21 July 2026
Bilbao
The thesis ‘Fundamentación teórica del buen liderazgo digital: reconfiguración de la idea de liderazgo empresarial en la era de la transformación digital’ argues that digitalisation and algorithmic management weaken workforce cohesion. Its author, Nuria González, therefore proposes a new model of business management based on the principle of care.
Process automation, task management platforms that measure performance down to the millisecond, and data analytics tools integrated into the daily workflow promised more efficient, agile and modern workplaces. However, behind this optimistic narrative of technological modernisation lies the “dark side” of digitalisation: the loss of human capabilities, the subtle yet persistent dehumanisation of workplace relationships, and increasing opacity and control that undermine employees’ well-being.
Against this backdrop, this doctoral thesis, defended at the University of Deusto, draws on the concept of the "caring company", together with the ethics of care and relational leadership. In this way, people are placed at the heart of the organisation’s strategy, ahead of software infrastructure and algorithmic systems.
The thesis also highlights the need to examine this issue from an interdisciplinary perspective that brings together psychology, business management and ethics. Nuria González’s research seeks to address a contemporary paradox: why, despite the growing integration of digital tools into the corporate ecosystem, are organisations experiencing increasing fragmentation and a breakdown in human relationships?
The algorithm as an assistant, not a manager
Regarding algorithmic management, the research warns that delegating organisational decision-making to automated systems, such as performance evaluation, employee monitoring and decision-making, weakens accountability and creates a dangerous moral distance. By placing software between management and the workforce, ethical considerations are more easily diluted, making it easier to justify intrusive or insensitive forms of monitoring and control.
Rather than rejecting technology, the study advocates a model in which it acts as an algorithmic co-leader. In this model, data-driven systems should be treated strictly as decision-support tools that assist, rather than replace, the human leader, who should retain the final say, particularly in decisions affecting an individual’s professional development or well-being.
The four capabilities needed to lead in the digital age
To avoid falling into patterns of digital surveillance and control, the research identifies four core capabilities that organisations should incorporate into the development of their leadership teams:
-Reflexivity: those in leadership positions should continually reflect on how digital technologies shape, influence and distort interactions with others.
-Dialogic reasoning: the thesis calls for the rules governing the use of digital technologies to be discussed and agreed collaboratively and transparently, so that digital tools do not become coercive mechanisms for controlling employees.
-Prudent deliberation, or the ability to make nuanced decisions free from technological bias in environments characterised by high uncertainty or social complexity, helping to establish clear boundaries for the implementation of digital transformation.
-Broader social responsibility recognising that a company’s technological decisions affect society as a whole, organisations should act proactively to prevent the digital exclusion of vulnerable groups and take responsibility for the environmental impact of the energy consumption associated with digital systems.
Towards flatter organisational structures
The research concludes that the rigid hierarchical model inherited from the industrial era is incompatible with the flexibility required by digital transformation. Companies seeking to thrive in the post-industrial era must evolve into flatter, more agile organisations.
As the thesis argues, this transition cannot be achieved successfully simply by implementing advanced software or restructuring organisational hierarchies. The thesis argues, drawing on the ethics of care and relational leadership, that effective leadership in the twenty-first century requires digital capabilities to be subordinated to human well-being and the common good. A real ethical and organisational challenge for companies.
Photo by Jakub Zerdzicki on Pexels.
