Chapter 12: Exploring Leadership Challenges for Adoption of Digital Innovation and Sustainability

The chapter explores leadership challenges regarding the adoption of sustainability and digital innovation, focusing on a more in-depth understanding of how to manage digital innovation and how these processes could be interlinked with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This section is based on a review of literature on different leadership theories and innovation frameworks, which formed a basis for a conceptualized framework. Moreover, practical cases focusing on the challenges of managing digital innovation and sustainability in various parts of the world and industries were provided.

Leadership serves as a key element in balancing innovation and sustainability. Major challenges include strategic vision alignment, resource allocation, risk management and the overcoming of organizational inertia. Thus, leadership styles, specifically transformational and adaptive, can play a significant role in addressing the issue.

This chapter underscores the need for conducting further studies on the competencies and skills effective leaders should possess to integrate digital innovation and sustainability in various industries. Overall, the key idea is that leadership is essential to the integration of these policies and practices.

This chapter provides a holistic model for understanding how leadership intersects with digital innovation and sustainability, offering practical guidance for leaders who need to understand these complex domains in practice.