Digital Leadership Competency as Mediator Between Leadership Styles and Employee Commitment: Malaysian Public Sector Evidence

Kompetensi Kepimpinan Digital Sebagai Perantara Antara Gaya Kepimpinan Dan Komitmen Pegawai: Bukti Sektor Awam Malaysia

Authors

  • Khairunesa Isa Pusat Pengajian Umum dan Kokurikulum, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat, Johor, MALAYSIA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4971-1829
  • Sarala Thulasi Palpanadan Pusat Pengajian Bahasa, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat, Johor, MALAYSIA https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9140-3937
  • Nuraiman Nazirah Mohammad Adkha Pusat Pengajian Umum dan Kokurikulum, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat, Johor, MALAYSIA
  • Lydiawati Wakanan Pusat Pengajian Umum dan Kokurikulum, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat, Johor, MALAYSIA
  • Syahrudin Syahrudin Institut Agama Islam Riyaotul Mujahidin Ngabar, INDONESIA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54554/jhcd.2026.19.1.4

Abstract

In today’s work environment, digital leadership competency has become a vital element in ensuring leadership effectiveness and organizational success. This study examines the role of digital leadership competency as a mediating variable in the relationship between transformational and transactional leadership styles and employee commitment. Involving 272 respondents among civil servants, the study utilizes a quantitative approach. The findings indicate that digital leadership competency serves as a partial mediator in the relationship between leadership styles and employee commitment, with transformational leadership exerting a more positive impact. This research underscores the necessity of enhancing digital leadership competency to bolster employee commitment within a fast-paced work environment. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of developing a leadership pipeline capable of fostering a productive and committed workforce, aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8, which emphasizes inclusive economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all. Data were gathered from matched leader-subordinate dyads using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, the Digital Competence Scale, and the Three-Component Model of Employee Commitment, analysed via SPSS version 25 using the Baron and Kenny causal-steps approach. Digital leadership competency yielded an indirect effect of 0.263 for transformational leadership and 0.211 for transactional leadership, confirming that it strengthens, rather than replaces, leadership's direct influence on commitment. The study extends leadership and digital-transformation theory and informs leadership development programmes that pair conventional leadership training with structured digital-competency building to sustain employee commitment during ongoing digital transformation.

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Published

2026-06-30

How to Cite

Isa, K., Palpanadan, S. T. ., Adkha, N. N. M. ., Wakanan, L. ., & Syahrudin, S. (2026). Digital Leadership Competency as Mediator Between Leadership Styles and Employee Commitment: Malaysian Public Sector Evidence: Kompetensi Kepimpinan Digital Sebagai Perantara Antara Gaya Kepimpinan Dan Komitmen Pegawai: Bukti Sektor Awam Malaysia. Journal of Human Capital Development (JHCD), 19(1). https://doi.org/10.54554/jhcd.2026.19.1.4

Issue

Vol. 19 No. 1 (2026): Article in Press

Section

ARTICLES

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