Abstract
Strong leadership in public sector innovation can empower governments to address community challenges in new ways in light of the challenges posed by the global coronavirus pandemic. Coronavirus management policy, pandemic responses, needs, and options are reflected in various Asian countries in respective published literature, but a summarized synthesis is not available. Using a systematic review approach (PRISMA), this study has analyzed the role of leadership in public sector innovation in COVID-19 management and synthesized 23 articles from 23 different Asian countries. In the light of available data, public sector innovation (PSI) and the role played by the leadership of each country' have been found to be largely inter-dependent. The current review provides a cross-section of the ongoing nature of the pandemic, as management responses and trend data in the countries are still emerging or evolving. Additionally, our study contributes a current state report regarding the barriers facing the leadership of Asian countries in mitigating the global pandemic through PSI. Our study found that a strong political leadership presence combined with a technocratic approach and a highly-skilled public sector workforce, could lead to more tremendous success in managing the outbreak. Furthermore, religious leadership was also found to have a potentially significant role in COVID-19 management strategies.
Highlights
Asia was the first region to be affected by the global pandemic of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), countries in East and Southeast Asia which saw rapid growth in the number of confirmed cases and deaths when COVID-19 broke out in early 2020
This evaluation is based on a systemic review of scholarly studies of the leadership role in the various public sector innovation (PSI) adopted in 23 Asian countries to manage their respective COVID-19 outbreaks
Leadership in PSI can take the form of top-down innovation initiated by executive leadership and bottom-up innovation started by civil servants on the ground [8, 9]
Summary
Asia was the first region to be affected by the global pandemic of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), countries in East and Southeast Asia which saw rapid growth in the number of confirmed cases and deaths when COVID-19 broke out in early 2020. The purpose of this article is to examine the role of leadership in public sector innovation (PSI), in addressing the challenges in public health management of the global COVID-19 outbreak from 2020 using a systematic review. The COVID-19 pandemic is a prime example of a national crisis, and evaluating the management responses across different countries presents an opportunity to understand how effective leadership can drive PSI. This review explores these challenges for leaders and decision-makers and evaluates the generalizability of the leadership role in PSI processes across Asian nations
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