Integrating digital pedagogy into instruction in a manner that promotes critical thinking and drives increased student achievement and engagement in all classrooms is a goal of many campuses and districts that invest heavily in hardware, software, and professional development on an annual basis. Digital pedagogy goals tend to center around preparing students for the 21st century workforce, promoting instruction that is more engaging, and providing deeper learning for all students; however, achieving these goals is not possible without teachers willing and able to effectively implement instructional technology into the content they are teaching. The conceptual framework consists of digital leadership, teacher engagement, and resources and supports. This case study focused on the district-wide integration of technology into instruction through the elements found in the conceptual framework. Educators, from kindergarten through twelfth grade were surveyed about their attitudes, self-efficacy perceptions and willingness to integrate digital pedagogies into their current teaching practices. The online survey that utilized Likert-like scales to gather demographic information as well educator perceptions on digital integration, teaching philosophy, digital self-efficacy, and leadership's focus and expectations regarding instructional technology. Additional data, from a variety of district documents, was also gathered on leadership, professional development, and infrastructure supports utilized to implement instructional technology.

The purpose of this research study was to identify the current self-reported technology leadership behaviors of principals in one public-school division in Virginia. Additionally, this study identified the difference, if any, in the self-reported technology leadership behaviors of principals across principal and school demographics. For this study Technology leadership was defined as "leadership practices and behaviors that support effective teaching and learning with technology as characterized by the ISTE-EL standards" (Schoenbart, 2019, p. 9). This quantitative descriptive study examined the essential role of principals as leaders responsible for successfully implementing technology integration plans. The researcher collected data via the Education Leaders Technology Survey (ELTS), developed by Dr. Adam Schoenbart, which assessed the 2018 International Society for Technology Education ¬Standards for Education Leaders (Schoenbart, 2019). Overall, the researcher used technology leadership scores and demographic data to describe principal technology leadership behaviors related to the following research questions: (1) To what extent do principals report exhibiting technology leadership behaviors? (2) What are the differences in reported principal technology leadership behaviors, if any, across the following demographic factors? (2a) principal demographic groups of gender identity, age, years of experience. (2b) school demographic groups of school type, size, community technology access, and socioeconomic status. The findings of the study suggested that principals (n = 23) are somewhat exhibiting technology leadership behavior and there is no difference in technology leadership behavior across principal or school demographic groups. Based on the finding of this study several implications for practice and recommendations for future research developed. / Doctor of Education / The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses, government organizations, churches and schools across the United States of America. In a matter of days, COVID-19 has dismantled traditional educational structures and school leaders at all levels have been forced into becoming technology leaders. Though schools are closed, the expectation of teaching and learning are still present and have transitioned to completely online environments. It is up to school leaders to guide school communities into virtual learning, but are principals prepared? This study examined the current technology leadership of principals in one public-school division in Virginia. Additionally, this study examined if a difference existed in principal reported technology leadership across principal and school demographic groups. Technology leadership can be summarized as practices that support effective teaching and learning with technology. Principal technology leadership scores were calculated based on responses to the online Education Leaders Technology Survey developed by Dr. Adam Schoenbart in 2019. The Education Leaders Technology Survey measured self-reported principal technology leadership based on the 2018 International Society for Technology in Education Standards for Education Leaders (Schoenbart, 2019). The results of this study indicated that principals report somewhat demonstrating technology leadership and report having a slightly higher opportunity to demonstrate technology leadership in their schools. Study findings also indicate that there are no differences in principal reported technology leadership across principal or school demographic groups. Based on the findings, several recommendations for principals, division leaders and principal preparation programs were made along with recommendations for future research on this topic.

Background: Digitalization is the latest trend in the world. Companies are driving the process of digital transformation in order to meet the digital age. Many factors influence digital transformation, of which a review of previous research has identified digital technology and digital leadership as two important factors in digital transformation.  Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to understand the impact of resisting the digital transformation of enterprises from the perceived dimensions of their employees. Method: A deductive and quantitative approach was adopted. The online survey is the channel to collect primary data. The empirical data are sorted and analyzed by Excel and SPSS. To ensure the accuracy of the data, 253 raw data were sampled and finally collated into 173 data for further analysis. Conclusion: Summarizes the findings of our article, which explores the factors influencing employees' attitudes towards resistance to digital transformation. The results found that employees' attitudes towards digital tools and digital transformation were positively correlated. The findings of this article have some limitations and are described in terms of the research methodology, the findings of the study. It also suggests areas for future research.

Today's organizations struggle to remain competitive due to challenges regarding changing technology and customer expectations. Although many organizations strive to digitally transform their business, they still fail due to digital incompetence, unpreparedness and ignorance. Thus, the thesis aims to investigate how to transform organizations into digital businesses, the required competencies of digital leaders and the interaction between digital leadership and digital transformation strategies. For this purpose, we conduct a systematic literature review to build a conceptual framework that, by hypotheses and propositions, may serve as a point of departure for future empirical research. With this model, we propose that leaders with higher levels of digital leadership, in terms of management skills, customer skills, digital skills and organizational skills, have a positive influence on the establishment of digital transformation strategies. Thus, this thesis contributes to an understanding of digital leadership, digital transformation strategies and the interlinkages between these.

Introduction: Digital transformation has had a significant impact on the way businesses operate and interact with their clients. The advent of digital technologies has brought about unprecedented changes in customer behavior, necessitating continuous adaptation and transformation to maintain competitiveness. Effective leadership is crucial in selecting appropriate technologies based on the business model and making timely decisions. However, it is important to recognize that leadership is influenced by cultural and situational contingencies, and neglecting these factors can result in an incomplete understanding of leadership and its effectiveness. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether digital leadership capabilities vary across cultures and, if so, how specific cultures might influence these capabilities. By examining the impact of culture on digital leadership, this study aims to contribute valuable insights to the existing literature on digital transformation and leadership. Methodology: The research is qualitative & has a mixed approach (deductive & Inductive) & employs a relativism ontology & social constructionism epistemology. It is an explorative multi-case study, focusing on leaders in Sweden and India to investigate digital leadership capabilities for digital transformation in different cultural contexts. The data is purposively collected through semi-structured interviews & analyzed using thematic analysis technique. Analysis: The analysis of digital leadership capabilities in Sweden and India revealed that both countries recognize the importance of digital transformation for maintaining business competitiveness. While there are similarities in the findings, Indian leaders prioritize cost savings, safety, and quality of life improvements, whereas Swedish leaders emphasize agility, operational efficiency, and continuous learning. However, both cases underscore the necessity of having a clear vision and strategy, competent individuals, and effective communication to achieve successful digital transformation. Furthermore, employee engagement and empowerment, along with training and development opportunities, play critical roles in driving digital transformation. Discussion: Based on the research findings, it can be concluded that digital leadership capabilities are generally agreed upon across different cultures, with culture not being a prominent factor influencing the process. Digital transformation is a global trend that has emerged in response to the evolving technological landscape, and the capabilities required for digital leadership are generally consistent across cultures. Therefore, digital leaders in both Sweden and India need to possess the same essential digital leadership capabilities, albeit with potentially different approaches in accomplishing goals. The overarching capabilities of vision clarity and communication, digital strategy, employee engagement, digital governance, and digital literacy remain important in both contexts. The findings of this study has practical implications for organizations seeking to implement successful digital transformation initiatives. Conclusion: In conclusion, this study provides practical implications for organizations and leaders managing digital transformation within diverse cultural contexts & also for academic researchers. It highlights the importance of developing effective digital transformation strategies tailored to specific cultural contexts, thus increasing the likelihood of achieving successful digital transformation outcomes.

Research question: How has digitalisation impacted the characteristics of leadership styles? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to obtain a deeper understanding of how digitalisation impacts leadership style characteristics. The theoretical goals are to better define digital leadership and investigate how the characteristics of the autocratic, democratic, transformational, laissez-faire leadership styles have changed due to digitalisation. The practical goals are to further understand how digitalisation has made the managers lead their employees and give recommendations on what should be considered in the digital environment. Both the theoretical contributions and practical implications are meant to dissipate the digital fog around leadership styles as much as possible. Method: This study has a deductive approach as articles and previous theories are presented and discussed which are later used in the analysis of the results. The authors use a qualitative data collection method, hence, conducting 12 semi-structured interviews with managers from various industries. The interviews occurred in either German or Swedish and were later translated into English, also, 4 interviews were face-to-face while 8 were through internet-mediated channels. The interviews were then coded and analysed through the lens of the four themes that have been established throughout the paper. Conclusion: The research found that the four leadership style characteristics have changed due to digitalisation but also contributed to the development of the digital leadership style. Avoiding digital social events in companies and the managers keeping a balance between too much control and exaggerated freedom of the employees are some practical implications. Hence, the digital fog was lighted and clearness for digital leadership was given.

This research investigates the Twitter network sphere of the 112th U.S. House of Representatives and the 18th Korean National Assembly members. Drawing from social network analysis, this study explores and compares structural characteristics of each legislative political network at diverse network levels – legislative, party and personal network. Mapping these networks highlights the major features of these two elite political networks grounded in a new social medium. Findings indicate that U.S. and Korean lawmakers have created and are enjoying affluent and multi-layered digital networks. Dynamic legislative-body networks, strong party networks, and a variety of personal networks with diverse partisan and bipartisan relationships demonstrate how politicians are agile at using new mediums. This research confirmed that these newly created legislative networks go beyond partisanship. Complicated structures demonstrate active and mutual interactions among lawmakers, and the political networks with large numbers of bipartisan tie relationships indicate that the political elite communicate, interact, and build relationships with each other rather than remaining disconnected or isolated. This research revealed new types of leaders – digital opinion leaders – emerging from newly created digital legislative networks: the most connected lawmakers; lawmakers who have great potential to coordinate party politics; the most sought after leaders; and most sociable lawmakers. By examining lawmakers’ patterns of relationship building in the network, this research tests whether these relationships are dependent on party position, ruling or opposition, in the network. In turn, this provides evidence for different uses of this new medium by party position in both legislative bodies. Detailed examination of Twitter use by political elites in Korea and the U.S. illuminate how this new media platform is being adopted by and changing politics in two distinct social and cultural settings. This new political arena, a fully digitalized and networked sphere where dynamic competition and cooperation occurs between political elites, has emerged as one of the political battlefields in politics today. / text

With more than 5 million people sick and 300 thousand dead, the global economy has experienced an economic shock more severe than the financial crisis of 2008. The sudden emergence of COVID-19 as a global threat came at a time when a significant percentage of businesses are divided in their degree of digital maturity. The pandemic forced organizations to make digitalization and digital transformation a rapid strategic focus. One of the most important aspects of this transformation has been providing remote infrastructure that can support an entirely digital workforce. Besides this urgent need of digital technology, the situation has resulted in a need of leaders who might need very different competencies and behaviours than leaders needed a couple of years ago. The lack of literature on digital leadership in crisis and empirical research describing the impact of digital transformation on leadership called the authors for further exploration. The primary purpose of this thesis was to investigate the adaptation of managers to the rapid digitalization of their day to day assignments caused by the outbreak of COVID-19. In addition, the thesis also sought to explore how high digitalization and digital leadership could function as a vital part of building a crisis-resistant organization against future pandemics. To fulfil the purpose, the following research question was identified: How does a crisis affect digital leadership? The study was conducted through interviews with the management committee of one of the divisions at L’Oréal Group in the Nordics. The empirical findings of this study suggest that managers that lead their teams using digital tools require specific social and task-related skills in order to efficiently communicate with their team in times of crisis. In addition, the findings frame the COVID-19 pandemic as a driver of organizational change towards digitalization and digital transformation. It is concluded that organizations that have the necessary digital infrastructure, digitally skilled workforce and agile operations have and will be more prepared for similar types of events in the future. Correspondingly, this study provides further understanding of digital leadership by researching it in the context of crisis and by providing practical recommendations of how to establish a pandemic-proof business continuity model.

Titel: Transformativt ledarskap i en digitaliserad värld - En kvalitativ studie om användning av digitala verktyg och följarnas upplevelse av ett digitalt transformativt ledarskap Ämne: Magisteruppsats i företagsekonomi inriktning strategisk ledning, 30 hp. Författare: Arvin Moani och Anton Gustafsson  Handledare: Jean-Charles Languilaire  Examinator: Michal Lysek Nyckelord: Transformativt ledarskap, Digitala verktyg, Digitalt ledarskap, Ledare, Följare  Bakgrund: Idag påverkas de flesta organisationer av den digitala transformationen vilket leder till att ledarskapet nu måste förmedlas digitalt. Digitala ledare behöver därav utföra ledarskapet genom digitala verktyg och lösa de utmaningar digitaliseringen medför. Däremot är ledarskapet inte kopplat till någon traditionell ledarskapsstil och följarnas upplevelser av ledarskapet har inte uppmärksammats. Vidare specificeras inte vilka digitala verktyg en ledare är i behov av. Denna transformation har därför lett till ett aktuellt forskningsområde. Frågeställning: Hur använder en transformativ ledare digitala verktyg och anpassar sig till ett digitalt ledarskap? Syfte: Syftet med vår studie är att beskriva vilka digitala verktyg som behövs i ett digitalt transformativt ledarskap, samt beskriva hur följarna upplever ledarskapet. Detta görs genom att titta på hur väl det transformativa ledarskapet fungerar i den digitala miljön samt vilka digitala verktyg som används utifrån både ledare och följares perspektiv.   Metod: Studien genomfördes med kvalitativ karaktär och tillämpar en abduktiv ansats. Insamling av data har utförts genom semistrukturerade intervjuer till ledare inom olika branscher. Datainsamling från respektive ledares följare utfördes även genom kvalitativa enkäter. Den totala datainsamlingen bestod av 7 ledare och 19 följare.  Resultat: Studien drar slutsatsen att de digitala verktyg en digitalt transformativ ledare värdesätter främst är IKT och GSS/fildelnings verktyg. Vidare finner studien att andra digitala verktyg ledare använder är komplement och grundas på arbetet som utförs. Studien fastställer även att följarna i stor grad bekräftar ledarnas syn på det digitalt transformativa ledarskapet. Vidare finner studien tre centrala faktorer för ledarskapet som består av kommunikation, individ uppmärksammande och teknisk kunskap.

This quantitative study examined teacher perceptions on the relationship between technology, student academic behaviors, and performance in blended 9th-12th grade settings through pre-COVID-19 Pandemic and post-COVID-19 Pandemic learning experiences. This replicate study explored the relationship between teacher perceptions of student motivation and student autonomy and their relation to technology implementation in face-to-face instruction and blended learning environments. Particularly, this study analyzed how student motivation and student autonomy were affected by blended learning technologies and teaching strategies introduced after the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Data were examined to investigate teacher perceptions on the relationship between technology, student academic behaviors, and performance in blended learning 9th-12th grade settings through pre-COVID-19 Pandemic and post-COVID-19 Pandemic learning experiences in two east Tennessee school districts. Participants of this study included 42 high school teachers post-COVID-19 Pandemic in 2023 and 75 high school teachers pre-COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020 within two school districts in east Tennessee. Statistical analyses of the data revealed significance on participant teacher perceptions of student motivation and student autonomy. Findings did not correlate to the original study. The research revealed there was a significant difference in teacher perceptions of student autonomy in the face-to-face instructional setting. Findings indicated teacher perceptions of student motivation were significantly higher post-COVID-19 Pandemic compared to pre-COVID-19 Pandemic.