Becoming a Virtual Team under Rapid Conditions: Leadership and Collaboration through change : An exploratory case study of the change to virtual work settings as a consequence of Covid-19

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to contribute to the current field of virtual leadership and virtual teams. This study aims to examine the effects on leadership, the relation between the leader and the team member, and the collaboration as a consequence of a rapid virtual transition. This qualitative research was conducted with an inductive approach through a    case study. Primary data was collected through three semi-structured interviews with team leaders from different departments and nine semi-structured interviews with their respective team members. The primary data was analyzed in a thematic way and had support from a theoretical model conducted from secondary sources. This study signifies the importance of establishing relationships, trust and effective communication within teams in virtual environments and recognizes how these aspects are essential for leaders when guiding a team through a rapid virtual transition. Being a leader under the investigated condition suggests individualized leadership as beneficial to maintain stability and trust through the reorganization process. Managerial attitudes are confirmed as influential on team performance through a transition and the transformational leadership theory is argued to be successful when managing a change process based on the studied case.