Abstract In an increasingly volatile and uncertain business environment, organisations are increasingly confronted with complex crises and rapid change. In response, they increasingly rely on temporary leadership—particularly interim managers—to guide decision-making under time-sensitive and consequential conditions. This study focuses on crisis and turnaround assignments, a particularly demanding subset of interim management. By virtue of their external status and limited tenure, temporary managers can make impartial and, at times, radical decisions without the burden of long-term internal consequences. At the same time, they face distinct challenges in establishing authority, legitimacy, and trust within the organisation. This study explores the forms of human capital that temporary managers contribute in crisis contexts, focusing on their core tasks, decision-making patterns, and proficiency profiles. Drawing on a qualitative research design involving in-depth interviews with 20 temporary managers across Europe, the analysis identifies three distinct types: The Realiser, The Decider, and The Advisor. The typology captures context-specific configurations of human capital shaped by the demands of crisis and turnaround situations, illustrating how interim managers stabilise organisations, enable recovery, and drive renewal. Each type embodies a unique approach—from operational execution and strategic foresight to social mediation—reflecting how temporary leaders mobilise expertise, authority, and decision-making to navigate organisational crises. By uncovering these patterns, the study advances understanding of interim management effectiveness and offers insights for aligning leadership approaches with the demands of crisis and turnaround contexts. It contributes to a broader understanding of how human capital shapes managerial performance and organisational resilience in times of disruption.
Packheiser et al. (Mon,) studied this question.