The role of leadership in managing digital transformation: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Digital transformation should not be seen as a time-bound project, but rather as a process that needs to be continuously improved and managed over time. In the absence of leadership, digital transformation will occur spontaneously in an organisation, but it is necessary to monitor and manage the process itself to achieve the goal and establish a digital organisation. A person who leads the digital transformation must possess the appropriate competencies. Leadership competencies, especially the combination of digital and human skills, are crucial to the development and success of the digital transformation process. The authors of this article identify a vaguely described process of digital transformation as the main research problem, highlighting the need for the systematisation of leadership competencies necessary for effective digital transformation management. In this regard, the research objectives are to define and describe the process of digital transformation and identify the leadership competencies necessary for successful management of the digital transformation process. In order to achieve the objectives of the paper, a systematic literature review was conducted for the period 2001–2022 and 90 papers were identified based on the criteria outlined by the Web of Science and Scopus index databases. The identified papers were then analysed from the aspect of defining digital transformation, the activities of the digital transformation process, and the characteristics of digital leadership. Following a thorough analysis of the selected literature, the paper provides a comprehensive definition of digital transformation, proposes a framework for its management, and analyses the key competencies of digital transformation leaders (digital leaders), which together make up the paper’s main contribution. The paper can be used not only as a starting point for future research in this area, but also as initial guidelines for the implementation and management of the digital transformation process. The systematic literature review conducted has certain limitations. Only two, albeit the largest, citation databases were searched, and only papers in English were identified. The established framework should be verified and expanded through empirical research.