou 38% o he o al) passed
he gues edi o s il e and we e sen o e iewe s. As a
esul o a igo ous e iew p ocess, we a e pleased o p e-
sen six a icles which explo e and make impo an con i-
bu ions o ou knowledge abou leade ship in special
con ex s.
Among he six a icles included in his special issue,
ou ocused on c isis con ex s (A ciniega e al., 2024;
A ias Rod iguez e al., 2024; Huang & Zhou, 2024; Junça-
Sil a & Cae ano, 2024) and wo add essed eme ging con-
ex s (Chá ez-Ri e a e al., 2024; O ozco Collazos &
Bo e o, 2024).
Among he a icles in es iga ing c isis con ex , h ee
engaged wi h he e ec o he pandemic. Huang and Zhou
(2024) explo e he COVID-19 con ex , while A ciniega
e al. (2024) and Junça-Sil a and Cae ano (2024) ocus on
COVID-19 pos -pandemic con ex . The impo ance o he
COVID-19 con ex in his special issue is easy o unde -
s and since he pandemic-induced changes ha ha e
imposed immedia e measu es (Lomba di e al., 2021) while
also lea ing an endu ing impac on he oles assumed by
leade s wi hin wo k se ings (A o a & Su i, 2020).
As heal h wo ke s we e in he on line, hey expe i-
enced he s onges e ec s o his c isis. In hei wo k,
“Sel -sac i icial leade ship, h i ing a wo k, wo kplace
well-being, and wo k– amily con lic du ing he COVID-
19 c isis: The mode a ing ole o sel -leade ship,” Huang
and Zhou (2024) ied o explo e how sel -sac i icial
4 Business Resea ch Qua e ly 27(1)
leade ship and sel -leade ship impac wo kplace well-
being and wo k– amily con lic among nu ses du ing he
COVID-19 pandemic. To each his objec i e, au ho s
pe o med an empi ical s udy wi h p ima y da a o 405
ull- ime nu ses wo king a a la ge gene al hospi al in
no hwes China du ing he COVID-19 pandemic. The
esul s e eal ha he sel -sac i icial beha io s o leade s
p omo ed, bo h di ec ly and h ough h i ing a wo k,
nu ses’ wo kplace well-being and mi iga ed hei wo k–
amily con lic s du ing he pandemic in a Chinese hospi-
al. The au ho s also iden i ied impo an di ec and
mode a ing e ec s o sel -leade ship (which was mo e
e ec i e a imp o ing h i ing a wo k han sel -sac i i-
cial leade ship, hus dec easing i s in luence); ha is,
de eloping employees’ inne psychological esou ces is
also a easible way o p omo e hei h i ing a wo k in a
con ex o c isis.
The COVID-19 pandemic in luence in wo k li e
ex ends, howe e , beyond he peak o he pandemic. Thus,
in hei s udy, “Leading a pos pandemic wo k o ce: unde -
s anding employees’ changing wo k e hic,” A ciniega
e al. (2024) also ocused on he pos -pandemic business
con ex o in es iga e how he o ganiza ions’ esponse o
he pandemic impac employees. Speci ically, A ciniega
e al. (2024) assess whe he he h ee p o iles in which
employees may be classi ied, based on hei sco es on a
measu e o wo k e hic (Woeh e al., 2023: “li e o wo k,”
“wo k o li e,” and “wo k as a necessa y e il”), a e s able
be o e and a e he lockdown ha o ced employees i s
o wo k om home and la e o wo k on a hyb id wo k
en i onmen . To pe o m his assessmen , he au ho s con-
duc ed a la en p o ile analysis wi h p ima y da a o mo e
han 500 employees o a company in he inancial sec o in
Mexico. They ound ha while s uc u e o he h ee p o-
iles was s able, howe e , he p opo ion o employees in
each p o ile changed signi ican ly.
Junça-Sil a and Cae ano (2024) ocused on pos -pan-
demic eali y wi h hei piece en i led “Unce ain y’s
impac on adap i e pe o mance in he pos -COVID e a:
The mode a ing ole o pe cei ed leade ’s e ec i eness.”
Wi h he pu pose o explo ing he a ec i e mechanism
ha connec s employees’ pe cei ed unce ain y wi h hei
adap i e pe o mance and he con ex ual ac o s ha migh
mode a e hese ela ionships, Junça-Sil a and Cae ano
pe o m a mul i-le el analysis wi h da a collec ed om
176 Po uguese wo king adul s who pa icipa ed in a daily
online su ey o e a span o 10 wo king days. Thei ind-
ings show ha highe le els o unce ain y con ibu ed o
inc eased nega i e a ec among employees, subsequen ly
in luencing hei daily adap i e pe o mance. Howe e ,
his ela ionship was u he in luenced by he pe cei ed
e ec i eness o leade s. An e ec i e leade consis en ly
p omo es a ec i e egula ion, while a less e ec i e leade
is no always bad o adap i e pe o mance, which empha-
sizes he dual ole o leade s.
The abo e s udies con i m ha he COVID-19 pan-
demic ma ked a u ning poin in many ace s and espe-
cially in wo k li e ha ex ends beyond he peak o he
pandemic and ha may ha e changed he wo k con ex
and, he e o e, a ec ed he ole o leade s, in a pe manen
way. Howe e , his special issue no only ocuses on c isis
con ex caused by COVID-19 bu also pays a en ion o he
poli ical and economic c isis. Thus, in hei s udy i led
“Au hen ic leade ship and mo i a ion as mode a o s o he
o ganiza ional poli ics—knowledge sha ing ela ionship:
A es amids c isis,” A ias Rod iguez e al. (2024) explo e
he ela ionship be ween pe cep ions o o ganiza ional
poli ics and knowledge-sha ing beha io s as well as he
mode a ing ole o au hen ic leade ship and mo i a ion in
his ela ionship in a B azilian au omo i e conso ium du -
ing a poli ical and economic c isis con ex (2015–2017),
cha ac e ized by p esiden ial impeachmen , high in la ion,
and economic ins abili y. To pe o m his explo a ion,
A ias Rod iguez and he colleagues pe o med mul i a i-
a e eg ession analyses wi h p ima y da a om shop loo
wo ke s and chose au omo i e indus y as s udy con ex
because he poli ical and economic c isis aced by B azil
led he au omo i e sec o o ake addi ional es ic i e
measu es, such as olun a y edundancy p og ams,
educed wo king hou s, massi e plan layo s, o collec-
i e aca ions. As a esul o he empi ical esea ch, au ho s
epo ha pe cep ion o o ganiza ional poli ics is associ-
a ed wi h knowledge sha ing, his ela ionship being mod-
e a ed by mo i a ion bu no by au hen ic leade ship.
The wo pape s ha s udied eme ging con ex s cen e ed
in explo ing leade ship in wo sca cely esea ched and
economically eme gen coun ies: Colombia and Ecuado ,
wo coun ies wi h weak ins i u ional en i onmen
(Le i sky & Mu illo, 2013) cha ac e ized o hei poli ical
ins abili y and co up ion (Gil-Ba agan e al., 2020),
anked 57 and 90, espec i ely, o he 141 economies ana-
lyzed in he Global Compe i i eness Repo 2019 (Schwab,
2019). On one hand, Chá ez-Ri e a e al. (2024) in hei
s udy “The e ec s o con ex and cha ac e is ics o women
en ep eneu s on inno a ion pe o mance” del e in o he
unde explo ed in e sec ion o gende , con ex , and inno a-
ion pe o mance (Foss e al., 2022), which is especially
salien o women en ep eneu s in he con ex o a small
de eloping coun y as Ecuado (de-Oli ei a & Rodil-
Ma zábal, 2019). Chá ez-Ri e a e al. (2024) pe o m a
uzzy se quali a i e compa a i e analysis ( sQCA) o a
sample o women en ep eneu s pa icipa ing in wo sup-
po p og ams (Academy o Women En ep eneu s
[AWE] D eam Builde P og am and Red Muje
Emp endedo a del Ecuado ). The combina ion o elemen s
om he mac o-, meso-, and mic o-le els allows hem o
iden i y di e en pa hs o inno a ion pe o mance. Wha is
highligh ed in hose pa hs is he ele ance o ins i u ional
and social ac o s (mac o-le el), he closeness and e-
quency o in e pe sonal connec ions (meso-le el), as well
He nández-Lina es e al. 5
as he age (mic o-le el) o he emale en ep eneu s.
Besides, he ele ance o indi idual a iables usually asso-
cia ed wi h inno a ion (i.e., educa ion le el, p io expe i-
ence) mani es s only spo adically.
On he o he hand, in he s udy i led “Women owne -
ship as a o m o leade ship: The ole o con ex in unde -
s anding i s e ec s on inancial pe o mance,” O ozco
Collazos and Bo e o (2024) choose as s udy con ex
Colombia, a coun y whose socie y is highly masculine
and whe e he e exi s no laws o incen i es ha p omo e
gende equali y in he p i a e sec o (O ozco Collazos &
Bald ich, 2020; O ozco Collazos & Bo e o, 2024).
Speci ically, O ozco Collazos and Bo e o (2024) analyze
he ela ionship be ween women owne ship and inancial
pe o mance o Colombian p i a e small and medium-
sized en e p ises (SMEs) and he mode a ing ole o a
con ex as unique as he amily i m (Be one e al., 2012;
Domańska e al., 2023; He nández-Lina es e al., 2023;
He nández-Lina es & López-Fe nández, 2020) in his
ela ionship. Au ho s explo e hese ela ionships by using
mul iple eg ession analysis wi h da a e ie ed om sec-
onda y da abases. Resul s e eal ha women owne ship
as a o m o leade ship enhances SME inancial pe o -
mance, and ha his impac is weake in he case o am-
ily owne ship, which seems o con adic ha amily
businesses c ea e iendly spaces o women leade ship
(He nández-Lina es e al., 2023).
How he special issue expands ou
knowledge o special con ex s
O e he las wo decades we ha e wi nessed se e al global
c ises including he Global Financial C isis and he COVID-
19 pandemic, egional c ises such as he ene gy c isis esul ing
om he wa in he Uk aine, and local c ises such as he
bush i es in Aus alia, he sunami in Japan and wild i es in
Cali o nia (Newman e al., 2023, p. 2857).
These c ises, especially he COVID-19 pandemic, ha e
undamen ally led leade s o e hink how bes o manage
hei o ganiza ions, jus i ying he ele ance o he i s
ou s udies included in his special issue. These ou s ud-
ies make impo an con ibu ions o li e a u e abou leade -
ship in c isis con ex . Fo example, Huang and Zhou
(2024) con ibu e by examining manage s’ sel -sac i icial
beha io s aimed a alle ia ing he s ess caused by he
COVID-19 pandemic and answe ing Yang e al.’s (2023)
call o ocus on he ole o sel -sac i icial leade ship in
ex e nal c ises. A ciniega e al. (2024) en ich he li e a u e
by examining he impac o o ganiza ional esponses o he
pandemic on employee wo k e hic. While mos o he
wo k e hic li e a u e sugges s ha wo k e hic is a “ ela-
i ely” s able indi idual di e ence e lec ing a i udes and
belie s abou wo k in gene al (e.g., A ciniega e al., 2019),
he esul s o A ciniega e al.’s wo k sugges ha wo k
e hic– ela ed a i udes and belie s may ha e changed o
some indi iduals ollowing he pandemic. Thi d, Junça-
Sil a and Cae ano’s (2024) s udy con ibu es bo h his li -
e a u e and o ou knowledge on pe cei ed unce ain wo k
en i onmen s by e ealing he dual ole o leade s and he
in ica e in e play be ween leade ship e ec i eness, a ec ,
and adap i e beha io in a pos -pandemic con ex , he
pos -COVID-19 e a. Fou h, A ias Rod iguez e al. (2024)
con ibu e o leade ship in special con ex s by e ealing
ha au hen ic leade ship does no mode a e he ela ion-
ship be ween pe cep ions o o ganiza ional poli ics and
knowledge sha ing. This sugges s ha al hough au hen ic
leade ship c ea es an en i onmen conduci e o psycho-
logical sa e y and knowledge sha ing (Banks e al., 2016),
a c isis con ex may weaken o modi y di ec supe iso y
in e ac ions wi h subo dina es, a inding ha claims o
u he esea ch. In addi ion, al hough “c isis and ex eme
con ex s a e no synonymous,” being c isis a mo e gene al
e m (Hannah e al., 2009, p. 899), he ou pape s in es i-
ga ing c isis con ex s in his special issue co obo a e ha ,
such as has been s a ed by Hannah e al. (2009), “ex eme
con ex s c ea e pa icula ly unique con ingencies, con-
s ain s and causa ions” (p. 899). “Lea ning om a c isis
can be challenging” (And es & Heo, 2023, p. 291), bu
o una ely, he ou abo emen ioned a icles add ess his
challenge and make impo an con ibu ions o li e a u e
on leade ship in c isis con ex s.
Mo eo e , ega ding eme ging con ex s, conside ing
ha de eloping coun ies a e cha ac e ized by he lack o
ins i u ional suppo o inno a ion and he p e alence o
non- echnological inno a ion and ha , he e o e, esul s o
inno a ion s udies conduc ed in de eloped coun ies
should no be gene alized o de eloping coun ies (de-
Oli ei a & Rodil-Ma zábal, 2019), Chá ez-Ri e a e al.
(2024) con ibu e o li e a u e by esponding o calls om
leade ship ield (Johns, 2023) and om o he o ganiza-
ional li e a u es (e.g., B ush e al., 2022) o adop a mul i-
le el app oach ha allows hem o explo e he e ec s o
ins i u ional con ex , social con ex (mac o-le el), ne -
wo king (meso-le el), and demog aphic cha ac e is ics o
women en ep eneu s (mic o-le el) in he singula con ex
o a de eloping coun y (Ecuado ) wi h signi ican con-
s ain s o women’s p o essional p og ess. Thus, hey
con ibu e o leade ship in eme ging coun ies and con-
ex s, as well as o gende , inno a ion, and en ep eneu -
ship li e a u es, by showing he ele ance o “ he
in e connec ion o policies, social suppo , esou ces, and
ne wo ks wi h amily and close con ac s ha women le e -
age a a speci ic age” o explain he inno a i e pe o -
mance o women’s companies in Ecuado .
O ozco Collazos and Bo e o (2024) con ibu e o ou
knowledge abou how women can enac a leade ship ole
wi hin an o ganiza ion by p o iding empi ical e idence ha
women owne ship as a o m o leade ship gi es women
g ea e powe in decision-making and con ibu es o inancial
6 Business Resea ch Qua e ly 27(1)
pe o mance o Colombian p i a e SMEs. In addi ion, O ozco
Collazos and Bo e o (2024) con ibu e o ein o ce he idea
ha amily i ms cons i u e a unique con ex o s udy women
leade ship (e.g., Eddles on & Sabil, 2019; He nández-Lina es
e al., 2023), al hough while esea ch epo s ha in de elop-
ing coun ies as Spain, “ amily i ms o e an en i onmen
ha is suppo i e o emale leade ship” (He nández-Lina es
e al., 2023, p. 3), he O ozco Collazos and Bo e o’s indings
seem o poin ha , in he case o eme ging economies, such as
Colombia, amily i ms a e no a iendly con ex o women
leade ship.
In gene al, all abo e s udies emphasize he impo ance
o conside he con ex , especially i such con ex is a spe-
cial con ex , in leade ship esea ch. Howe e , he con i-
bu ion o his special issue goes beyond hose summa ized
in he abo e pa ag aph, since i opens new doo s o u u e
esea ch. Fo example:
•• How con ex s in luence leade s and how leade s
espond o and change hei con ex s. The pandemic
elici ed di e en esponses om leade s, some
de ensi e and poli ically p oblema ic, some mo e
in eg a i e (Simpson e al., 2022).
•• The s udy pe o med by Huang and Zhou (2024) high-
ligh s he alue o sel -sac i icial leade ship in c isis
con ex o he COVID-19 pandemic. Howe e , u he
esea ch is needed o know whe he he indings apply
o o dina y si ua ions o o o he special con ex s, such
as i ual wo k con ex o economic c isis.
•• Huang and Zhou (2024) indings abou he mode a-
o ole o sel -leade ship also gene a e new ques-
ions abou wha a e he ela ionships be ween
leade ship, a ec , and indi idual inne psychologi-
cal esou ces o p omo e well-being and wo k p o-
duc i i y in a con ex o c isis? A e hey al e na i e
o complemen a y? Wha a e he in e play ules?
Wha a e he bounda y condi ions ha a ec hese
ela ionships? A p oximal ques ion is also aised by
A ias Rod íguez e al. (2024) whose inding o he
lack o ele ance o au hen ic leade ship besides he
signi icance o in insic mo i a ion (and ma ginally
o p o-social mo i a ion) poin s in he same di ec-
ion abou he ele ance o wo ke s’ wo k mo i a-
ion in a con ex o poli ical and economic c isis
ha igge layo s in he sec o analyzed. Mo eo e ,
China and B azil being he geog aphical con ex s
s udied, ques ions also eme ge abou o wha ex en
hese esul s a e con ex dependen .
•• A ciniega e al. (2024) demons a ed ha he p o-
iles o employees ela ed o wo k e hic iden i ied
by Woeh e al. (2023) a e s able in c isis con ex .
Howe e , a e hey also s able in eme ging con ex ?
Besides, A ciniega e al.’s (2024) esul s aise issues
wi h espec o he s abili y o wo k e hic o e ime
(e.g., A ciniega e al., 2019), emphasizing he need
o pay u he a en ion o hose ac o s ha migh
impac o change wo k e hic a i udes.
•• Junça-Sil a and Cae ano’s (2024) s udy poin s ha
he consis en p esence o e ec i e leade s migh
lead indi iduals o expec solu ions wi hou exe -
ing e o o adap , es aining indi iduals’ p oac i -
i y and adap i eness in unce ain con ex s. This
sugges ion will equi e o be suppo ed o e u ed
empi ically.
•• While Chá ez-Ri e a e al.’s (2024) esul s showed
he ele ance o mac o-le el, meso-le el, and indi-
idual le el o explaining inno a ion pe o mance
o women en ep eneu s who we e membe s o a o -
mal ne wo k ha o e ed hem aining, i will be
e y ele an o know wha happens when women
a e no pa o o mal ne wo ks. Besides, gi en he
ele ance o con ex ual ac o s (ins i u ional and
social con ex ), u u e wo k may include addi ional
a iables o measu e he impac o spa ial and busi-
ness con ex on inno a ion. Mo eo e , i will be nec-
essa y o explo e i hei esul s a e con ex dependen .
Tha is, a e ins i u ional con ex equally ele an in
de eloped coun ies? O in o he cul u al con ex s?
•• Finally, O ozco Collazos and Bo e o (2024) epo
how women leade s enac hei ole and wha a e
hei implica ions in o he inancial pe o mance o
Colombian p i a e SMEs. These au ho s show he
oppo uni ies and cons ain s ha eme ge when we
conside h ee di e se con ex s (SMEs, amily own-
e ship, and he con ex o an eme ging economy as
Colombia). Bu , wha a e he implica ions o women
leade ship in o he o ganiza ional ou comes, such
as lea ning o ien a ion, s a egic enewal, o com-
pany’s capabili y o ace changes?
Conclusion
Leade ship, unde s ood as a ansac ion wi h he en i on-
men o wi h he leade ’s con ex , should be he domain o
schola ship leade in inco po a ing his con ex o be e
unde s and leade and ollowe beha io in si u (Johns,
2023). Howe e , leade ship esea ch has adi ionally su -
e ed om con ex de ici (Ga dne e al., 2020; Johns, 2023).
Technological dis up ion, clima e change, pandemics, wa s,
and geopoli ical s ain, all make ou awa eness o con ex
mo e salien . Con ex , we ha e p oposed, should hus be
s udied in i s own ligh . Thus, his special issue co obo a es
ha “leade ship is cla i ied when i is iewed in con ex , and
we can’ do his i con ex is omi ed om s udy” (Johns,
2023, p. 6) and helps ill some heo e ical oids while also
in i ing us o hink abou he con ex no as a backg ound bu
as an ac i e elemen on leade ship. The poin , we hope, is
clea : on some cases, con ex is he p edominan ac o in he
leade ship iangle e en leading leade s and he led. In addi-
ion o ealism, his makes con ex a mo e ele an and
He nández-Lina es e al. 7
in e es ing opic o esea ch. Pu ing con ex in his con ex
will help us be e deal wi h he ex eme.
Decla a ion o con lic ing in e es s
The au ho (s) decla ed no po en ial con lic s o in e es wi h
espec o he esea ch, au ho ship, and/o publica ion o his
a icle.
Funding
The au ho (s) disclosed eceip o he ollowing inancial suppo
o he esea ch, au ho ship, and/o publica ion o his a icle:
The au ho s exp ess hei since e g a i ude o all e iewe s,
whose e o s ha e con ibu ed o imp o ing he quali y o his
special issue. Ins i u ionally, Miguel Pina e Cunha acknowledges
suppo by Fundação pa a a Ciência e a Tecnologia (UID/
ECO/00124/2019, UIDB/00124/2020 and Social Sciences
Da aLab, PINFRA/22209/2016), POR Lisboa and POR No e
(Social Sciences Da aLab, PINFRA/22209/2016).
oRCID iD
Ma ía Concepción López-Fe nández h ps://o cid.o g/0000-
0002-6204-9825
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