The Characteristics of Digital Transformation Leadership: Theorizing the Practitioner Voice

Authors

Pat McCarthy, Department of Computer Science, School of Science & Informatics, Munster Technological University, Cork, IrelandFollow
David Sammon, Business Information Systems Department, Cork University Business School, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
Ibrahim Alhassan, E-commerce Department, College of Administrative & Financial Sciences, Saudi Electronic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Document Type

Article

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Disciplines

Computer Sciences

Publication Details

Business Horizons, vol. 67, no. 4. © 2024 Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Abstract

Digital Transformation (DT) is more than simply integrating a new digital technology into the organization. Despite a growing volume of research, however, there is little coverage of the characteristics of DT leadership. Using a grounded approach, where 16 practitioner voices are central to the theorizing output, we present 10 DT leadership characteristics. Each characteristic links what action a DT leader needs to take and how a DT leader enables that action. We also asked 30 DT leaders to evaluate the importance of each of the 10 DT leadership characteristics. Our approach strengthens the relevance for practitioners striving for the best possible DT initiative outcome. For example, prefacing each DT leadership characteristic with “Are we…?” Encourages DT leaders to guide conversations with organizational stakeholders by reflecting on the realities of their DT initiative and highlighting potential gaps in their organizational thinking.

Recommended Citation

Pat McCarthy, David Sammon, Ibrahim Alhassan, The characteristics of digital transformation leadership: Theorizing the practitioner voice, Business Horizons, Volume 67, Issue 4, 2024, Pages 411-423, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2024.03.005.