Participative Leadership as a Micro-level Governance Mechanism for Ethical Digital Transformation: A Conceptual Framework

Boukeloua, Iheb and Sipiczki, Zoltán and Paradi-Dolgos, Anett (2026) Participative Leadership as a Micro-level Governance Mechanism for Ethical Digital Transformation: A Conceptual Framework. In: Interdisciplinary Approaches to addressing the Opportunities and Challenges posed by Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence publication in progress. Budapesti Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem (BGE), Budapest, pp. 17-25. ISBN 9786156886309

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Abstract

Digital transformation is fundamentally reshaping how organisations enact accountability, transparency, and ethical responsibility. Yet much of the corporate governance literature continues to privilege macro-level mechanisms such as boards, regulations, and audits while paying limited attention to the behavioural processes through which ethical principles are enacted in everyday organisational practice. This conceptual paper develops a framework that positions participative leadership as a micro-level governance mechanism capable of embedding ethical values within digitally transforming organisations. Drawing on an integrative review of corporate governance, leadership scholarship and digital ethics, the framework explains how inclusion, transparency and human oversight translate normative ideals into organisational action, thereby narrowing the persistent gap between technological innovation and moral accountability. Governance is reconceptualised as a relational and participatory system in which leadership behaviour mediates the interaction between digital challenges and sustainable governance outcomes including trust, ethical technology adoption, and responsible innovation. The argument is particularly salient for emerging economies, where institutional fragility and low levels of civic trust amplify the ethical risks associated with digitalisation. By reframing leadership as a behavioural infrastructure of governance, this study extends existing theory beyond compliance-oriented architectures and offers a human-centred pathway for aligning digital transformation with social legitimacy and organisational moral purpose.

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