Ett steg framåt - två steg bakåt : Om ledarskap och kultur på distans

Abstract Bachelor’s thesis in Business Administration III, Organisation 15 HP, 2FE78E, School of Economics at Linnaeus University in Kalmar, Spring 2021. Writers: Jens Pålsson and Victoria Tjäder Advisor: Olle Duhlin Examinator: Hans Wessblad Title: One step forward - two steps back - About virtual leadership and culture Purpose: The purpose of the study is to describe the dynamic relation between leadership and organizational culture in a (increasingly) virtual workplace. A particular focus of the study is the leader’s experience and view on this connection. Method: An inductive approach in the shape of Grounded Theory that examines the phenomenon the affect virtual work has on the leader’s ability to affect the organizational culture. The data has been collected through qualitative interviews. Conclusion: The study concludes that the leader’s have regressed to an earlier and outdated view on leadership, where the focus is on structures and processes rather than human values and motivation. The change the leaders experience in their role means that they find it harder to affect the culture at a virtual workplace. The difficulty to maintain an informal communication and relation is also a contributing cause that makes the leaders turn to more hard values. It’s found that the fast and unexpected transition to virtual work leaves many of the leaders feeling unprepared and therefore might not choose the most suitable and well thought out methods to lead at a distance. Keywords: Organizational culture, virtual organizations, virtual leadership, formal communication, cultural governanc