Digital Leadership and Maturity as a Key to Successful Digital Transformation: Country Case Study of Croatia

Abstract

Organizations are facing a disrupted environment, which results in a need for managers who can quickly respond to volatile conditions. Such conditions lead to changes in traditional leadership and the construction of new leadership recognized by contemporary literature as digital leadership (DL). The main objective of this research paper is to examine the levels of DL and digital maturity (DM) in small and medium-sized Croatian companies in the context of digital transformation (DT). The research sample included 156 companies, and the results indicated relatively high levels of DL; indeed, nearly four companies achieved the highest level of DM. The results indicated a negative correlation between the level of DL and DM. Gender was shown to have an impact on the level of DL, while it was not indicated that gender has an impact on the level of DM.

Sustainable Digital Transformation for SMEs: A Comprehensive Framework for Informed Decision-Making

“…Starting the transformative digitalization action is paramount for SMEs, necessitating strategic foresight and innovative planning [13,19,[41][42][43][44][45][46]. Success in this SDT effort depends on creating adaptive business models and fostering a culture that embraces change, innovation and dynamic capabilities [47,48].…”

“…Success in this SDT effort depends on creating adaptive business models and fostering a culture that embraces change, innovation and dynamic capabilities [47,48]. Overcoming challenges related to technological readiness, resource acquisition, and judicious technology investments becomes imperative for operational efficiency [46].…”

Bibliometrics Analysis of Digital Leadership Research

“…Cluster 2 Hypothesis: Effective digital leadership is positively associated with adopting digital technologies digitalization processes, and promoting innovative work behavior within organizations. Helpful resources for building this hypothesis are Hung et al (2023), Ghamrawi and Tamim (2023), Mollah et al (2023), Hanandeh et al (2023), Salamzadeh et al (2023), Kokot et al (2023), Brunner et al (2023, Shin et al (2023), andTigre et al (2023).…”

“…Cluster 6 Hypothesis: E-leadership is evolving with digitalization, leading to changes in leadership approaches and strategies in the modern digital era. Helpful resources for building this hypothesis are Kokot et al (2023), Shin et al (2023), andTigre et al (2023).…”