Digital empowerment: top management and employee-driven change

Purpose Digital transformation efforts often fail when employee empowerment is overlooked, despite increasing research attention to the human factors shaping digital change. This study investigates how top management can foster digital empowerment and how leadership and organizational practices enable employee-driven digital transformation. Design/methodology/approach Employing a qualitative multiple case study approach, we analyzed 39 semi-structured interviews across six European firms undergoing significant digital transformation. Using Gioia’s methodology, we identified strategies and enabling factors that support digital empowerment and successful transformation. Findings Our study identifies three core digital empowerment strategies: digital upskilling, employee involvement in decision-making and balancing autonomy with shared responsibility. We reveal that these strategies are amplified by enablers such as digital leadership role models, self-identification with digital values and perceived personal impact as a change booster. The findings highlight the importance of feedback loops between top management and employees and show how distributed and participative leadership behaviors catalyze innovation and reduce resistance to change. Originality/value This study introduces digital empowerment as a bridge between structural and psychological empowerment in digital transformation. It extends existing research by showing how organizations can empower employees at all levels, offering practical guidance for leaders managing digital change.