How to take employees on the digital transformation journey: An

Digital transformation (DT) initiatives are often not successful. Research underlines leadership as a key to transformation success; however, studies have not systematically examined the impact of leaders on organiza-tional change, particularly concerning organizations' DT. To fill this research gap, we conducted an experimental study with 815 participants to analyze the effectiveness of complementary leadership behaviors that are relevant in the digital age: task-oriented (more precisely, digital transformation-oriented) and people-oriented leadership behaviors, and in particular their interaction. Surprisingly and in contrast to prior studies, the results show that the combination of complementary leadership behaviors did not lead to the highest (lowest) level of employees' desirable (undesirable) affective, cognitive, and behavioral change responses. This study reveals that organiza-tions are well-advised not to disregard people orientation when going digital as this leadership behavior buffers the potential downsides of digital transformation-oriented leadership behavior, which is mandatory to stay competitive in the digital era.

Automated summary

Leadership is crucial for the success of digital transformation initiatives, but its impact on organizational change in the digital era has not been systematically examined. This experimental study found that the combination of complementary leadership behaviors did not necessarily result in the highest level of desired employee change responses, contrary to prior studies. It highlights the importance of people-oriented leadership behavior in buffering the potential downsides of digital transformation-oriented leadership behavior.