The Role of Leadership in Driving Digital Transformation in the South African Financial Services Sector

dc.contributor.authorNgxola, Nomonde
dc.contributor.supervisorGobind, Jenika
dc.date.accessioned2024-08-14T09:38:39Z
dc.date.available2024-08-14T09:38:39Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.descriptionA research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023
dc.description.abstractThe purpose of the research is to provide an all-encompassing definition of Digital Transformation (DT) amid a sea of definitions and propose drivers that leaders operating in the South African Financial Services Sector can use to drive Digital Transformation within their respective organisations, not only as a mere project but also being mindful of the personal influence their role as leaders has on the success of a DT process (Bordeaux, 2019). From a systematic review of 100 peer-reviewed articles, the literature suggests there are seven common and key drivers of the Digital Transformation process. These were identified as digital business strategy, a review or augmentation of the organisations business model, big data-driven processes, process automation, customer centricity, digital competency, and culture (Bhardwaj et al., 2013). The literature also reflects the influential role that leaders play in the DT process through their traits and abilities (Kaidalova, Sandkuhl & Seigerroth, 2018). A close examination was made of the evolution of leadership theories: The Great Man Theory being the starting point, was premised on the leader’s abilities resting solely upon leader themself, believed to be born with a set of traits and behaviour that automatically deemed them leadership worthy (Cherry, 2019). During this era, the notion of leader development and training was not given thought (Hartl & Hess, 2017). The leader was according to this theory born and carried their own innate talents and capabilities to lead devoid any form of development and advancing. The paper seeks to explore the evolution of leadership theories that evolved from the trait and behavioural theories to that of transformational leadership, which looks specifically at leaders in relation to their subordinates to the latest DT theories to test for similarities, plus outliers when considered with respect to the methodological finding Additionally, the research incorporated notable barriers to the digital transformation process as noted by the leaders that were interviewed in the study. Themes of digital denialism, deflation and discomfort surfaced and were explored at length. vi The study adopted an exploratory sequential mixed methods approach compromising of qualitative content analysis and thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews using creative methods of extraction. The population sampled consisted of a group of Chief Information Officers, Chief Technology Officers, and Digital Heads of Business.
dc.description.submitterMM2024
dc.facultyFaculty of Commerce, Law and Management
dc.identifierhttps://orcid.org/ JLOS-A-23-302
dc.identifier.citationNgxola, Nomonde .(2023). The Role of Leadership in Driving Digital Transformation in the South African Financial Services Sector [PhD thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. WireDSpace.https://hdl.handle.net/10539/40104
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/40104
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
dc.rights© 2023 University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
dc.rights.holderUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
dc.schoolWITS Business School
dc.subjectDigital Transformation
dc.subjectFinancial services
dc.subjectBanking Sector
dc.subjectLeadership
dc.subjectBarriers
dc.subjectLeading organizations
dc.subjectLeadership theories
dc.subjectDigital Leadership
dc.subjectUCTD
dc.subject.otherSDG-8: Decent work and economic growth
dc.titleThe Role of Leadership in Driving Digital Transformation in the South African Financial Services Sector
dc.typeDissertation
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