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How Does the Digital Transformation Affect Organizations? Key Themes of Change in Work Design and Leadership
Tanja Schwarzmüller 1,*
, Prisca Brosi 2, Denis Duman 2, Isabell M. Welpe 3
, Prisca Brosi 2, Denis Duman 2, Isabell M. Welpe 3Affiliations
Article Info
1 Chair for Strategy and Organization, TUM School of Management, Technical University of Munich, Arcisstraße 21, 80333 Munich, Germany
2 Chair for Strategy and Organization, TUM School of Management, Technical University of Munich
3 Chair for Strategy and Organization, TUM School of Management, Technical University of Munich; Bavarian State Institute for Higher Education Research and Planning
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Due to recent technological advances, organizations currently face massive changes of their work design and leadership. Unfortunately, the exact nature of these changes is still unclear as most existing studies were conducted during earlier stages of the digital transformation and the available literature is highly fragmented. To provide an up-to-date overview on the changes in work design and leadership resulting from the digital transformation and to structure our existing knowledge in this domain, we conducted an open-ended online survey with 49 recognized digitalization experts and identified key themes of change. In sum, four key themes of change affecting both work design and leadership emerged, namely changes in work-life and health, the use of information and communication technology, performance and talent management and organizational hierarchies. In addition, two macro-level change dimensions regarding the structure of work and relationship-oriented leadership evolved. While