The bright side and the dark side of top management support in Digital Transformaion –A hermeneutical reading

The contribution of organizational culture, structure, and leadership factors in the digital transformation of SMEs: a mixed-methods approach

“…Also, Weber et al ( 2022 , p 233) suggest that digital transformation-oriented behavior, characterized by a continuously “emphasizing the digital vision, showing the need for change, and staying abreast of new digital technologies, may intimidate employees who already have high levels of uncertainty due to an organization’s DT”. Hence, agreeing with Elbanna and Newman ( 2022 ), there is an interesting dialectic relationship between top management support’s positive and negative sides, whose efforts, for instance, can create ambivalent change responses (Weber et al 2022 ), promoting intimidation and increasing resistance to change instead of reducing it and fostering involvement.…”

“…Then, consistent with Ko et al ( 2021 ), it is crucial to create a change-oriented culture by inspiring employees, sustaining energy, and remaining resilient during the process. However, one must be aware of the dual influence that leadership can have (Elbanna and Newman 2022 ; Weber et al 2022 ). Inspired by the interviews and following Singh et al ( 2019 ), a way to fine-tune supports actions and balance the possible dialectic results can be done through the concept of ‘ leadership needs to be involved in daily activities and influence employees through example’ .…”

“…However, although leadership has been connected with positive functions by the research mentioned earlier, recent results highlight a possible negative impact of top management. Elbanna and Newman ( 2022 ) bring to attention the possibility of top management overconfidence and excessive backing and support of systems implementation. Also, Weber et al ( 2022 , p 233) suggest that digital transformation-oriented behavior, characterized by a continuously “emphasizing the digital vision, showing the need for change, and staying abreast of new digital technologies, may intimidate employees who already have high levels of uncertainty due to an organization’s DT”.…”

“…Also, AlNuaimi et al ( 2022 ) confirmed that digital transformational leadership significantly influences DT. However, following Elbanna and Newman ( 2022 ), there is also a negative side of top management support in IS implementation that has been largely unrecognized by previous research. Hence, their role in stimulating a digital culture and how they support the organization in DT are still open questions (Singh et al 2019 ; Uhl-Bien and Arena 2018 ; Vial 2019 ).…”

“…However, research on organizational structures that allow firms to execute DT requires further investigation (Verhoef et al 2021 ). Concerning the role of leadership, it is deemed that DT requires superior change management capabilities (Sousa and Rocha 2019 ) and, according to Elbanna and Newman ( 2022 ), the positive role of top management support has become a mantra in information systems (IS) research. For instance, He et al ( 2022 ) highlight the role of leadership that drives digitalization in empowering capable individuals and providing systematic support against crises.…”