Reflections on the study of responsible leadership

Abstract

Responsible leadership is critical for organizations of all types and at all times. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic reveals the life-and-death consequences of decisions and actions by leaders in government and business organizations alike. This pandemic came at the heel of the call for responsible leadership in major corporations such as the United States CEOs’ Business Roundtable in August 2019. Yet, there is a paucity of knowledge on how to lead responsibly in both times of normalcy and periods of crisis. This chapter identifies three main reasons for the paucity of science-based reliable knowledge on responsible leadership. The chapter encourages the scientific community of business disciplines to share in the responsibility to address the grand challenges of humanity by engaging in responsible research which strives for both rigor (credibility of evidence) and relevance (usefulness of the knowledge) by addressing problems that are important for the local context, the global community, or both. The chapter illustrates how the seven principles of responsible research can be used as a guide in designing studies of responsible leadership. The chapter ends with a reflection on the philosophical and the moral foundation of responsible research and researchers.