Designing a Dynamic Leadership Capability Model for Organizations Facing Continuous Technological Disruption
Keywords:
Dynamic leadership capability, technological disruption, digital transformation, adaptive leadership, dynamic capabilities, qualitative research, organizational reconfiguration, Tehran organizationsAbstract
The objective of this study was to design a dynamic leadership capability model that explains how organizational leaders in technology-disrupted environments sense technological change, mobilize strategic responses, reconfigure organizational routines, and sustain adaptive performance under conditions of continuous uncertainty. This qualitative study used an exploratory inductive design based on semi-structured interviews with 22 senior and middle managers from technology-intensive and digitally transforming organizations in Tehran. Participants were selected through purposive sampling according to their direct experience with technological disruption, digital transformation, artificial intelligence adoption, platform-based competition, or business model redesign. Data collection continued until theoretical saturation was reached, meaning that the final interviews no longer generated substantially new categories or conceptual relationships. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed through thematic coding with the support of NVivo software. Credibility was strengthened through member checking, peer review, prolonged engagement with the data, and maintenance of an audit trail. The analysis produced a four-dimensional model of dynamic leadership capability. The first category, strategic technological sensing, referred to leaders’ ability to interpret weak signals, distinguish temporary technological trends from structural disruption, and translate uncertainty into strategic awareness. The second category, adaptive decision architecture, described the capability to make timely, reversible, evidence-informed decisions in ambiguous technological contexts. The third category, ecosystemic learning and collaboration, reflected the capacity to mobilize internal and external knowledge networks, including startups, technology partners, customers, and cross-functional teams. The fourth category, human-centered organizational reconfiguration, captured leaders’ ability to redesign roles, routines, culture, and psychological conditions so that technological change becomes institutionally absorbed rather than merely technically implemented. The study concludes that leadership capability in continuously disrupted technological environments is not a fixed competency profile but a dynamic, recursive, and socially embedded capability system. The proposed model suggests that effective leaders do not merely adopt new technologies; they continuously interpret technological signals, construct adaptive decision processes, activate learning ecosystems, and reconfigure organizational structures around both technological possibilities and human readiness. The findings contribute to dynamic capability theory, digital transformation research, and leadership studies by specifying the leadership-level microfoundations through which organizations maintain adaptability under persistent technological turbulence.
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