Digital Leadership in Higher Education: Challenges and Barriers from a Systematic Review

Abstract

Digital transformation has increased the importance of digital leadership (DL) in higher education (HE), yet the challenges and barriers that constrain its development and implementation remain fragmented across the literature. This systematic review synthesizes existing evidence on these challenges and examines how they interrelate across studies. The literature search was conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, and Google Scholar for studies published between 2017 and 2025. Following the study-selection process, 17 studies were included in the final synthesis. Thematic synthesis identified six overarching barrier themes: human capability and psychological readiness, organizational and cultural barriers, technological and resource constraints, strategic and governance barriers, coordination and change-implementation barriers, and ethical, security, and equity challenges. Human capability and psychological readiness was the most recurrent theme, appearing in 16 of the 17 studies. Study-level co-occurrence analysis further showed that barriers frequently occurred together, with the strongest proportional overlap observed between strategic and governance barriers and coordination and change-implementation barriers. Based on these patterns, the review proposes an Integrated Barrier Ecosystem for DL in HE, comprising three interconnected nexuses: the Institutional Transformation Nexus, Leadership and Digital Capacity Nexus, and Responsible Digital Governance Nexus. The findings suggest that DL challenges in HE extend beyond individual competence or technological provision and are embedded within interconnected human, organizational, technological, strategic, governance, and ethical conditions. The review provides an integrated perspective for understanding and addressing DL barriers in contemporary HE.