Abstract
We are living in a complex environment with dynamic and fundamental changes. A core aspect of these changes is the exponential development of new technologies. In addition to new competencies and the dynamic capability to adapt the competencies within a company, this dynamic and complex environment also leads to new leadership challenges. In an age of acceleration, managers have to juggle with different options and be agile. A pragmatic test, measure and learn approach is often more successful than very detailed analysis and long-term planning. In addition, single managers are often overstrained in such an environment. Therefore, leadership in the digital economy needs to be more decentralized and should use the collective competence and intelligence in the company. This article describes the characteristics of leadership in the digital economy as well as some adequate leadership tools. However, the article ends with a “but”, i.e. leaders should not push too hard and dump all traditional management tools. A successful leadership will typically require some kind of ambidexterity—efficient business execution and agile business adaption.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Literature
Accenture, & EIU. (2014). Digital double-down: How far will leaders leap ahead? Whitepaper.
Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. New York.
BCG. (2015). How to jump-start a digital transformation. Whitepaper.
Bennett, N., & Lemoine, G. J. (2014). What VUCA really means for you. Harvard Business Review, 1, 27.
Bosch. (2013). Enabling Enterprise 2.0. EFQM Good Practice Competition.
Brynjolfsson, E., & McAfee, A. (2014). The second machine age: An industrial revolution powered by digital technologies. Digital Transformation Review, 5, 12–17.
Bughin, J., LaBerge, L., & Mellbye, A. (2017). The case for digital reinvention. McKinsey Quarterly, 2, 1–15.
Buhse, W. (2014). Management bei Internet. Kulmbach.
Burr, J. (2016). Management der Digitalen Transformation bei Axel Springer. In T. Petry (Ed.), Digital Leadership—Erfolgreiches Führen in Zeiten der Digital Economy. Freiburg et al., 341–353.
Dückert, S. (2016). Leitbild der digitalen Führungskraft. In Petry, T. (Ed.). Digital Leadership—Erfolgreiches Führen in Zeiten der Digital Economy. Freiburg et al., 115–125.
Frey, C. B., & Osborne, M. A. (2013). The future of employment: How susceptible are jobs to computerisation? Working Paper Oxford University.
Gibson, C. B., & Birkinshaw, J. (2004). The antecedents, consequences, and mediating role of organizational ambidexterity. Academy of Management Journal, 2, 209–226.
Greenleaf, K. (2002). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. New Jersey: Paulist Press.
Hamel, G. (2007). The future of management. Boston.
Hamel, G. (2009). Appraisal in foreword. McAfee, A.: Enterprise 2.0, Boston.
Hays, & Pierre Audoin Consultants. (2015). Von starren Prozessen zu agilen Projekten: Unternehmen in der digitalen Transformation. Whitepaper.
Hlupic, V. (2014): The Management Shift: How to harness the power of people and transform your organization for sustainable success. London.
IBM. (2015). Redefining competition: Insights from the Global C-suite Study—The CEO perspective. CEO Study 2015.
INQA. (2014). Führungskultur im Wandel. Berlin.
Kellerman, B. (2012). The end of leadership. New York.
Li, C. (2010). Open leadership: How social technology can transform the way you lead. San Francisco.
McAfee, A. (2006). Enterprise 2.0: The dawn of emergent collaboration. MIT Sloan Management Review, 3, 20–28.
Pearce, C. L., & Conger, J. A. (2003): Shared leadership—Reframing the hows and whys of leadership. Thousand Oaks et al.
Pearce, T. (2013). Leading out loud: A guide for engaging others in creating the future. Jossey-Bass.
Petry, T. (2014). Führungskräften mangelt es oft noch an Digitalkompetenz. Human Resources Manager, 6, 86–87.
Petry, T. (2016). Digital leadership—Unternehmens- und Personalführung in der Digital Economy. In Petry, T. (Ed.), Digital leadership—Erfolgreiches Führen in Zeiten der Digital Economy. Freiburg et al., 21–82.
Petry, T., Grabmeier, S., Armutat, S., & Schabel, F. (2015). Digital Readiness Check deutscher Unternehmen. Working Paper Hochschule RheinMain.
Petry, T., & Schreckenbach, F. (2015). Enterprise 2.0—Empirische Befunde zum Status Quo 2015. Zeitschrift Organisations Entwicklung, 4, 102–104.
PWC. (2014). The five behaviors that accelerate value from digital investments. In 6th Annual Digital IQ Survey.
Stepper, J. (2015). Working out loud: For a better career and life. Ikigai.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Petry, T. (2018). Digital Leadership. In: North, K., Maier, R., Haas, O. (eds) Knowledge Management in Digital Change. Progress in IS. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73546-7_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73546-7_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-73545-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-73546-7
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)