How digital leadership fosters employee proactive behavior: A dual-pathway model based on job demands and resources.
TL;DR
A dual-pathway model examining how digital leadership influences employee proactive behavior through digital job demands and digital job resources, with employee digital literacy as a boundary condition is developed and tested.
Abstract
BackgroundDigital leadership is increasingly recognized as critical to organizational digital transformation. How digital leadership fosters employee proactive behavior through job characteristics remains insufficiently understood.ObjectiveDrawing on Job Demands-Resources theory, this study develops and tests a dual-pathway model examining how digital leadership influences employee proactive behavior through digital job demands and digital job resources, with employee digital literacy as a boundary condition.MethodsData were collected through a three-wave time-lagged survey of 533 employees across four industries undergoing digital transformation in China. Mediation and moderation effects were tested using bootstrapping procedures and hierarchical multiple regression with the PROCESS macro.ResultsDigital leadership was positively associated with employee proactive behavior through two complementary pathways: reduced digital job demands and enhanced digital job resources. Employee digital literacy moderated both pathways, such that the indirect effects were stronger among employees with higher digital literacy.ConclusionsOrganizations should invest in digital leadership development programs that address both demand optimization and resource empowerment, and should cultivate employee digital literacy. Further research is needed to examine these mechanisms across different cultural contexts, digital platform ecosystems, and demographic groups.