Title: Leadership in the VUCA world - a systematic literature review and its link to intercultural competencies

Authors: Constanze Ruesga Rath; Sina Grosskopf; Christoph Barmeyer

Addresses: Chair of Intercultural Communication and Management, University of Passau, Germany ' Chair of Intercultural Communication and Management, University of Passau, Germany ' Chair of Intercultural Communication and Management, University of Passau, Germany

Abstract: Today's world is characterised by change at a rapid pace. A concept that describes this demanding environment is the acronym VUCA - volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. These four dynamics affect not only organisations but also leaders. Nevertheless, a comprehensive understanding of leadership under VUCA conditions remains vague. To fill this research gap, we conduct a systematic literature review to classify the existing leadership literature under VUCA conditions. Our research contributes to the field by synthesising the vast amount of literature, aiming for a more structured overview of research outcomes over the past 20 years (2000-2020). Since leadership is more and more a global activity in organisations, we furthermore analyse these findings from an intercultural perspective, linking the field of cross-cultural management, especially that of intercultural competence, to the leadership environment in the VUCA world.

Keywords: leadership; leadership approaches; VUCA; cross-cultural management; intercultural competence; literature review.

DOI: 10.1504/EJCCM.2021.116890

European Journal of Cross-Cultural Competence and Management, 2021 Vol.5 No.3, pp.195 - 219

Received: 01 Jun 2020
Accepted: 14 Feb 2021
Published online: 05 Aug 2021 *

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