Abstract
The problem being studied was that because managers of for-profit businesses in California were having to communicate with their employees outside of face-to-face internal interactions (e.g., Zoom conferencing and telephone). It was unknown how business managers of for-profit businesses in California had adapted their communication and leadership styles when responding to COVID-19’s social distancing guidelines. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how managers of for-profit businesses in California described how their communication and leadership styles had been adapted to follow the social distancing guidelines of COVID-19. This study was guided by the communication accommodation theory and followed a qualitative descriptive system where the researcher completed semi-structured interviews with 10 participants asking them 10 open-ended questions in a private interview setting. Conducting a qualitative thematic analysis, three themes emerged from the dataset: (a) transitioning to virtual environments, (b) increased flexibility and involvement supporting virtual environments, and (c) tone, time, and lack of non-verbal cues. Limitations, implications, and recommendations for future research were also discussed.
Library of Congress Subject Headings
Leadership—Executives-- COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-2023; Telecommuting-- COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-2023
Date of Award
2024
School Affiliation
Graduate School of Education and Psychology
Department/Program
Education
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctorate
Faculty Advisor
Latrissa Lee Neiworth
Recommended Citation
Shamloo, Shadan, "Business managers’ adaption of communication and leadership characteristics amidst Covid-19: a qualitative study" (2024). Theses and Dissertations. 1521.
https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd/1521