The different faces of e‑leadership: Six perspectives on leading in the era of digital technologies

Although leadership is critical for overcoming the challenges of digital technologies (DTs), their mutual relationships remain poorly understood. By reviewing 257 peer-reviewed articles, this study builds on adaptive structuration theory (AST) and institutional logics to identify six different relationships among leadership, DTs, and institutional properties: 1) the influence of DTs on leadership displays; 2) the influence of leadership on DTs’ design and appropriation; 3) the influence of institutional properties on leadership displays; 4) the impact of institutional properties on DT-related choices; 5) the role of leadership in transforming organizations and their institutional properties; and 6) the influence of DTs on institutional properties. This study demonstrates that AST and institutional logics can foster a comprehensive understanding of the broad and sometimes contradictory findings of research on leadership and DTs. We propose a conceptual model to guide future studies.