Abstract: The effects of the ongoing digital revolution have been profound and studied in many contexts such as government interaction with the public (e-government) and administrative structures (e-administration). However, the study of how the digital revolution has changed leaders’ interactions with followers via information and communication technologies (ICTs) has been modest, and the theory building in organizational studies and public administration has been virtually nonexistent. A major reason for this lack of progress is the inability to produce an operational definition of e-leadership that spans telework, team, and enterprise settings. The study presented reviews the various literatures to identify the elements that have been suggested and then examines an exploratory case study to propose an operational definition of six meta-competencies for e-leadership.
The effects of the ongoing digital revolution, leading to the age of information in which we now live, has been well documented in terms of technology and people (e.g., Hilbert and Lopez 2011; Madureira et al. 2013; Yong and Gates 2014). Studies of the effects on governments have been plentiful in examining government-citizen interactions via websites, social media, services delivered through the internet, and so on (e.g., Norris and Moon 2005; Holzer et al. 2014; Allen and Seaman 2015). So, too, has the study of the effects of administrative operations and structures (Moon, Lee, and Roh 2014). Not only are these topics addressed in mainstream public administration journals, but at least a half dozen new journals have emerged that focus specifically on information and technology. However, the discussion of how leadership has been affected by the digital revolution in administrative settings has been curiously absent. There are at least three major reasons why electronically-mediated leadership—e-leadership—is important to understand and study. First, skill in various types of communications are normally ranked at the top of leadership lists in public agencies (see Van Wart 2011, 294-295), with oral communication often first. A second reason for the importance of e-leadership is the change in organizational patterns facilitated by the digital revolution. A third reason for the importance of e-leadership is the change in management, and thus leadership, itself. The technical requirements have increased at all levels for leaders who are expected to be competent with new information and communication technologies (Roman 2013; Groysberg 2014).
No mid- or macro-level theories had emerged to assemble the numerous micro-level studies conducted. In a reassessment of the literature, Avolio et al. state the study of e-leadership remains at “very nascent stages of development” (2014, 105) and has continued to lag its practice substantially, and suggest that it has actually widened in recent years: “advances in AIT and its appropriation at all levels of organizations and societies have far outpaced the practice and science of leadership” (106). This paper will address a functional leadership definition that will enhance the opportunity for qualitative and quantitative research to proceed more effectively.
