W2: Banks et al. (2022)

Question 1

Digital era

Answer 1

Characterised by changes in both the phenomenon of leadership itself and the tools used to study it. This shift necessitates a new perspective on leadership, considering its manifestation in virtual contexts and the application of digital technologies. While leadership remains a social influence process, the digital era prompts questions about the extent to which leadership dynamics are fundamentally different

Question 2

Paper’s purpose

Answer 2

Explores the dimensions of digital leadership and outlines future directions for research

Question 3

Who

Answer 3

The digital era challenges the traditional focus on leaders in formal organisational positions, highlighting the rise of informal leadership. It also brings renewed attention to followers and the various stakeholders affected by leader behaviour in digital spaces

Question 4

Informal leadership

Answer 4

E.g. social media influencers who wield significant social influence without formal authority

Question 5

What

Answer 5

Leadership is still fundamentally about social influence often understood through signaling theory. The digital era offers opportunities to move beyond reliance on questionnaires and study actual leader behaviours more directly, leveraging technology to capture richer data

Question 6

Signaling theory

Answer 6

Where leader behaviours (e.g. charismatic or ethical actions) act as signals to followers. The digital setting alters how these signals are transmitted and observed (e.g. via email, Zoom, or social media)

Question 7

When

Answer 7

Leadership is a dynamic process unfolding over time, involving interactions and feedback loops between leaders and followers. Digital technologies provide enhanced capabilities to capture and model these complex, time-sensitive dynamics

Question 8

Where

Answer 8

While virtual context are prominent, digital leadership research also encompasses traditional settings augmented by digital tools (e.g. sensors, Big Data) and extends to informal contexts like social media. It involves media richness theory

Question 9

Virtual contexts

Answer 9

Geographically dispersed, technology-mediated interactions

Question 10

Media richness theory

Answer 10

Helps analyse the effectiveness of signals across different technological mediums

Question 11

Why

Answer 11

The shift towards digital leadership is driven by factors including global events like the COVID-19 pandemic, evolutionary needs for leadership in new environments, and the potential for digital tools to address grand societal challenges

Question 12

Digital tools

Answer 12

E.g. computational modeling, machine learning, and Big Data, facilitate the study of leadership in complex ways, including natural experiments and dynamic network analyses

Question 13

Charismatic leadership tactics (CLTs)

Answer 13

Can be effective virtually, though influencing behaviour might be harder in person

Question 14

Computational modelling

Answer 14

Allows investigation into complex phenomena like shared leadership and team mental models

Question 15

Topic modelling

Answer 15

Aids in identifying leader challenges from large text datasets, informing training and development

Question 16

Triangulation

Answer 16

Using multiple data sources, including behavioural data captured via technology, is key