Strategic Implications of the Changing Role of Leadership in the Digital Age

Master's Thesis from the year 2020 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 1,0, Berlin School of Economics and Law, language: English, abstract: The overall objective of this thesis is to investigate the concept of digital leadership by outlining the extent to which it emerges as a unique leadership style in today's age which is characterized by digital transformation. This shall contribute to reducing the research gap around the concept and will be approached by combining the topics of digital transformation and leadership within this research. In order to adequately address the complexity of this research question, three sub-questions shall add to the establishment of a comprehensive answer. Which challenges are leaders facing as a result of digital transformation? What are the most critical competencies leaders need to successfully lead in the digital age? Which type of leadership style seems most suitable to successfully lead in the digital age? Firstly, a theoretical foundation for the investigation of the research objectives is established in chapter two, which provides essential knowledge on three different topics: fundamentals of leadership, influencing factors on leadership in the digital age, and digital leadership. The literature review was conducted throughout the duration of the thesis, as digital leadership is a very recent topic on which new approaches are continuously being published. In the third chapter, the research context, methodology and utilized approach are presented, before the research results of this qualitative study are summarized and discussed in the fourth chapter. The research of this thesis comprises of ten semi-structured exploratory interviews with experts from various backgrounds which were transcribed verbatim. The analysis and discussion of the research results gained throughout the expert interviews allow for the identification of critical competencies of leaders in the digital age. Hence, a competence profile is visualized accordingly. In the fifth chapter, the practical implications of this thesis are discussed, followed by limitations and recommendations for future research outlined in the sixth chapter. Finally, the seventh chapter concludes the main results of this thesis.