The post-pandemic age has heightened the importance of digitalizing organizational practices and fostering innovation for SMEs to ensure resilient business operations in a volatile work environment. This research paper examines the impact of digital transformation leadership on the digitalization of business practices and the development of innovative business models while considering the roles of organizational agility and knowledge transfer. A survey of 270 employees from SMEs in Lebanon was conducted using the convenience sampling technique. Data analysis was performed quantitatively through Partial Least Squares—Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results reveal that adopting digital transformation leadership fosters organizational agility, enabling effective digital transformation and business model innovation with a robust knowledge transfer system. This study contributes to the fields of digital transformation and innovation, and offers practical insights for SME managers navigating uncertainties and market volatility in the post-pandemic period.

The concept of Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) is regarded as a major turning point in managing human capital among firms. Sustainable practices, ecofriendly initiatives, and adequate management of employees (i.e., recruitment, training, performance, rewards, and involvement) are fundamental aspects of GHRM, which enable improvements in the performance of firms and enhanced competitiveness among their rivals. In this regard, the current study takes a quantitative approach towards analyzing GHRM practices and their effects on employee retention among hotels in the UAE. Furthermore, the indirect effect of green innovation is analyzed as a potential mediating variable that can better explain the GHRM–employee retention relationship. A total of 207 employees from five 5-star hotels were selected as participants to provide information regarding the factors under examination in this research. The collected data were analyzed using Smart-PLS v.3 and a partial least squares–structural equation modeling technique, which is a fitting technique for causal models. The perspective of employees on the outcome of GHRM initiatives and their willingness to remain in their firms can greatly contribute to the current understanding of GHRM and its effectiveness on employee retention in the context of the hotel industry of the UAE, and thus, aid practitioners and scholars alike.

Understanding the depth of leadership and its effects on organizational outcomes have been a topic of complex nature, attracting scholars, and practitioners alike. This becomes more vital for tourism industry, where extent of competitive rivalry is extremely high as employees are vital in this sector. The current research examines the relationship between transactional leadership and organizational citizenship behavior of employees in tourism-related businesses. Furthermore, this study assumes that psychological contract fulfillment can moderate the relationship between leadership and perception of organizational justice, which can then mediate employees’ citizenship behaviors. Current research takes place in Lebanon, where the industry of tourism is highly important. Empirical evidence yielded from data analysis has shown support for moderating effect of psychological contract fulfillment on leadership and perception of justice linkage. This strengthens the perception of justice within the firm, which further proven to be of significance in terms of mediating transactional leadership and extra-role behaviors of employees. Theoretical development as well as practical implications have merged to aid the literature as well as managerial levels of tourism sector. JEL Classification: D23, M12, Z32

Objective: Although the importance of emotional intelligence is noted by several authors, its significance should be emphasized in jobs where crises occur, such as Lebanese banking positions. The significance of the study lies in its main aim, which is to address this gap and examine how the emotional intelligence of Lebanese bank employees affects their performance during a crisis. The aim of the study is to examine the positive impact of emotional intelligence on the performance of employees working in the Lebanese banking sector during a crisis. Methodology: To verify this aim, a questionnaire was distributed to employees working in the Lebanese banking sector during the crisis that has been affecting Lebanon. A sample of 201 respondents was obtained, and the data obtained were analyzed using SPSS. Findings: It was found that employees working in the banking industry during the crisis performed better when they possessed high emotional intelligence. Implications/Value: It is highly recommended that bank managers become aware of the importance of their own emotional intelligence and that of their employees, as it will directly and positively affect their performance during a crisis, thus influencing the overall performance of the sector.

Leaders are critical players in determining how their employees behave in the workplace. Particularly in higher education, teachers are required to utilize psychological, social, and physical resources to perform their tasks. This, along with institutional limitations, renders the role of ethical leaders more critical for driving positive performance outcomes. In this context, the current study investigates the role of ethical leadership on innovative work behavior of university teachers in Turkey. To provide a better understanding, mediating effect of work engagement and the moderating impact of perceived organizational support are also analyzed. With a total of 211 surveys gathered in a cross-sectional manner and using partial least squares—structural equation modeling with Smart-PLS software—the hypotheses were tested. By embedding social exchange, self-determination, and organizational support theories, the current study highlights the importance of the unique characteristics of ethical leaders in academia as antecedents of innovation for teachers, implementing long-term positive changes in the faculty. When institutional support systems exist, faculty deans can trigger engagement by leveraging the facilities and initiatives of the university, ultimately enhancing the learning environment of students while tending to the wellbeing of academic staff.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has experienced major technological and procedural changes that will continue in the post-pandemic age. For this reason, firms are expected to learn from such an unprecedented experience and ensure that the managerial and workforce practices in the post-pandemic period are directed toward rebuilding and reinventing the workplace. Within the scope of the research topic: “Diversity, Innovations, and Entrepreneurship in Post-crisis Periods”, this study accentuates the positive impact of human capital development programs in enhancing employee performance. Moreover, the roles of resilience, empowerment, and mimetic isomorphism are analyzed to better enable firms to learn from their past experience and develop practices that fit the agile environment. A questionnaire was administered targeting 370 employees in 12 SMEs in Lebanon. A conditional analysis was used to test the hypotheses through SPSS, PROCESS. The results of this study showed that the deployment of developmental programs is deemed indispensable for enhancing the performance of SME employees and helping them overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic through empowerment and resilience. This study can be useful for academics who might benefit from its theoretical implications and prospective directions for future analyses. Moreover, its results can also be helpful for practitioners, specifically managers of SMEs who are seeking to reinvent their workplace in a responsive way in the post-pandemic age.