Data-based Transparency and Leadership in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Abstract

Based on the increasing usage of Information Systems (IS), the amount of employee-specific data in companies is rising. As this data is more often used for leadership, referred to as data-based leadership, the question about complete transparency and its consequences in companies needs consideration. This work therefore, aims to analyze the amount of gathered employee-specific data, the resulting data-based leadership, and the exercised control and transparency in small and medium enterprises (SME) which have limited experience in using digital leadership approaches. The applied case study provides qualitative insights into these aspects. This case study is based on five selected SMEs from different industries. With my study, I enhance control theory and derive practical recommendations for a sustainable handling of employee-data for leadership.