Leadership Dynamics in the Digital Age: Adaptive Strategies Sustainable Transformation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14456/ajmt.2026.14Keywords:
Adaptive Strategy, Sustainability, Digital Leadership, Transformational LeadershipAbstract
This article examines the dynamics of leadership in the digital age, with a focus on integrating digital leadership, transformational leadership, and adaptive leadership as strategies for promoting organizational sustainability. It links these dimensions to applications in the Thai public sector, where cultural and structural barriers remain. Integrating these three leadership dimensions enhances leaders' ability to align with digital dynamics and advance sustainable development goals. This study employs a qualitative research approach through analytical literature synthesis and selected case analyses of Thai organizations to systematically collect and interpret qualitative content. The use of literature synthesis is intended to consolidate contemporary scholarly knowledge from diverse academic sources, to generate in-depth insights into leadership models suitable for Thailand's digital context. The findings indicate that leaders in the digital age need to cultivate strategic communication, emotional and social intelligence, and adaptability, as well as the ability to inspire and articulate flexible visions in a complex and uncertain environment. Leaders with these competencies can manage short-term changes in structural, procedural, and cultural dimensions while maintaining long-term goals. This article offers a conceptual framework and strategic recommendations to enhance leadership capabilities for promoting sustainable organizational transformation in the digital age
References
Avolio, B. J., & Bass, B. M. (2019). Full Range Leadership Development (2nd ed.). Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483349107
Bawany, S. (2019). Leadership in Disruptive Times: Navigating the New World of Work. Business Expert Press.
Bocken, N. M. P., de Pauw, I., Bakker, C., & van der Grinten, B. (2021). Product Design and Business Model Strategies for a Circular Economy. Journal of Industrial and Production Engineering, 38(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/21681015.2020.1838767
Cotrim, F. S., & Da Silva Gomes, J. F. (2024). Longitudinal Studies of Leadership Development: A Scoping Review. Current Psychology, 43(37), 29558–29586. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06567-4
Dixon-Woods, M., Agarwal, S., Jones, D., Young, B., & Sutton, A. (2009). Synthesizing Qualitative and Quantitative Evidence: A review of Possible Methods. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 9, 59.
Eccles, R. G., & Klimenko, S. (2019). The Investor Revolution: Shareholders are Getting Serious about Sustainability. Harvard Business Review, 97(3), 106–116.
Elkington, J. (2020). Green Swans: The Coming Boom in Regenerative Capitalism. Fast Company Press.
Eva, N., Wolfram Cox, J., Tse, H. H. M., & Lowe, K. B. (2021). From Competency to Conversation: A Multi-perspective Approach to Collective Leadership Development. The Leadership Quarterly, 32(5), 101346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2019.101346
Fountaine, T., McCarthy, B., & Saleh, T. (2019). Building the AI-Powered Organization. Harvard Business Review, 97(4), 62–73.
Freeman, R. E. (2021). Stakeholder Theory: The State of the Art Revisited. Journal of Business Ethics, 174(1), 3–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04695-2
Gauthier, A. (2022). Digital Leadership Mindset: Developing Agile and Resilient Leaders for the Digital Age. Leadership Press.
Geissdoerfer, M., Savaget, P., Bocken, N. M. P., & Hultink, E. J. (2021). The Circular Economy – A New Sustainability Paradigm?. Journal of Cleaner Production, 310, 127661. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127661
Gregersen, H. (2019). Questions are the Answer: A Breakthrough Approach to Your Most Vexing Problems at Work and in Life. Harper Business.
Heifetz, R. A., Grashow, A., & Linsky, M. (2021). The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing your Organization and the World. Harvard Business Review Press.
Horney, N., Pasmore, B., & O’Shea, T. (2020). Agile Leadership for Organizational Resilience. Agile Alliance White Paper.
Johansen, B. (2019). The New Leadership Literacies: Thriving in a Future of Extreme Disruption and Distributed Everything. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Kane, G. C., Palmer, D., Phillips, A. N., & Kiron, D. (2021). The Transformation Myth: Leading Your Organization Through Uncertainty. The MIT Press.
Kiron, D., Unruh, G., Reeves, M., Kruschwitz, N., & Rubel, H. (2020). The Innovation Bottom Line: How Companies that Integrate Sustainability into Their Core Strategy Outperform Their Peers. MIT Sloan Management Review.
Korn Ferry Institute. (2020). Future-Ready Leaders: Developing Leadership in the Age of Disruption. Korn Ferry.
Kongtieng, S., & Phadung, J. (2023). Content Analysis in Mascot Studies, Thailand. Journal of Management Science, Udon Thani Rajabhat University, 5(2), 99-110.
Lozano, R. (2020). Sustainable Business Models: Providing a More Holistic Perspective. Business Strategy and the Environment, 29(2), 729–741. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2393
Mayer-Schönberger, V., & Cukier, K. (2021). Big Data: A Revolution that will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think (Updated edition). Mariner Books.
Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and Practice (9th ed.). Sage.
Noyes, J., Booth, A., Cargo, M., Flemming, K., Harden, A., Harris, J., Garside, R., Hannes, K., Pantoja, T., & Thomas, J. (2019). Qualitative Evidence Synthesis: Incorporating Qualitative Evidence in Decision Making. In Higgins, J. P. T., Thomas, J., Chandler, J., Cumpston, M., Li, T., Page, M. J., & Welch, V. A. (Eds.), Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions (Version 6.0, pp. 525–545). Cochrane. https://training.cochrane.org/handbook/current/chapter-21
Petrie, N. (2020). Future Trends in Leadership Development. Center for Creative Leadership.
Prayoonvong, N., & Limwongthong, A. (2025). Digital Leadership Competencies for School Administrators in Bangkok’s Educational Transformation. International Journal of Innovative Research and Scientific Studies, 8(6), 2015–2021.
Raworth, K. (2021). Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist. Random House Business.
Rogers, D. L. (2023). The Digital Transformation Roadmap: Rebuild Your Organization for Continuous Change. Columbia Business School Publishing.
Schrier, K., Zahradnik, A., & Shaenfield, D. (2024). Playful Approaches to Leadership Development: Three Innovative Uses of Games in the Classroom. Journal of Management Education, 48(4), 777–801. https://doi.org/10.1177/10525629231215065
Senge, P. M. (2020). The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization (Revised edition). Currency.
Snowden, D., & Boone, M. (2021). A Leader’s Framework for Decision Making (Reprint from 2007 with updates). Harvard Business Review Press.
Sophonthummapharn, K. (2011). Segmenting Small and Medium Manufacturing Enterprises for Electronic Customer Relationship Management Industry: The Case of Thailand. International. Journal of Electronic Customer Relationship Management, 5(1), 75-96.
Sullivan-Taylor, B., & Wilson, D. C. (2019). Managing the Threat of Terrorism in British Travel and Leisure Organizations. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 32(3), 343–364.
Thomas, J., & Harden, A. (2008). Methods for the Thematic Synthesis of Qualitative Research in Systematic Reviews. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 8, 45.
Uhl-Bien, M., & Arena, M. (2018). Leadership for Organizational Adaptability: A Theoretical Synthesis and Integrative Framework. The Leadership Quarterly, 29(1), 89–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2017.12.009
Van Tulder, R., & van Mil, E. (2023). Principles of Sustainable Business: Frameworks for Corporate Action on the SDGs. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003098355
Vogel, B., Reichard, B., Batistič, S., & Cerne, M. (2021). A Bibliometric Review of the Leadership Development Field: How We Got Here, Where We Are, and Where We Are Headed. The Leadership Quarterly, 32(5), 101381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2020.101381
Waldman, D. A., & Balven, R. M. (2022). The Role of Leadership in Addressing the Grand Challenge of Environmental Sustainability. Academy of Management Perspectives, 36(2), 224–239. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2020.0034
Westerman, G., Bonnet, D., & McAfee, A. (2020). Leading Digital: Turning Technology into Business Transformation (Reprint ed.). Harvard Business Review Press.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Faculty of Management Technology, Rajamangala University of Technology Isan Surin Campus
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
บทความที่ได้รับการตีพิมพ์เป็นลิขสิทธิ์ของคณะเทคโนโลยีการจัดการ มหาวิทยาลัยเทคโนโลยีราชมงคลอีสาน วิทยาเขตสุรินทร์
ข้อความที่ปรากฏในบทความแต่ละเรื่องในวารสารวิชาการเล่มนี้ เป็นความคิดเห็นส่วนตัวของผู้เขียนแต่ละท่านไม่เกี่ยวข้องกับคณะเทคโนโลยีการจัดการ มหาวิทยาลัยเทคโนโลยีราชมงคลอีสาน วิทยาเขตสุรินทร์ และคณาจารย์ท่านอื่นๆในมหาวิทยาลัยฯ แต่อย่างใด ความรับผิดชอบองค์ประกอบทั้งหมดของบทความแต่ละเรื่องเป็นของผู้เขียนแต่ละท่าน หากมีความผิดพลาดใดๆ ผู้เขียนแต่ละท่านจะรับผิดชอบบทความของตนเองแต่ผู้เดียว
