Abstract
New digital technologies keep on disrupting markets and organizations resulting in new business models, changed work structures and employment arrangements. To face this challenge, organizations worldwide strive to reposition themselves by undergoing a widely digital transformation. In the light of the profound and comprehensive changes caused by technology, as well as the complexity and uncertainty digital transformation brings along, authors have emphasized the need for effective leaders and managers possessing the right skills and traits to help organizations to master challenges like digital transformation. While the general importance of leaders for the success of digital transformation seems to be well substantiated, knowledge about the required competencies remains scarce. Against this backdrop, this dissertation identifies whether and which specific leadership competencies are needed to successfully master the digital transformation of an organization. By taking different perspectives and applying different methods, the five different research contributions presented shed light on the phenomenon of digital transformation to find evidence for the requirements of leaders to manage that change as well as the role of leadership and makes predictions for the future. The results reveal a strong focus on leadership skills, which seems to be at least equally relevant for managing digital transformation than skills related to specific technologies. Hence, it could be assumed, that people, not technology, drive digital transformation, and organizations require leaders, not necessarily technological specialists, to manage the complex changes that comprise an organization’s digital transformation.