The purpose of the study is to explore in what ways leadership qualities such as delegation in the Fintech sector is different to that of traditional financial sector in times of crisis. The study is conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The findings of this study may theoretically add to the discussion topic for further research on leadership and delegation in times of crisis. From a practical perspective the findings can give leaders insight on what a select group of entrepreneurs in the Fintech sector perceive as important leadership qualities and delegation in times of crisis. A qualitative study was conducted featuring semi-structured interviews with nine leaders in the Fintech sector. An abductive research method has been used, moving back and forth between theory and research and from the empirical evidence identify the common themes of the most important in leadership qualities. The analyses of the empirical evidence showed that there are a few points that support both theory and practice in this specific crisis being, leaders in crisis need to be authentic, trusting, and transparent and have the ability to communicate it to the stakeholders. Although the leadership qualities in crisis varied, there were a few common themes; the importance of trust and qualities such as the ability to take decisions, give clear direction and communication are all in line with theory. What specifically stands out in the Fintech sector, making it different from that of more traditional industries, is that the leadership includes an increased willingness and ability to delegate. Delegation in times of crisis is important as it empowers the team which could further add to a positive resolve of the situation. One of the prerequisites to be able to delegate is the team being experts in their specific area, the other was their mindset and attitude. Fintech leaders also have the notion that leadership in crisis should be the same as is in times of non-crisis and it is imperative to continue to be delegating. The difference compared to more traditional industries can be contributed to entrepreneurial mindset of leaders in the Fintech sector being used to uncertainty and day to adversity of business survival, always ready to adapt their business model. An area for further research could be to do a wider scope and how the crisis affects other sectors.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:miun-41014 |
| Date | January 2019 |
| Creators | Colleen, Petra |
| Publisher | Mittuniversitetet, Institutionen för ekonomi, geografi, juridik och turism |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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