Learning-oriented leadership in SMEs in volatile and disruptive environments

Purpose This study aims to explore the role of the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) owner-manager as an enabler of employee learning and discuss how digital transformation, as a key form of disruption, poses challenges and opportunities for enacting learning-oriented leadership. Design/methodology/approach The study is conceptual, drawing on literature on workplace learning and SME leadership. It applies Tynjälä’s 3-P model (presage, process, product) of workplace learning and the organisational agility perspective to analyse learning-oriented leadership in SMEs. Findings Four themes are used to describe factors that simultaneously create challenges and opportunities for workplace learning in SMEs: resource availability, limited access to formal training, the condition of “smallness” and relational dynamics. By using learning-oriented leadership, emphasising informal learning, leveraging digital tools and encouraging developmental learning cultures, SME owner-managers enhance their firm’s agility amid disruption. Research limitations/implications The paper lays the foundation for future research examining how learning-oriented leadership affects SME innovation and survival in dynamic environments. Practical implications The findings suggest that SME owner-managers can strengthen organisational adaptability by embedding learning in daily work, leveraging low-cost digital resources and intentionally shaping relational conditions that support informal learning. Originality/value The paper advances research by conceptualising learning-oriented leadership in SMEs under volatile conditions. It integrates leadership, workplace learning and agility perspectives into a novel framework that highlights the distinctive conditions of small firms and positions learning-oriented leadership as a strategic response to disruption.