E-Leadership Within Public Sector Organisations: A Systematic Literature Review

Vita Juknevičienė (), Nora Leach, Rita Toleikienė, Sigitas Balčiūnas, Gotautė Razumė, Irma Rybnikova and Inese Āboliņa
Additional contact information
Vita Juknevičienė: Institute of Regional Development, Šiauliai Academy, Vilnius University, 76351 Šiauliai, Lithuania
Nora Leach: School of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham, Law and Social Sciences Building, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
Rita Toleikienė: Institute of Regional Development, Šiauliai Academy, Vilnius University, 76351 Šiauliai, Lithuania
Sigitas Balčiūnas: Institute of Regional Development, Šiauliai Academy, Vilnius University, 76351 Šiauliai, Lithuania
Gotautė Razumė: Institute of Regional Development, Šiauliai Academy, Vilnius University, 76351 Šiauliai, Lithuania
Irma Rybnikova: Department Lippstadt 2, Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences, 59063 Hamm, Germany
Inese Āboliņa: Department of Management Sciences, University of Latvia, 1050 Riga, Latvia

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 10, 1-32

Abstract: E-leadership has become particularly prominent in the public sector over the last five years. The urgent shift requires more remote work and management via information and communication technologies. In recognition of its ever-growing popularity, the objective of this article is to provide a systematic review of the existing literature on e-leadership within public sector organisations and identify key research approaches and outcomes. The analysis provides a framework of research on e-leadership in public sector entities, by focusing on various theoretical, methodological, empirical and contextual perspectives, specifically tailored to public sector organisations. The detailed framework, presented here, incorporates dimensions, approaches, clusters and findings of previous research (articles, published in the period 2013–2022), aiding a deeper understanding of the phenomenon and its practical implementation. The study complies with PRISMA 2020 requirements. As it shall be demonstrated, interest in the phenomenon surged during the pandemic, particularly within educational and management disciplines. The findings highlight a predominant focus on leadership within educational institutions, whilst areas such as healthcare and public governance remain under-researched. The most common theoretical approach adopted is associated with the transformational leadership theory and encompasses three main interpretations. Specifically, it evaluates e-leadership as a strategic approach, a leadership process and a leadership transformation. Qualitative methodology predominates in e-leadership research within the public sector, with quantitative and mixed-method approaches being less frequent. Addressing the challenges identified by previous research, such as competency and infrastructure deficiencies, is crucial for advancing knowledge of e-leadership in the public sector and improving sustainable performance.

Keywords: e-leadership; e-leadership research; public sector organisations; systematic review (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/10/4474/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/10/4474/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:10:p:4474-:d:1655758

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().