Exploring a Pathway to Sustainable Organizational Performance of South Korea in the Digital Age: The Effect of Digital Leadership on IT Capabilities and Organizational Learning

Abstract

In the age of Industry 4.0, the emergence of new technologies is compelling organizations to search for new methods for sustainability. In particular, IT capabilities and organizational learning competencies with digital leadership play crucial roles in managing environmental dynamism, which are profoundly related to sustainable organizational performance in the digital age. This study explored sustainable organizational performance from the perspective of digital leadership (DL) and the role of IT capabilities (IT infrastructure, IT business spanning, IT-proactive stance), as well as organizational learning in sustainable organizational performance. For this research, data from 173 employees from South Korean organizations were collected using an online survey on digital leadership, IT capabilities, organizational learning, and sustainable organizational performance (SOP). Here, an SPSS- and AMOS-based structural equation modeling technique was used to examine the outcomes for analysis. The results confirmed that digital leadership significantly directly affected SOP. Moreover, there was no mediating effect of IT infrastructure and IT business spanning; however, an IT-proactive stance and organizational learning fully mediated the relationship between DL and SOP. This research will aid leadership behavior alongside other knowledge-based studies that empirically tested the role of digital leadership, IT capabilities, organizational learning, and SOP. As digital leadership competencies demand is surging for managing digital challenges alongside the verification of digital leadership behavior and knowledge-based theory, the important role of DL regarding IT capabilities and organizational learning in SOP needs to be prudently considered in the South Korean context.

Unlocking digital potential: Exploring the drivers of employee dynamic capability on employee digital performance in Chinese SMEs-moderation effect of competitive climate

“…Furthermore, organizational learning can assist organizations in optimizing their resources, including data, information, and technology. The effective utilization of these resources is an indispensable component of dynamic capabilities, as it enables SMEs to effectively respond to change and seize opportunities [ 87 , 88 ]. Consequently, organizational learning has a positive impact on employee dynamic capability.…”

The role of technology in transforming leadership management practices

“…Ensuring the quality and accuracy of the data is crucial, as AI-driven decisions are only as reliable as the data they are based on. Additionally, leaders must remain aware of potential biases in AI algorithms and take measures to mitigate them to avoid making decisions that perpetuate unfair practices (Mollah et al 2023;Hussein et al 2023).…”

Bibliometrics Analysis of Digital Leadership Research

“…Cluster 2 Hypothesis: Effective digital leadership is positively associated with adopting digital technologies digitalization processes, and promoting innovative work behavior within organizations. Helpful resources for building this hypothesis are Hung et al (2023), Ghamrawi and Tamim (2023), Mollah et al (2023), Hanandeh et al (2023), Salamzadeh et al (2023), Kokot et al (2023), Brunner et al (2023, Shin et al (2023), andTigre et al (2023).…”

“…Cluster 3 Hypothesis: The level of digital innovation within an organization positively influences leadership practices and contributes to sustainable performance outcomes. Helpful resources for building this hypothesis are Mollah et al (2023), Shin et al (2023), Quaquebeke and Gerpott (2023), Karakose and Tülübaş (2023), Zulu et al (2023), Karakose et al (2022), Niu et al (2022), Khaw, et al (2022), Erhan et al (2022), Baglama et al (2022), andBenitez et al (2022).…”

“…Several studies related to digital leadership have been conducted globally by various researchers, including , Ghamrawi and Tamim (2023), Baglama et al (2022), Tigre et al (2023), Tanucan et al (2022), Zupancic et al (2017), Acharya et al (2022), Mollah et al (2023), Sarfraz et al (2022), Shin et al (2023), Karakose et al (2022), Munsamy et al (2023), Niu et al (2022), Hanandeh et al (2023), Quaquebeke and Gerpott (2023), Desmaryani et al (2022), and Pham and Vu (2022).…”