Viewing Digital Transformation through the Lens of Transformational Leadership

ABSTRACT Digital transformation is primarily studied through the lens of information technology and strategic management. There should be an integration of leadership concepts into this topic considering that corporate leaders are heavily involved in creating a new vision and implementing plans for the transformation. Continued exploration of how companies approach digital transformation and scholarly applications of conventional organizational leadership theories will help reveal the importance of parameters outside the scope of technology and strategy that contribute to successful implementation of new digital technologies. This paper applies dimensions of transformational leader behaviors (TLB) to highlight the behavioral changes that pertain to digital transformation. Because external crises and events could lead a company to transform, either voluntarily or forcefully, this research proposes planned digital transformation and forced digital transformation as two classifications that organizational leaders must recognize and apply dimensions of TLB for successful transformations. There is opportunity to incorporate behavioral elements in this topic area and theoretical models and empirical studies that test the relationship between leader behaviors and follower attitudes during a digital transformation are needed. Furthermore, in the case of forced digital transformation, the current research proposes that these relationships are further nuanced by the moderating role of stereotypical gender norms.