A Study on the Formation Mechanism of Frontline Managers’ Digital Leadership in Corporate Intrapreneurship

Abstract

In the fast-developing digital economy, traditional approaches to enterprise development and business models are constantly challenged and reshaped, driving firms to quickly pursue paths toward digital transformation. Large traditional enterprises actively seize opportunities arising from digital development by initiating strategic intrapreneurship. In this process, the use of digital technologies and methods to transform products or services, improve production processes, and adjust business models and organizational forms provides an essential foundation for intrapreneurship, in which the leadership of intrapreneurs plays an indispensable role. In this regard, this dissertation investigates the constitutive elements and formation mechanisms of frontline managers’ digital leadership within the process of intrapreneurship. This research employs both qualitative and quantitative methods to focus on two core issues to conduct in-depth and systematic research: (1) What are the structural dimentions of frontline managers’ digital leadership? and (2) How is digital leadership of frontline managers formed during the process of intrapreneurship? By answering these questions, this research enriches the theoretical understanding of the construction, measurement, and mechanisms of digital leadership within intrapreneurship. The study is composed of two main parts. Study One, based on the specific contexts of the case enterprises, identifies the structural dimensions of frontline managers’ digital leadership and develops a digital leadership scale, whose reliability and validity are tested through empirical research. Drawing on an investigation of a large enterprise group undergoing digital transformation, in-depth interviews were conducted with frontline managers of 18 intrapreneurial projects. The findings reveal four structural dimensions of digital leadership: digital strategic thinking, digital operative management, digital orchestrating and integration, and digital executive capability. A questionnaire was then designed based on the interview results, and data from a survey of 222 employees were analyzed to confirm the reliability and validity of the developed digital leadership scale. Study Two addresses how digital leadership of frontline managers formed during the process of intrapreneurship. Key events reflecting changes in digital leadership throughout the process of intrapreneurship were traced and analyzed chronologically to identify formation mechanisms. The results indicate that digital leadership, in collaboration with business function development, drives the dynamic evolution of intrapreneurship across three stages: startup, growth, and expansion. (1) In the startup stage, frontline managers primarily rely on digital strategic thinking and digital executive capability, leveraging internal and external digital resources to enable effective utilization. (2) In the growth stage, digital operative management and digital executive capability dominate, with business development driven by digital logic and service innovation. (3) In the expansion stage, digital orchestrating and integration and digital executive capability play a central role, ensuring effective organizational operation through digital business growth and parallel multi-business advancement. This research makes three theoretical contributions to the field of digital leadership. First, it identifies the structural dimensions of frontline managers’ digital leadership, thereby deepening the understanding of its essential nature. Second, it develops and validates a digital leadership scale for frontline managers with sound reliability and validity, expanding empirical research in this domain and providing practical tools for cultivating and developing digital leadership in enterprises. Third, it deconstructs the process of intrapreneurship, revealing how digital leadership and business development interact to drive intrapreneurship across three stages, thereby offering a novel theoretical perspective for future research.