Nuttawuth (Wuth) Muenjohn

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare leaders must grasp the changing opportunity where exceptional leadership qualities are crucial. These leaders must use digital technology effectively in the rapidly expanding healthcare sector. This study proposes that healthcare leaders must transform their organisations to become more digitally advanced in response to the post-Covid era and execute this transformation thoughtfully, considering its impact on various stakeholders. The relationship between leadership and digital transformations at the organisational, team, and individual levels is complex and indirect, as it can affect employees' physical and mental well-being. Consequently, this can influence the quality of services provided by these employees.

The aim of this project is to explore the impact of responsible leadership on digital transformation implementation, the well-being of employees (individual outcome), and the service quality of organisations (organisational outcomes). To achieve this, we will investigate the responsible implementation of digital transformation through leadership behaviours displayed by healthcare leaders. Specifically, the project intends to:

examine the leadership behaviours displayed by healthcare leaders, which enable responsible digital transformation.

explore the direct and indirect relationships between leadership behaviours, responsible digital transformation, the well-being of individual employees (individual outcome) and organisations' service quality (organisational outcomes).

Questions:

The project seeks to address two research questions:

a) What leadership qualities contribute to the success of digital transformation in healthcare?

b) What direct and indirect connections exist between leadership effectiveness, physical and mental well-being, and service quality through responsible digital transformation in the healthcare sector?

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been one of the sectors hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the adverse consequences are expected to continue for many years. According to a 2022 survey conducted by the OECD, SMEs and entrepreneurs are anxious about the impact of Covid-19 on their business survival. The survey provides evidence of severe disruptions and concerns among small businesses; for example, 92% of Japanese SMEs have been negatively affected by the pandemic, and the number of COVID-19-related bankruptcies has sharply increased by 15% (OECD, 2022).

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) have always been a significant contributor to the economy and employment, accounting for over 70% of the working population and a considerable portion of economic output. However, SMEs have faced numerous challenges, including a lack of access to financial support, which has resulted in comparatively low investment in innovation. While over 70% of Research and Development (R&D) is funded, SMEs only account for less than 10% of this funding, according to the OECD’s Science, Technology, and Industry Scoreboard in 2020. These numbers should be concerning, given that SMEs were expected to be the future growth engines for the country's economy.

Therefore, this research aims to explore the role of leadership behaviour that fosters business innovation in SMEs after the COVID-19 crisis and, consequently, to develop a Leadership Capability Framework that enhances the innovation performance of SMEs.

Research Questions:

What role does leadership play in nurturing and enhancing innovation in SMEs in a post-COVID-19 era, and how does this occur?

What are the leadership qualities that lead to significant innovation and in turn, improve the operation of SMEs after the Post Covid-19 crisis?

Based upon the answers to the two questions above, how can such leadership qualities be developed into a Leadership Capability Framework to enhance the innovative behaviours among SMEs’ managers and employees?

This research argues that a leader with a global mindset in a digital transformation environment will display a higher cultural intelligence. Still, the effect is indirect, as it also depends on the type of culture the leader is leading. In turn, the relationships between the leader’s level of cultural intelligence and the leader’s effectiveness, thriving, well-being, and mentality vary according to the degree of the ethical practices and digital leadership behaviours the leader displays. The project examines a leader’s effectiveness, well-being, mentality and thriving through the direct and indirect relationships among a leader’s global mindset, cultural intelligence levels, leadership behaviour and practice, and the cultural environment where they operate. 

Aims:  

The project helps us understand and identify a leader’s effectiveness, well-being, mentality and thriving through the direct and indirect relationships among a leader’s global mindset, cultural intelligence levels, leadership behaviour and practice, and the cultural environment where they operate. More specifically, the project primarily aims to:  

a) assess the factors that give leaders the edge when leading in foreign locations and  

b) examine the relationships between leaders’ global mindset and global leadership effectiveness, well-being, mentality and thriving by investigating the role of cultural tightness-looseness, cultural intelligence and their leadership behaviour and practice.  

Research Questions: 

This project also intends to answer two research questions: a) what role does a global mindset play in enhancing global leadership effectiveness and personal thriving, and how does this occur? b) what are the direct and indirect relationships between a global mindset and global leadership effectiveness through the role of cultural tightness-looseness, cultural intelligence and leadership behaviour and practices?