Digital leadership competencies and skills for agile and innovative public sector governance

Abstract

Digital transformation is fundamentally reshaping public sector governance, placing new and complex demands on leadership. Yet existing research on public sector digital leadership remains fragmented, with competency elements dispersed across studies, theoretical perspectives lacking integration, and practical guidance remaining inconsistent. This study addresses these gaps through a systematic literature review guided by PRISMA 2020, searching Web of Science, Scopus, and IEEE Xplore for peer-reviewed literature published between 2015 and 2025. A total of 47 studies were included and analysed using a ten-dimensional digital leadership competency framework as a coding lens. Findings show strong empirical support for strategic vision, change management, communication, and digital literacy (87-96% coverage), while Cultural and Intercultural Competence and Talent Development / Digital-First Culture remain critically underexplored (2.1% and 10.6%). These gaps matter because public sector leaders increasingly govern digital transformation across culturally diverse communities and must institutionalise digital capability beyond individual champions. Five systematic implementation barriers were also identified with consistently high coverage (85-96%). Theoretical analysis revealed pronounced fragmentation: 40 studies drew on over 60 distinct theoretical perspectives. The study contributes by mapping evidence for the ten-dimensional framework, diagnosing theoretical fragmentation, and providing evidence-stratified guidance for public sector capability development in agile and innovative governance contexts. Keywords: Digital Leadership; Public Sector; Systematic Literature Review; Digital Transformation; Leadership Competencies