Justin O'Brien

Part 1 of 17 of a research-based series exploring AI’s impact on leadership This post summarises the article Enhancing top managers’ leadership with artificial intelligence insights from a systematic literature review by Bevilacqua et al. (2025)

In the AI era, are executive leaders truly adapting, or are they just layering technology over outdated strategic mindsets? Drawing on Upper Echelons Theory (UET), this systematic literature review confirms that AI radically restructures the managerial processes of organizations, making top managers’ leadership a determining factor in AI innovation effectiveness. The study identifies three key research clusters, with a core finding focused on the required AI-driven skills of top managers: data-driven decision-making, agility, and emotional and social intelligence. Successful integration requires leaders to cultivate environments that foster collaboration and knowledge sharing to maximize AI value. The integration necessitates a profound evolution of leadership dynamics, demanding leaders to balance technical capabilities with the ability to handle organizational and sociocultural factors.

The critical finding confirms that data provision alone is insufficient; sophisticated critical thinking is required to translate AI output into legitimate strategic action. The ability to analyze data critically and accurately and extract relevant insights remains crucial for top managers. This critical lens is essential not only for internal process efficiency but, more importantly, for navigating external pressures; top managers must use critical thought to align AI adoption with sociocultural context, ensuring regulatory compliance and ethical use. The critical layer ensures technology adoption, which is influenced by factors like social perceptions and regulations, contributes responsibly to competitiveness.

The authors, S. Bevilacqua, J. Masárová, F. A. Perotti, and A. Ferraris, suggest that the study contributes to UET by integrating AI as a crucial variable that radically transforms leadership and decision-making at the executive level. As AI tools multiply, how can we measure and accelerate the critical skill of translating algorithmic insights into human-centric strategic results? Let’s discuss.

#Leadership #AIinBusiness #UpperEchelonsTheory #StrategicLeadership #DataDrivenDecisionMaking #CriticalThinking #DigitalTransformation

Reference: Bevilacqua, S., Masárová, J., Perotti, F. A., & Ferraris, A. (2025). Enhancing top managers’ leadership with artificial intelligence insights from a systematic literature review. Review of Managerial Science, 19, 2899–2935. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-025-00836-7