Ebrahim Rajabpour

Background: The oil, gas, and petrochemical industry in Iran operates under chronic instability, including international sanctions, currency fluctuations, political interventions, and environmental shocks. Traditional leadership models often fail under such extreme uncertainty. This study aimed to design a disruptive leadership model grounded in the specific context of this industry, exploring how leaders not only withstand crises but grow stronger from them. Aim: The main objective of this study is to design an antifragile leadership model in the oil, gas, and petrochemical industry using a grounded theory approach. The research aims to identify the key causal, contextual, and environmental conditions shaping antifragile leadership, determine its core phenomenon, explore leaders’ strategic responses to challenges, and examine the outcomes of its implementation within the industry. Methodology: A qualitative grounded theory approach (Strauss & Corbin) was employed. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 18 senior and middle managers from Iran's oil, gas, and petrochemical sector. Purposive and snowball sampling continued until theoretical saturation. Open, axial, and selective coding led to the emergence of categories and a paradigmatic model. Conclusions: The core phenomenon identified was resilient disruptive leadership. Six causal conditions (e.g., perception of chronic instability, transformative learning from failure, cognitive-emotional competencies, transpersonal commitment) triggered this leadership. Five contextual conditions (e.g., dual bureaucratic-agile structure, dual learning-punitive culture) and four intervening conditions (sanctions, macroeconomic volatility, political-legal interference, environmental shocks) shaped its development. Five strategies (smart diversification, decentralized decision-making with strategic focus, multi-scenario management, informal networking and multi-skilled teaming, systematic learning and culturiz