The Impact of Remote Leadership on the Global Business Organization

The Impact of Remote Leadership on the

Global Business Organization

LAW 6003 - Business Law

University of Cincinnati

October 4, 2024

Introduction

Due to their scale and work in several

countries at once, international business

organizations must comply with many

standards and laws than local companies.

With the organization’s growth, the scope of

its responsibility increases; with the growth

of income, opportunities increase,

generating free resources. These resources

are usually invested in the company’s further

development: marketing, capturing new

markets, product diversification, and more

(Kabwe & Okorie, 2019). With the

development of technology, many business

processes are significantly accelerated and

automated, increasing the pace of

development of companies and, accordingly,

competition. As a result, international

companies become more exposed to

external global factors. The strongest in the

market is the best to adapt to new

conditions. As part of the economic crisis and

pandemic, this is precisely the situation that

has led to many changes in the established

business processes of many organizations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many

global companies to experiment with

remote work on a scale like never before.

While teleworking at multinational

companies is not a new work model, most

business firms have closed their offices

indefinitely, instructing employees to work

from home to contain the spread of the

virus. At first, many international companies

hoped to return to everyday life in a couple

of months, but years later, millions of

workers are still working remotely (Espitia et

al., 2021). This trend has its obvious

advantages: the selection of candidates for

various vacancies is extrapolated to the

international labor market, and there is no

physical contact among employees, which is

undesirable in a pandemic. Technological

advances in software and hardware have

made it possible to reduce the impact of

switching to this mode of work for those who

usually work full-time. Many video

conferencing programs, interactive systems

for interacting with a large group of human

employees, and Internet traffic control

programs such as Zoom, Timely, and

CleverControl – began to develop thanks to

the transition to remote work actively

(Pratama et al., 2020). On the other hand,

the possibility of interacting with customers

directly, creating a working atmosphere, and

the possibility of control by management are

falling.

This workforce shift has increased the need

for remote leaders to manage the

organization’s goals and objectives.

Organizational leadership has been the

backbone and key to the success of firms in

solving company problems and problems.

Leaders of all sizes and positions are faced

with the extraordinary task of managing

employees remotely. Such a task still had to

meet the requirements of social

responsibility, the company’s mission, goals,

and vision. The ability to adapt and mobility

became critical for employees and

managers, who had to maintain the

efficiency of the company’s operations in the

new conditions and adjust to the crisis.

Experts in dealing with uncertainty and lack

of sufficient information to make decisions

have become highly valued (Hong et al.,

2018). Thus, the influence of remote leaders

and their popularity is an important area that

requires research related to the effects of

the pandemic and other external factors that

contribute to the transition of employees of

a business organization to a remote work

mode.

This paper contains a literary review of

aspects of remote leadership, the main

types, the implementation of these styles,

and theoretical justification. This section is

followed by the research methodology

section, which contains the concepts

considered in the study and the primary

methods for their quantitative assessment.

They include collecting information from

open official sources, such as annual reports

of companies, on the dynamics of financial

performance in recent years. The study was

conducted using questionnaires of leaders

from different business areas. Then, a

regression analysis will be performed to find

correlations between the number of remote

employees, organizational structure and

leadership style, and various financial

indicators of the liquidity and relevance of

the company based on both surveys and

other available information. The description

is followed by a section on results and their

interpretation, detailing all outputs and

possible predictions and limitations.

Literature Review

This section deals with the main aspects of

remote work and leadership in general,

especially in its implementation in this

mode. The literature review turns into a

retrospective of remote work and its

development on an international scale. In

addition, the central leadership styles are

considered through the prism of their

adaptation to the new working environment.

The theoretical models used in this study to

describe the processes are also included in

this section.

Background and History

Over time, the development of technology

has given rise to the possibility of remote

communication. Within this opportunity,

organizations saw remote workers as an

opportunity, not a constraint (Hunter, 2019).

In this regard, business processes have been

gradually optimized, within which the

physical presence of a person is no longer

needed to share or convey information.

Accordingly, the organization’s structure is

also being transformed, becoming less

hierarchical and more autonomous in each

sector. At the same time, the consistency

and messaging pace across sectors are

increasing, which is critical within an

international organization: information

technology capital directly affects labor

productivity (Arvanitis & Loukis, 2009). In

this case, the leader’s task is to control the

execution of the company’s operations

within the organizational structure in the

context of changing the way information is

communicated between its levels. If the

basic rules and roles of employees in the

organization remain the same, responsibility

can be transformed under a changing work

environment, requiring specific skills from

them.

For many large companies, employees

themselves are one of the most important

values. Apple and IBM, for example, offer

ongoing learning and a welcoming

environment built on inclusion and diversity

(Apple, 2022; IBM, 2021). Showing care,

attention, and appropriate attitude on the

part of management requires appropriate

competencies in the soft skills of a leader,

such as teamworking, motivation, and

conflict resolution. Managers in the

workplace can influence the interlocutor

with the help of non-verbal signs and

interaction in the physical environment,

among which moments of informal

communication are possible. The remote

leader, in turn, must be able to adapt these

support mechanisms to the new

environment without the possibility of

physical contact, that is, only through the

available means and communication

channels (Vijaykar & Karhade, 2021; Kaveri &

Mohan, 2020). If these processes are

progressive and the company automates and

introduces solutions requiring remote mode,

employees have time to adapt to the new

conditions. The case of the pandemic is

fundamentally different precisely in this

aspect – many companies were not ready for

such drastic changes, as well as leaders and

employees, respectively. The complexity of

adaptation was that it was necessary to

master new tools across the company for

functions that did not require any tools in a

physical office: communication, team

discussion, and physical document

management. Although international

companies already had an experience of

remote collaboration, the transition of

offices to this mode from the very beginning

significantly increased the time spent on

such moments, not to mention the

psychological aspects of adaptation.

The office provided access to hardware and

software, certain archival records, and an

established interaction system between

employees. Each employee has a habit that

everything they need is at hand. The sudden

transition to remote work requires managers

to consolidate all these mechanisms and

make them available to employees in the

new environment (Contreras et al., 2020;

Kaveri & Mohan, 2020). At the same time,

organizations often provide all the necessary

technical equipment, including covering the

associated costs of an employee for

arranging a workplace, by the remote work

policy and other labor standards, including,

for example, the General Data Protection

Regulation (Lueck, 2021). Now leaders must

manage the organization’s resources within

the framework of operations and provide

support to employees at various levels, right

down to the personal level.

Personal capabilities are now becoming a

problem for the entire organization: if

employees do not have access to the

Internet, their laptop or smartphone with

the necessary functions, and expensive

software, the organization must provide the

employee with all the necessary resources.

For example, IBM has gone from adapting

employees in the workplace to

implementing a hybrid approach in

operations. At first, the company viewed the

cost of supporting employees at home as

temporary, but now it is seriously

considering abandoning many offices (Ford

& Chang, 2021). The capabilities of

employees in both modes are fixed at the

level of policies of international companies:

in-home offices, where there are no control

systems, the time or amount of work of an

employee is strictly regulated (Ford & Chang,

2021). With adaptation, the measures could

be softened, forming the company’s current

policy, which itself is already striving for this

regime.

Some companies were able to quickly and

effectively adapt to new conditions.

McDonald’s has implemented a flexible

leadership system to quickly respond to local

groups, almost instantly implementing all

kinds of requirements for operating offices

and own establishments (Edeh et al., 2021).

However, the individual characteristics of

organizations created their own pace of

transition. For example, IT companies such

as IBM had the leading layer of their

operations in a virtual environment, which

only required the creation of working

conditions and control for employees and

the adaptation of key business processes,

such as closing deals and interactions

between management and employees (Ford

& Chang, 2021). Companies from areas

where complete headquarters relocation is

not possible, such as the hotel business,

were forced to differentiate this transition

for specific departments while creating a

safe environment for offline employees

(Pham et al., 2022). In addition to the

apparent differences in business industries,

representatives of strict hierarchical

organizational structures adapted differently

from more autonomous ones. Written

assurances of document flow in strict non-

governmental organizations required

streamlining and significant revision of the

process (Chai & Freeman, 2018). At the same

time, the absence of the need for such

moments in more autonomous structures

ensured a smoother transition to remote

work.

Effective Organizational Strategies

Effective organizational strategies have a

complex structure, as the leader must

ensure all aspects of the transition to a

remote mode and consider psychological

and, in some cases, even personal factors.

Although leaders have fewer opportunities

for informal communication and personal

assistance to employees, they can change

the form of support in the form of remote

access tools: instant messengers, video

conferencing, and more (Golden &

Gajendran, 2019). The interactive impact can

now come in the form of encouraging emails

and the provision of benefits in the form of

paid counseling if the transition is difficult.

Companies began to turn to the outsourced

services of psychiatrists more often, and

psychiatrists, in turn, began to use the

possibilities of telemedicine more than 40

times (APA, 2021). Large organizations

began to document policies to help

employees work remotely, regulating

opportunities not only to receive mental

health services but also to give memberships

to the gym, choose the time for an

employee’s religious activities, and much

more (Miller, 2019). Physical activity, time

off, and the possibility of informal virtual

communication with the leader can indeed

be considered aspects of an effective

strategy, the most recent research confirms

an increase in the frequency of contact

between employees among themselves,

which has led to an increase in productivity

in several cases (Yang et al., 2022).

Regardless of the company’s operations,

leadership style, and structure chosen,

mental aspects are the key to the

effectiveness of the strategy chosen by the

remote leader.

In a short time, most of the strategies for

improving efficiency, and planning, such as

Kanban boards, Agile, and many others, have

become available for most companies to use

analogs on computers and smartphones

remotely. With the help of these

applications, managers were able to

delegate tasks to employees in a new but

rather convenient form, and employees

received a visualization of their activities

(Cong, 2021). Studies have shown that

technical issues arise almost as often as

communication and management issues,

while technology is the primary driver of

remote work (Ferreira et al., 2021). The small

organization of people implies constant

contact since the management now has no

physical access to the employee. Practical

strategy skills now include management

competencies within communication

applications such as Skype or Zoom and

applications that provide remote access,

electronic document management, and

interactive interaction within operational

activities.

Regardless of their ultimate goals and

dynamics, organizational strategies

experienced a change in the form of their

principal activity as part of the transition to a

remote mode. If the company was aimed at

capturing a particular market share, then, for

example, now meetings with potential

customers have moved online, the possibility

of concluding contracts has also become

necessary, and it has become necessary to

find an aggregator to organize the logistics of

supplying goods under new restrictions

(Oxelheim & Randøy, 2021). If we rely on the

three components of the content of the

organization’s strategy: communication,

intention, and implementation – only the

intention has not changed its form. Intention

sets goals, and the majority of companies, if

they have not faced a severe crisis or a

complete shutdown of their activities under

the restrictions imposed, are still focused on

increasing net and gross profits and

expanding. Companies suffered losses, but

approximately 10% were able to find

resources to financially support their

employees to maintain productivity and

implementation (Pokojski et al., 2022). The

dynamics of change in communication have

been described above.

Finally, companies must meet social

responsibility requirements along with

environmental responsibility (Yang et al.,

2021). As a rule, it implies the values of

recognition of diversity, inclusiveness, and

high professional ethics (Latapí Agudelo et

al., 2019). Stakeholder pressure during a

crisis can significantly reduce employee

performance: studies have shown that

adapting corporate ethics to a new virtual

environment reduces the likelihood of

conflict situations (Mehmood et al., 2020).

The remote mode of work makes it possible

to get jobs more often for women who have

to stay at home with children and people

with disabilities who would find it difficult to

get to the office physically. Considering the

tendencies to protect the rights of people

subjected to various kinds of structural

discrimination, remote work is a new normal

toward which a civilized society was moving.

Along with this, creating employees’ rhythm

of work, improving time management skills,

and the ability to manage resources are

other significant advantages that have begun

to be noticeably developed among

employees. Such skills make life easier for

the manager since employees are given

more responsibility for their operations

without the need for control.

Qualities and Roles of Remote Leaders

The goal of remote leaders is to help the

organization identify the most important

goals and develop the best ways to achieve

them. Leading an invisible team requires

someone who can understand complex

conditions and objectively examine

problems rationally and impartially before

making decisions (Wang et al., 2020).

Another essential quality of remote leaders

is effective communication and strategic

planning for more efficient and profitable

systems (Spagnoli et al., 2020). When

working from home, leaders tend to be more

involved in the work that becomes part of

their personal lives: the schedule becomes

irregular. Suppose leaders are effectively

fulfilling their responsibilities in this mode. In

that case, the positive aspects of this

experience should be adapted to the

operational activities of employees,

primarily by encouraging the transition to

remote work. However, according to

research, about 30% of workers cannot work

from home due to various subjective reasons

(Bloom, 2020). At the same time, large

companies such as IBM, after the experience

of the pandemic, are considering hybrid and

completely remote options as a different

vector for the company’s development (Ford

& Chang, 2021). Except in the extreme of not

being able to work from home, leaders must,

like the foundations of transformational

leadership, lead by example in adapting

work processes to their personal lives.

For many business sectors, such as the

entertainment industry, hospitality, and

tourism, the restrictions imposed almost

wholly stop the ability to operate. These

industries cannot function remotely, just

like, for example, IT, marketing, or

education. Accordingly, there are other

organizations where the remote mode

causes minor damage but forces not only to

restructure the form of activity but to cope

with a crisis. Organizations adjust to

numerous legislative decisions in their

geographic region, and in many cases, these

decisions are large-scale and require rapid

response in reforming operations in the

marketplace. The most stringent restrictions

on strict social distancing, gatherings of no

more than four people in South Korea are

not comparable to the relatively low ones in

Mexico, where only wearing masks in public

places is required (Han et al., 2020). On the

one hand, companies working remotely do

not need to adapt the physical office to

government requirements, and employees

do not need to contact other people during

the journey to the office. On the other hand,

leaders have less control over the movement

of employees, which can violate restrictions

on working hours, putting the company’s

reputation at risk.

The ongoing digital transformation process,

which affects both the necessary

competencies of a leader and entire business

development strategies. Numerous studies

show that technology has always been the

driving force behind innovation, as

evidenced by empirical evidence from the

chemical industry to IT (Ahuja & Morris

Lampert, 2001). Progressive changes are

associated with the digitalization of

commerce, marketing, purchases, and much

more. As interviews with e-retail leaders

have shown, this transition creates a risk

transformation, understanding scarcity, and

company size in a new environment that

requires adaptation (Johnson, 2010). Any

technological opportunity always requires

costs and risks at first, but the most effective

implementation later becomes necessary to

maintain competitiveness (Bilan et al., 2020).

Offices controlled by directors in

international companies represent a similar

model in the transition to remote work; the

difference is that each employee now has his

workspace, to which the manager does not

have physical access. Digital transformation

has made such a regime possible in principle,

thanks to remote communication, the

creation of shared networks, e-commerce,

and many other technological processes.

Remote work has allowed employees to

better balance work and family. Many have

begun to save money and time on the road,

sleep better and work much better in a

comfortable, stress-free environment. The

balance between personal life and work is

one of the critical factors in employee

satisfaction. A study of banking employees

has shown that remote work, in contrast to

being physically present, has a more

significant impact on work-life balance,

which is primarily positive (Putra et al.,

2020). In contrast to the physical mode,

remote leaders will deal with this aspect

more often, which slightly distinguishes their

competencies from classical leadership.

Research in this area also shows that

traditional leaders are better at increasing

the effectiveness of remote workers over

time by creating an appropriate culture that

includes behavioral and communication

strategies for interaction (Basile &

Beauregard, 2016). Figure 1 shows the

dynamics of employee satisfaction in this

study over time.

Figure 1. Employee satisfaction by

employment type

Remote Leadership Styles

Leadership is categorized into different

styles that have distinctive qualities.

According to research, if the pace of current

telecommuting trends continues, more than

30 million Americans will be working

remotely by 2025 (Brynjolfsson et al., 2020).

The most common leadership styles are

transformational, participative, situational,

laissez-faire, servant, and adaptive. The

context of the remote mode changes the

form, methods of achieving goals, and

control mechanisms in each of the above

styles. The common thread among them is

that telecommuting leads to a forced

transition to autonomy, which can lead to

improved productivity and well-being of

employees and cause conflict and chaos. The

task of management, in this case, is to

increase the positive impact of such an

irreversible transition and reduce the

negative one.

Laissez-faire or non-intervention is the

leadership style, the hallmarks of which were

forced to appear remotely. Leaders who

have a participatory style are deprived of the

opportunity to be personally present during

operations. Except in the case of constant

monitoring via video or similar applications,

many leaders are forced to move to a hands-

off approach for two reasons. First,

employees need to adapt to working from

home, where all kinds of control systems can

be negatively perceived as an attempt to

encroach on personal space. According to

research, these attempts are stressors that,

according to research, under a laissez-faire

policy, become the causes of conflict and

destructive behavior of employees, leading

to the decay of the social atmosphere and a

drop in productivity (Skogstad et al., 2007).

Secondly, the employee can give instant

feedback without constant physical

monitoring of the presence in the workplace.

There is a theory that autonomy, which gives

employees independence, contributes to the

disclosure of the creative potential of

people. This theory is supported by studies

that show a connection between the implicit

autonomy motive and creative production

both from school age and in an older sample,

where the relationship between the leader

and employees is also essential (Baum &

Baumann, 2019; Volmer et al., 2012).

Paradoxically, the more the leader

communicates with employees, the more

they demonstrate creativity and creativity

with the autonomy granted (Volmer et al.,

2012). Within the framework of this

autonomy, the leader’s main task is to create

conditions for open, ethical communication,

both voice and text. The social environment

should encourage innovation since the

virtual environment itself is, in a certain

sense, a forced but innovative solution for

many people and organizations.

Participative leadership in reflecting the

remote work mode implies many group

activities: videoconferencing, sharing

interactive use of working software. Like

servant leadership, the manager is

constantly in touch with employees to

control the process and help its participants.

A similar approach is used for

transformational leadership, but the goal of

this style is a positive change. In all three

cases, the leaders set an example, which has

a positive relationship with employee

performance and engagement instead of

styles based on transactional leadership

(Limsila & Ogunlana, 2008). Consequently,

the leader must have the skills to confidently

use the software and help employees adapt

to the use. If the work involves a constant

presence at the workplace, the leader should

also be with his team, if possible, without

absences.

An important psychological aspect of the

servant leadership approach is vital to apply

regardless of the chosen style. Many

employees have experienced adaptation

problems, burnout, and the inability to

concentrate at home, as they needed

psychological support against the

background of the imposed restrictions –

many lost their jobs, experienced the

consequences of lockdowns, and the

inability to see relatives, and friends, and

much more. This information, as a rule, was

obtained by remote surveys through

specially compiled scales of stress and

burnout (Hayes et al., 2020). This

phenomenon has been referred to as

professional and social isolation, which

reduces employees’ productivity for various

reasons when staying at home for a long

time. For example, research has shown that

lockdown can lead to reduced sleep quality,

anxiety, and feelings of loneliness. Research

findings are similar for teleworking

compared to much earlier in a pandemic

context (Mann & Holdsworth, 2003; Xiao et

al., 2020). The servant-leader always

supports his employees emotionally,

inspiring them to mutual respect and putting

the employee’s well-being over the client’s

satisfaction (Canavesi & Minelli, 2021). In the

face of brutal layoffs, mass layoffs, and

financial constraints, this type of long-term

leadership in remote work has proven the

best adaptive.

Adaptive leadership offers the most flexible

self-awareness of both the leader himself

and all employees of the organization. This

style sets adaptive tasks for the company,

each of which does not have a single correct

and obvious solution. The conditions of

uncertainty that characterize the pandemic

experience imply the need for constant

adaptation. For example, the restaurant

business that was able to adapt and quickly

connect to food delivery aggregators and

create the possibility of online orders could

save a certain percentage of revenue and

closure (Serbulova et al., 2020). In addition,

according to empirical studies, this style is

primarily consistent with the non-financial

sustainability of the business, which in turn

contributes to financial success (Akhtar et

al., 2016). The role of a leader in such an

approach varies from task to task and,

depending on talents and competencies, can

be ranked among all leadership styles.

Moreover, a new kind of collaborative

leadership has emerged during the era of

telecommuting. This phenomenon was born

from the spread of autonomy, the

consolidation of virtual teams, and the

distribution of responsibilities and shared

responsibility for the result (Pavez & Neves,

2021). Within the framework of this

approach, the involvement of employees is

significantly increased, while the figure of

the leader itself is not excluded but may be

formal. A survey through surveys showed

that when using collaborative leadership

tools, in addition to involvement, the power

and responsibility of each employee

increases, and psychological factors become

essential. When conflicts arise, as a rule, the

leader in this situation has less power and,

accordingly, the means to resolve it; in a

virtual environment, the situation becomes

more complicated (Kramer & Crespy, 2011).

The virtual environment often involves

asynchronous communication, which, by

definition, is less efficient and controllable

between the leader and the employee.

Concept of a Remote Leadership

The resulting model, taking into account the

specifics of some business sectors, will show

the effectiveness of various leadership styles

and the dependence of the number of

remote workers on the company’s financial

performance. According to the studies, the

success and sustainable development of the

company does not only depend on the

positive dynamics of specific financial

indicators but also depends on compliance

with the requirements of social and

environmental responsibility, the presence

of corporate ethics, charity events, and other

events that form the image and position of

the company (Maden et al., 2012; Waler &

Dyck, 2014). Reputation is the degree of

stakeholder evaluation based on profitability

and intangible assets such as CSR, but the

degree of influence is subjective. There are

essential behaviors of remote leaders that

have a qualitative impact on the success of

an organization. These behavioral roles

affect the relationship between employees

and their supervisors, as do influence the

psychological state of each other in a virtual

environment (Mann, S., & Holdsworth, 2003;

Xiao et al., 2020). They act as intermediaries

and mentors between the management

team and remote workers. Human relations

and goal achievement roles are essential to

success in global organizations for remote

executives.

Theoretical Framework

There are several theories, the practical

application of which would be necessary for

remote mode; however, in this paper, the

model of George Homans is used. The model

includes three main elements: tasks,

interactions, and attitudes. From the

manager, employees receive tasks, perform

them, and establish interaction, which is

likes, dislikes, feelings, and attitudes. The

more frequent the interactions, the stronger

the attitudes, and vice versa (Treviqo & Tilly,

2015). The longer the interaction, the more

identical the attitudes and the more similar

the employees. They have standard norms

and what they value together. Norms are

fulfilled the better, the more cohesive the

community is. Norms can be better enforced

than formal rules. Violators may be subject

to informal sanctions.

The more people interact with each other,

the more positively they can relate to each

other. The reverse is also true: the more

positive the relationship, the more intense

the interactions. However, having set the

initial conditions for the group’s existence,

the external system influences what is

happening in the group to an even lesser

extent since what J. Homans called the

internal system appears, which includes

group norms, ways of interaction, and joint

activity. However, the external and internal

systems are in a specific interaction (Treviqo

& Tilly, 2015). Change in technology leads to

changes within the group, and new ways of

working together can then be turned into

technology.

First of all, this model focuses on the aspect

of forming a team or group, taking into

account three critical dimensions – physical,

cultural, and technological. All these aspects

are somehow important in the conditions of

remote interaction. Management

mechanisms of management also lie in three

planes. Using the terms of the model, the

leader can give tasks and provide

interactions within which attitudes are

formed. In addition, this model has

previously been used only to address issues

of distribution of power and building ethics

in the company (Chen & Choi, 2005).

Although these factors are also aspects of

leadership, the current processes are

complex and multifaceted.

This model will make it possible to form a

questionnaire for leaders better, providing

work within the same terminology, which

considers an activity’s technological and

psychological aspects. Technology in the

model acts as a mechanism for forming new

attitudes and norms, while the technological

factors of the virtual external environment

affect the categories of interaction between

employees and management. Through the

prism of this theory, it is possible to observe

how the specific practical implementations

identified in the surveys will affect the group

effectiveness and interaction of employees

subordinate to the leader.

According to Homans’ theory, success in a

team is achieved through mutually acquired

benefits. Within companies, success is most

often seen in financial performance; as a

result, this indicator will be tracked to

measure success (Treviqo & Tilly, 2015). The

leader’s task is to find a compromise or unite

the company’s interests and each employee

who forms new attitudes or transforms them

into new conditions. Aspects of interaction

continue to form or are formed from scratch

for new teams; the leader must determine

the vector and create a comfortable

environment and technical equipment for

such installations. At the same time, tasks

from the leader that are of interest to the

company should be carried out, and the

formed attitudes create a background that

provides a valuable foundation for the

formation of motivation and satisfaction of

the interests of employees.

Therefore, the survey will be twenty-five

questionnaires self-completed by various

business organizations to study the chosen

area. HR and an accessible management

team will help answer online questions

related to leadership work and managing a

remote workforce, as this is a standard

research method in organizations (Flores,

2019). Each section of the questionnaire will

have a selective overview and consist of

different personal and work data categories.

A Likert scale will be used: 1-strongly

disagree, 2-disagree, 3-moderately, 4-agree,

5-strongly agree. The collected data will be

analyzed using static packages such as SPSS.

Organization Performance

Productivity is an individual achievement

after putting effort into a particular work. In

the global business structure, productivity is

a unique phenomenon influenced by various

variables such as environmental factors,

workability, and employee motivation. Thus,

the performance of an organization is highly

dependent on the individual work of remote

leaders to influence and bring change to

their teams effectively. The performance

and achievement of international companies

suffer in direct proportion when remote

executives do not make practical personal

contributions, as the PLS-SEM study on 307

respondents showed (Chatterjee et al.,

2022). Organizational achievement creates

inspiration and opportunity for employees

working remotely, resulting in exceptional

effort, commitment, and willingness to take

on the challenge.

With the modernization of technology and

software applications, remote leaders have

at their disposal a variety of technologies

that help them make effective decisions.

They can influence their productivity

through Zoom, Skype, and Google meetings

with their teams. Despite the limited

knowledge of technology among team

members, remote leaders must choose the

right leadership path to get the best results

from remote workers and influence the

worker’s attitude toward their duties. In

addition, similar psychological issues for all

of their teams on the same track are a

significant challenge for remote leaders in

achieving active participation.

The productivity and efficiency of a company

are most often measured using financial

indicators. Various ratios of organizations in

financial activities understand the relevance,

liquidity, and ability to repay their short-

term obligations. These figures, as

mentioned above, dropped markedly during

the onset of the pandemic due to restrictions

and a decrease in the purchasing power of

many people. In this study, it is proposed to

use a particular set of financial ratios that

best demonstrate the success of the

company’s operations in various aspects.

The financial indicators are reporting or

calculated data that characterize various

aspects of an enterprise’s activities related

to the formation and use of its monetary

funds and savings. Financial indicators are

expressed in absolute and relative terms,

such as norms, ratios, and values. Analysis of

financial indicators is one of the methods for

assessing the state of the enterprise and its

capabilities in the future. It serves as the

basis for strategic planning, helps managers

identify resources and directions for the

enterprise’s subsequent development, finds

its strengths and weaknesses, and

determines investment attractiveness.

This work relies on four leading company

indicators: liquidity, asset turnover,

profitability, and market value. Liquidity

indicators in a pandemic or a global crisis

reflect the company’s readiness to cope with

its obligations in a problematic situation.

This indicator reflects the company’s ability

to adapt to an economic crisis, a critical

ability, as identified above. The current ratio

will be used to assess liquidity.

Due to restrictions, asset turnover could

have dropped significantly due to lower

revenues after the pandemic so this

indicator will be considered separately in

two periodizations, like all other financial

indicators. How well and adequately a

company uses assets during a crisis reflects

the effectiveness of its management.

Keeping this indicator at the same level in a

difficult situation can indicate good

leadership in the company, and if the leader

was able to even better to use assets during

a crisis, then this fact is a clear sign of high

competence. It should be noted that this

indicator is also essential for investors, who

can see the degree of effective use of assets

invested in the company and signal either

the profitability of deposits or problems in

management. The asset turnover ratio can

be obtained by dividing net income by the

company’s total assets.

A company’s top profitability ratios evaluate

its profitability potential concerning its

revenues, operating expenses, and other

critical financial ratios. In a crisis, a company

can reduce the cost of producing products or

services to maintain profit concerning the

gross profit ratio. Return on investment

shows the company’s ability to competently

manage incoming investments, which is also

expressed through net profit. These ratios

also demonstrate a different share of the

success of the company’s management by

the leader, however, at a level closer to

operational activity. Here we will consider

the gross profit ratio, operating profit ratio,

net profit ratio, and return on investment.

Market value ratios shape the prices of a

company’s shares. While dynamics within

these financials could be driven by external

factors beyond the pandemic, operations,

and the global crisis will be the most

important determinants. These indicators

are far from the company’s operations and

are of more interest to investors than

managers. However, the enterprise’s market

value, PE ratio, and other indicators affect

the company’s investment attractiveness,

opening up the opportunity to receive funds

in a difficult period if these indicators remain

normal and show growth, despite external

factors. It should be noted that in any case,

their positive dynamics depend on the

activities of managers and best reflects their

performance in quantitative terms. The PE

ratio and Earnings per Share will be

considered part of these ratios.

Methodology

This section provides the main techniques

used to find answers to questions on this

issue, and also explains the choice of a

quantitative research method over others.

This is followed by a roadmap of the study

with a detailed explanation of the

hypotheses under consideration, the design

of the questionnaire, and further processing

of the data to calculate statistical

significance.

Methodology Options

Questionnaires and quantitative

approaches, including statistics and

mathematical analysis, are a priority

methodology option utilized in the studies

presented in the literature review chapter.

This type of research is quite common in

many business industries as a tool for

collecting data for various purposes (Saris &

Gallhofer, 2014). Most of these are in-house

surveys looking for relationships between

two or three selected variables, with

samples ranging from 150 people. As a rule,

the assessment of financial indicators is

rarely carried out in the context of the

number of remote employees, therefore,

this study will be of scientific novelty and will

be relevant.

Qualitative methods in relation to the

understanding, interpretation and

interpretation of empirical data at the

moment can be used as attempts to build

theories on the experience of international

companies already using remote leadership.

However, in the current environment, a new

experience trend has been established for

many companies regarding this

phenomenon (Ford & Chang, 2021; Galanti

et al., 2021). As a result, to begin with, a

quantitative assessment is required, which is

chosen as a priority in this study over

qualitative and, accordingly, over mixed

ones. The implementation of mixed methods

requires more data collection methods,

which will require more resources, including

human and time (Creswell & Creswell, 2017).

This study involved the targeted research

group of 25 executives of different ranges

from the professional community on

LinkedIn, representing companies from five

business sectors: IT, marketing, education,

analytics and design. All 25 participants

confirmed and took part in the survey. This

study will be distinguished by a small sample,

and, as a result, the created questionnaire

will be analyzed using regression analysis.

The dependent variable in this study is the

so-called success of the company, which will

be manifested through a comprehensive

assessment of all the above financial

indicators. In other words, survey results and

other explanatory variables will be

compared over time with each of the

highlighted financial ratios to get the

complete picture of the company in terms of

remote leadership. The independent

variables are the following: leadership style,

the main list of possible options will be taken

from the results of a survey of managers’

questionnaires. The second independent

variable is the number of remote workers in

the company or branch. These two variables

are the most important in this study. In

addition to them, the availability of

international experience, the mental state of

employees according to surveys of

managers, the general atmosphere in the

team, and technical equipment stand out. In

this paper, only statistically significant

results will be presented, as well as those

that may be critical for the interpretation of

the leading indicators.

Regression analysis can explain the nature of

the correlation between the listed variables

or their absence. One way or another, the

presence of linear regression will prove the

effectiveness of the remote node and the

selected style, or vice versa, depending on

the direction of the trend line, which can be

rising or falling (Rawlings et al., 2000). A

more complex polynomial regression may

suggest the nature of the relationship

between a company’s financial performance

and telecommuting. This type explains more

complicated relationships between the

selected variables and is not considered in

this paper. The nature of this correlation may

spur further research in this area, which may

suggest new integrated management

practices for leaders.

Finally, the analysis by style will be the most

practical, the results of which leaders can

apply immediately. In the literature review,

a theoretical analysis of leadership styles

was given, but there will be experimental

confirmation or refutation within the

framework of the selected company or

industry. As a result, not only a quantitative

representation of the impact of remote work

on the company’s liquidity and profitability

will be obtained, but also the most effective

leadership methods for this. A mechanism

for further evaluation of leadership methods

and this mode of operation will also be

obtained if the results obtained are

statistically significant and confirm or refute

the hypothesis. The high indicators of

correlation between the variables found will

allow companies to more adequately assess

the impact of aspects of the remote mode on

the company’s overall work.

Questionnaire Design

The first considered aspect is the chosen

leadership style: information about the most

successful styles can be critical in the results

of this study. Secondly, this is the influence

of international experience: as mentioned

above, large companies somehow have

experience of remote interaction between

countries, how much this experience helps

adapt to new conditions, and whether scale

matters. Thirdly, the leaders in the

questionnaire should immediately clarify in

advance what percentage or how many of

their employees worked remotely before the

pandemic and how much became after.

Then, the questionnaire will ask to evaluate

their mental state in the leader’s opinion,

the general atmosphere in the team, and the

occurrence of problems with technical

equipment and support. In shifting the focus

from employees to management methods

themselves, the leader will also need to

evaluate the extent and quality of the

change in their approaches, the time

devoted to each employee, and a personal

and quantified assessment of the

operational performance of the company’s

department.

As a result, these indicators will be estimated

using the Homans model. The leader will

personally assess the interaction processes

between employees, their psychological

state, their tasks, and formed attitudes. All

questions will be divided into three main

sub-items, evaluated according to the

Homans model. A leader can contribute to

creating technologies, attitudes, and norms;

the leader is looking for ways to

communicate goals and objectives; Finally,

the leader influences the psychological

mood of interactions in the team. The

phrases that participants will rate on the

questionnaire using the Likert scale will

contain statements based on the literature

review and research. These statements will

evaluate the intervention in the operational

process, interact with employees from

different angles, and try on the manager’s

main manifestations of leadership styles.

The results obtained will allow us to

conclude the style, form, methods, and

approaches in the terminology of Homans.

The model will allow the interpretation of

quantitative statistical data.

Finally, leaders will be allowed to comment

freely on critical aspects of success within

the company. Such aspects include

teamwork, technical capabilities in remote

mode, the consequences of social and

professional isolation, mechanisms for

working with clients in a new environment,

and the impact of significant external

factors. In addition to these issues, leaders

will be able to comment on issues that they

think are important in this context. In order

to preserve confidentiality, the names of the

participants will be hidden, and only the

statistical indicators of their results and the

names of the companies under

consideration by industry are given in this

work.

Reliability and Validity

This study is quantitative in that it relies on

numerical and measurable data such as

financial ratios and questionnaire scores. To

do this, it is needed to determine the degree

of reliability using the t-test tool, since, for

example, in ANOVA analysis of variance, a

quantitative continuous data type is needed,

discrete data is less desirable (Creswell &

Creswell, 2017). This criterion will show how

the results obtained with a recognized level

of confidence can be extrapolated to larger

samples with the same questions (Creswell &

Creswell, 2017). The survey was

administered in three phases according to

the Dillman model, involving a preliminary

letter via email, a letter with a questionnaire

and a final cover letter, which resulted in the

duration of this event taking up to three

weeks (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). The

reliability of the instrument is achieved by

repeating the same results under the same

conditions, so it is necessary to exclude the

possibility of error at this stage.

In this experiment, a five-point Likert scale

will be used. According to research, among

various scale divisors from 1 to 5, it has the

highest p-value of about 0.11 and,

accordingly, validity, which was confirmed

by numerous tests through Monte Carlo

simulation (Louangrath, 2018). Accordingly,

the collection of quantitative data will be

carried out by questionnaires of respondents

to evaluate statements on hypotheses. The

survey tool will be an e-mail distribution, and

financial information will be obtained

through the analysis of official sources. All of

these activities are primarily aimed at

obtaining measurable answers to research

questions, which is the basis of data

collection (Creswell & Clark, 2017). Due to

the rather small sample, the p-value will be

taken equal to 0.1.

Ethics

The code of ethics of the American

Sociological Association was taken as the

basis for regulating ethical issues. According

to the main principles, the cover letter to the

participants in the experiment gave a

complete picture of the level of professional

competence of the researcher, according to

principle A, clear boundaries for the use of

answers and responsibilities of the parties,

according to principle B (ASA, 2018). The

conduct of the experiment is regulated only

by the questions of the study and the goal

set, in addition to it, the participants should

not provide any third-party information, and

researchers can only use it within the

framework of this work. Principle D and F on

human rights and respect for them allowed

survey participants to remain anonymous

and report only on business areas and

chosen leadership style (ASA, 2018).

Following the basic principle E, postulating

social responsibility, eliminates ambiguous,

unethical questions, uncomfortable

situations for the participants in the

experiment (ASA, 2018). The purpose of the

study is primarily aimed at finding the

relationship between the success of the

company and aspects of remote work, its

results are not a ready-made guide for

companies, but are illustrative,

recommendatory in the considered

conditions for practical activities.

Research Questions and Question

Validation

The main research questions and hypotheses

are summarized in Table 1, showing which

statements test those hypotheses. The

details of the answers to the questions were

preliminarily agreed with the participants,

within which the researchers and the leaders

came to an agreement on non-disclosure of

the names and names of the companies that

the respondents represent. Each of the

statements was evaluated from one to five,

except for the first and second questions

about the style of the leader and the

dynamics of the number of employees in the

company. The participants, for their part, in

exchange for the condition of anonymity,

agreed to give honest and direct answers,

without hiding or embellishing the

performance of their company. Figure 2

shows the dependence of hypotheses and

questions with the Homans model.

Table 1. Question table

Hypotheses

Statement

Reference

Q1. Leadership

Style

Laissez-faire

Kaveri &

Mohan,

2020;

Galanti et al.,

2021;

Akpoviroro

et al., 2018.

Participative

Servant

Adaptive

Joint/Cooperative

Company did not

improve its

performance

Q2. Number of

remote workers

in the company

Number of remote

workers in the

company before

pandemic

Taucean et

al., 2016.

Number of remote

workers in the

company during and

after pandemic

H1. Multinational

experience helps

companies to

adapt for remote

working better

International

communication tools

can be adapted for

smaller branches

Vijaykar &

Karhade,

2021;

Hultman et

al., 2011.

Remote interaction

technologies between

countries are applied

locally after the

pandemic

Leaders were able to

adapt their tasks and

norms to the new

conditions without

hindrance

H2. A remote

leader has a

positive effect on

the mental state

A leader can work with

the consequences of

social and professional

isolation

Baum &

Baumann,

2018;

Akhtar et al.,

of employees and

the atmosphere

in the team

A leader devotes time

separately to each

employee

2016;

Shimazu et

al., 2020.

A leader adapts the

norms of

communication and

behavior established

in the physical office to

the new virtual

environment

A leader helps to find a

balance between work

and personal life

H3. Technical

equipment or lack

of it affects the

efficiency of

remote workers

A leader provides

hardware support

from the company to

employees

Ashraf, 2020;

Fowkes,

2020;

Moradi,

2020.

A leader provides

programmatic support

from the company for

employees

A leader conducts

consultations on the

use of the necessary

hardware and

software at home

Help from a leader

affects the efficiency

of remote employees

A leader resorts to

outsourcing or

delegating on the issue

A leader himself

confidently uses

technology and

becomes an example

for employees

H4. Remote

leadership affects

the company’s

financial

performance

Switching to remote

mode increased sales

after the pandemic

Wilhelmson,

2006;

Sizova et al.,

2021.

The increase in the

number of remote

employees increased

the whole financial

efficiency of the

company

Operational processes

have become faster

Business processes

were optimized, which

was reflected in the

financial performance

Figure 2. Homans model and questionnaire

hypotheses dependence

Limitations

This research is limited by the relationship

between remote leadership and

organizational effectiveness. Other global

organizational factors such as economics and

culture are not considered. It determines the

reliability of the results since all aspects of

the success of multinational companies are

not taken into account. This study focuses on

the timescale of the global organization

during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the

long-term implications require in-depth

study. The recent fallout from the virus is a

severe limitation on the approach to data

collection and contact with research-related

companies.

Results

Introduction

In the framework of this work,

questionnaires of a target group of 25

managers from professional communities

are studied, a detailed description of which

is given below. Questionnaires were sent via

e-mail, the results are presented in the form

of diagrams. Statistical significance will be

assessed using the t-test tool. Four

hypotheses are analyzed, which are

presented in the questionnaire in Table 1.

Then, an analysis was made of the financial

performance of companies from five

selected industries and a search for a

correlation between these results and the

dynamics of the number of remote

employees.

First of all, it was necessary to decide on

industries where non-remote work is not

critical but is an option for employees and,

they had to visit the office or be onsite

workers. Such industries involve almost no

physical contact with the client; most of the

interaction takes place within the framework

of electronic interaction. These most

relevant business areas include IT, private

education, marketing, analytics,

management, and design. Each of these

areas has several professions that are most

in demand in the labor market worldwide

due to the relevance and effectiveness of the

technologies used (Phillips, 2020). The

search for leaders from professional

communities took place precisely in these

areas.

As a result, leaders representing five of the

business sectors listed above were selected

for places from twenty-five questionnaires.

The IT sector was represented by leaders,

each of whom is a manager or team leader in

web development teams, testers, mobile

application developers, and Python and Java

specialists. The marketing industry was

represented by leaders from the areas of

SEO, SMM, targeting, and Internet

marketers. Game design companies, graphic

design companies, and UX / UI developers

represent the design industry. Education and

analytics specialists are also take part in this

study. Figure 3 shows the number of leaders

in the selected industries.

Figure 3. Participants by industries

The distribution of demographic

characteristics is shown in Figure 4 and was

not used as any variable for the analysis. This

is due to the fact that this study primarily

answers the questions of the effectiveness of

separately chosen leadership styles, certain

aspects of management, but does not aim to

find a relationship between the gender or

age of leaders. However, this information is

provided here for the purpose of possible

further research.

Figure 4. Demographic data

Overall, the samples for each industry were

relatively small when compared to studies of

remote workers (Kaveri & Mohan, 2020;

Lueck, 2021; Chatterjee et al., 2022). As

mentioned above, twenty-five leaders

received the questionnaires by email and

completed the Likert scale questions and

supplemented the questionnaires with

answers to open-ended questions within the

predetermined time frame. The list of

companies considered in the article is also

partially anonymized at the request of some

participants. The results section of this

article is presented as follows: first, it is a

graphical representation of the statistical

data on the Homans model of information

obtained from the questionnaires. The

numbers and relative sizes of teleworkers

within companies are then presented,

followed by a regression analysis on the four

dimensions of organizational success

reflected in financial measures collected

from company public data sources. All

calculations were carried out in two

periodizations: in the pre-pandemic period

and the current one. The interpretation of

the results goes hand in hand with the

quantitative information presented.

Questionnaire Analysis

A preliminary breakdown of the business

industry and chosen leadership style in Q1 is

shown in Figure 5. It is worth noting that

most leaders whose professions are more

related to information technology have not

changed their style after switching to remote

work from the office (Taucean et al., 2016).

The processes of their communication

almost always took place with the help of

various tools of Internet communication,

due to which the main difficulties in the way

of transition were psychological problems

associated with isolation and a forced shift in

the balance between personal life and work.

Other managers have lost their usual

mechanisms for monitoring employees, and

such a process does not always lead to

adverse effects (Taucean et al., 2016). Many

noted an involuntary transition to adaptive

leadership; in Homans terminology – the

leaders faced the task of maintaining the

norms and attitudes: the values, mission,

and vision of the company in the processes

taking place in the new conditions and

environment.

Figure 5. Leadership styles by industries

It can be seen that, in general, the styles

were distributed relatively evenly; only

adaptive, laissez-faire, and joint stand out in

number, which are the most suitable for the

remote mode, according to the literature

review. Next, Figure 6 shows the number of

remote workers before and after the

pandemic in the respective industries. This

information was obtained entirely from the

questionnaires of managers in Q2.

Figure 6. Number of remote workers by

industries

Figure 6 shows a trend that the number of

remote workers has only increased since the

start of the pandemic. Initially, there were no

remote employees at all; for some

organizations, this transition has lasted and

only accelerated due to external factors. The

distribution of remote employees is

approximately the same since the consent to

participate was mainly given by middle

managers, where the number of employees

under their control does not exceed 100

people. The main retention factors for onsite

workers were clarified in an open question:

they include employees who need access to

specific hardware or face-to-face interaction

with customers despite restrictions. Figure 7

shows the average percentage of growth by

industry. The IT, design and analytics sectors

are experiencing the lowest growth rates

due to the already large number of

employees working remotely, while these

changes were new for education and

marketing.

Figure 7. Percentage of increase by

industries

Further, Figure 8 shows the dependence of

the benefits of international experience in

the transition to a remote mode in

organizations and industries. The

information was taken from the H1 part of

the questionnaires. The following points

were evaluated on a five-point Likert scale:

international communication tools can be

adapted for smaller branches; remote

interaction technologies between countries

are applied locally after the pandemic;

leaders were able to adapt their tasks and

norms to the new conditions without

hindrance. The average value for each

industry was then calculated from the

weighted average vote, where each of the

items had the same weight. Consequently,

there were again more positive results for

the IT companies, marketing, and analytics

industries. Comparing this result with similar

studies of previous years, it can be concluded

that it is in these areas that the influence of

international experience extends to the

individual effectiveness of employees, which

results in the productivity of the entire

company (Hultman et al., 2011).

Figure 8. The impact of multinational

experience on remote working mode

In general, each of these industries is, to a

different extent, associated with the use of

information technology in its operational

activities; however, the effectiveness of

adapting these tools to specific non-

operational tasks differs. The virtual sphere

implies not only the main functionality of

companies but also the possibility of

communication and interactive interaction

between employees (Vijaykar & Karhade,

2021). Figure 8 illustrates the following

hypothesis that remote leaders can

positively influence the mental state of

employees, it is presented in the H2 section

of questionnaire. Problems of social

exclusion, work-life balance, communication

with each employee separately, and

adaptation of communication and

behavioral norms are the variables that are

assessed in this question. Even within the

framework of this activity, the leader must

be revealed as a person who is deeply

competent in matters of psychology.

However, employees’ problems can often be

personal in nature, which will affect

performance, but the leader’s sphere of

influence does not extend. However, the

results were significantly lower on all

measures than those testing the first

hypothesis.

Figure 9. Leaders’ impact on workers mental

health by industries

This figure shows that the sphere of

analytics, IT, and design suffered the most.

Adjustment in education and marketing has

been better with adjusting communication

norms and a more flexible work-life balance.

Most leaders in design work with each

employee individually, as creativity and

uniqueness are critical competencies in this

area (Baum & Baumann, 2018). In general,

leaders singled out psychological problems

as a negative aspect of the impact on

productivity, which is difficult to correct by

managerial decisions. However, figure 10

shows which leadership styles have been

most effective in working with the

atmosphere in the team.

Figure 10. Leaders’ impact on workers

mental health by leadership styles

Naturally, servant leadership received the

highest of the ratings since, in this type of

leadership, the psychological state of

employees is considered a critical

determinant of their satisfaction and

involvement (Canavesi & Minelli, 2021). The

participants explained the relatively low

indicators of participative leadership

resulting from conflict situations due to the

inability to find a compromise due to the

tense and stressful situation amid the

pandemic. Adaptive leadership is seen as the

most suitable for remote leadership and, at

the same time, has a positive effect on the

atmosphere within the team (Akhtar et al.,

2016). Specific problems are presented as

adaptive tasks in the company’s interests,

which become a mechanism for influencing

interactions between employees and

forming flexible attitudes that contribute to

efficiency. The participants as a promising

direction highlight joint leadership, but the

methods of its use are still in constant

practical development since the beginning of

the XXI century (Wilhelmson, 2006).

Managers, in general, did not single out

technical equipment as a problem that could

affect the productivity of employees.

Moreover, many representatives of design

and IT work on their own devices, laptops,

and computers; therefore, the transition in

terms of software will be the most painless.

Representatives of education highlighted

noticeable changes; for some of them, the

transition from offline learning to online

mode was quite laborious (Lai & Bower,

2019). Here, weighted voting was applied

only to those responses that played a

relevant role in the evaluation of the

answers from section H3. If the employee did

not need help with hardware or software,

the manager’s responses to these questions

were not taken into account in the statistics.

The main aspects of the assessment included

the already mentioned assistance with

hardware and software, consultations,

intervention of the management on the

technical equipment of the employee, the

use of outsourcing services or delegation of

technical issues, and, finally, own example of

a leader in the use of technology (Fowkes,

2020). In the IT field, management is

required to have technical competencies,

especially given that many team leads are

former developers (Moradi, 2020). There are

no apparent results of understanding the

implementation of technologies in other

industries. Nevertheless, almost all leaders

tried to set their example. Only

representatives of the design and analytics

sector turned to outsource, while in the

marketing industry, leaders of this study

consulted their employees more often than

others (Giest, 2018). Finally, the weight of

indicators for each industry was calculated

separately, taking into account the necessary

and excluded parameters, as shown in Figure

11.

Figure 11. Technical issues by industries

Despite the relatively large number of issues

in various areas during the transition to a

remote mode, most companies in this study

generally coped with them. According to

executives open question’s answers,

psychological problems had a more

significant impact on the workflow than

technical or operational problems. In a few

cases, managers reported that there were

still problems with technical issues: much of

this is due to funding issues. The next

questionnaire sector H4 reflects the leader’s

opinion and information about the

company’s financial performance. Many

companies’ revenues fell immediately after

introducing the first restrictions, as

discussed in the sections above (Ashraf,

2020). However, in the field of IT and digital

marketing, in some cases, there was even an

increase, a rush demand, that some leaders

thought about the rapid expansion of the

headquarters.

The survey asked leaders to account for

lower revenues amid the global economic

crisis despite varying dynamics. In this

regard, the division into pre-pandemic and

post-pandemic periods will be made only in

the regression analysis section to find a

correlation between financial performance

and the number of employees in companies.

In addition, this H4 section of questions

contains statements about the main

operational business processes of the

company and their speed, optimization, and

the reflection of these dynamics on financial

performance. Figure 12 reflects the

weighted responses of industry leaders.

Figure 12. Financial performance by

industries

As it can be seen in the diagram, design

suffered the most in the financial plane. The

leaders in the field of analytics were able to

maintain the most even dynamics. In

education, management adapted to the new

conditions, improving overall financial

efficiency against the backdrop of declining

sales (Brinia et al., 2021). According to the

leaders’ answers, such a transition for the IT

industry and marketing only affected for the

better, despite the potential psychological

problems. The increased demand for IT

products and the need to move marketing

campaigns online due to the restrictions

imposed, respectively, are reflected in the

financial performance of companies in these

industries (Maresova et al., 2018). The

results of the correlation of assessments of

the financial performance of companies with

leadership styles are quite interesting. It is

worth noting that some leaders admitted

that they were inclined to change their style

under the pressure of external conditions

but still insisted that the basic mechanisms

of their management have so far remained

the same. In this regard, the dynamics of

changing styles after the pandemic is not

reflected in these statistics. The dependence

of financial indicators on leadership style is

shown in Figure 13.

Figure 13. Financial performance by styles

Servant and adaptive leadership show the

best results in improving operational

processes and optimization, apparently since

such styles were in the lead and in the ability

to work with the mental state of employees

(Canavesi & Minelli, 2021). Laissez-faire has

the best sales and financial performance

because most of the leaders with such styles

work in the field of IT and marketing, which

have maintained and even increased

revenue in times of crisis (Baum & Baumann,

2018). Participative leadership is proving to

be the most inappropriate for adapting to

remote work, although it may be able to

change the dynamics over a longer distance

(Akpoviroro et al., 2018). Management

mechanisms in joint leadership lead to

better optimization of business processes

but still do not contribute to a positive

impact on financial performance

(Wilhelmson, 2006).

At the end of the questionnaire, an open-

ended question allowed for a free-form list

and explanation of those aspects that were

not covered in the study but had a significant

impact on the effectiveness and process of

working remotely. Among these moments,

the process of working with clients stands

out. Executives say that employees were

more or less confident users of modern

technology, while this transition was

challenging for some clients from the design

and education sectors. Companies have the

opportunity and interest in the availability of

competencies on technical issues among

employees, especially in related areas, but

they cannot guarantee the same knowledge

from customers. Problems could arise,

ranging from communication tools to

complexities in e-commerce. Customers, as a

rule, spent more time adapting to new

conditions than employees of the company

(Sizova et al., 2021).

All results were calculated by weighted

voting after statistical processing of the

received answers. Values above one showed

that the answers were generally close to the

maximum and, as a result, the aspects in the

hypotheses did not cause problems and had

only positive dynamics. Values below one

implied worsening of the indicator in

question in the industry or company. As a

result, the obtained data can lead to one

coefficient of companies’ adaptation to new

conditions. The industry average for each of

the above items with a weighted vote based

on data from the questionnaires will be

presented in Figure 13. Technical issues H3

and international experience H1 received

the least weight as determinants of the

effectiveness of the company and

employees in particular. The psychological

impact H2 of external factors and the

company’s financial performance H4 had a

much more significant influence on the

company’s internal processes according to

the open question answers. The weights for

financial activity, psychological influence,

technical issues, and international

experience were 0.35, 0.35, 0.15, and 0.15,

respectively.

Figure 14. Adaptation rate by industries

In this Figure 14, it can be seen that financial

performance has become the leading

determining indicator of the coefficient of

adaptation to new conditions. The industries

are located identically if compared with

Figure 12. At the same time, the index of

influence on the mental state of employees

that has the same weight as the leader has a

different location by industry in Figure 9.

Therefore, financial performance as a

mechanism for assessing the company’s

efficiency was chosen correctly. This fact will

be approved by the statistical significance

calculations at the end of the chapter.

A similar adaptation rate for leadership

styles is shown in Figure 15. Laissez-faire has

high rates only due to maintaining a positive

financial performance due to the leadership

representation of this style in IT companies.

Due to well-developed mechanisms for

dealing with the mental consequences of a

pandemic among employees, servant

leadership showed the best result of the

calculated coefficient. Technological aspects

and international experience again turned

out to be approximately on the same level

and did not significantly affect the results in

a weighted vote. As stated, adaptive,

servant, and joint are the most appropriate

leadership styles in the designated industries

when working remotely. This information

can help companies and leaders considering

implementing remote mode use the critical

approaches and control mechanisms specific

to the selected styles.

Figure 15. Adaptation rate by styles

The laissez-faire style in IT is pretty standard

due to the specific competencies, which

need a certain degree of autonomy (Baum &

Baumann, 2018). The manager is more

concerned with negotiating contracts and

project management than direct

intervention in the operational process. This

fact explains the autonomy of almost all

employees of the considered IT companies in

the hardware and software used (Baum &

Baumann, 2018). International experience in

this industry implies the use of advanced

technologies and applications, as this aspect

is critical in maintaining the competitiveness

of companies (O’Donell et al., 2002). In this

regard, the leaders practically did not have

to adapt the norms of communication and

attitudes to the new regime since the means

of communication remained the same.

Declining product sales have hardest hit the

design industry. Design development

requires the realization of creative potential

from employees, who, as a rule, endure

crises more difficultly. Leaders in this field

were more likely to work with each

employee individually but could not offer

sufficient relief from the effects of social and

professional isolation and create a work-life

balance (Orzel & Wolniak, 2022).

International experience has also helped

design leaders to a lesser extent in adapting,

but many see these difficulties as temporary.

A positive attitude helps maintain growth in

related areas that often turn to design

services – IT and marketing, as well as a

significant transition of a large number of

people and businesses online, where the

creation of unique content will be an even

more important characteristic of the

competitiveness of any company in the

market (Orzel & Wolniak, 2022).

The sphere of private education assumes the

most extended contact with clients even

after the transition of employees to a remote

work mode. In this regard, so much attention

is paid to the psychological aspects in this

industry – more than in any of the

considered ones (Yildirim & Elverici, 2021).

Information technology tools have long been

firmly integrated into the usual education

processes but have not yet allowed the

industry to be fully integrated into the virtual

environment (Manegre & Sabiri, 2020). As

leaders claim, live contact continues to be

valued by many in the profession and clients.

In connection with this, the lowest rates of

technical equipment of employees from this

area are observed. Managers are faced with

the need to compromise between

legislation, mass character, and efficiency

(Yildirim & Elverici, 2021).

If we consider the most suitable style for

remote management, then servant and

adaptive are objective favorites in

comparison. According to past research, the

best styles are derived from

transformational leadership, which includes

adaptive and servant (Lombardo, 2011). The

servant considers the psychological issues

that have proven to be important in the

context of the adaptation process. Servant

leadership puts employees first in its values,

giving them the most attention (Canavesi &

Minelli, 2021). Indeed, leaders with this style

were more likely to devote time to each

employee individually and, using familiar

mechanisms, establish appropriate

interaction and installation processes in the

new environment, as the analysis of

questionnaires showed. As a rule, according

to Homans, each employee is clearly aware

of his goal and personal benefit, which

contributes to efficiency and productivity at

the level of the entire company.

Adaptive leadership is highly relevant in the

face of uncertainty (Thomé et al., 2016). The

pandemic created just such a background,

where each industry was forced to adapt to

new conditions dictated by external factors

(Lin et al., 2021). Adaptive tasks are set as

tasks in the company’s interests, which take

into account only the current situation

(Thomé et al., 2016). There is practically no

routine and certainty in actions in such

organizations, but all employees are highly

mobile and competent in their fields (Lin et

al., 2021). At the same time, leaders take full

responsibility for the proposed solutions and

are always ready to admit their mistakes

with a new solution. Therefore, these two

styles should be considered by the leaders of

companies that are switching to a remote

work mode to find a balance between

psychological factors and maintaining the

company’s financial activity.

According to the questionnaire, four

hypotheses H1 – H4 were put forward.

Responses were analyzed by t-test for

statistical significance. Responses on a Likert

scale of 4 and 5 were taken into account,

which implied an affirmative answer to the

statements provided, influencing the

hypotheses. A standard error was calculated

for each of the presented statements in the

H1-H4 section of the questionnaire. t =1.96

is the value used for the 95% confidence

level. Table 2 shows the resulting statistical

significance values. The questionnaires

showed that the most significant differences

between samples by industry are in matters

of international experience and technical

equipment H1 and H3. Psychological factors

and financial performance H2 and H4, taken

with a large weight in the calculation of the

adaptation rate, have less significance in the

differences, but still exceed the level of

confidence, which this fact can confirm the

hypotheses with a confidence level of 95%. If

the same values of the survey results are

divided by leadership styles, the statistical

significance will be somewhat different, it is

presented in Table 3.

Table 2. Statistical significance for H1-H4

questionnaire sections by industry samples

Pooled

Sample

Proportion

(p)

Standard

Error

(SE)

Test

Statistic

(t)

Confidence

Level

H1.

Multinational

experience

helps

companies to

adapt for

remote

working

better.

0.428

0.567

3.35

1.96

H2. A remote

leader has a

positive effect

0.403

0.546

2.28

1.96

on the mental

state of

employees

and the

atmosphere

in the team.

H3. Technical

equipment or

lack of it

affects the

efficiency of

remote

workers.

0.583

0.565

4.31

1.96

H4. Remote

leadership

affects the

company’s

financial

performance.

0.383

0.522

2.08

1.96

Table 3. Statistical significance for H1-H4

questionnaire sections by styles samples

Pooled

Sample

Proportion

(p)

Standard

Error

(SE)

Test

Statistic

(t)

Confidence

Level

H1.

Multinational

experience

helps

companies to

adapt for

remote

working

better.

0.232

0.483

1.46

1.96

H2. A remote

leader has a

positive effect

on the mental

state of

0.461

0.571

4.78

1.96

employees

and the

atmosphere

in the team.

H3. Technical

equipment or

lack of it

affects the

efficiency of

remote

workers.

0.367

0.544

2.46

1.96

H4. Remote

leadership

affects the

company’s

financial

performance.

0.415

0.554

1.99

1.96

The statistical significance of the difference

in the samples between styles on the t-test

was determined in the H2 and H3

hypotheses about the mental state and

technical equipment. Financial performance

varied significantly between style samples,

while the effect of style on international

experience was not confirmed in this survey.

Comparing the results with the Homans

model, we can conclude that sentiments and

interactions are indeed key factors in

establishing a social group in remote

management, while activities and company’s

success have less influence. Further research

is related to the search for a correlation

between the number of remote employees

and the financial performance of companies

from these industries. The results obtained

will also be tested using the t-test.

Remote Workers and Financial Indicators

Correlation

The number of remote workers has

increased significantly since the introduction

of pandemic restrictions. This fact is proved

by the results of the survey of managers.

However, these data were given to small

departments of international companies. A

broader scope is the search for correlations

in international companies from these areas

between the financial indicators of

organizations indicated in the Methodology

section and the dynamics of the number of

remote employees in the period before the

pandemic, after it began, and to the present

moment. Among the 25 executives, one

company was selected in each industry,

which contains publicly available

information on the number of remote

employees and has up-to-date financial

indicators in annual reports. In order to

maintain confidentiality, the affiliation of

specific study participants to organizations is

not disclosed.

This work was carried out with significant

assumptions and limitations in order to test

the second question of the H4 questionnaire,

stating “the increase in the number of

remote employees increased the whole

financial efficiency of the company”,

according to the data on the number of

remote employees provided in sections of

the same questionnaire. “The whole

financial efficiency of the company” in this

statement means the quantitative

indicators, that show liquidity, asset

turnover, profitability and market value of

the organization. In all the companies

examined, the number of remote employees

has increased, which allows considering this

issue as a separate hypothesis in this section.

However, the process of earning a company

can be influenced by many external and

internal factors that do not depend on the

chosen variable. The survey participants also

informed that there was no staff turnover

and significant change in workflow tasks in

the particular departments of the companies

in question. It is also assumed that the group

of employees who remained in the offices

and the remote employees started with the

same performance rating, recorded in the

company’s financial indicators. The units

controlled by the leaders did not undergo

changes in human resources. Summarizing

all of the above and taking into account

these assumptions in the results, this study

can be carried out in order to find a different

point of view on the results of the second

question of H4 questionnaire, presenting the

quantitative dependence of four groups of

financial indicators on the dynamic number

of remote employees.

Data from the following companies were

analyzed: Alphabet Inc., Accenture

Interactive, Deloitte Digital, SAP, and Bright

Horizons. First, information was obtained

from open sources of annual reports on the

number of employees and the approximate

percentage of those who work remotely

among them. Here, the trend of a significant

increase in the number of remote workers

during the pandemic and a slight decrease to

the present moment when many pandemic

restrictions have already been lifted. Tables

4 and 5 show these quantitative indicators.

Table 6 shows the estimated number of

remote workers in each company listed.

Table 4. Percent of remote employees in

companies

Company

Percent of

Remote

Employees

before

Pandemic

(2019)

Percent of

Remote

Employees

during

Pandemic

(2020-2021)

Percent of

Remote

Employees

now (2021-

2022)

Alphabet

Inc

15%

60%

20%

Accenture

Interactive

4.7%

39.8%

14.5%

Deloitte

Digital

30%

50%

SAP

10%

70%

60%

Bright

Horizons

45%

29%

Table 5. Number of employees in companies

Company

Number of

Employees

before

Pandemic

(2019)

Number of

Employees

during

Pandemic

(2020-2021)

Number of

Employees

now (2021-

2022)

Alphabet

Inc

118899

135301

156500

Accenture

Interactive

492000

506000

624000

Deloitte

Digital

2575

2642

2581

SAP

100330

102430

107415

Bright

Horizons

24300

26800

29000

Table 6. Number of remote employees in

companies

Company

Number of

Employees

before

Pandemic

(2019)

Number of

Employees

during

Pandemic

(2020-2021)

Number of

Employees

now (2021-

2022)

Alphabet

Inc

17835

81181

31300

Accenture

Interactive

23124

201388

90480

Deloitte

Digital

793

1291

SAP

10033

71701

64449

Bright

Horizons

1215

12060

8410

Tables 7-11 are presented below, reflecting

the company’s financial performance for the

indicated three periods according to pre-

selected indicators. Data is also taken from

companies’ annual reports, and in rare cases,

some ratios have been calculated from the

same data. These organizations, in general,

practically did not experience a significant

economic shock caused by the crisis due to

pandemic restrictions. Nevertheless, the

dynamics of many indicators are not evident,

and therefore the search for correlation will

be carried out by groups of these financial

values: liquidity, asset turnover, profitability,

and market value.

Table 7. Alphabet Inc Financials

Alphabet Inc

2019

2020

2021

Current ratio

3.37

3.07

2.93

Asset turnover ratio

0.587

0.571

0.717

Gross profit ratio

55.6

53.6

56.9

Operating profit ratio

21.15

22.59

30.55

Net profit ratio

21.22

22.06

29.51

Return on Investment

16.67

17.03

28.54

PE ratio

29.52

23.46

27.49

Earnings per Share

49.1

58.6

112.2

Table 8. Accenture Interactive Financials

Accenture Interactive

2019

2020

2021

Current ratio

1.39

1.40

1.25

Asset turnover ratio

1.45

1.19

1.17

Gross profit ratio

30.8

31.5

32.4

Operating profit ratio

14.59

14.69

15.06

Net profit ratio

11.05

11.52

11.68

Return on Investment

32.64

29.54

29.73

PE ratio

22.49

22.92

29.39

Earnings per Share

7.36

7.89

9.16

Table 9. Deloitte Digital Financials

Deloitte Digital

2019

2020

2021

Current ratio

1.025

1.010

1.016

Asset turnover ratio

0.258

0.598

0.432

Gross profit ratio

27.1

22.8

20.05

Operating profit ratio

102

Net profit ratio

2.7

2.2

1.9

Return on Investment

10.8

7.4

8.9

PE ratio

33.3

29.7

26.2

Earnings per Share

5.61

5.42

5.50

Table 10. SAP Financials

SAP

2019

2020

2021

Current ratio

1.58

1.05

1.17

Asset turnover ratio

0.48

0.46

0.47

Gross profit ratio

69.8

69.7

71.2

Operating profit ratio

23.08

16.23

24.23

Net profit ratio

16.52

12.05

17.82

Return on Investment

10.37

7.7

12.13

PE ratio

35.38

26.94

22.88

Earnings per Share

3.11

4.97

5.28

Table 11. Bright Horizons Financials

Bright Horizons

2019

2020

2021

Current ratio

0.82

0.79

0.87

Asset turnover ratio

0.48

0.56

0.48

Gross profit ratio

13.45

11.74

19.68

Operating profit ratio

5.62

5.12

5.89

Net profit ratio

3.3

2.3

Return on Investment

3.05

3.32

3.39

PE ratio

105.6

117.1

118.85

Earnings per Share

3.10

0.45

1.36

For each company, calculations were made

separately. As a result, a comprehensive

assessment of the dependence of the

leading financial indicators on the number of

remote employees in the company was

obtained. The regression analysis results are

shown in summary table 12, where the

coefficients for each of the sections of

financial indicators with a weighted average

vote are also calculated. The final values are

presented as an R-square, which is closer to

one, the stronger the correlation between

these variables.

Table 12. R-squares for financials by

companies

Ratio/Company

Alphabet

Accenture

Deloitte

SAP

Current ratio

(Liquidity)

0.16

0.04

0.48

0.99

0.03

Asset

turnoverratio

0.17

0.75

0.38

0.84

0.57

Gross profit

ratio

0.68

0.09

0.99

0.12

0.01

Operating profit

ratio

0.03

0.97

0.98

0.23

Net profit ratio

0.05

0.38

0.99

0.16

0.18

Return on

Investment

0.09

0.68

0.48

0.05

0.74

Profitability

0.21

0.53

0.86

0.14

0.29

PE ratio

0.98

0.01

0.98

0.82

0.80

Earnings per

0.03

0.02

0.46

0.94

0.99

Market Value

0.51

0.01

0.72

0.88

0.90

According to the obtained data of statistical

significance, with the accepted confidence

level of 95% and, accordingly, t = 1.96, the

asset turnover and market value indicators

can be extrapolated to the general

population, the result turned out to be

statistically significant. At the same time, the

correlation between the company’s

profitability and liquidity and the number of

remote employees is small and does not

have a close statistical relationship.

The regression analysis, in turn, considered

in more detail the dependence of financial

indicators and their components on the

number of remote employees. At Deloitte,

this factor was necessary for performance

and efficiency; at Alphabet Inc., no such

correlation was observed. The highest

dependence on liquidity is observed at SAP,

which indicates the importance of the

remote work mechanism for adapting to

new conditions in the field of analytics

(Motamarri et al., 2022). At the same time,

the company has the highest dependence of

asset turnover on the number of remote

workers. Market value measures are most

correlated with the ratio of remote workers

everywhere except in the marketing

industry. These mechanisms are not evident

in their qualitative interpretation; there is

likely an influence of other factors that are

not considered in this work.

IT company Alphabet showed the most

negligible dependence on the number of

remote employees since the regime change

processes do not significantly affect its well-

established integrated information

development system – most employees

constantly reside and interact in a virtual

environment (Alves et al., 2021). At the same

time, indicators of liquidity and profitability

in web design, which are closely related to

the IT structure, have a much higher

correlation indicator. Despite possible

psychological challenges due to the

pandemic, creatives in the design industry

appreciate the balance of personal work and

family more, improving their productivity

with positive changes in this area (Orzel &

Wolniak, 2022). The education sector,

represented by Bright Horizons, has a high

correlation between market value and asset

turnover. Teachers could work more online,

and technologies and tools for distance

learning began to develop quite quickly

(Yildirim & Elverici, 2021). These factors

affected the company’s financial results.

Discussion

Results Implications

It can be concluded that the growing

popularity of studying aspects of remote

leadership in international companies is

needed primarily to improve the

organization’s performance. At the moment,

the potential for the effectiveness of the

transition to remote work has not been fully

utilized due to somewhere lack of

experience, somewhere external solid

factors, and the mechanisms for combating,

which have not yet been fully mastered by

leaders. It has been proven for a long time

that technology is the engine of progress and

competitiveness of organizations, just as the

mental state of employees is a key factor in

the financial performance of almost any

company (Kostopoulos et al., 2011; Kim et

al., 2011). This paper evaluates these criteria

through the prism of remote leadership,

which, due to the global external factor of

the pandemic, has become widespread in

the world and required a reassessment of

the impact on employee engagement and

other key indicators (Galanti et al., 2021).

The survey of leaders provides an

opportunity to identify the most promising

management styles in the five industries

considered, where the transition to remote

work is a topical issue (Ford & Chang, 2021).

As a result, these results have not only

statistical significance for further scientific

research, but also scope for practical

implementations, confirmed by a statistically

significant survey.

Recommendations

Recommendations for practical

implementations are the ability to apply

certain style features that have proven to be

most suitable for remote leadership in these

five industries. The basics of servant and

adaptive styles have proven themselves in

the most important four aspects that affect

the success and progress of the company,

according to the analysis of the

questionnaires. The theoretical importance

lies in a detailed analysis of the responses of

leaders who, by their own example,

experienced the transition to a remote work

mode.

Failure to follow these recommendations

can lead to the main identified problems

raised in this study: mental health and

technical equipment. According to the

results of questionnaires, other leadership

styles in their foundations do not involve

such a detailed inclusion of the leader in

processes that are usually closer to personal

life in balance with work (Putra et al., 2020).

As a consequence, engagement and

satisfaction may fall, leading to a drop in

performance (Putra et al., 2020). Leaders can

adapt their approaches to the new

environment in order to maintain these

important characteristics of work.

Further Research

The task of assessing the effectiveness of the

company as a whole is multifactorial and

multicriteria. In the specific conditions of the

transition to a remote mode, leadership has

the opportunity to transform under the

influence of international experience, the

virtual environment, and the general

atmosphere in the team (Wang et al., 2021).

Although other external and subjective

factors may have influenced the final results

of this study, the main task of testing the

hypotheses was achieved. Further research

may go deeper into each factor separately,

differentiating aspects of remote leadership

(Wang et al., 2021; Waizenegger et al.,

2020). Such assessments are needed for

further integration, creating a unique model

that implements a practical approach within

a particular industry.

Mathematical studies of quantitative

indicators can be further processed using

modern machine learning techniques, neural

networks, or fuzzy logic. In economics and

forecasting, many quantities are

approximate, and therefore work in fuzzy

algebra can give more detailed results

(Ferrer-Comalat et al., 2020). The

methodology can be extended not only to

mathematical modeling methods but also to

the information industry. Obtaining

universal models is possible due to the steps

for solving highly technical problems.

In addition to the methodology, further work

in this area may optimize the variables under

consideration. Accounting for such aspects

as satisfaction, involvement, qualifications of

employees, peculiarities of working with

clients, and cultural and social components

can also significantly impact the results of

assessments of the company’s performance

as a whole (Galanti et al., 2021). Finally, the

distribution of the model proposed in this

paper for a broader range of business sectors

and companies, working with data without

considering the pandemic, can also be

considered promising areas for developing

this issue. Further research implications can

also include extrapolation to other

industries, validation of statistical

significance by another tools, and

consideration of different models that

describe interaction and governance in

organizations.

Conclusion

This work conducts an in-depth analysis of

the literature on the transformation of

leadership processes in the context of the

transition to a remote work mode. Each

leadership style is considered in detail in its

original meaning, as well as through the

prism of remote leadership. Digital

transformations, international experience,

and general trends that have come to

various business sectors with the pandemic

provide a starting point for this study. The

theoretical analysis shows that remote

leadership can influence the company’s

efficiency through tasks, interactions, and

attitudes, which are explained by the

Homans theory. Literature analysis has

shown that these three aspects include the

psychological factor, experience in

international activities, technical equipment

issues, and the company’s financial

performance. Together they add up to the

interest and capabilities of employees, which

is the key to successful interaction,

efficiency, and productivity.

A questionnaire for managers was built on

this model, and a regression analysis was

carried out. These two tools made it possible

to comprehensively assess remote

leadership styles in various industries and

the impact of this mode on the company’s

productivity, expressed in financial terms.

Adaptive and servant styles have proven to

be the most effective for remote leadership.

The most important aspects of adapting to

new conditions were the psychological

factor and financial performance, a

comprehensive assessment that turned out

to be higher than other styles. The IT

industry and marketing survived the

consequences of the crisis more quickly due

to the increased demand for the services of

these companies in the new reality. The rest

of the styles and industries received a

detailed assessment of each factor of remote

leadership that affects efficiency.

Finally, the regression analysis showed that

the relationship between the number of

remote employees and financial

performance is relatively small, having a

more point and, at the same time, multi-

criteria character. Each industry reacts

differently to the forced or planned

transition of employees to remote work, and

different groups of financial indicators show

this fact. In particular, during the transition,

companies are subject to changes in financial

indicators of market value and asset

turnover, which is explained by investors’

reactions to the global crisis and the

dynamics of the purchasing power of the

target audience, respectively.

References

Accenture. (2019). Accenture 2019 Fiscal

Annual Report. Web.

Accenture. (2020). Accenture 2020 Fiscal

Annual Report. Web.

Accenture. (2021). Accenture 2021 Fiscal

Annual Report. Web.

Ahuja, G., & Morris Lampert, C. (2001).

Entrepreneurship in the large corporation: A

longitudinal study of how established firms

create breakthrough inventions. Strategic

Management Journal, 22(6‐7), 521-543.

Akhtar, P., Tse, Y. K., Khan, Z., & Rao-

Nicholson, R. (2016). Data-driven and

adaptive leadership contributing to

sustainability: Global agri-food supply chains

connected with emerging

markets. International Journal of Production

Economics, 181, 392-401. Web.

Akpoviroro, K. S., Kadiri, B., & Owotutu, S. O.

(2018). Effect of participative leadership

style on employee’s

productivity. International Journal of

Economic Behavior (IJEB), 8(1), 47-60. Web.

Alphabet Inc. (2019). 2019 Annual

Report. Web.

Alphabet Inc. (2020). 2020 Annual Report.

Web.

Alphabet  Inc.  (2021). 2021  Annual 
Report. Web. 
Alves, T. L. D. L., Amorim, A. F. A., & Bezerra, 
M. C. C. (2021). “Not one less”! Adaptation 
to  the  home  office  in  times  of  COVID-
19. Revista  de  Administração 
Contemporânea, 25. 
ASA. (2018). Code of Ethics. Web. 
Ashraf,  B.  N.  (2020). Economic  impact  of 
government interventions during the COVID-
19  pandemic:  International  evidence  from 
financial markets. Journal of Behavioral and 
Experimental Finance, 27, 100371. Web. 
APA.  (2021). Psychiatrists  use  of 
telepsychiatry during COVID-19 public health 
emergency. Web. 
Apple. (2022). Diversity and Inclusion. Web. 
Arvanitis,  S.,  &  Loukis,  E.  N.  (2009). 
Information  and  communication 

technologies, human capital, workplace

organization and labour productivity: A

comparative study based on firm-level data

for Greece and Switzerland. Information

Economics and Policy, 21(1), 43-61.

Basile, K. A., & Beauregard, T. A. (2016).

Strategies for successful telework: How

effective employees manage work/home

boundaries. Strategic HR Review, 15(3), 106-

111.

Baum, I. R., & Baumann, N.

(2018). Autonomous creativity: The implicit

autonomy motive fosters creative

production and innovative behavior at

school. Gifted and Talented International,

33(1-2), 15-25. Web.

Bilan, Y., Hussain, H. I., Haseeb, M., & Kot, S.

(2020). Sustainability and economic

performance: Role of organizational learning

and innovation. Engineering Economics,

31(1), 93-103. Web.

Bloom, N. (2020). How working from home

works out. Institute for Economic Policy

Research (SIEPR). Policy Brief June. Web.

Bright Horizons. (2019). For Investors. Web.

Bright Horizons. (2020). For Investors. Web.

Brinia, V., Leimoniti, S., & Dimos, A. (2021).

Financial Gains and Moral Satisfaction as Key

Factors for Greater Efficiency in the Field of

Education. Education Sciences, 11(5), 236.

Brynjolfsson, E., Horton, J. J., Ozimek, A.,

Rock, D., Sharma, G., & TuYe, H. Y. (2020).

COVID-19 and remote work: An early look at

US data (No. w27344). National Bureau of

Economic Research.

Canavesi, A., & Minelli, E. (2021). Servant

leadership and employee engagement: a

qualitative  study. Employee  Responsibilities 
and Rights Journal, 1-23. 
Chai  S.  &  Freeman  R.  (2019).  Temporary 
colocation and collaborative discovery: Who 
confers at conferences. Technical Report. 
Chatterjee,  S.,  Chaudhuri,  R.,  &  Vrontis,  D. 
(2022). Does remote work flexibility enhance 
organization performance? Moderating role 
of organization policy and top management 
support. Journal  of  Business  Research,  139, 
1501-1512. Web. 
Chen,  S.,  &  Choi,  C.  J.  (2005). A  social 
exchange perspective on business ethics: An 
application to knowledge exchange. Journal 
of Business Ethics, 62(1), 1-11. Web. 
Cong,  Y.  (2021). A  commentary  of  Remote 
everything  in  MIT  Technology  Review 
2021. Fundamental Research, 1(6), 842-843. 
Web. 

Contreras, F., Baykal, E., & Abid, G. (2020). E-

leadership and teleworking in times of

COVID-19 and beyond: what we know and

where do we go. Frontiers in Psychology,

3484. Web.

Creswell, J. W., & Clark, V. L. P.

(2017). Designing and conducting mixed

methods research. Sage publications.

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D.

(2017). Research design: Qualitative,

quantitative, and mixed methods

approaches. Sage publications.

Deloitte Digital. (2020). Annual Report

19/20. Web.

Deloitte Digital. (2021). Annual Report

2021. Web.

Edeh, F. O., Ranjith, P. V., Syafawani, N., Kee,

D. M. H., Aina, N., Syafikah, N., & Nurunnisa,

N. (2021). McDonald’s Customer’s

Satisfaction Strategies during COVID-19

Pandemic in Malaysia. International Journal

of Tourism and Hospitality in Asia Pasific

(IJTHAP), 4(3), 73-88.

Espitia, A., Mattoo, A., Rocha, N., Ruta, M., &

Winkler, D. (2021). Pandemic trade: COVID‐

19, remote work and global value chains. The

World Economy, 45(2), 561-589.

Ferreira, R., Pereira, R., Bianchi, I. S., & da

Silva, M. M. (2021). Decision factors for

remote work adoption: Advantages,

disadvantages, driving forces and

challenges. Journal of Open Innovation:

Technology, Market, and Complexity, 7(1),

70.

Ferrer-Comalat, J. C., Corominas-Coll, D., &

Linares-Mustarós, S. (2020). Fuzzy logic in

economic models. Journal of Intelligent &

Fuzzy Systems, 38(5), 5333-5342. Web.

Flores, M. F. (2019). Understanding the

challenges of remote working and its impact

to workers. International Journal of Business

Marketing and Management (IJBMM), 4(11),

40-44. Web.

Ford B. & Chang E. (2021). IBM sees 80% of

employees working in hybrid roles after

pandemic. Bloomberg. Web.

Fowkes, L. (2020). Seeing people in the

computer: the role of information

technology in remote employment

services. Australian Journal of Social Issues,

55(1), 13-26.

Galanti, T., Guidetti, G., Mazzei, E., Zappalà,

S., & Toscano, F. (2021). Work from home

during the COVID-19 outbreak: The impact

on employees’ remote work productivity,

engagement, and stress. Journal of

Occupational and Environmental Medicine,

63(7), e426.

Giest, S. (2018). Policy learning in times of big

data analytics: The challenges of skill-based

outsourcing. In Knowledge, Policymaking

and Learning for European Cities and

Regions. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Golden, T. D., & Gajendran, R. S. (2019).

Unpacking the role of a telecommuter’s job

in their performance: Examining job

complexity, problem-solving,

interdependence, and social

support. Journal of Business and Psychology,

34(1), 55–69.

Han, E., Tan, M. M. J., Turk, E., Sridhar, D.,

Leung, G. M., Shibuya, K.,… & Legido-

Quigley, H. (2020). Lessons learnt from

easing COVID-19 restrictions: an analysis of

countries and regions in Asia Pacific and

Europe. The Lancet, 396(10261), 1525-1534.

Web.

Hayes, S., Priestley, J. L., Ishmakhametov, N.,

& Ray, H. E. (2020). “I’m not Working from

Home, I’m Living at Work”: Perceived Stress

and Work-Related Burnout before and

during COVID-19. Analytics & Data Science.

Web.

Hernandez, Y. A. T. (2020). Remote workers

during the COVID-19 lockdown. What are we

missing and why is important. Journal of

Occupational and Environmental Medicine,

62(11), e669-e672.

Hong, Z., Lee, C. K., & Zhang, L.

(2018). Procurement risk management

under uncertainty: a review. Industrial

Management & Data Systems, 118(7), 1547-

1574. Web.

Hultman, M., Katsikeas, C. S., & Robson, M.

J. (2011). Export promotion strategy and

performance: The role of international

experience. Journal of International

Marketing, 19(4), 17-39. Web.

Hunter, P. (2019). Remote working in

research: An increasing usage of flexible

work arrangements can improve

productivity and creativity. EMBO Reports,

20(1), e47435.

IBM. (2021). IBM Impact. Web.

Johnson, M. (2010). Barriers to innovation

adoption: a study of e‐markets. Industrial

Management & Data Systems, 110(2), 157-

174. Web.

Kabwe, C., & Okorie, C. (2019). The efficacy

of talent management in international

business: The case of European

multinationals. Thunderbird International

Business Review, 61(6), 857-872.

Kaveri, M. & Mohan, G.C.D.M.

(2020). Impact of Techno-Stress on IT sector

employees of Bengaluru City. PalArch’s

Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology,

17(7), pp.12886-12902. Web.

Kim, G., Shin, B., Kim, K. K., & Lee, H. G.

(2011). IT capabilities, process-oriented

dynamic capabilities, and firm financial

performance. Journal of the Association for

Information Systems, 12(7), 1. Web.

Kniffin, K. M., Narayanan, J., Antonakis, J., &

Greer, L. L. (2021). Covid-19 and the

workplace: Implications, issues, and insights

for future research and action. American

Psychologist, 76(1), 63–77.

Kostopoulos, K., Papalexandris, A.,

Papachroni, M., & Ioannou, G. (2011).

Absorptive capacity, innovation, and

financial performance. Journal of Business

Research, 64(12), 1335-1343.

Kramer, M. W., & Crespy, D. A. (2011).

Communicating collaborative

leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 22(5),

1024-1037.

Lai, J. W., & Bower, M. (2019). How is the use

of technology in education evaluated? A

systematic review. Computers & Education,

133, 27-42. Web.

Latapí Agudelo, M. A., Jóhannsdóttir, L., &

Davídsdóttir, B. (2019). A literature review of

the history and evolution of corporate social

responsibility. International Journal of

Corporate Social Responsibility, 4(1), 1-23.

Web.

Li, H., Li, F., & Chen, T. (2018). A

motivational–cognitive model of creativity

and the role of autonomy. Journal of

Business Research, 92, 179-188. Web.

Limsila, K. & Ogunlana, S. O. (2008).

Performance and leadership outcome

correlates of leadership styles and

subordinate commitment. Engineering,

Construction and Architectural

Management, 15(2), 164-184.

Lin, W., Shao, Y., Li, G., Guo, Y., & Zhan, X.

(2021). The psychological implications of

COVID-19 on employee job insecurity and its

consequences: The mitigating role of

organization adaptive practices. Journal of

Applied Psychology, 106(3), 317. Web.

Lombardo, C. P. (2011). Remote

management styles: Analyzing the effects of

relational psychological contracts and

leadership style on teleworkers. University of

Maryland University College.

Louangrath, P. (2018). Reliability and validity

of survey scales. International Journal of

Research & Methodology in Social Science,

4(1), 50-62.

Lueck, M. (2020). GDPR in the new remote-

working normal. Computer Fraud & Security,

2020(8), 14-16. Web.

Maden, C., Arıkan, E., Telci, E. E., & Kantur, D.

(2012). Linking corporate social

responsibility to corporate reputation: a

study on understanding behavioral

consequences. Procedia-Social and

Behavioral Sciences, 58, 655-664. Web.

Manegre, M., & Sabiri, K. A. (2020). Online

language learning using virtual classrooms:

an analysis of teacher

perceptions. Computer Assisted Language

Learning, 1-16.

Mann, S., & Holdsworth, L. (2003). The

psychological impact of teleworking: stress,

emotions and health. New

Technology, Work and Employment, 18(3),

196-211.

Maresova, P., Soukal, I., Svobodova, L.,

Hedvicakova, M., Javanmardi, E., Selamat,

A., & Krejcar, O. (2018). Consequences of

industry 4.0 in business and

economics. Economies, 6(3), 46.

Mehmood, K. K., Rasheed, R., & Jaan, J.

(2020). How Does Stakeholders Pressure

Affect Organization Performance and

Employee Wellbeing? Study of Multiple

Mediating Roles. Journal of Business and

Social Review in Emerging Economies, 6(1),

55-68. Web.

Miller, S. (2019). Underused EAPs are a

missed opportunity to help workers. SHRM.

Web.

Mollenkopf, D. A., Ozanne, L. K., & Stolze, H.

J. (2020). A transformative supply chain

response to COVID-19. Journal of Service

Management, 32(2), 190-202.

Moradi, S., Kähkönen, K. & Aaltonen, K.

(2020). Comparison of research and industry

views on project managers’

competencies. International Journal of

Managing Projects in Business, 13(3), 543-

572.

Motamarri, S., Akter, S., Hossain, M. A., &

Dwivedi, Y. K. (2022). How does remote

analytics empowerment capability payoff in

the emerging industrial revolution? Journal

of Business Research, 144, 1163-1174.

Novet, J. (2021). Google relaxes remote work

plan, will let 20% of employees

telecommute. CNBC. Web.

O’Donnell, A., Durkin, M.G. and McCartan‐

Quinn, D. (2002). Corporate banking in the

UK: personal vs remote

interaction. International Journal of Bank

Marketing, 20(6), 273-284.

Orzeł, B., & Wolniak, R. (2022). Digitization in

the Design and Construction Industry—

Remote Work in the Context of

Sustainability: A Study from

Poland. Sustainability, 14(3), 1332.

Oxelheim, L., & Randøy, T. (2021). The global

logistic chain under siege in a post-Covid

era. In Bidrag innen kundeverdi og marked:

Festskrift til Øyvind Helgesen (pp. 159-176).

Web.

Pavez, I., & Neves, E. (2021). Developing

Teams in a Virtual Environment: A

Generative Approach. The Journal of Applied

Behavioral Science, 00218863211053881.

Web.

Pham, D. N., Rios, L., & Workiewicz, M.

(2022). Remote Access Memories: How

Remote Work Will Impact Organizational

Learning and What Firms Can Do About

It. Available at SSRN 4032764. Web.

Phillips, S. (2020). Working through the

pandemic: Accelerating the transition to

remote working. Business Information

Review, 37(3), 129-134.

Pokojski, Z., Kister, A., & Lipowski, M. (2022).

Remote Work Efficiency from the Employers’

Perspective–What’s Next? Sustainability

2022, 14, 4220.

Pratama, H., Azman, M. N. A., Kassymova, G.

K., & Duisenbayeva, S. S. (2020). The Trend in

using online meeting applications for

learning during the period of pandemic

COVID-19: A literature review. Journal of

Innovation in Educational and Cultural

Research, 1(2), 58-68.

Putra, K. C., Pratama, T. A., Linggautama, R.

A., & Prasetyaningtyas, S. W. (2020). The

Impact of Flexible Working Hours, Remote

Working, and Work Life Balance to Employee

Satisfaction in Banking Industry during

Covid-19 Pandemic Period. Journal of

Business and Management Review, 1(5),

341-353.

Rawlings, J. O., Pantula, S. G., & Dickey, D. A.

(Eds.). (2000). Applied regression analysis: a

research tool. New York, NY: Springer New

York.

SAP. (2019). SAP 2019 Integrated

Report. Web.

SAP. (2020). SAP 2020 Integrated

Report. Web.

SAP. (2021). SAP 2021 Integrated Report.

Web.

Saris, W. E., & Gallhofer, I. N. (2014). Design,

evaluation, and analysis of questionnaires

for survey research. John Wiley & Sons.

Serbulova, N., Morgunova, T., &

Persiyanova, G. (2020). Innovations during

COVID-19 pandemic: Trends, technologies,

prospects. In E3S Web of Conferences (Vol.

210, p. 02005). EDP Sciences. Web.

Shimazu, A., Nakata, A., Nagata, T., Arakawa,

Y., Kuroda, S., Inamizu, N., & Yamamoto, I.

(2020). Psychosocial impact of COVID-19 for

general workers. Journal of Occupational

Health, 62(1), e12132. Web.

Sizova, I., Bakaev, M., & Khvorostov, V.

(2021, June). Labor Demand and Supply

Adaptation to the Pandemic-Induced Shock.

In International Conference on Digital

Transformation and Global Society (pp. 461-

476). Springer, Cham.

Skogstad, A., Einarsen, S., Torsheim, T.,

Aasland, M. S., & Hetland, H. (2007). The

destructiveness of laissez-faire leadership

behavior. Journal of Occupational Health

Psychology, 12(1), 80.

Spagnoli, P., Molino, M., Molinaro, D.,

Giancaspro, M. L., Manuti, A., & Ghislieri, C.

(2020). Workaholism and technostress

during the COVID-19 emergency: The crucial

role of the leaders on remote

working. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 3714.

Taucean, I. M., Tamasila, M., & Negru-

Strauti, G. (2016). Study on management

styles and managerial power types for a large

organization. Procedia-Social and Behavioral

Sciences, 221, 66-75.

Toscano,  F.,  &  Zappalà,  S.  (2020). Social 
isolation  and  stress  as  predictors  of 
productivity  perception  and  remote  work 
satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic: 
The  role  of  concern  about  the  virus  in  a 
moderated double mediation. Sustainability, 
12(23), 9804. Web. 
Thomé, A. M. T., Scavarda, L. F., Scavarda, A., 
&  de  Souza  Thomé,  F.  E.  S. 
(2016). Similarities  and  contrasts  of 
complexity, uncertainty, risks, and resilience 
in  supply  chains  and  temporary  multi-
organization  projects. International  Journal 
of  Project  Management,  34(7),  1328-1346. 
Web. 
Treviqo,  A.  J.,  &  Tilly,  C.  (2015). George  C. 
Homans:  History,  theory,  and  method. 
Routledge. 
Vijaykar,  S.,  &  Karhade,  P.  (2021).  Remote 
Virtual  Workplaces  in  the  Pandemic:  The 

Case of IT-enabled Service Leadership.

In Pacific Asia Conference on Information

Systems. Web.

Volmer, J., Spurk, D., & Niessen, C.

(2012). Leader–member exchange (LMX),

job autonomy, and creative work

involvement. The Leadership Quarterly,

23(3), 456-465. Web.

Waizenegger, L., McKenna, B., Cai, W., &

Bendz, T. (2020). An affordance perspective

of team collaboration and enforced working

from home during COVID-19. European

Journal of Information Systems, 29(4), 429-

442. Web.

Walker, K., & Dyck, B. (2014). The primary

importance of corporate social responsibility

and ethicality in corporate reputation: An

empirical study. Business and Society

Review, 119(1), 147-174.

Wang, B., Liu, Y., Qian, J., & Parker, S. K.

(2020). Achieving effective remote working

during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A work

design perspective. Applied Psychology,

70(1), 16–59.

Wilhelmson, L. (2006). Transformative

learning in joint leadership. Journal of

Workplace Learning, 18(7/8), 495-507. Web.

Xiao, H., Zhang, Y., Kong, D., Li, S., & Yang, N.

(2020). Social capital and sleep quality in

individuals who self-isolated for 14 days

during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-

19) outbreak in January 2020 in

China. Medical Science Monitor:

International Medical Journal of

Experimental and Clinical Research, 26,

e923921-1. Web.

Yang, L., Holtz, D., Jaffe, S., Suri, S., Sinha, S.,

Weston, J.,… & Teevan, J. (2022). The effects

of remote work on collaboration among

information workers. Nature Human

Behaviour, 6(1), 43-54.

Yang, R., Wong, C. W., & Miao, X. (2021).

Analysis of the trend in the knowledge of

environmental responsibility

research. Journal of Cleaner Production, 278,

123402.

Yildirim, K., & Elverici, S. E. (2021). Examining

Emergency Remote Teaching: A Case Study

in a Private School. Online Submission, 8(1),

153-178. Web.

The Impact of Remote Leadership on the Global Business Organization

Students also viewed