PLiToC – Public Leadership in Times of Crisis

The state often bears the ultimate responsibility for overcoming social, economic and political crises. The turbulence, simultaneity and interdependence of crisis-related developments make the need for public leadership obvious. It ranges from the head of state or government to the local head of operations in the crisis area. However, crises can also be provoked by a public leader and exploited for their own purposes. They then jeopardize trust in government action. The complexity of public management in times of crisis is reflected in the public management literature and its links to other disciplines. These connections can quickly become overwhelming. Moreover, a focus on high-level political leaders and their tasks in crisis management is emerging, while research on local administrative leaders is still at a conceptual stage. In addition, research concentrates on the characteristics and skills of leaders, while institutional explanations are less considered. Finally, there is a growing call for research on the influence of leadership on leaders during crises, especially with regard to emotion management by leaders.

In order to address these deficits, the research project pursues three overarching research questions:

1.        What is the research focus of public administration and political science with regard to public leadership in times of crisis?

2.       How can institutional influences explain differences in how public leaders make sense of and cope with crises?

3.       Which leadership styles and strategies in dealing with emotions can positively influence the resilience and performance of those being led?

Methodologically, the research project uses bibliometric procedures as well as qualitative and quantitative methods of empirical research, in particular case study and experimental research designs. In this way, the research project will provide an overview of the literature, address current research gaps, expand knowledge about public leadership in times of crisis and derive practical recommendations for action for public leaders in crisis management.