Leadership’s long arm: The positive influence of digital leadership on managing technology-driven change over a strengthened service innovation capacity

Abstract

IntroductionIn this qualitative study, we examine digital leadership (DL) capabilities and their positive influence on the management of technology-driven change by leveraging service innovations. The context of digital transformation (DT) has triggered a new leadership paradigm, among others referred to as digital leadership (DL). However, despite its practical relevance, leadership research has yet paid little attention to conceptualise DL as an approach to digitally transform organisations.MethodsDrawing on mid- and top-level mangers’ experiences with service innovation projects, and based on Grounded Theory, we develop a taxonomy of DL-related capabilities and a conceptual framework which exemplifies their influences on dynamic service innovation capabilities (DSICs). DSICs build on the dynamic capabilities view (DCV) and represent the “organisational muscle” to repeatedly deliver service innovations indicating an effective management of technology-driven change.Results and DiscussionTaxonomy results show that aggregated dimensions in terms of a digital leader’s personal, social, and organisational capital serve as underpinnings (DL-related capabilities) to drive strategic change in DT contexts. The conceptual framework further reveals that especially the personal and organisational capital of a digital leader owns several strong and moderate influences on DSICs which demonstrates DL’s “long arm” on the management of technology-driven change. Our findings contribute to leadership research by advancing the conceptualisation of DL and by adding a novel micro-foundational perspective towards the DCV discourse. As organisations struggle to realise the full benefits of DT initiatives, our results also provide a valuable contribution for practitioners by supporting them to strategically prepare for the human-related challenges of DT.

Digital Leadership in an Ever-Changing World: A Bibliometric Analysis of Trends and Challenges

“…This section aims to analyze the data to gain a deeper understanding of the significance and influence of each source in the field of study. The journal Frontiers in Psychology is notable for its 18 published articles in this field, for example, [46][47][48][49][50][51], which have garnered 359 citations, and the journal holds an h-index of 4, highlighting its respectable presence as a relevant source in the field of digital leadership.…”

Bibliometrics Analysis of Digital Leadership Research

“…Cluster 1 Hypothesis: Organizations that exhibit strong dynamic capabilities and effectively manage innovation are likelier to achieve successful digital leadership strategies and adopt market-oriented approaches. Helpful resources for building this hypothesis are Brunner et al, (2023), Fatima and Masood (2023), Borah et al (2022), Karippur and Balaramachandran (2022), Jagadisen et al (2022), , , Sasmoko et al (2019), Rukmana (2019), and.…”

“…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 4 Hypothesis: Trust is crucial in driving successful organizational digital transformation initiatives. Helpful resources for building this hypothesis are Hung et al (2023), Brunner et al (2023), Türk (2023), Yao et al (2023), Imhof and Grivas (2022), , , Magesa and Jonathan (2022), and Gudergan et al (2021).…”

“…Cluster 5 Hypothesis: Dynamic capabilities and transformational leadership significantly impact digital leadership effectiveness. Helpful resources for building this hypothesis are Brunner et al (2023), Karippur and Balaramachandran (2022), Eberl and Drews (2021), and .…”