digital leadership bachelor thesis

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Persson, Jesper, and Karahan Manas. "Towards the new normal : Digital transformation through digital leadership and digital transformation strategies." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för organisation och entreprenörskap (OE), 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-103941.

Khan, Shahyan. "Leadership in the digital age : A study on the effects of digitalisation on top management leadership." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Management & Organisation, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-133809.

Weisman, Robert. "A Leadership Approach to Successful Digital Transformation Using Enterprise Architecture." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/39993.

Krumenauer, Kay L. "A brief history of the formative years of the recreation discipline at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse, 1944-1968." Connect to Internet resource, 1986. http://murphylibrary.uwlax.edu/digital/thesis/1986/krumenauer.pdf.

Pedrosa, Ricardo Jorge Serra Sapateiro Pinto. "As características da liderança na era digital." Master's thesis, Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/19001.

Kieser, Heinrich. "The influence of digital leadership, innovation and organisational learning on the digital maturity of an organisation." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/64861.

Pillay, Andrea Anthea. "Understanding digital leadership competencies to enhance collaboration in South African Banks." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/79640.

Truter, Berdine. "Transformational leadership style : the relationship to companies that are digital leaders." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/59790.

Moodley, Kenny. "Creating Leadership Efficacy Through Digital Media in the Electricity Supply Industry." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4082.

Cabellon, Edmund T. "Redefining Student Affairs Through Digital Technology| A Ten-Year Historiography of Digital Technology Use by Student Affairs Administrators." Thesis, Johnson & Wales University, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10013238.

The student affairs profession is at a crossroads (Torres & Walbert, 2010) given digital technology’s growth and the academy’s administrative expansion (Bowen, 2013). Student affairs administrators must simultaneously respond to digital technology’s implications in students’ lives (Kirschner & Karpinski, 2010) and to new state and federal compliance mandates connected to their expanding campus roles (Dungy & Gordon, 2010). Student affairs leaders acknowledge that these competing priorities demand more nimble responses (Manning, Kinzie, & Schuh, 2013; McClennan & Stringer, 2009). Significant research (Barr, McClennan, & Sandeen, 2014; Elkins, 2015; Dungy & Gordon, 2010; Junco, 2014; Kuk, 2012; Torres & Walbert, 2010) highlights that student affairs administrator‘s digital technology use can augment traditional in-person co-curricular student experiences; yet, minimal research exists on how student affairs administrators utilize digital technology.

This qualitative, historical, interpretive study analyzed student affairs administrators’ digital technology use from 2005 to 2015. Three research questions and three sub-questions framed the research design, which utilized three data sources. The researcher conducted (N=16) interviews with student affairs professionals and educators. Elite interviews (N=5) were conducted with some of the earlier student affairs digital technology adopters, while (N=11) key informant interviews were conducted with administrators who started their professional careers in 2005. (N=206) documents, including conference presentations and publications, were collected through the Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA) and College Student Educators International (ACPA)’s websites. Data were analyzed in-case and across cases to highlight overall themes and a progressive timeline of how student affairs professionals used digital technology throughout their work. Using the futurology lens, the researcher envisioned how student affairs should use technology over the next ten years.

Analysis revealed that since 2005, student affairs administrators utilized digital technology to build capacity in their campus work, augment existing engagement efforts with students, faculty, and staff, and inspire change within and outside of their institution. Additionally, a historic timeline described how NASPA and ACPA provided limited, yet progressive, digital technology professional development education.

Student affairs administrators, professional organizations, and academy leaders leading digital technology implementation efforts might utilize the researcher’s recommendations as a starting point to catalyze the academy’s ongoing evolution.

Arnold, Deborah. "Supporting leadership development in European Universities: a mixed methods study of digital education leadership literacies for higher education." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 2022. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/673949.

Budiakova, O. "Adaptability in the digital economy." Thesis, National Aviation University, 2021. https://er.nau.edu.ua/handle/NAU/53377.

Alwazzan, Lulu. "Saudi Arabian Women in Medical Education: A Mixed Method Exploration of Emergent Digital Leadership." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/38774.

Chebib, Louay. "Transforming the digital textbook| A modified Delphi study." Thesis, University of Phoenix, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3691407.

Digital textbooks continue to hold the potential to revolutionize the dissemination of knowledge to anyone, anywhere. The understanding needed to reach a new digital paradigm includes tools that are consistent with the needs of a new generation of educators and students. This qualitative modified Delphi study provides a foundation that defines the function, structure, and role of the textbook in education. The textbook is defined as a basic educational resource that provides definitive knowledge, defines and bounds the scope of discussion and learning, and helps assure that the stated learning goals are met. A textbook is an educational resource and may contain other resources. As such, the textbook functions as an educational workspace; digital textbooks need to function as the principal resource in an online or interactive educational workspace that supports a mix of materials, including and regardless of multiple media formats. As is the role of the best technology, a fully functional digital textbook seamlessly encapsulates the educational materials and resources needed by the specific course. The consideration of linear and nonlinear study functions in terms of existing devices and interfaces played a critical role in understanding textbooks. Current PDF-based digital textbooks do not meet students’ needs. A list of functional considerations, that need to be part of the next generation of digital textbooks, is included in this study. Students need to be able to tailor the interface to best suit their individual preferences. The importance of reducing costs in the marketplace will ultimately decide which technologies will succeed.

Murashkin, Maxim, and Johanna Tyrväinen. "ADAPTING TO THE NEW NORMAL : A Qualitative Study of Digital Leadership in Crisis." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Företagsekonomi, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-173102.

Langášová, Markéta. "Online marketing communication of leadership development company." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2016. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-264355.

Latif, Natasha, and Vladislava Shevyakova. "Leadership brings innovation through digitalization : A study on how leaders contribute to digital innovations." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för organisation och entreprenörskap (OE), 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-105857.

Gerald, Shameka Nicole. "Measuring Principals' Technology Leadership and Principals' Behaviors: A Quantitative Study." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/97602.

Garay, Emiliano, and Emil Berg. "“Detta är bara början på det digitala ledarskapet” : En fallstudie om hur ledarskapet i en offentlig verksamhet har utspelats under pandemin 2021." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Fakulteten för teknik och samhälle (TS), 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-44464.

Carlsson, John, and Richard Johansson. "Digital förändring i byggbranschen : En studie av vilka ledarskapsbeteenden chefer i byggbranschen besitter och hur dessa påverkar digitalt förändringsarbete." Thesis, Högskolan i Halmstad, Akademin för ekonomi, teknik och naturvetenskap, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-38068.

Robertson, Laura, and Chantal Jurek. "Digital Interactive Notebooks in Science." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2018. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/3240.

Arpin, Rachel Ann. "The Effectiveness of Digital Escape Rooms to Deliver Leadership Training: A Mixed-Methods Study." Franklin University / OhioLINK, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=frank1620315747289854.

Moore, Kelly Ann. "Teachers' Perceptions of Principal Digital Leadership Behaviors that Impact Technology Use in the Classroom." Thesis, Dallas Baptist University, 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10981886.

Teachers face many barriers regarding technology integration and depend on the campus principal to meet their technology needs. The principalship has shifted from instructional leader to digital instructional leader. The purpose of the current qualitative research study was to investigate teachers’ perceptions of principal digital leadership behaviors that impact technology use in the classroom. In this qualitative study, 24 teachers who teach reading, English language arts, and/or math were interviewed. The data from the interviews was collected and analyzed to identify themes and patterns using NVivio 11 Pro, a software program for analyzing qualitative data. The researcher analyzed and coded the data as trends and patterns were revealed in the teachers’ perceptions of principal digital leadership behaviors that impact technology use in the classroom. The data indicated there are several principal digital leadership behaviors teachers perceive impact technology use in the classroom. However, there were three principal digital leadership behaviors teachers perceived to have the greatest impact on technology use in the classroom: principal-led hands-on technology training opportunities, principal attitude towards technology and technology integration, and principal-led technology support.

Monterosa, Vanessa M. "Digital Citizenship District-Wide| Examining the Organizational Evolution of an Initiative." Thesis, California State University, Long Beach, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10286695.

District leaders play a pivotal role in shaping federally-mandated policies that impact how digital citizenship curriculum is developed and implemented in schools. Yet, for many school leaders, teaching about digital participation may appear as a daunting and unfamiliar practice. In fact, most educators do not participate in digital communities, in contrast to the large number of youth who do. Over 1,200 district administrators from across the nation reported that they ban collaborative digital spaces such as social media in the classroom due to safety, privacy, and classroom management concerns. Yet, emerging research demonstrates that when students are given a structured opportunity to experience digital engagement in productive and constructive ways, students become producers rather than consumers of content and are able to develop an understanding of their digital participation in relation to their participation in society.

For educators who want to delve into digital citizenship, there currently exists a plethora of resources to support teachers in classroom-level integration of digital citizenship, but supports and resources for system-level, implementation remain limited. Moreover, these resources represent varied conceptualizations of digital citizenship, which results in inconsistent implementations of digital citizenship across classrooms, schools, and districts. Thus, how can district leaders such as superintendents, chief academic officers, or chief technology officers provide a cohesive and comprehensive digital citizenship program when the very conceptualization of digital citizenship remains unclear?

The purpose of this study was to utilize a case study approach to examine a large, urban school district’s approach to defining, developing, and maintaining a digital citizenship initiative focused on empowering students over the course of four years. By documenting and unpacking the elements of a district-wide approach to digital citizenship, this study provides a foundation for systemic practices and a common language aimed at informing organizational policy and practice. Despite the concept of digital citizenship being in its infancy, this study provides an organizational perspective of its conceptualization and implementation across a large system. Findings revealed that the district’s complex organizational efforts were rooted in political and symbolic decisions that facilitated the influence of digital citizenship across policy and program implementation efforts.

Lundström, Isabelle, and Julia Löfstedt. "Leading Teams in Times of Turmoil : The forced transition into the digital future." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Företagsekonomiska institutionen, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-448635.

Bertoncini, Guia Tina, and Maria Teresa Schmalz. "What’s on your mind? Understanding the Influence of Social Media on Authentic Leadership Dimensions and Education from the Millennials’ Perspective." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för organisation och entreprenörskap (OE), 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-27537.

Mary, Eckert. "EIGHT YEARS OF UBIQUITOUS TECHNOLOGY ACCESS AND DIGITAL CURRICULA: BUSINESS AND MARKETING HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVE." VCU Scholars Compass, 2010. http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/2333.

Agent, Renee L. "Instructional Personnel Perceptions on Integrating Instructional Technology in K-12 Classrooms: A Case Study." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2019. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1505226/.

Guo, Jiabao, Emilio Ergovan, and Victor Seitl. "Remote work and leadership during the Covid-19 Pandemic : An exploratory study on how remote work is affecting leadership styles and employee motivation." Thesis, Jönköping University, IHH, Företagsekonomi, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-52953.

Capinha, João, and Jacob Torehov. "Digital Transformation of Small Tech Reselling Firms : A Multiple Case Study in Portugal." Thesis, Högskolan i Jönköping, Internationella Handelshögskolan, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-44128.

Mujawar, Saira Banu Sameer, and Muhammad Shafiq. "INFLUENCE OF DIGITALIZATION ON LEADERSHIP: THE CASE OF SANDVIK IN SWEDEN." Thesis, Högskolan i Gävle, Avdelningen för ekonomi, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-35252.

Fox, Brian D. "The principal as an effective communicator| Increasing parental and community engagement through the use of digital communication and social media." Thesis, Northwest Nazarene University, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10142920.

Considerable research provides clear evidence for the relationship between student achievement and the engagement of parents and community members with their local schools through meaningful involvement of parents, families, and members of the community. The purpose of this mixed-methods research study is to find evidence supporting building principals in communication efforts which engage students’ families thus contributing to student learning and achievement. The growing expectation that educational leaders use digital communications and social media to engage others has been met with some success by some building administrators and school district leaders.

This study focuses on the communication skills and behaviors of principals and the resulting effects on public perception and engagement. Qualitative, focus-group interviews were conducted with principals at both the elementary and secondary levels. Survey data was gathered from parents and community members measuring attitude and perspective. Results suggest effective principals are aware of the impact of digital communications and social media and are becoming more strategic in their use of such tools. Participants report increased involvement in school activities as a result of their efforts. Survey results indicate most parents and community members (83%) rank their local school most favorably. Principals effectively using digital communications and social media meaningfully engage a variety of parents and community members knowing their involvement can lead to improved student achievement.

Atwell, David Christopher. "Digital edification| An analysis of technology readiness and concept of ability in the school district of Palm Beach County K-12 school leaders." Thesis, Florida Atlantic University, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10154931.

The purpose of this research study was to determine K-12 school leaders’ concepts of ability and technology readiness. The Theories of Intelligence Scale (TIS) was used to analyze concepts of ability and the Technology Readiness Index (TRI) 2.0 was used to analyze the technology readiness of K-12 school leaders. Data from the two instruments were used to determine if there was any relationship between K-12 school leaders’ concept of ability and technology readiness. This analysis filled a blank spot in the research contributing to the literature on leadership, Mindset Theory (Dweck, 2006; Dweck, Chiu, & Hong, 1995), and Technology Readiness (Lin & Hsieh, 2012; Parasuraman, 2000). Furthermore it helped to determine the state of K-12 school leaders’ status as 21st century leaders.

The sample consisted of the school leaders of School District of Palm Beach County (SDPBC). This included 158 principals from 104 elementary, 31 middle, and 23 high schools. The researcher was a school district employee and therefore had access to the participants.

Each of the four null hypotheses were rejected as SDPBC school leaders scored significantly higher on the TIS (p<.05) and TRI 2.0 (p<.01), there was a significant (p<.0125) positive relationship between TIS and the TRI 2.0, and that relationship was affected (p<.05) by gender, race, and experience.

Penton, Sanna, and Felicia Pettersson. "Factors Affecting Managerial Willingness to Change : A Case Study on Change Management When Implementing New Digital Technology." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för industriell teknik och management (ITM), 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-253834.

Nilsson, Jonas, and Sofia Persson. "Ledarskap i en kreativ miljö : En fallstudie av Acne Digital." Thesis, University of Kalmar, School of Communication and Design, 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hik:diva-1943.

Introduction: Today creativity is a very crucial part in many organizations. Media companiesneed to be creative in order to satisfy customers and therefore there's a need to constantlydevelop the products and services as the competition gets harder and the demandsincreases. The leadership has an important role when it comes to motivating the creativityamong employees.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis was to explore how the leadership looks like in anorganization where creativity is very important. We wanted to enhance our knowledge abouthow leadership affects the creative motivation.

Problem statement: How does leaders in an organization work with creativity? Whatmethods are used by the leader in order to motivate the creativity in the organization?How does the leadership affect the creativity?

Approach: We have done a case study of Acne Digital with a qualitative approach for thisthesis. We've conducted five interviews at Acne Digital and a small observation.

Conclusions: Our conclusions are that Acne Digital is a successful company regardingmanagement of creativity. The leadership has a very important role when it comes tomotivating the creativity in different manners. Our thesis shows that participation andoperating freedom are factors among others that are important for creative motivation.

Week, Sandra McElrath. "An ecological study of instructor views of free use multitasking with digital devices in the classroom." Thesis, University of Nevada, Reno, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10126080.

University instructors experience continual technological change that affects their classroom teaching and their relationships with students. Few studies have been conducted regarding instructor views about student off-task multitasking during class. This study used a qualitative design with a phenomenological approach to discover meaning that instructors attribute to the challenges they encounter in dealing with student information and communications device use in the university classroom. Bronfenbenner’s (1990) ecological systems theory was used as a lens to organize and bring understanding to data collected from participant interviews, classroom observation, and syllabus inspection. The design of the study was different than any studies found to date as it triangulated instructor interviews with syllabi and observational data. Twelve participants who teach freshman-and sophomore-level core curriculum classes from a western university were included in the study. Information accumulated in this study supported some of the current research, but was in direct opposition to other research. The findings provide practical recommendations and many new opportunities for future research.

Janssen, Marike Susan, and Jonas Merk. "How Digital Transformation Changes Work Design : A Butterfly Emerging from its Chrysalis?" Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för organisation och entreprenörskap (OE), 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-84454.

Ahlquist, Josie. "Developing Digital Student Leaders| A Mixed Methods Study of Student Leadership, Identity, and Decision Making on Social Media." Thesis, California Lutheran University, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3713711.

Social media tools permeate the college student experience (Junco, 2014), including for those students who hold leadership positions on campus. The purpose of this study was to document the experiences and online behaviors of 40 junior and senior student leaders on digital communication tools. The study was conducted at two institutions in the western United States. Three research questions guided the sequential exploratory mixed methods study connecting student leadership, the presentation of identity, and decision-making with social media use. The study involved a three phase mixed methods analysis of focus group interviews and 2,220 social media posts.

Five major findings surfaced, including (a) social media impact starting in K-12 (b) college student leaders’ navigation of social media (c) presentation of digital identity (d) the beginning of leadership presence and possibilities and (e) significance of social media guidance in college. These findings suggest college student educators should implement holistic digital leadership education. Initiatives should begin early, prior to student enrollment in higher education, focusing on identity expression, positive possibilities-based perspectives, with a focus on social media’s potential impact on student groups, social communities, and social change. Findings from this study can mobilize higher education professionals, student peers, and parents to become digital educators, providing tools for students to implement in their digital practices.

Gustafsson, Emma, and Felicia Mattsson. "Crisis Management : A qualitative study about the difference between the dynamic capabilities of born-digital and non-digital companies during DSC." Thesis, Luleå tekniska universitet, Institutionen för ekonomi, teknik, konst och samhälle, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-86355.

Montgomery, Matthew L. "Education Vision in the 21st Century: A Quantitative Study of the Effect of Superintendent Vision on Digital Learning." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1590669253720161.

Tsolias, Panagiotis, and Adelina Zilkiqi. "Leaders Perception of Virtual communication : -leadership and communication mediated through technology." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för organisation och entreprenörskap (OE), 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-96273.

Stimus, Mirela Camelia. "How Presidents Can Become "Hip" by Using High Definition Metaphors Strategic Communication of Leadership in a Digital Age." Scholar Commons, 2016. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/6402.

Fors, Emelie, and Evelina Lundberg. "Do as I do! : A single case study investigating leadership within a successful e-commerce company with a Customer Experience focus." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för marknadsföring (MF), 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-105523.

Alexandersson, Sara, and Carolina Jansson. "A Human Touch in A Digitalized Business World : A Qualitative Study of How the Digital Transformation in Business Impacts the Emotional Interactions Between Leaders and Followers." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för organisation och entreprenörskap (OE), 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-103771.

Ekström, Emma, and Maria Höglund. "” …det är viktigt att sätta laget före jaget ” : En kvalitativ studie om enhetschefers uppfattning av ledarskap på distans." Thesis, Högskolan Dalarna, Institutionen för kultur och samhälle, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:du-37521.

Rodman, Ellen, and Julia Swahn. "Det digitala arbetsmötet : En kartläggning av dess möjligheter, utmaningar och hur mötesledarskapet ska anpassas." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för ekonomisk och industriell utveckling, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-167093.

Cumberbatch, Iris E. "Exploring the Effectiveness of Social and Digital Media Communications on Organization-Public Relationship Building with Employees." Antioch University / OhioLINK, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1572457208691.

Garipova, Dinara, and Allis Lilja. "“vi ställer inte in, utan vi ställer om” -En kvalitativ studie om ledarskap och digitalisering inom socialtjänsten till följd av covid-19." Thesis, Örebro universitet, Institutionen för humaniora, utbildnings- och samhällsvetenskap, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-89963.

Haffke, Ingmar [Verfasser], Alexander [Akademischer Betreuer] Benlian, and Peter [Akademischer Betreuer] Buxmann. "The Implications of Digital Business Transformation for Corporate Leadership, the IT Function, and Business-IT Alignment / Ingmar Haffke ; Alexander Benlian, Peter Buxmann." Darmstadt : Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Darmstadt, 2017. http://d-nb.info/1125627395/34.

Lacaz, Carlos Eduardo Martins. "Contribuições para a construção de um modelo biossocial de liderança: testosterona, relação digital e lócus de controle." Universidade de São Paulo, 2010. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/47/47132/tde-30032010-154658/.

From conventional to digital leadership: exploring digitalization of leadership and innovative work behavior

Management Research Review

ISSN : 2040-8269

Article publication date: 13 January 2022

Issue publication date: 19 October 2022

The leadership shift from conventional to digital comes from the compulsory digitalization of the workplace because the technological progress provides the opportunity of doing work remotely, and this is a great advantage of reducing costs that stem from the offline workplace. Thus, this research aims at demonstrating the relationship between digitalization of leadership and innovative work behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 320 Turkish department managers in the Textile Industry through digital leadership and innovate work behavior scales. The hypotheses were tested using path analysis. The analyses were conducted by using SPSS and AMOS package programs.

The results show that the employees’ perceptions of digital leadership have a positive and significant effect on all dimensions of an employee innovative work behavior. Also, the leaders with high digital skills were perceived positively by the employees and the employees tend to adapt innovative behaviors when they have the digitally skilled leaders.

Originality/value

This study contributes to leadership research by providing evidence for the role of leadership shift in innovative work behavior. Extending the verification of leadership shift in innovative work behavior that can be adopted in Turkey has also been considered.

• Digital leadership
• Innovative work behavior
• Leadership styles
• Digitalization
• Digital workplace

Erhan, T. , Uzunbacak, H.H. and Aydin, E. (2022), "From conventional to digital leadership: exploring digitalization of leadership and innovative work behavior", Management Research Review , Vol. 45 No. 11, pp. 1524-1543. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-05-2021-0338

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

Introduction

A leader has a critical importance in an organization since he/she has a role to select, equip, train and influence one or more followers ( Winston and Patterson, 2006 ). Also, when the follower(s) appreciate and feel connected with the leader(s), they are more motivated and ready to work enthusiastically rather than forced compliance ( House and Baetz, 1979 ). Constantly changing era brings out different leadership styles starting from the conventional which is based upon controlling, competitive and aggressive concept ( Lipman-Blumen, 1992 ). However, the role of leadership requires new capabilities to obtain a secure sustainability for the organizations, as the technological progress introduces many changes to the organizations, such as digitalization of work and the workplace. Conventional leadership refers to an approach that only considers the leaders and their functions by highlighting the concept as the sum of the leader’s performance in an organization. Also, the concept points out the performance in leadership as “the result of characteristics of the leaders and the environment” ( Barker, 2001 : 474). In the new era, the leaders need to follow technological developments and gain knowledge regarding the recent changes in organizational structures. These changes bring inevitable requirements to the organizations to be able to become a part of the digitalization in the world of business. As a result, in comparison to the conventional leadership, the need for digital leadership emerges since today’s organizations tends to transform into digital workplace that refers to “the physical, cultural and digital arrangements that simplify working life in complex, dynamic and often unstructured working environments ( Dery et al. , 2017 : 136). This obligatory transformation from conventional to digital leadership provides a theoretical shift in the leadership literature from traditionally controlled manners to empathetic and skillful problem-solving perspectives.

The organizations require leaders with qualifications beyond those of simple behavioral and organizational management skills. In the context of a rapidly evolving and innovative digital landscape and in the face of increased globalization, it is equally, if not more important, for company leaders to stay abreast of developments in the digital sphere – for both their competitiveness and their survival. Survival of the organizations is important because changing technologies cause different expectations of customers or stakeholders; therefore, to be able to keep on producing in the marketplace, organizations should adapt their current conditions to the new developments in the technology. In a broader perspective, when customers or stakeholders explore the facilitation of the new technological development before the organization, this may result in changing the preferences of the customers and transferring to the other organization which can follow the new updates in the digital era. The digital era includes an approach which solves the sustainability and effectivity problems of the organizations through technological developments. The key point about the new era is that when the employees realize how important the digital world is, leaders are needed to deeply comprehend what it really means and be more conscious about the digitalization period of the 21st century ( Dorner and Edelman, 2015 ). Thus, in this global world, organizations require leaders with qualifications rather than a manager. In addition to pursuing the new technology, organizations’ needs such as human workforce have been one of the issues which may be overlooked among the other developments. Leaders have been expected to motivate this human workforce with different skills.

In leadership theory, digital leadership is described as the style of leadership that is a combination of transformation leadership style and the use of digital technology ( De Waal et al. , 2016 ). Scholars, who investigated different leadership styles, such as transformational leadership ( Li et al. , 2019 ), participative leadership ( Fatima et al. , 2017 ) or ethical leadership ( Iqbal et al. , 2020a ), have discussed the relationship between these leadership styles and innovative work behavior of the employees; however, there is still a dearth of research on how digitalization shapes understanding of leadership that refers to “digital leadership” in our research, and what the effect of digital leadership on innovative work behavior because digitalization processes create digital workplace and it is not known much by the practitioners ( Mihardjo et al. , 2019 ). In a dynamic world of business, organizations require to be socially and digitally connected through technology and take advantage of the digital era for all the stakeholders. Even though some research demonstrates that digital leadership improves and encourages digital teaching and learning ( Richardson et al. , 2012 ) or digital leadership has been the interest of practitioners in the higher education field ( Antonopoulou, 2020 ; Yusof et al. , 2019 ), the research related to the understanding the role of digital leadership in encouraging or discouraging innovative work behavior is scarce. Also, as innovative work behaviour is a critical factor to achieve organizational success, the question of how digital leadership shapes this type of behavior is critical to provide theoretical evidence to the leadership literature. For this reason, we aim at demonstrating the effect of digital leadership on innovation work behavior in the research. Besides, it is stated that following the digital developments and implementing them into each sector of business are essential for both future collaborations and being the industry in demand for all the stakeholders. Being a digital organization with a digitally skilled leader can provide quick responses to the changing multi-cultural network in the world and transform the organization a constant openness to change, in other words, make the employees ready for something new each day when they are at work ( Litvinenko, 2020 ). Regarding the reality and necessity of having the digitally developed organizations with highly digitally equipped leaders, sectors regardless of the product or service can obtain competitive advantages. This superiority is evaluated and examined within the textile industry in the current study. As the garment types or styles are shaped by the preferences of the societies, it is challenging to catch up with the latest and trendy pieces of textile products for the textile organizations. Specifically, as for some countries, the garments require plenty of embroideries or patches which should be produced with great attention and rapidly to meet the demands of the market. With the help of the digital technology, digital embroidery techniques ( Oliver, 2016 ) can be used to improve the approaches of the employees and let them implement their own imagination reflect on the technological designs of the garments. In addition to creative and competitive products in the textile industry, the recycled products should be produced by the organizations in the 21st century withing the hardships of the changing climate and limited natural resources. Thus, meeting the need of the consumers with different clothing choices, the organizations which can use and implement the digital technologies produce harmless products to the environment and can be preferred in the global market. Because textile industries are one of the biggest polluters in the world during the production and delivery process ( Luque Gonzalez, 2018 ). Besides, the textile industry is one of the most productive sectors with small- or big-sized organizations, a sector that almost everyone is to some extent is included in the production and consumption chain ( Luján-Ornelas et al. , 2020 ). For the textile organizations to follow up the newest and latest innovations, leaders are considered as the sources of the innovative culture and approaches. As it is stated in the report by one of the important textile companies, successful garment sectors will be leading the future’s textile industry by using the latest automation technologies, and these will provide contribution to the innovation of the new products ( TURKONFED, 2018 ). However, to be able to compete within the technological era, well-known leadership styles may not be sufficient, so another leadership style is required to manage the present digital environment effectively by not totally disregarding the conventional types of leadership but uniting all the leadership skills to apply and spread the idea of innovation within the organizations ( Haddud and McAllen, 2018 ). Therefore, this study examines and attempts to reveal the importance of digital leadership and its effect on innovative work behavior which is the productive work outcome for all the organizations.

The current study has four main sections following on the introduction. First, we theorize digital leadership based on the literature. Second, we conceptualize innovative work behavior to understand how the concept can be considered within the context of this research. Third, we discuss both digital leadership and innovative work behavior to present the hypotheses of this study. Finally, we discuss and conclude our paper.

Theorizing digital leadership

Digitalization has been considered as the cause of the emergence of the destructive consequences of the leadership practices ( Bennis, 2013 ). For the organizations, it is essential to catch up with the digital age and to avoid these destructive consequences, thus leaders’ cooperation skills, orchestration ability, creativity and following the beneficial practices play an important to be able to survive in the digital world ( Beresford, 2018 ). This importance has caused the emergence of a new leadership approach different from the focus on “commanding and controlling” leadership. ( Timurcanday Özmen et al. , 2020 ). This approach develops the organization digitally experienced, successful and skillful by highlighting the leaders’ digital intelligence ( Kane et al. , 2015 ). Toduk (2014) distinguishing the traditional leadership from the leadership of the digital era, has stated as “digital leadership”, and marked the innovation ability, digital skills, strong networks, cooperation, participation and visionary as the most important aspects of these leaders. This point of view about the features of the leaders which Copeland (2016) and Du Toit et al. (2017) stated as “driving force” has overlapped.

Digital leadership has been defined as individuals who add value to the organizations by combining the abilities of the leaders with digital technologies ( Rudito and Sinaga, 2017 ). Digital leaders are the leaders who manage the digital transformation processes in a consistent way, and adapt multiple leadership approaches (transformational, transactional, etc.) by providing competitive advantages with a strategic point of view ( Sow and Aborbie, 2018 ). According to Mihardjo and Sasmoko (2019) , digital leadership, which is also stated as the combination of digital culture and digital competencies, has been based on the Upper Echelons Theory. The theory, developed by Hambrick and Mason (1984) , states that strong managers are the significant factor affecting and implementing the strategic decisions of the organization, and the power has been considered to determine the performance and success of the organizations directly. Besides, the theory has assumed that this power has come from the leaders’ knowledge for future events, and accurate predictions, competencies, educational background and work experience. Thus, it can be stated that the digital competencies of the leaders are the power for the organizations and employees.

El Sawy et al. (2016) consider digital leadership as an approach that ensures the strategic success of digitalization for the enterprise and its organizational ecosystem. However, the environmental context for organizations are quite volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous for creating fast (re)actions. For this reason, it is critical to have certain characteristics for being a digital leader. The characteristics are the combination of agile, participative, networking and open leaderships ( Petry, 2018 ). While agile characteristics identify critical issues and different scenarios ( Rigby et al. , 2016 ), participative characteristics use the knowledge of employees, as they cannot know everything in an organization ( Pearce and Conger, 2002 ). Also, networking and open characteristics demonstrate the positive responses of the digital leaders to any criticism in the process of creating networks amongst the employees ( Petry, 2018 ; Li, 2010 ). All required characteristics and definitions of the digital leadership demonstrate that it has a trust-based approach in any managing and operation process of enterprises.

Conceptualizing innovative work behavior

The rapid change in technology has required organizations to innovate to ensure the organizations’ competitiveness and sustainability ( Iqbal et al. , 2020b ). For this reason, organizations have been seeking revisions in many areas such as work design ( Bysted, 2013 ). As digitalization has caused changes in customer demands, the need for employees to show innovative behaviors, seeking new ways to meet the demands has also been increasing ( Li et al. , 2019 ).

Innovative work behavior has been defined as behaviors related to initiating, directing and conducting new or useful ideas/products, work processes and procedures for the organizations ( De Jong, 2006 ). As a multi-stage process, innovative work behavior ( Sethibe and Steyn, 2017 ) is a motivational situation that is affected by the employees’ knowledge, skills and experiences ( Bammens, 2016 ). Innovative work behavior is a complex behavior, which positively affects organizational and individual performance, reveals and develops innovative ideas and requires extra role behavior ( Janssen, 2000 ). It has been stated that innovative people are more willing than others to experience trial-error and risk-taking ( Sönmez and Yıldırım, 2014 ). All behaviors to fulfill the organizational goals such as new methods, new technologies and searching and developing new techniques and providing all the sources have been addressed in innovative work behavior ( Yuan and Woodman, 2010 ; Kheng et al. , 2013 ). De Jong and Den Hartog (2010) and Stoffers et al. (2014) conceptualize innovative work behavior as containing four dimensions: idea exploration (IE), idea generation (IG), idea championing (IC) and idea implementation (II). We discuss these four dimensions with digital leadership in the next section.

Digital leadership and innovative work behavior

Organizations are in an inevitable and stiff competition which requires them to become a part of the digital world to survive in the market and provide sustainability of their operations. To adapt the aforementioned changing environment, the organizations need to adopt a transformation from conventional to digital perspective in their operations and managerial practices through having leaders who have a digital mindset ( Wagner et al. , 2019 ). While the leaders have a digital mindset, they should focus on work behavior of the employees who are amongst the intangible and valuable sources, as the employees face challenges and difficulties in the digitalization process of an organization. Specifically, the leaders with the ability to be fully coherent with the digital era have been considered to be more engaged with the innovative work behaviors. The digital leaders somehow adapt the recent technological developments and present the latest and most comfortable ways to reach the customers and employees which require to have leadership enhancing the adaptive culture of the organizations ( Alos-Simo et al. , 2017 ). As Mintzberg (2010) suggests, leaders are the individuals who achieve technical competencies, today’s leaders are required to be the first pursuers of the innovations of the digital world. Moreover, the young generation who are named as “digital natives” will be or have already been a candidate of the future leaders ( Johansen, 2012 ); therefore, these upcoming leader candidates automatically can establish a digital organizational structure.

In the near future, by the changing rules of the conventional leadership, leaders are required to be equipped with digital skills, establish strong network, be collaborative, adopt a participative management approach and, most importantly, acquire entrepreneurship and innovation skills to be successful ( Toduk, 2014 ). It is important to perceive innovative perspective as leaders; however, the leaders’ followers have also been expected to be a part of a team who adopt innovation process as their leaders. Digital leaders, who are considered among the transformational leaders, should play a proactive role to achieve the organizational goals and objectives; by doing so, leaders can increase the motivation of their employees and encourage innovative and creative ideas. This approach reinforces the role of the leaders in the development of the employees’ innovative behaviors ( Chen, 2014 ). It has been stated that to fulfill the role in improving the innovative work behavior of employees, digital leaders have been required to have the capability to know and use the information and communication technologies, new applications and new technologies such as communication technologies, cloud technology, big data, data analysis and to have business acumen including the business intelligence, ability to comprehend the business and strategic leadership skills ( Yücebalkan, 2020 ). Besides, it has been known that transformational leaders with digital competencies have more tendency ( Jung et al. , 2003 ) to share information, track innovative solutions to problems ( Jansen et al. , 2009 ) and form creative and innovative organizational culture in an appropriate, free and encouraging environment to reveal the ideas that support the innovativeness of the organizations. In addition, digital workplaces created by the leaders increase the productivity of the organizations with the help of the technologies. The implementation of new technologies provides an environment that reinforces innovation, enables innovative efforts by integrating information technologies with production processes and facilitates the development of innovative services and products ( Haddud and McAllen, 2018 ).

Transformation from conventional to digital leadership process includes considering the four dimensions of innovative work behavior to create a digital workplace and to reach higher productivity of employees in an organization. The first is idea exploration that refers to:

the perceived extent of support that innovation toolkits provide in terms of exploring information about published innovations and customer needs and preferences, as well as market trends, which helps in developing new ideas ( Ye, 2018 : 428).

Digital leadership is positively and significantly associated with idea exploration.

Digital leadership is positively and significantly associated with idea generation.

Digital leadership is positively and significantly associated with idea championing.

Digital leadership is positively and significantly associated with idea implementation.

Digital leadership, as it is assumed to have the effect on innovative work behavior, has been also claimed to improve through the purposeful use of technology ( Sheninger, 2019 ). By implementing digital technology for the purposeful use, and when it is perceived as an innovation in the organizations employees can have the opportunity to go beyond the daily routines and have the need to do more search about the new technologies ( Masood and Afsar, 2017 ). Besides, it is one of the crucial requirements of all the organizations to follow the new technological developments and benefit from the advantages. Organizations improve themselves and keep their long-term competitiveness by having high perception of innovative work behavior (( Domínguez-Escrig et al. , 2019 ). However, acquiring the new technology rapidly and applying it in the organization not only requires an innovative perspective but also digitally talented leaders who are also known with high digital literacy ( Santoso, et al. , 2019 ) which facilitates to comprehend how to adapt the developments successfully and make the employees to become a part of this constant digitally innovative process.

Severe global competition both among the employees and the organizations can be managed following the requirements of the current and sudden technological changes in the world of industry. Thus, having digitally developed organizations are considered being one of the significant priorities in the societies which provide competitive advantage. Besides, leaders with digital interest or skill can follow the latest technological developments easier than the leaders who manage the organizations using the traditional leadership style.

Digitally talented leaders may know how to face with the new non-stop in other words 7/24 increasing changes and gain familiarity in the digital platforms. Thus, the current study highlights a strong emphasis on the digital leadership to experience more and high innovative work behavior which is one of the key sources of the sustainability of the organizations and natural shield in case of unexpected events such as the COVID-19 pandemic or disasters.

Research method

According to the 2019 data, textile sector ranks as the third with 17.7% share in Turkey’s export ( Turkish Exporters Assembly [TIM], 2020 : 16). Denizli province is one of the first place in the rankings famous for its textile reputation, and every one of the four employees has been working in the textile sector ( Government of Denizli, 2020 ). There are 180 textile factories manufacturing in 4 organized industrial zones in Denizli. These factories have been rapidly going through the digitalization process. As a matter of fact, the factories in this region have been chosen as a pilot digitalization application area by Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD), since the increase in productivity provided by digitalization is expected to be at a high level ( TÜSİAD, 2016 ). For this reason, the sample of the research was carried out with department managers in the textile sector, where technology is used and followed intensively. All 180 companies were contacted to participate in the research. However, due to the intense and dynamic work pace of the textile industry and the fact that some organizations do not allow data collection other than certain researchers, not all department managers could be reached. Only 95 department managers responded. Hence, 76% of the questionnaires were returned. The data of the study has been collected between September and October 2021. The questionnaire has been delivered to 440 people in total, 335 of them have responded, 15 of them have been eliminated due to the missing and incorrect information. The analyses have been done by using 320 questionnaires. As Anderson and Gerbing (1984) state; the sample size of should be at least 150, and Bentler and Chou (1987) emphasize that a sample of ten times of the items should be reached providing that the sample is distributed normally. According to Schumacker and Lomax (2004), it can be said that the data show normal distribution if the skewness and kurtosis coefficients take values in the range of ±1,5. In this study, the skewness and kurtosis coefficients are in these value ranges ( Table 3 ). The sample of this study is considered to meet the normal distribution condition (95% confidence level and 5% margin of error), and its size is evaluated as sufficient. The analyses have been done by using 320 questionnaires. 50.3% of the participants are woman, 78.8% of them are married, 83.1% have bachelor’s degree, the mean age of the participants is 38.5 (SD = 8.1) and the average tenure is 14.6 (SD = 8.7) years. The distribution of the participants according to the demographic characteristics is presented in Table 1 .

The digital leadership and innovative work behavior scales were used to collect the data of the study. Each scales’ items are rated on a five-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). A biographical questionnaire was only used to collect some demographic information of the participants in this study. As such, this information was collected on gender, marital status, age groups, education level and tenure of the participants.

Digital leadership.

To measure the employees’ perceptions of digital leadership, “Informatics Leadership Scale” by Ulutaş and Arslan (2017) has been used. The scale has three dimensions with 6 items each, the 18-item scale in total has information, communication and orientation dimensions. There are no reverse coded questions in the scale. In this study, the orientation dimension’s 6 items have been used. The reason for assessing only the orientation dimension in the current study is that Ulutaş and Arslan (2017) have stated that this dimension represents the digital leadership. The scale has a five-point Likert type. (1: strongly disagree, 5: strongly agree). Sample item is “Raises awareness of the organization’s employees about the risks of information technologies”. In the scale validation study, Cronbach’s alpha has been calculated as 0.97.

Innovative work behavior.

“Innovative Work Behavior Measure” developed by De Jong and Den Hartog (2010) has been used. The Turkish adaptation of the scale has been done by Çimen and Yücel (2017) with four dimensions. The idea generation (IG), idea exploration (IE), idea championing (IC) and idea implementation (II) has 10 items each. The scale has a five-point Likert type. (1: never, 5: always). Sample item is “How often do you generate original solutions for problems?” Scale has no reverse coded items. In the validation study, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient has been calculated as 90, 0.88, 0.95, 0.82, respectively.

Measurement model evaluation

In the analysis of the data in the current study, SPSS 26 program has been used to identify the mean, standard error, reliability correlation values of the variables. Besides, to test the validity of the scaled used in the study, AMOS 24 program has been used. In this context, the validity of the scales has been tested with the confirmatory factor analysis. To measure the reliability of the scales, the internal consistency coefficient has been chosen. The path analysis has been used to test the effects of the variables in the study. In testing the structural equation modelling, maximum possibility and Bootstrap 5,000 samples and 95% bias corrected confidence interval methods have been used.

Anderson and Gerbing (1988) state that when structural equation modelling was used in the studies first, the measurement then the structural model should be tested. For this reason, the measurement model was tested first. If the measurement model provides good fit values, the structural model should be tested. The results obtained from the measurement model are shown in Table 2 . As it can be seen in Table 2 , the best fit values were obtained from the five-factor structure. It was determined that the goodness of fit value of the five-factor structure was in perfect fit ( Hu and Bentler, 1999 ; Kline, 1998 ).

Composite reliability (>0.70), average variance extracted (>0.50) and Cronbach’s α (>0.70) tests were done for the convergent and discriminant validity of the research model ( Fornell and Larcker, 1981 ; Hair et al. ,2012 ). As Table 3 shows, the results of the three tests are in the acceptable limits. Additionally, discriminant validity was analysed to examine whether a measurement is not a reflection of any other measurement or not. In this analysis, each of the square roots of AVE should be higher than the other correlation coefficients for adequate discriminant validity ( Fornell and Larcker, 1981 ). As presented in Table 4 , the square root of AVE for each variable is greater than the other correlation coefficients which indicate the discriminant validity is achieved. However, Harman’s single-factor was used to determine whether there was a common method variance error ( Podsakoff et al. , 2003 ). As a result of the analysis, it was determined that the single factor structure explained 36.7% of the total variance. When this ratio is below 50%, it shows that there is no common method variance problem.

In Table 4 , Pearson correlation analysis results have been presented to identify the relationships between the variables of the study. As it is indicated in Table 4 , it has been clearly stated that digital leadership has an average and significant relationship between the dimensions of innovative behavior’s idea generation, idea exploration, idea championing and idea implementation. In addition to this, there is an average and significant ( r = 0.787, p < . 01) relationship between digital leadership and innovative work behavior.

Structural model evaluation

In this level of the study, a structural equation modelling related to the research model has been established and good of fit values have been tested with the AMOS package program. The findings of the model have been revealed that the good fit values are as follows in the acceptable limits: ( χ 2 /d.f. = 1.31; CFI = 0.99; NFI = 0.99; TLI =0.99; RMSEA = 0.031).

According to the model ( Figure 1 ), the textile sector employees’ digital leadership perceptions have affected idea generation dimension ( β = 0.60, p < 0.001, BC 95% CI [0.514, 0.670]), idea exploration dimension ( β = 0.56, p < 0.001, BC 95% CI [0.462, 0.638]), idea championing dimension ( β = 0.70, p < 0.001, BC 95% CI [0.620, 0.721]), and idea implementation dimension ( β = 0.48, p < 0.001, BC 95% CI [0.357 0.577]) of the innovative work behavior positively and significantly. In other words, as the levels of digital leadership perception increase, the level of perception of the dimensions of innovative work behavior increases. Thus, H1 , H2 , H3 and H4 have been supported ( Table 5 ).

Conclusion and discussion

In this study, we explored how digital leadership perception of the employees influences innovative work behavior. As the results demonstrated, the perception of digital leadership significantly predicted innovative work behavior of the employees. Previous studies focused on the effects of various styles of leaderships on innovative work behavior such as Afsar et al. (2014) and Yidong and Xinxin (2013). However, this study raises link digital workplace, digital leadership and innovative work behavior because innovation is a driving force of organizations, and the literature regarding digitalization of workplace and digital leadership are scarce ( Sarros et al. , 2008 ). Based upon the idea that the innovation starts with creative ideas ( Lace et al. , 2015 ), so leaders who can follow the businesses digitally are open to new changes in the organizations. This study is line with the previous study that digital leadership influenced business model innovation as part of digital transformation ( Mihardjo et al. , 2019 ). From an organizational and individual perspective, Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of digital era once again.

Organizations of the 21st century are fully expected to meet the needs of their stakeholders not only to raise the competitive advantage but also to keep the sustainability being among one of the best and respected for many years. However, unexpected events’ occurrence may be overlooked and may cause various disadvantages for the organizations. Coping with these problems is required for many different parameters. In other words, leaders of the organizations are needed to have different kinds of skills, including real and virtual life management strategies. Meeting all stakeholders’ needs, motivating the employees, following new changes and improvements in the technological world have been considered the priorities of the contemporary leaders of the organizations. Among the leadership styles, digital leadership has developed an entrepreneurial mindset as part of the innovation ( Tanniru et al. , 2018 ). Thus, in addition to the other leadership styles, competence is required to become a fully digitalized leader as for all the organizations innovative aspect provides competitiveness ( Fan, 2006 ).

Based on the results of the hypotheses tested, it can be concluded that digital leadership significantly affects all four dimensions of innovative work behavior. The results of the current study indicate that it is practically important for leaders to understand that to be able to obtain sustainability both for the organization and the employee, following the new technology and perceiving the necessity of innovativeness foster the organization. Employees who perceive their leaders as digitally sufficient have the continuity of the exchange interaction and feel confident towards the organization.

Implications

Theoretically, the findings of the study enrich comprehending the relationship between digital leadership and innovative work behavior of the employees. Digital leadership based on Hambrick and Mason’s Upper Echelon Theory (1984), leadership is an important key in organizing the resources to sustain business in the future ( Wasono and Furinto, 2018 ). Digitally skilled leaders stimulate innovative approaches of the employees, which leads to higher motivation and performance. This study sheds light on the importance of research regarding digital leaders’ impact on employees. The implementation of the digital developments which facilitate organizational work outcomes should be encouraged to be used in the organizations by the leaders.

Leaders of the organizations apart from the leadership style have been expected to be more adaptable to the new technology to be able to make the employees adapt the current developments. It can be said that digitally oriented leaders specifically in developing countries such as Turkey need to follow the digitalization, digital developments closely and implement them rapidly to compete and survive in the global competition. COVID-19 pandemic also highlights the global change and innovation in all the industries. Organizations managed by digitally skilled leaders have been adapted to the inevitable changes as a result of the pandemic, unlike the organizations which have the low capacity to perform innovative approaches in both service and product organizations. Just like almost all the countries on earth, Turkey has also been experiencing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the current study conducted in the Turkish organizations has revealed the importance of the organizations with digital leaders have had high innovative work behavior which helps these organizations to experience fewer devastating effects of the pandemic which is now thought and accepted as being one of the competition struggles for the organizations.

Practically, organizations require innovations to meet the changing needs and preferences of the customers/stakeholders as a result of the rapid technological developments. In addition to the vision of the leaders of the organizations, digitally skilled leaders support and motivate the employees and help them show innovation work behaviors. Organizations should pay attention to the digital transformation of the 21st century and develop business models based on innovative approaches.

Research limitations and future research directions

As with any study, this current study has potential limitations. For example, the study can be replicated in different cultural contexts. For the future studies, data can be gathered from further samplings such as health care, tourism and education organizations. Longitudinal studies can be conducted by observing the effects of digitalization in the organizations. For the future studies, more variables such as extra-role behavior, psychological well-being, job satisfaction can be tested in the digital transformation contexts. Our research reveals the positive and significant effect of digital leadership on innovative work behavior, whereas future studies should go further by adding mediating or moderating variables such as emotional intelligence or employee indifference. The current study examined the effect of digital leadership; however, innovative work behavior is just one of the results that employees have been experiencing. For the future studies regarding the digitalization or as a leadership style being a digital leader can be taken into account as a core independent variable and the results which are obtained can provide contribution to the importance of being a competent digital leader. Besides, dependent variables can be gathered by conducting a qualitative study.

Structural model results

Sample characteristics

p < 0.001; B: Unstandardized estimates; β : Standardized estimates; C.R.: Critical ratio

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Digital Leadership. Neue Führungskultur, Schlüsselkompetenzen sowie Anforderungen an Führung im digitalen Zeitalter

Bachelorarbeit, 2019, 80 seiten, note: 1,0, marcel wörner (autor:in), inhaltsverzeichnis, abbildungsverzeichnis.

1 Einleitung – Digital Leadership als zentrale Herausforderung in Zeiten des Wandels 1.1 Problemstellung 1.2 Zielsetzung und Forschungsfrage 1.3 Methodische Vorgehensweise 1.4 Struktur und Aufbau der Arbeit

2 Theoretische Grundlagen 2.1 Digital Leadership 2.2 Führungskraft 2.3 Führungskultur 2.4 Führungsverhalten 2.5 Führungskompetenz 2.6 Digitale Transformation

3 Bedeutung und Konsequenzen der Digitalisierung 3.1 Relevanz der Digitalisierung 3.2 Technologische Einflussfaktoren 3.3 Gesellschaftliche Einflussfaktoren 3.4 Veränderte Umwelt – V.U.C.A 3.5 Konsequenzen der Digitalisierung

4 Erfolgreiches Führungsverhalten im digitalen Zeitalter 4.1 Führungsverhalten in Bezug auf die Unternehmensführung 4.2 Führungsverhalten in Bezug auf die Unternehmenskultur 4.3 Führungsverhalten in Bezug auf die Mitarbeiterführung 4.4 Führungsverhalten in Bezug auf die Selbstführung 4.5 Führungsverhalten in Bezug auf die Digital Economy 4.6 Zusammenführung und Diskussion

5 Wichtige Führungskompetenzen im digitalen Zeitalter 5.1 Kompetenzfelder im digitalen Zeitalter 5.2 Methodik und Prozess der Kompetenzmodellierung 5.3 Ableitung eines Kompetenzprofils für Führungskräfte der Zukunft

6 Schlussbetrachtung – Digital Leadership nach der digitalen Transformation 6.1 Kritische Würdigung 6.2 Fazit und Ausblick

Literaturverzeichnis

Abbildung 1: Zielgruppen der Bachelorarbeit

Abbildung 2: Aufbau der Bachelorarbeit

Abbildung 3: Gegenüberstellung Führen vs. Managen

Abbildung 4: Generationsübersicht

Abbildung 5: Neue Merkmale der digitalen Transformation

Abbildung 6: Einflussfaktoren der Unternehmenskultur

Abbildung 7: Vier Kategorien der digitalen Reife von Unternehmen

Abbildung 8: Führungsverhalten eines Digital Leaders im Überblick

Abbildung 9: Kompetenzen einer Führungskraft im digitalen Zeitalter nach Kompetenzgruppen

Abbildung 10: Prozess der Kompetenzmodellierung

Abbildung 11: Kompetenzprofil einer Führungskraft im digitalen Zeitalter

1 Einleitung – Digital Leadership als zentrale Herausforderung in Zeiten des Wandels

Digitalisierung. Globalisierung. Demografie. Unsere Gesellschaft und unsere Arbeitswelt befinden sich in einem dauerhaften – und vor allem tiefgreifenden – Wandel (vgl. sowohl Schmidt, 2019, S. 1 als auch Schermuly, 2019, S. 31 und Schwarzmüller, Brosi, Welpe, 2015, S. 104 ff.). Diese großen Wandlungsprozesse ebnen den Weg für eine drastische Veränderung der Arbeitswelt. Die flexiblen Verbindungen der neuen Netzwerkgesellschaft schaffen neue Voraussetzungen für Wachstum, Fortschritt und Innovation. Klassische Organisationsstrukturen und Karrieremöglichkeiten werden abgelöst von neuen, flexiblen Wegen und Modellen (vgl. Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales, 2017, S. 18). Unsere Gesellschaft hat sich in den vergangenen Jahren aufgrund der zunehmenden Digitalisierung in grundlegender Weise verändert. Der heutige Arbeitsplatz ist ohne Computer, Laptop, Tablets und Smartphone nicht mehr vorstellbar (vgl. Schwarzmüller et al., 2015, S. 155). Laut einer Erhebung des statistischen Bundesamtes arbeiten 33 Millionen der insgesamt 39,5 Millionen Erwerbstätigen ab 16 Jahren in Deutschland mit computergesteuerten Geräten oder Maschinen (vgl. Statistisches Bundesamt, 2018b, S. 39).

Immer leistungsfähigere Software und IT-Systeme, Cloud Computing, das Internet der Dinge, Smart Services, Robotik und Sensorik, 3-D-Druck und Big Data revolutionieren klassische Geschäftsmodelle und verändern ganze Branchen. Dabei sind Big Data und Cloud Computing die Technologien, die den Digitalisierungsgrad eines Unternehmens am stärksten vorantreiben (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie, 2018, S. 10). Während Big Data und Cloud Computing sich besonders im Dienstleistungssektor als wichtige Treiber der Digitalisierung erweisen, ist es in der Industrie vor allem das Internet der Dinge.

Die Informations- und Kommunikationsbranche trägt mit einem Anteil von 4,7% mehr an der Wertschöpfung der deutschen Gesamtwirtschaft bei, als traditionelle Industriebranchen (Maschinenbau oder die Chemie- und Pharmaindustrie). Dies entspricht einer Bruttowertschöpfung von ca. 108 Milliarden Euro im Jahr 2017. Im Vergleich der zehn wichtigsten Standorte weltweit befindet sich Deutschland, was die Leistungsfähigkeit angeht, damit auf einem guten fünften Platz. Besonders stark schneidet Deutschland in Bezug auf die Rahmenbedingungen – wie etwa die Innovationskraft – ab (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie, 2018, S. 12).

Der „Wirtschaftsindex DIGITAL“ des Bundesministeriums für Wirtschaft und Energie (2018, S. 7) zeigt, dass die Dienstleistungsunternehmen den höchsten Digitalisierungsgrad aufweisen. Mit einem weltweiten Umsatz von 344 Milliarden Euro und derzeit mehr als einer Million Beschäftigten sowie 107.170 Unternehmen ist die Informations- und Kommunikationsbranche ein wichtiger Arbeitsmarktmotor (vgl. Statistisches Bundesamt, 2018a, S. 2 ff.). Zusätzlich zu den eben angeführten Entwicklungen wirken weitere Trends fort. Kaum eine gesellschaftliche Entwicklung wird Deutschland in den kommenden Jahren so prägen wie der demografische Wandel. Laut dem Statistischen Bundesamt (2015, S. 46) wird die Zahl der Erwerbstätigen bis 2060 von rund 61 auf bis zu 52% sinken, der deutschen Wirtschaft gehen damit rund 15 Millionen Arbeitskräfte verloren. Dies bedeutet in Deutschland werden mehr Rentner leben, während die Bevölkerung im erwerbsfähigen Alter insgesamt abnehmen wird. Neben dem demografischen Wandel werden weitere Trends die Arbeitsgesellschaft der Zukunft nachhaltig verändern.

Die globale Vernetzung von Wirtschaftsräumen wird weiter zunehmen. Der technische Fortschritt im Bereich der Kommunikationstechnologien wird, wie bereits weiter oben erläutert, diesen Fortschritt vorantreiben. Der schon länger anhaltende Trend zur Wissensgesellschaft wird sich auch durch die Digitalisierung fortsetzen. In der Informations- und Kommunikationsbranche sowie Dienstleistungsbranche werden zunehmend anspruchsvollere Technologien eingesetzt. Diese Entwicklung hängt mit dem Trend zur „Wirtschaft 4.0“ zusammen (vgl. Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, 2019, S. 6).

Die „Arbeit der Zukunft“ kann dabei längst nicht mehr nur national gedacht werden. Die künftigen Herausforderungen der Arbeitswelt erfordern besser ausgebildete Arbeitskräfte (vgl. Elmar, 2015, S. 34). Dabei geht es einerseits um höhere Qualifikationen, damit Arbeitskräfte mit den technologischen Entwicklungen Schritt halten können. Andererseits sind neben fachspezifischen Kompetenzen verstärkt soziale Fähigkeiten, wie Kommunikationsstärke, Problemlösungskompetenz oder die Fähigkeit zu ganzheitlichem Denken nachgefragt, wie die PIAAC-Studie der Organisation für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (OECD) zeigte (vgl. Rammstedt et al., 2013, S. 19 ff.).

Die heutige Generation an Arbeitskräften will anders arbeiten und muss anders geführt werden als vorherige Generationen – so wie sie in Zukunft selbst anders führen wird. Hierbei müssen Unternehmen, die junge hochqualifizierte Arbeitskräfte anziehen wollen, sich auf neue Motivationsmechanismen und ein verändertes Leistungsdenken einstellen. Die beste Voraussetzung dafür ist ein umfassendes Verständnis der neuen Arbeitswelt, da diese die Jugend – und die gesamte Netzwerkgesellschaft – prägen.

Die Arbeitswelt und die Erwartungshaltung der Mitarbeiter von morgen müssen sich neuen, experimentierfreudigeren Anforderungen stellen – das gilt auch und vor allem für das Thema Führungskultur. Eine Arbeitswelt, die sich durch die Digitalisierung und zunehmende globale Vernetzung grundlegend wandelt, folgt keinen klaren Regeln mehr und bietet weder Führungskräften noch Mitarbeitern Sicherheit (vgl. Schwarzmüller et al., 2015, S. 108).

Die Wirtschaft von morgen braucht mehr denn je eine Führungskultur der Entdecker: mit einer Denkweise, die nicht linear auf klare Ziele fokussiert ist, sondern auch neugierig zur Seite blickt, sich ablenken lässt und offen für Neues ist. Eine „Top-Down-Struktur“ schafft keinen Fortschritt und fördert kein innovatives Denken, sie sichert lediglich den Status quo. Für Mitarbeiter, die sich in ihrer Arbeit entwickeln wollen, für Kunden, die eine immer passgenauere Lösung ihrer Probleme und Bedürfnisse verlangen, reicht das nicht (vgl. Elmar, 2015, S. 57 ff.). Erst recht nicht in einer digitalen Ökonomie, in der Kreativität, Wissen und Talent zu den wichtigsten Ressourcen werden.

Zunehmend verändert sich das Verständnis von Führung in Richtung Selbstorganisation und selbstorganisiertes Lernen der Mitarbeiter (vgl. sowohl Creusen/Gall/Hackl, 2017, S. 188 als auch Otte, 2019, S. 432). Hierbei betont Thomas Sattelberger (Initiative Neue Qualität der Arbeit, 2014, S. 17), ehem. Vorstand der Telekom AG, Continental AG und Lufthansa Passage, in der Studie „Monitor: Führungskultur im Wandel – Kulturstudie mit 400 Telefoninterviews“ den derzeit notwendigen Paradigmenwechsel in deutschen Unternehmen und die Verlagerung der Entscheidungsfähigkeit auf Teams oder Projektgruppen: „Der einzelne kluge Kopf wird Teil von Kooperationsnetzen. Geführte erwarten zunehmend andere Menschenführung, Führungskräfte sind zunehmend auf der Suche nach einem anderen Verständnis von Führung und beide wollen eine neue Führungskultur.“

Werden den Mitarbeitern aber mehr Autonomie und Verantwortung übertragen, braucht es auch gefestigte Führungskräfte, um mit flachen dezentralen Strukturen zurechtzukommen. Agilisierung, Demokratisierung und Verflachung können nur gelingen, wenn die Führungskompetenzen und die Führungskultur entsprechend ausgeprägt sind. Damit rückt der Begriff der „Führungskompetenzen“ immer stärker in den Mittelpunkt der Führungsforschung. Der zunehmende Einfluss der Digitalisierung erfordert somit auch digitale Führungskompetenzen, welche nicht nur in Richtung der klassischen Führungskompetenzmodelle dargestellt werden können. Diese werden im Rahmen der Digitalisierung und der sich verändernden Umweltbedingungen in derzeit bestehenden Kompetenzmodellen jedoch kaum oder überhaupt nicht berücksichtigt.

Mit dem Schwerpunktthema „Digital Leadership“ ist eine aktuelle Diskussion in der Öffentlichkeit entbrannt, welche die Führung im digitalen Zeitalter thematisiert und das Ziel verfolgt, vor dem Hintergrund marktseitiger Veränderungen in einem dynamischer werdenden Unternehmensumfeld auf diese Gegebenheiten zu reagieren und somit den Erfolg des Unternehmens mit Innovationskraft und Flexibilität zu sichern.

1.1 Problemstellung

Wie bereits aus der Einleitung hervorgeht, hat die fortlaufende Digitalisierung einen großen Einfluss auf unser Leben und die Art und Weise, wie wir zukünftig arbeiten werden. Gleichermaßen ist das auch bei Unternehmen der Fall; jede Branche wird früher oder später in unterschiedlichem Maße davon betroffen sein. Um am Markt bestehen zu können, muss jedes Unternehmen ein digitales Geschäftsmodell entwickeln oder aber zumindest für das eigene Geschäftsmodell ein digitales Geschäftsmodell als Unterstützung haben. Die heutigen Führungskräfte stehen im Mittelpunkt der digitalen Transformation und vor der Herausforderung, digitale Geschäftsmodelle zu etablieren und diese kontinuierlich weiterzuentwickeln; aber auch unter Berücksichtigung der veränderten Rahmenbedingungen, die Mitarbeiter von Morgen und sich selbst zu führen. Laut einer Umfrage von Forrester Research (2014, S. 1) geben 74% von 1.254 weltweit befragten Unternehmensvorständen an, eine Digitalstrategie zu haben, aber nur 15% davon sind der Überzeugung, dass sie über die notwendigen Fähigkeiten und Kompetenzen verfügen, um diese Strategie auch tatsächlich umzusetzen. Das verdeutlicht die hohe Relevanz des Themas. In der Literatur findet eine vertiefte Beschäftigung mit den veränderten Kompetenzen und dem veränderten Führungsverhalten nur selten oder größtenteils überhaupt nicht statt, zumindest nicht unter dem spezifischen Aspekt der Führung. Dabei bilden jedoch genau diese Punkte die Grundlage für alle weiteren Schritte auf dem Weg zum Digital Leader. Der Studie „Digital Leader – Leadership im digitalen Zeitalter“ zufolge, die das Beratungsunternehmen Crisp Research (2015) durchgeführt hat, halten die Hälfte der insgesamt 503 Befragten ihre Kompetenzen für stark ausgeprägt, weitere 9% empfinden sie sogar als sehr stark. Fast 40% der Führungskräfte gaben zudem an, die Kompetenzen eines Digital Leaders – also die digitalen Kompetenzen gepaart mit der passenden digitalen Denkweise – auf sich zu vereinen. Die Auswertung der Studie und die Einordnung der Führungskräfte in einem Reifegradmodell zeigen jedoch eine Diskrepanz: Demnach bringen lediglich 7% der Führungskräfte alle Qualitäten eines Digital Leaders mit. Daher soll in dieser Arbeit der Fokus auf den Führungskräften liegen, die eine maßgebliche Rolle im Zeitalter der digitalen Transformation einnehmen.

1.2 Zielsetzung und Forschungsfrage

Diese Bachelorarbeit verfolgt das Ziel, den tiefgreifenden Veränderungen, die sich durch die Digitalisierung ergeben, einem aktuell diskutierten Führungskonzept gegenüberzustellen. Weiterhin soll vor dem Hintergrund marktseitiger Veränderungen in einem dynamischer werdenden Unternehmensumfeld ein zielführendes Kompetenzmodell für Führungskräfte entwickelt werden. Daher versucht diese Studie in erster Linie, die folgenden Forschungsfragen näher zu beleuchten: Welches Führungsverhalten ist in Zeiten der digitalen Transformation erfolgreich? Wie kann die Unternehmensführung die digitale Transformation erfolgreich gestalten? Welche Kompetenzen sind im Zeitalter der digitalen Transformation erforderlich?

Zudem wird der Versuch unternommen, uneinheitliche Kompetenzmodelle und Beschreibungen einer digitalen Führungskultur, die bislang veröffentlicht worden sind, zusammenzufassen, um daraus ein Kompetenzprofil für Führungskräfte abzuleiten, welches zukünftig als Grundlage für weitere Forschungen dienen kann. Die Beantwortung dieser drei Fragen soll branchenunabhängig und möglichst unabhängig von der Führungsebene beantwortet werden. Dabei richtet sich diese Bachelorarbeit konkret an die folgenden Zielgruppen, welche nachfolgend in Abbildung 1 dargestellt sind.

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Abbildung 1: Zielgruppen der Bachelorarbeit Quelle: Eigene Darstellung

Heutigen Führungskräften soll ein Leitfaden an die Hand gegeben werden, welches Führungsverhalten und welche Kompetenzen in Zeiten der digitalen Transformation notwendig und angebracht sind. Die Personalauswahl kann mit Hilfe der gewonnen Erkenntnisse aus dieser Arbeit, die Recruiting-Maßnahmen darauf abstimmen und dadurch zukünftig profitieren. Die benannten Kompetenzen können als Grundlage für ein Anforderungsprofil dienen und für Führungskräftestellen verwendet werden. Weiterhin kann diese Arbeit für die Personalentwicklung als Ansatzpunkt verwendet werden, auf welche Kompetenzen es sich zukünftig zu setzen lohnt und als Grundlage für ein Führungskompetenzmodell verwendet werden. Des Weiteren hat diese Arbeit auch eine Relevanz für die Wissenschaft , wie bereits in der Problemstellung hervorgeht, da kaum eine vergleichbare wissenschaftliche Abhandlung zu diesem Thema existiert. Die vorliegende Arbeit bezieht sich einschränkend primär auf Führungskräfte in Deutschland. Jedoch können die Vielzahl der Erkenntnisse über die nationalen Grenzen hinaus auch Anwendung finden, hier bedarf es aber einer vorherigen gründlichen Prüfung, insbesondere im Hinblick auf kulturelle Unterschiede. Weiterhin wird auf das Recruiting von Digital Leadern nicht im Detail eingegangen, da dies den Rahmen dieser Arbeit sprengen würde.

1.3 Methodische Vorgehensweise

Die methodische Herangehensweise dieser Bachelorarbeit erfolgt auf Basis einer Literaturrecherche mit dem Ziel, das Thema „Digital Leadership“ zunächst aus theoretischer Sicht zu erfassen und damit eine Zusammenfassung ausgewählter Veröffentlichungen und Studien vorzulegen und ein Kompetenzprofil für eine Führungskraft abzuleiten. In den vergangenen Jahren ist zunehmend erkennbar, dass dieses Themenfeld in vielen Branchen und Unternehmen in den Fokus gerückt ist. Die zunehmende Relevanz zeigt sich vor allem in Hinblick auf Diskussionen im Internet sowie Beiträgen in Wirtschaftszeitschriften und in der Managementliteratur. Dabei ist festzustellen, dass die Anzahl an empirischen Studien bzw. wissenschaftlichen Veröffentlichungen zu diesem Thema rar sind. Aufgrund der thematischen Bedeutung des Themas für die Gegenwart hat der Verfasser Wert darauf gelegt, dass die zugrunde liegende Literatur dieser Arbeit nicht älter als fünf Jahre alt ist, somit soll die Aktualität der Arbeit gewährleistet werden. Die verwendete nationale und internationale Literatur ist in Form von wissenschaftlichen Veröffentlichungen (Fachzeitschriften und Internet) sowie in Form von Lehrbüchern und Fachartikeln publiziert worden.

1.4 Struktur und Aufbau der Arbeit

Die vorliegende Bachelorarbeit gliedert sich in sechs Kapitel. Der erste Teil dieser Arbeit dient der Einführung in das Thema in Hinblick auf die Problemstellung, die sich aus der Digitalisierung und den Herausforderungen der Unternehmen ergibt. Anschließend erfolgt die Erläuterung der Zielsetzung und Forschungsfrage sowie die Erklärung der Struktur der Arbeit und die Beschreibung der methodischen Vorgehensweise. Im zweiten Teil werden die theoretischen Grundlagen gelegt, welche als Basis für die folgenden Kapitel dienen soll. Im dritten Kapitel werden die Bedeutung und Einflussfaktoren beleuchtet, die eine Änderung des Führungsverhaltens notwendig machen. In den beiden Hauptkapiteln dieser Arbeit geht es um das erfolgreiche Führungsverhalten und die damit einhergehenden Führungskompetenzen im digitalen Zeitalter. Weiterhin werden konkrete Umsetzungsempfehlungen gegeben, wie der digitale Wandlungsprozess erfolgreich gestaltet werden kann. Außerdem werden die erfolgsrelevanten Kompetenzen eines Digital Leader analysiert. Nach einer eingehenden Analyse der Kompetenzfelder aus der Literatur, erfolgt die Ableitung eines Kompetenzprofils. Abschließend werden im Ausblick die wesentlichen Erkenntnisse zusammengefasst und beleuchtet, wie Führung nach der digitalen Transformation aussehen kann.

Abbildung 2: Aufbau der Bachelorarbeit Quelle: Eigene Darstellung

2 Theoretische Grundlagen

Dieses Kapitel beschäftigt sich mit der Begriffsbestimmung der für diese Bachelorarbeit relevanten Terminologien sowie ihre jeweilige Abgrenzung zueinander. Zunächst erfolgt ein Überblick über grundlegende Führungstheorien. Anschließend wird näher auf die theoretischen Grundlagen der Kompetenzforschung eingegangen und es werden notwendige Führungskompetenzen im Kontext eines Kompetenzmanagementsystems erläutert. Das Kapitel schließt thematisch mit Ausführungen zur Digitalisierung und digitalen Transformation ab.

2.1 Digital Leadership

Aus dem Englischen bedeutet „Digital Leadership“ direkt übersetzt „digitale Führung“. In den letzten zwei Jahrzenten wurden die Begriffe „Leader“ und „Leadership“ mit den Bedeutungen Führung, Führungsqualitäten und Leitung in Verbindung gebracht. Die Verwendung des Begriffs erfreut sich im deutschsprachigen Raum zunehmender Beliebtheit. Diese Beliebtheit von „Leadership“ lässt sich unter anderem dadurch erklären, dass der Begriff „Leader“ bzw. „Leadership“ vom englischen Wort „Leader“ abgeleitet wird, welches direkt übersetzt „Führer“ bzw. „Führerschaft“ bedeutet. Auf Grund der deutschen Geschichte während der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus wird dieser Begriff jedoch weitestgehend negativ konnotiert und aufgrund dessen möglichst vermieden. Ein zusätzlicher Grund für die Bekanntheit von „Leader“ ist unter Umständen die Tatsache, dass ähnliche Wörter die gleiche Bedeutung auch in anderen europäischen Sprachen haben, wie beispielsweise im Französischen, Italienischen, Spanischen, Niederländischen und Dänischen. Aufgrund dessen erhalten die Begriffe einen überregionalen Erkenntniswert und werden mit Interna-tionalität und Modernität in Verbindung gebracht (vgl. Peters, 2015, S. 1). Laut Frey et al. (2013, S. 2) liegt dem Verständnis von Führung folgende Definition zugrunde: „ Führung bedeutet, dass man andere Menschen beim Definieren von Aufgaben und Erreichen von Zielen anleitet “ . Die Definition von Hinterhuber et al. (2015, S. 11) konkretisiert und erweitert es um den Aspekt der Unternehmensführung: „Führende sind diejenigen, die das Gleichgewicht im gesamten sozialen Umfeld der Unternehmung schaffen und die Erwartungen der strategischen Partner der Unternehmung erfüllen“ .

Ein Führender ist jeder, der andere im positiven Sinne zu kreativem, initiativem Handeln anregt und in die Lage versetzen kann, Höchstleistungen zum Erreichen kollektiver Ziele zu erbringen (vgl. Kauffeld, 2014, S. 72). Es gibt eine Vielzahl weiterer Definitionen, für diese Arbeit soll jedoch diese Aufzählung ausreichend sein. Oftmals werden unter dem Begriff „Leadership“ noch weitere Aspekte ergänzt. Der Begriff wird oftmals auch dazu verwendet, um neue Ansätze der Führung von der bislang „klassischen“ Führung abzuheben. Aus Vereinfachungsgründen sollen die Begriffe „Leadership“ und „Führung“ im weiteren Verlauf dieser Arbeit synonym verwendet werden.

Darüber hinaus wird Leadership oft nur als Mitarbeiterführung bezeichnet, bei einer umfassenden Betrachtung können jedoch drei Säulen unterschieden werden: die bereits erwähnte Führung von Mitarbeitern (Personalmanagement), die Führung des Unternehmens (Unternehmensführung) und der sich selbst führenden Führung (Personale Führung) (vgl. Kauffeld, 2014, S. 72). Führung kann aber ebenso durch Strukturen (Organigramme, Vorschriften, Rollen u. a.) oder durch Menschen erfolgen (ebd.).

Nachdem Leadership ebenso häufig auch in Bezug auf die Unternehmensführung und die Führung von Organisationen betrachtet werden kann, ist eine Abgrenzung zum Begriff „Management“ erforderlich. Oftmals werden die Begriffe „Leader“ und „Manager“ im alltäglichen Sprachgebrauch auch synonym verwendet (vgl. Peters, 2015, S. 12). Nach Hinterhuber et al. liegt der Unterschied zwischen Management und Leadership im Zeithorizont der Verantwortung der Führungskräfte und Unternehmer (2015, S. 16 ff.). Sie unterscheiden sich hinsichtlich ihrer Einstellungen in Bezug auf ihre Ziele, ihrer Arbeitsauffassung und ihrer Rolle.

Nachfolgend zeigt Abbildung 3 eine Gegenüberstellung und den Unterschied zwischen „Führen“ und „Managen“ und deren Besonderheiten. Der Leader ist besonders auf das in die Zukunft gerichtete Denken und Handeln ausgerichtet. Durch die Entwicklung einer Vision unter Einbeziehung der Mitarbeiter wird eine gemeinsame Richtung vorgegeben, sowohl um Engagement und Verständnis für diese Vision zu wecken. Dabei besitzen Leader die Gabe, gerade in unbeständigen und turbulenten Zeiten den Fokus auf die Mitarbeiter zu setzen und ihnen somit Vertrauen entgegen zu bringen. Sie fordern bewusst den Status quo heraus und fragen im Hinblick auf das gesamte Unternehmen, nach dem „Was und Warum“ (vgl. sowohl Hinterhuber/Krauthammer, 2015, S. 17 ff. als auch Goldsmith/Bennis, 2010, S. 30). Im Vergleich hierzu ist ein Manager eher auf den Status quo fokussiert und weist den Mitarbeitern Aufgaben zu und kontrolliert, anstatt die Mitarbeiter zu inspirieren. Hierbei zeigt sich ein eher klassisch geprägtes Führungsverständnis, während bei einem Führer die Menschen und Gefühle im Vordergrund stehen, hat ein Manager ein eher analytisch und sachlich distanziert geprägtes Führungsverständnis (vgl. Goldsmith/Bennis, 2010, S. 29 f.). Goldsmith und Bennis (2010, S. 31) beschreiben die beiden Rollen wie folgt: „In short, there is a profound difference–a chasm–between leaders and managers. To state it succinctly: A manager does things right. A leader does the right things.“

Abbildung 3: Gegenüberstellung Führen vs. Managen Quelle: Eigene Darstellung nach Gasche, 2016, S. 12

Im Hinblick auf die Digitalisierung bringt die notwendige Veränderung viel Unbekanntes für Unternehmen mit sich. Dabei stellt sich für Unternehmen die Frage, wer die Digitalisierung der Unternehmen denn stemmen soll und welche Fähigkeiten hierfür benötigt werden. In diesem Zusammenhang wird zunehmend vom „Digital Leader“ und „Digital Leadership“ gesprochen. Hier gibt es zwar schon konkrete Definitionen, bislang hat sich aber (noch) keine einheitliche Definition durchgesetzt. Die Autorin und Speakerin Christiane Brandes-Visbeck (2016) beschreibt die Anforderungen an die Führung in einem Beitrag zum Thema treffend: „Wie auch immer man „Digital Leadership“ definieren mag, es steht für alles das, woran es Organisationen aktuell mangelt: Innovationsgeist, Wertorientierung, Disruptions- und Widerspruchspotential, Flexibilität in der Sache, aber auch Standfestigkeit im Wesen, eine hohe soziale Kompetenz und ganz viel Mut.“ Bei der Betrachtung der Literatur und unterschiedlichen Auffassungen von Digital Leadership lassen sich die Fähigkeiten, welche einen Digital Leader ausmachen wie folgt beschreiben (vgl. Keuper et al., 2018, S. 28):

- Aktive Gestaltung des Digitalen Wandels des Unternehmens - Führung und Lernbereitschaft im Umgang mit digitalen Technologien - Flexibel auf neue Situationen einstellen und darauf reagieren - Offen für Neues und Interesse für Innovationen und Technik - Transparenter Umgang mit Wissen und Informationen - Empathie und Sozialkompetenz - Gelebte Fehlerkultur im Unternehmen - Vernetztes Arbeiten ermöglichen

Diese wichtigen Faktoren können in ihrer Komplexität reduziert werden und auf drei wesentliche Fähigkeiten konkretisiert werden (vgl. Summa, 2016, S. 20):

- Digitale Expertise - Digitale Führungsintelligenz - Zukunftsweisender Führungsstil

Hinterhuber et al. (2015, S. 59) definiert dabei die Ziele von Leadership wie folgt: „Die Ziele sind a) die finanzielle Sicherstellung der Unternehmung in einer kurz- bis mittelfristigen Perspektive und b) die Zukunftssicherung durch neue oder sich in Entwicklung befindliche Produkte und Dienstleistungen zu gewährleisten sowie c) die Nutzung unerwarteter Möglichkeiten und/oder die Abwehr schlecht kalkulierter Risiken sicherzustellen.“

In der Literatur werden für den Veränderungsprozess der Führung auch andere Begriffe verwendet, wie beispielsweise „E-Leadership“ und „New Leadership“ (vgl. Peters, 2015, S. 13 f.). Im Kontext des Begriffs „Industrie 4.0“ steht auch ein aktuell diskutierter Begriff in den Medien: „Leadership 4.0“. Dieser beschreibt die Möglichkeiten für Führung, welche sich durch digitale Technologien im Bereich der vernetzten Produktion ergeben. Laut Moskaliuk kann der Begriff gleichgesetzt werden mit dem Begriff „Digital Leadership“ (vgl. 2019, S. 13). Bei dem Begriff „Digital Leadership“ wird bewusst das Wort „Digital“ vor den Begriff „Leadership“ gesetzt, um somit den Haupteinflussfaktor, welcher die Veränderung hervorruft, zu benennen. Unabhängig davon, welche Begrifflichkeit nun gewählt wird, zeigen sämtliche Begriffe auf, dass Führung sich in der heutigen Zeit verändern und neuen Anforderungen stellen muss.

2.2 Führungskraft

Als „Führungskräfte“ werden Personen bezeichnet, welche sowohl Personal- als auch Budgetverantwortung besitzen (vgl. IHK Schwaben, 2015, S. 4). Diese können aufgrund ihrer hierarchischen Stellung Einfluss auf wichtige Bereiche des Unternehmens und auf die strategische Unternehmensentwicklung nehmen. Im „Führungskräfte-Monitor“ definiert das Deutsche Institut für Wirtschaft (2017, S. 17) den Begriff noch umfassender. Dabei beinhaltet diese Definition klassische Führungsfunktionen, wie sie beispielsweise ein Direktor, Geschäftsführer oder ein Abteilungsleiter hat. Darüber hinaus schließt sie aber auch Tätigkeiten mit ein, welche eine hohe Qualifikation verlangen, wie es beispielsweise bei wissenschaftlichen Angestellten oder Ingenieuren der Fall ist (ebd.).

Aufgrund der Weite des Forschungsfeldes und der Vielzahl verschiedener Definitionen, die zum Thema Führung existieren, wird im weiteren Verlauf dieser Arbeit für den Begriff der Führungskraft eine weite Auslegung verwendet, die sowohl Personen in Leitungsfunktionen als auch Personen in hochqualifizierten Tätigkeiten einschließt, welche ohne Personalverantwortung führen. Hierbei können beispielsweise Projektleiter genannt werden, die hierarchisch keine Mitarbeiter unter sich haben und somit keine hierarchische Sonderstellung einnehmen und nur rein fachlich führen. Da diese Form der Führung im Zeitalter der Digitalisierung weiter zunehmen wird und somit an Bedeutung gewinnt, sollen diese auch in den Begriff der Führungskraft mit einfließen.

Im Prozess der Einflussnahme wird Führungskräften eine besondere Rolle zugesprochen, diese sind sogenannte „Agents of Change“, dies bedeutet, sie sind Personen, deren Handeln andere Personen mehr beeinflusst als sie von anderen beeinflusst werden (vgl. Pechlaner et al., 2010, S. 409). Dabei haben Führungskräfte aufgrund ihrer hierarchischen Stellung, welche meist mit Belohnungs- und Bestrafungsmacht verbunden ist, ein größeres Einwirkungs-potenzial (vgl. Kauffeld, 2014, S. 86).

Dabei werden die Mitarbeiter im Unternehmen zum einen durch das Führungssystem des Unternehmens und andererseits durch direkte Führungskräfte geführt (vgl. Berger, 2018, S. 77). Hierbei zeigt sich in Abhängigkeit von den Kompetenzen der Führungskraft ein bestimmtes Führungsverhalten. Dieses Verhalten spiegelt sich im Idealfall in den Werten und Einstellungen der Mitarbeiter wider. Der aktuell größte Faktor, welcher auf diesen situationsbedingten Prozess einwirkt, ist die digitale Transformation. Das Ziel dieses Prozesses ist der Führungserfolg, welcher anhand von zuvor definierten Variablen unternehmensspezifisch gemessen wird. Hierbei können konkrete Ziele beispielsweise in der Gewinnmaximierung und in der Sicherstellung des Unternehmenswachstums liegen (vgl. Franken, 2016, S. 30). Da die Hebel hierfür mittlerweile in der Förderung der Mitarbeiter und der Innovation liegen, verändert sich zunehmend das Profil, welches an eine Führungskraft gestellt wird. Dabei definiert die Studie „Digital Leader: Leadership im digitalen Zeitalter“ von Crisp Research (2015, S. 9) einen Digital Leader wie folgt: „Der Digital Leader steht als digitale Führungsperson stellvertretend für die Digitalisierung des eigenen Unternehmens. Er zeichnet sich durch ein fundiertes Wissen sowie ein ausgeprägtes „Digital-First-Denken“ aus. Der Digital Leader führt sein Team mit einem hohen Partizipationsgrad, regt neue Innovationen an und geht für den Fortschritt der Digitalen Transformation auch neue Wege.“

Hierbei spielt das „Digital Mindset“ (Denkweise) eine elementare Rolle und muss ganzheitlich auf die gesamte strategische Unternehmensausrichtung gesehen werden und Prozesse sowie Vorgehensweisen im Unternehmen erfassen. Oftmals muss dabei zuerst der notwendige Transformationsprozess zu einem Digital Business bewältigt werden. Damit ist im Wesentlichen die Neuausrichtung von Geschäftsmodellen von Unternehmen an die Bedingungen einer zunehmend digitaler werdenden Welt gemeint (vgl. Kreutzer/Neugebauer/Pattloch, 2017, S. 1). Um diesen durch die Digitalisierung ausgelösten Wandel zu stemmen, setzen Unternehmen vermehrt Digital Leader in der Rolle eines Chief Digital Officer (CDO) ein. Durch die Funktion des CDOs sollen neue digitale Geschäftsmodelle entwickelt, vernetztes Arbeiten gefördert und innovative Technologien im Unternehmen gefördert werden und zum Einsatz kommen. Das Ziel nach Auffassung dieser Arbeit darf es nicht sein, nur eine einzige Person in Form einer Führungskraft mit diesen Aufgaben zu betreuen. Vielmehr geht es darum, dass alle Führungskräfte im Unternehmen individuell nach den jeweiligen Möglichkeiten und auf ihre spezifischen Bereiche bezogen zu Digital Leader werden. Der Personalvorstand der Deutschen Telekom Christian Illek (2015) formuliert hierzu treffend: „Die Digitalisierung kommt nicht als laues Lüftchen daher, sondern als Sturm. Sie ist disruptiv.“ Dies verdeutlicht die Notwendigkeit, da die Digitalisierung weder vor Unternehmen noch vor einzelnen Abteilungen halt machen wird.

2.3 Führungskultur

Der Begriff „Führungskultur“ unterteilt sich, zum einen in den Begriff „Führung“ und zum anderen in den Begriff „Kultur“. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde bereits in Kapitel 2.1 der Begriff der Führung erläutert, im Folgenden wird der Begriff der Führungskultur näher beleuchtet. Hierbei wird der Begriff Führungskultur in Beziehung zum allgemeinen Kulturbegriff gesetzt und als Teilbereich der Unternehmenskultur betrachtet. Eine Vielzahl an Forschern definieren mit dem Begriff Kultur im weitesten Sinne alles, was der Mensch selbst gestaltend hervorbringt. Die UNESCO definiert im Rahmen des Programms „Kultur und Entwicklung“ in einem Bericht von 1996 den Begriff Kultur als die Gesamtheit der Formen menschlichen Zusammenlebens. Diese Definitionen bleiben in ihren Aussagen sehr abstrakt und unspezifisch. Sinnvoller ist die Kulturdefinition, welche anhand von Konstrukten und Theoriesystemen verankert sind.

Thomas (vgl. 2017, S. 5 f.) schlägt eine Definition vor, die angemessen erscheint. Dabei definiert er den Begriff Kultur als ein universelles Phänomen und sinnstiftendes Orientierungssystem. Dieses kulturspezifische Orientierungssystem wird aus verschiedenen Symbolen wie beispielsweise aus Sprache, Gestik und Mimik gebildet und in der Gesellschaft oder Gruppe gelebt und an die nachfolgenden Generationen weitergegeben. Die Wahrnehmung, Denkhaltung und das Handeln von Menschen werden durch die umgebende Kultur gegeben und geformt. Hierbei geben kulturelle Normen und Werte eine Hilfestellung, mit dem es dem Menschen möglich ist, sein Bedürfnis nach Orientierung und Zugehörigkeit in der Gesellschaft zu befriedigen.

Auch in Bezug auf Organisationen lassen sich kulturelle Normen und bestimmte Verhaltensweisen erkennen. Demzufolge entwickelt sich für Mitglieder einer Organisation eine Kultur bzw. ein gemeinsames Orientierungssystem, wenn eine Gruppe von Mitgliedern der Organisation genügend gemeinsame Erfahrungen gesammelt haben. Dieses System wird dann als Unternehmens- oder Organisationskultur bezeichnet (vgl. sowohl Schirmer/Woydt, 2016, S. 6 als auch Herget/Strobl, 2018, S. 28). Erfolgt nun die Eingrenzung dieser Gruppe auf die Führungskräfte und deren Führungserfahrung in Bezug auf die spezifische Vorgehensweise bei der Mitarbeiterführung, so haben wir es mit der Führungskultur dieser Organisation zu tun.

Bei der Betrachtung von Organisationen bieten zunächst die Gründer bzw. Führungskräfte die Orientierungssysteme. Demnach entsteht Orientierung nach Schein (vgl. 2004, S. 15 f.) dadurch, dass die Führungskräfte ihre eigenen Wertevorstellungen in der Organisation umsetzen und diese danach ausrichten. Die Mitglieder orientieren sich dabei an der Führungskraft und diesen Werten. Wenn die Organisation im zeitlichen Verlauf nun erfolgreicher wird, so werden diese Werte als Ursache für den Erfolg angesehen und in der Folge gefestigt. Dies bedeutet für Führungskräfte, die neu in die Organisation eintreten, dass sie sich an diesen Werten orientieren müssen. Während also das Verhalten und die Werte einer Führungskraft zunächst Einfluss auf die Organisationskultur nimmt, so dreht sich dies im Lauf der Zeit um. Demzufolge wird das Führungsverhalten an der Organisationskultur ausgerichtet, somit entsteht homogenes Handeln.

Die Führungskultur macht Aussagen zum Sinn und Zweck sowie über die Art und den Umfang wechselseitiger Beeinflussung. Sie liefert Informationen zur Gestaltung wichtiger Themen im Unternehmenskontext, wie beispielsweise Persönlichkeitsrechte der Mitarbeiter, Autonomie, Kommunikation sowie zur Arbeit und Leistung. Im Idealfall handelt es sich um eine Kultur des Mitdenkens, Mithandelns und des Mitverantwortens (vgl. Lippmann et al., 2019, S. 161). Dabei unterscheiden sich Führungskulturen unter anderem hinsichtlich dem Grad der vorherrschenden Machtdistanz, also dem Grad, in dem Führungskräfte andere Rechte als die der Mitarbeiter haben (vgl. Lorenz, 2018, S. 104).

2.4 Führungsverhalten

Der Begriff „Führungsverhalten“ wird teilweise synonym mit dem Begriff „Führungsstil“ verwendet (vgl. Hentze, 1985, S. 97). Nach Rosenstiel et al., besteht zwischen den beiden Begriffen jedoch ein Unterschied (vgl. 2014, S. 334). Zunächst soll im Folgenden der Begriff „Führungsstil“ näher beleuchtet werden. Nach Frey et al., wird unter Führungsstil ein bestimmtes Verhaltensmuster einer Führungsperson verstanden (vgl. 2013, S. 36). Es geht also um die generelle Art und Weise der Verhaltensbeeinflussung, die eine Führungsperson für die Erreichung ihrer Ziele anwendet (vgl. Troger, 2018, S. 121). Lippe (2015, S. 17) definiert den Begriff Führungsstil als „Versuch das Verhalten einer Führungskraft zu klassifizieren und mit einem plakativen Begriff transparent zu machen, wodurch ihr Verhalten gekennzeichnet ist.“

Hierbei ist es schwierig menschliches Verhalten einzuordnen, wie bei allen Versuchen, können der Begriff und seine jeweilige Definition lediglich Tendenzen und typische Verhaltensmuster beschreiben. Nachfolgend wird der Versuch unternommen, besonders wichtige und häufig vertretende Führungsstile zu beschreiben. Nach Lewin et al. werden Führungsstile prinzipiell in drei Ausprägungen unterschieden (vgl. 1939, S. 271–299):

- Autoritärer Führungsstil - Demokratischer Führungsstil - Laissez-faire Führungsstil

Dabei unterscheiden sich der autoritäre Führungsstil und der demokratische Führungsstil hinsichtlich der Beteiligungsmöglichkeiten der Mitarbeiter, welche entweder eine geringe bzw. hohe Beteiligung am Entscheidungsprozess haben. Der Laissez-faire Führungsstil ist gekennzeichnet durch eine hohe Entscheidungsfreiheit der Mitarbeiter, die Führungskraft lässt den Mitarbeiter hierbei in nahezu allen Punkten gewähren und greift nicht aktiv ein. In der Forschung wird meist zwischen dem autoritärem und dem demokratischen Führungsstil unterschieden (vgl. Lippe, 2015, S. 18).

Werden weitere Definitionen beleuchtet, wie beispielsweise die von Froschauer (2014, S. 68), welcher Führungsstil als „ein langfristiges, relativ stabiles, von der Situation unabhängiges Verhaltensmuster“ gegenüber dem Mitarbeiter beschreibt, kann festgestellt werden, dass der Führungsstil die Grundeinstellung der Führungskraft gegenüber den Mitarbeitern zum Ausdruck bringt (vgl. Kamiske, 2013, S. 153).

Hierbei ist der Führungsstil abhängig von diversen Faktoren wie beispielsweise dem Charakter und den Werten der Führungskraft (vgl. Witwer, 2011, S. 23). In der Forschung wurde festgestellt, dass es nicht den einen idealen Führungsstil gibt, sondern der Führungsstil häufig der jeweiligen Situation angepasst werden muss (vgl. Schuett, 2014, S. 15). Im Alltag einer Führungskraft ist es selten anzutreffen, dass durchweg immer ein autoritärer oder immer nur kooperativer Stil gewählt wird. Vielmehr spielt die jeweilige Situation und der zu führende Mitarbeiter eine Rolle.

So ist in einer Krisensituation häufig der einzig praktikable Ansatz der, des autoritären Führungsstils. Wird bei einem folgenschweren Unglücksereignis, wie beispielsweise eines Feuers, die Feuerwehr zur Gefahrenabwehr gerufen, ist es wenig effizient, alle Rettungskräfte im Sinne eines kooperativen Führungsstils an der Entscheidungsfindung der Brandbekämpfungsstrategie zu beteiligen. Hingegen kann in einer stabilen und geregelten Arbeitsumgebung der autoritäre Führungsstil von hochqualifizierten Mitarbeitern, welche selbstständig und eigenverantwortlich ihre Aufgaben erledigen, als unerträglich und demotivierend empfunden werden.

Das Führungsverhalten muss sich hierbei der jeweiligen Person sowie der Aufgabe anpassen (vgl. Lippmann et al., 2019, S. 46). Aus diesem Grund wird im Folgenden das Führungsverhalten näher betrachtet. In der Literatur wird das Verhalten einer Führungskraft oftmals in unterschiedliche Dimensionen untergliedert. Hierbei findet die Untergliederung nach „Mitarbeiterorientierung“ und „Aufgabenorientierung“ statt (vgl. sowohl Hintz, 2016, S. 19 als auch Nerdinger et al., 2019, S. 695). Dabei sehen aufgabenorientierte Führungskräfte die Mitarbeiter in erster Linie als „Werkzeuge“, welche eine gewisse Leistung zu erbringen haben. Eine personenbezogene Führungskraft hingegen, wirkt unterstützend und fördernd auf die Mitarbeiter ein (vgl. Nerdinger et al., 2019, S. 97).

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Program Information

The Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) in Digital Leadership program is the most advanced business degree program at GGU. It is designed for professionals who wish to further their career, deepen their business acumen, and achieve exceptional leadership capabilities. The DBA in Digital Leadership program addresses the learning needs and objectives of senior business managers, consultants, and university professors. Its primary objective is to produce graduates who can contribute to the advancement of their professions and to the expansion of knowledge and awareness of contemporary strategic issues and practices. The program is enhanced by global immersions in innovation hubs, providing a broad perspective on global business strategies. It balances rigorous coursework with a research phase tailored for working professionals, and it aims to equip learners with the skills to contribute significantly to their fields, set industry benchmarks, and become thought leaders of tomorrow.

The DBA in Digital Leadership’s three-tiered focus curriculum emphasizes Strategic Leadership, Innovation, Business Transformation, Decision-Making and Research. Students examine current theories, practices, and issues in business; train in research methods; and study the relationships between business and social and global issues. It is critical for doctoral students to be adept in these areas and contribute to the expansion of knowledge and improvement of business practices. For the dissertation, students conduct original research on a topic of current importance and personal interest. The dissertation should impact and help illuminate the strategic issues they face in their professions.

The program encourages students to accept the added responsibility of a shared commitment to the advancement of their professions and to upholding the highest ethical standards in the private or public sector.

Student Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the DBA program will achieve the program’s primary objectives through the development of:

• A thorough knowledge of the scientific and scholarly research methods and their application in the business setting in a senior management position, as a consultant, as a professor at the university level;
• Advanced critical thinking, conceptual and analytical skills;
• A strong understanding of both the seminal theories and the latest practices in business management including an advance and intensive knowledge of theory and practice in one field of business;
• Intensive knowledge of theory and practice in a chosen field of business or public management;
• Advanced ability to use research tools to perform original applied research that advances business knowledge;
• An appreciation of cultural, ethical, and global issues and their impact on business theory, privacy and practices;
• Advanced skills necessary for effective decision-making in complex environments through integrating theoretic insights with practical knowledge; and
• Ability to apply these tools in an ethical and responsible manner as it impacts society and humanity.

DBA Program

The DBA program has been designed with a focus on the “practitioner educational model,” which distinguishes Golden Gate University from other institutions. This focus is consistent with the position adopted by the Association of Business Schools, which can be summarized as follows:

• The DBA is a professional practice doctorate and is concerned with researching real business and managerial issues via the critical review and systematic application of appropriate theories and research to professional practice.
• The DBA may often be interdisciplinary in approach and/or content.
• It is further intended to provide an opportunity for considerable personal development, such that the participant achieves a greater level of effectiveness as a professional practitioner or manager.
• The DBA primary mode of assessment is through the production of a dissertation/thesis.

Our students are one of the program’s greatest strengths. Typical doctoral students at GGU attend part time. Without exception, they come from successful careers in top positions in the private, nonprofit and government sectors. They bring their experiences and knowledge to the classroom and, in turn, demand incisive instruction and intelligent, well-developed classroom discussions.

Faculty members who teach in our DBA program have doctoral degrees from leading universities in their fields and possess extensive practical experience. They bring a theoretical as well as a real-world view to their teaching and a commitment to dynamic, progressive education.

This program is delivered via the online-synchronous, online-asynchronous, and in-person  instruction modes    and offers a state-of-the-art curriculum delivered by experienced, highly qualified professors.

GGU seeks doctoral candidates with strong intellect, proper educational preparation, breadth and depth of managerial or professional experience, and the capacity for disciplined scholarly investigation. While most applicants have a master’s degree in a business-related field, applicants with academic preparation in other fields are most welcome to apply.

Doctoral candidates must be fluent in English and are expected to write at a level that meets the standards of scholarly publications. They are expected to understand contemporary practices in business and the economic, social, and political context in which they are conducted.

The admission decision is made by a faculty committee and is based on the applicant’s total accomplishments and skills. Specifically, admission to the program requires:

• A minimum 3.0 GPA in their most recent degree program.
• Applicants who have earned less than 3.0 GPA in their most recent program;
• Applicants who do not hold a Master’s degree must hold a Bachelor’s degree and possess a minimum of 5 years of work experience.
• Experience: Applicants with responsible managerial or professional work experience will be given preference. A professional resume is required.
• What is your motivation to pursue the Golden Gate University DBA Program degree?
• How do you think the Golden Gate University experience will benefit your career?
• An admission panel will review applications and recommend applicants for admission to the GGU DBA Committee for approval.

Student Manual

Students must abide by the policies stated in the upGrad Student Manual.

Requirements for the Doctor of Business Administration in Digital Leadership

The Doctor of Business Administration in Digital Leadership requires completion of 20 units of major courses, 8 units of dissertation foundation courses, and 28 units of dissertation work, for a total of 56 units. Students must earn a “B-” or better in each course and a cumulative grade-point average of 3.00 or better. Students must complete and successfully defend their dissertations within five years of beginning the program.

Mathematics Proficiency Requirement

BUS 240 Data Analysis for Managers    (Waived with documentation of student’s having completed equivalent course covering statistics and regression analysis with grade of “B” or better.)

Immersion Sessions

This program includes two, one-week-long global immersion sessions to enable learners to network, interact with thought leaders, and exchange ideas among their peer groups.

Major Requirements - 20 units

• DBA 830 Building Your CXO Brand: Elevate Your Influence 4 unit(s)
• DBA 831 Leadership 4.0: Mastering Agility and Resilience in the Digital Age 4 unit(s)
• DBA 832 Navigating the B.A.S.I.Cs of Tomorrow: Mastering New Age Technologies 4 unit(s)
• DBA 833 Innovate and Thrive: Shaping the Future of Business 4 unit(s)
• DBA 834 Decision Clarity: Data-Driven and Bias-Proof Decision-Making 4 unit(s)

Dissertation Foundation Courses - 8 units

• DBA 805 Doctoral Research Methods and Analysis 4 unit(s)
• DBA 835 Digital Strategy Architect: Crafting Future-Ready Businesses 4 unit(s)

Dissertation Phase - 28 units

Students may register for  DBA 890 Dissertation Topic Proposal    only after having first completed the concentration coursework and the dissertation foundation coursework. 

• DBA 890 Dissertation Topic Proposal 8 unit(s)
• DBA 891 Dissertation Proposal Defense 8 unit(s)
• DBA 892 Dissertation Completion and Approval by Committee 12-16 unit(s)

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Digital Leadership Master's Programme

Sustainability related.

In this education, we address issues related to sustainability. The content of the course or program fits into at least one of our 10 sustainability criteria. For you as a student, the sustainability label means guidance, quality assurance, and a guarantee that courses or programs contain a pronounced sustainability perspective.

The master’s programme in Digital Leadership provides you the opportunity to gain deep understanding of how digitalisation transforms industries and society. As a student of the programme, you will develop a toolset for a leading role in responsibly shaping this transformation. Methods and techniques for analysing the implications of digitalisation will complement your skills to manage and lead change in complex environments. Our programme focuses on strategies to simultaneously leverage digitalisation and address potential negative effects.

Digitalisation offers almost unlimited opportunities for firms, public authorities, and citizens. However, digitalisation is a force without conscience, and existing markets, organisations, and technologies can be steamrolled, exacerbating and causing new societal challenges. Digital leadership requires the capability to navigate competing concerns of digitalisation, but also actively orchestrate digital innovation processes. In order to preserve valuable learned experiences, we must learn to navigate a new landscape where digitalisation needs to coexist with established proven practices. Our newly developed master’s programme in Digital Leadership has adapted to this changing landscape by providing you with capabilities in a variety of areas.

A balanced response to digitalization

Departing from technological change, our programme primarily focuses on management and leadership, and relates classical theories to contemporary research and current practice. The overall purpose of the programme is to give you a deep understanding of how digitalisation transforms society and to develop your capabilities for taking a leading role in embracing and shaping this transformation. We offer a broad theoretical foundation for understanding contemporary phenomena, and methods and techniques for analysing the implications of digitalisation. This balance of theory and practice supports you in developing your practical skills to deal with change in complex environments.

A collaborative, practice-oriented education

Our programme works in close collaboration with industry partners, ensuring that we combine academic rigour with practical relevance, including in your project work and possible thesis collaborations. You will develop your own question and explore it while learning through project work, lectures, seminars, case studies, and individual supervision. Some of your classmates will already have a wealth of practical experience, providing a mutually beneficial learning environment to explore the management and leadership aspects of digitalisation.

Student interview

Interview with Maria Weise

Department and faculty

The programme is given by the Department of Applied Information Technology , at the IT Faculty .

Full time studies

The programme is structured for intensive studying, meaning that we expect students to invest a full-time equivalent of work (40hrs/week) into in-class and independent study activities. The programme consists of short, intensive courses, allowing students to focus on one course at the time.

Programme structure and content

We offer a hands on, full-time educational programme that is carefully designed on the principles of progression and continuity. This means that our courses are tightly integrated, with each subsequent course building on the content of its predecessors.

The first two semesters provide a solid foundation with eight mandatory courses:

• Infrastructure
• Project Work I
• Project Work II

For further specialization, we offer the following, recommended courses during the third semester:

• Entrepreneurship
• Sustainability

As an alternative to the recommended courses during the third semester, you can choose elective courses from the University of Gothenburg or another university.

The final semester consists of your independent master’s thesis.

Who should apply?

Are you an established IT practitioner who wants to take time to develop your skills and reflect on your experiences, in light of recent developments in digitalisation? Do you have experience outside of IT, but feel that digital leadership skills can help you make the next step? Are you curious about management in a digitalised society and want to contribute with your different perspective from a background such as management, engineering, sociology, psychology, political science, or law? Do you want an exciting and unconventional career in an increasingly digitalised society?

If your answer is yes - apply for the master's programme in Digital Leadership.

Prerequisites and selection

Requirements.

Bachelor's degree 180 credits including an independent project (degree project) of at least 15 credits or equivalent. Applicants must prove their knowledge of English: English 6/English B from Swedish Upper Secondary School or the equivalent level of an internationally recognized test, for example TOEFL, IELTS.

Selection is based upon the number of credits from previous university studies, maximum 165 credits.

After graduation

Graduates receive a Master of Science degree with a major in Information Systems. You will be prepared for a career that extends far beyond traditional positions in consulting and corporate IT Departments. As digitalisation enters ever more spheres of society, the potential is there for jobs to be created for specific situations. You can take advantage of this increasingly digitalised landscape by carving out your own role or position in a place that interests you, or you can pursue existing roles like the following:

• innovation manager
• digital strategist
• digital designer
• chief information officer
• chief digital officer
• digital brand director
• head of digital platforms
• Digital product owner
• Digital lead
• Digital Business Analyst

You will also be prepared to pursue further studies at the doctoral level.

Our graduates have been employed in organizations including:

• AstraZeneca
• Volvo Group
• Västra Götalandsregionen

The master's programme is given by the Department of Applied Information Technology, which is located in the middle of Sweden's leading technology hub, Lindholmen Science Park close to the city center in Gothenburg.

More information about facilities

Exchange opportunities

During year two of the master's programme there are elective courses equivalent to 30 credits. As a student you have the opportunity to apply for exchange studies in Europe or in other parts of the world. Former students from our master's programmes have gained valuable experience when they have studied at our partner universities in, for example, Paris, Japan and Singapore. As an exchange student, you do not need to pay any semester fees and since the study abroad is credited in your degree, no extra study time is added to your education.

More information about exchange opportunities