Presenting a Framework for Explaining the Competencies of Digital Leaders through Meta-Synthesis Method

Digital revolution has fundamentally changed the nature of work, organizational boundaries, and the responsibilities of business leaders. In this regard, having leaders who are able to explain the need for digital change, define its scope and direction for employees, and provide a clear vision and roadmap for their employees, seems an undisputable necessity. However, one of the fundamental requirements for giving an effective role to digital leaders is to identify and define a set of competencies for this role on which they may design and develop their competency profiles. Hence, this study intends to identify the competencies of digital leaders using the meta-synthesis method, and provide a conceptual framework for explaining them. Accordingly, the research population consists of databases and sound international journals in this field. 40 subjects were selected based on pre-determined criteria related to the research question through criterion-oriented purposive sampling method. In the next steps, while analyzing, interpreting and combining the findings, the competency framework of digital leaders was formed by identifying 8 dimensions, 21 categories, 86 concepts (open codes) and 259 references. The related identified dimensions included emotional intelligence, social intelligence, coordination of socio-technical resources, competitive insight, organizational learning leadership and innovation, technological intelligence, user-orientation and cultural insight. The findings of this study can help organizational managers and researchers in this field understand the different aspects of the competencies of digital leaders, and provide a situation for cultivating and improving and equipping them with new competencies.