Digital Leadership: A Systematic Literature Review

José Carlos López-Figueroa (), Sergio Ochoa-Jiménez, María Olivia Palafox-Soto and Dalia Sujey Hernandez Munoz
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José Carlos López-Figueroa: Department of Administrative Sciences, Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, Guaymas 85500, Mexico
Sergio Ochoa-Jiménez: Department of Administrative Sciences, Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, Guaymas 85500, Mexico
María Olivia Palafox-Soto: Deparment of Economic, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, unidad Xochimilco, Coapa, Villa Quietud, Coyoacán, Ciudad de México 04960, Mexico
Dalia Sujey Hernandez Munoz: Technical Secretariat, Colegio de Bachilleres of the State of Sonora, Hermosillo 83280, Mexico

Administrative Sciences, 2025, vol. 15, issue 4, 1-22

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic and digital disruption have transformed the world and organizations on an unprecedented scale, presenting leaders with unique challenges and creating an opportunity to study digital leadership. This area of research is expanding significantly, though it remains in a developmental and maturing phase. To date, theoretical studies are predominant, including systematic reviews, literature reviews, and bibliometric studies. This study conducts a systematic literature review and science mapping of 74 documents published between 2000 and 2022 in the Web of Science database, using VOSviewer software to analyze the field’s evolution. Findings reveal that research on digital leadership has grown, with digital transformation, digitalization, COVID-19, information and communication technologies, virtual teams, and creativity emerging as core themes in this domain. This study concludes that the effective implementation of digital leadership requires not only technological skills but also human-centered competencies; its application has predominantly expanded in the education sector, with limited use in construction.

Keywords: e-leadership; digital leadership; leadership; virtual; digital; systematic literature review (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L M M0 M1 M10 M11 M12 M14 M15 M16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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