Using the new positive aspect of digital leadership to improve organizational sustainability: Testing moderated mediation model

In the era of digital transformation, the role of digital leadership in companies is continuously demanded and its importance is increasingly emphasized. In relation to such research background, this study focuses on digital leadership, a new form of leadership rather than traditional leadership as suggested in previous studies, as a way to promote organizational sustainability and provide the moderated mediation model for organizational sustainability in a rapidly changing innovative business environment in the digital age. The main contribution of this study is to fill the gap in previous research and expand the research field on leadership types and organizational sustainability. To achieve our research goals, we conduct empirical study and the questionnaire was distributed to 552 organizational members from Chinese small and medium-sized information technology enterprises. The results presented that digital leadership had positive influence on digital organizational culture, digital capability, and Organizational sustainability. In addition, digital organizational culture and digital capability significantly mediated the relationship between digital leadership and organizational sustainability. Absorptive capacity significantly moderated the mediating effect of digital capability between digital leadership and organizational sustainability. Finally, innovation atmosphere significantly moderated the impact of digital organizational culture on organizational sustainability. The result indicates that digital leadership significantly enhances organizational sustainability both directly and indirectly through digital capabilities and digital organizational culture. Furthermore, absorptive capacity and innovation atmosphere positively moderate these relationships, with high levels of absorptive capacity and innovation atmosphere amplifying the impact of digital leadership on sustainability. This study contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms through which digital leadership drives organizational sustainability, offering practical insights for SMEs undergoing digital transformation.