Table 3 Results: Theoretical analyses

Boyd and Sampson (2016). Foundation versus innovation: developing creative education practitioner confidence in the complex blended learning landscape. Professional Development in Education, 42(3), 502–506.

UK / two arts institutions, reflection

Reflects on initiatives aimed toward developing staff digital confidence. Key to these initiatives is the issue of engaging practitioners with the importance of sound pedagogical design whilst developing familiarity with appropriate forms of technology.

Brown et al. (2016). Curriculum for Digital Education Leadership: A Concept Paper. Commonwealth of Learning.

Commonwealth / Concept paper

Introduces challenges faced in terms of digital education leadership. Presents conceptions of digital literacy, digital education and digital education leadership and motivations for the conceptualisation of a proposed curriculum framework for digital education leadership. Argues for Digital Education Leadership as a concept rather than e-leadership.

Gupton (2014). Online Frontiers in Education: Leadership’s Role. International Journal of Arts & Sciences, 7(2), 609–616.

Reviews research on Quality and Leadership of Online Education

Examines the crisis of leadership in HE in times of great change and the need for leadership as the online delivery of education develops. [NB. Uses emotional and value-laden language.]

Khanna (2017). A conceptual framework for achieving good governance at open and distance learning institutions. Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning, 32(1), 21–35.

Proposes a good governance framework for ODL institutions

Based on 7 basic principles for ODL institutions: performance, transparency, accountability, participation, leadership, consensus orientation, fairness. Leadership considered from the perspective of direction and strategic vision.

Markova (2014). A Model of Leadership in Integrating Educational Technology in Higher Education. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 17(4).

Literature review on Educational Technology and Instructional Design, Leadership, Faculty Development, faculty attitudes to educational technology

Proposes a model of TEL leadership in HE and considers the impact educational technologies have on instruction itself and why many faculty members view the technology as being too difficult to apply to existing technology infrastructure. Model not applied.

McCutcheon (2014). A Leadership Framework to Support the use of E-Learning Resources. Nursing Management, 21(3), 24–28.

Application of NHS nursing leadership framework to e-learning for postgraduate nursing education

Proposes the application of the NHS nursing leadership framework to structure and guide the process of e-learning development. Framework organised into 7 dimensions around the central aim of delivering the service: demonstrating personal qualities, working with others, managing services, improving services, setting direction, creating the vision, delivering the strategy.

Mishra et al. (2016). E-Leadership and Teacher Development using ICT. In R. Huang & J. K. Price (Eds.), ICT in Education in Global Context (pp. 248–266). Berlin, Heidelberg, DE: Springer-Verlag.

Analysis of e-leadership in business, applied to education (schools)

Takes e-leadership as understood in the business context and relates it to the field of education, using the RAT (Replace, Amplify, Transform) framework (Hughes, Thomas, & Scharber, 2006).

Mukerjee (2014). Agility: a crucial capability for universities in times of disruptive change and innovation. Australian Universities’ Review, 56(1), 56–60.

Australia / organisational agility

Explores the concept of agility as applied to HE institutions: in terms of strategic, business, cultural, customer and partnering agility. Concludes the need to break down silos, to foster both organisational and individual agility and to ensure IT departments take a central strategic role.

Murphy (2016). The future of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) is in the hands of the anonymous, grey non-descript mid-level professional manager. Irish Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning, 2(1), 1–9.

Ireland / discussion paper as an aside to a literature review, part of a doctoral thesis looking at the management of blended learning courses in HE

Reflects on the changing role of the academic in a new managerialist TEL HE sector and argues for the recognition of the importance of the mid-level professional manager in transitioning bottom-up to institute-wide TEL initiatives.

Orr and Cleveland-Innes (2015). Appreciative leadership: Supporting education innovation. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 16(4), 235–241.

Application of Appreciative Inquiry to educational leadership

Suggests that appreciative leadership can support innovation by rejecting problem-based and deficit models in favour of freeing staff to generate new and innovative solutions, mobilising organisational member participation as a co-constructor of present and future possibilities.

Refers to K12 context, but has potential for application in HE.

Phelps (2014). “So much technology, so little talent”? Skills for harnessing technology for leadership outcomes. Journal of Leadership Studies, 8(2), 51–56.

Literature review, focus = leadership educators

Reviews the literature on e-leadership and technology-centred fields, and provides recommendations and implications for leading in online environments.

Salmon and Angood (2013). Sleeping with the enemy. British Journal of Educational Technology, 44(6), 916–925.

Australia, joint reflection from a Pro Vice-Chancellor of Learning Transformations and an IT director

Explores the reasons for conflict between IT and faculty and formulates 16 (actually 15) recommendations for constructive collaboration leading to organizational changes, grouped into three strategic themes: Behavioural, Organisational, Facilitation.

Sutton and DeSantis (2017). Beyond change blindness: embracing the technology revolution in higher education. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 54(3), 223–228.

Theoretical analysis – diffusion, tech acceptance, TPACK

Explores three foundational educational technology theories: Rogers’ (1962, 2003) diffusion model, Davis’ (1989) technology acceptance model and Mishra and Koehler’s (2006) technological, pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) model. Recommends that HE leadership integrate implications of these in design of Continuous Professional Development.

Tintoré and Arbós (2013). Identifying the stage of growth in the organisational learning capacity of universities. Universities and Knowledge Society Journal (RUSC), 10, No 2(2013), 375–393.

Analysis of existing questionnaires, final version validated by 8 experts

Proposes a tool (Organisational Capacity Model questionnaire) for identifying the stage of growth in the organisational learning capacity of a university. Covers individual learning, institutional learning (teamwork, leadership and vision, culture and values, structures, resources, openness to the environment, barriers to learning). Tool not applied.

Van Wart et al. (2017). Integrating ICT adoption issues into (e-)leadership theory. Telematics and Informatics, 34(5), 527–537.

Analysis of different related fields of research to propose integrated framework

Studies ICT adoption through the lens of technology adoption literature, enterprise resource planning literature and leadership change management. Widens the notion of e-leadership from leading in virtual environments to that of choosing, recommending and supporting the implementation of ICT in organisations.