Impact of Digital Leadership on Employee Performance with Mediation Roles of Digital Self-Efficacy and Employee Motivation

This study investigates the multiple impacts of digital leadership, including visionary leadership, digital citizenship, and systemic improvement, on employee performance in the Egyptian petrochemicals sector. Furthermore, it investigates the mediating roles of digital self-efficacy and employee motivation within these interactions. A quantitative methodology was employed, gathering data from 391 valid responses out of 700 issued questionnaires to sector employees, resulting in a 55.9% response rate. Data analysis was conducted using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with AMOS software. The model exhibited a superior fit (χ2/DF = 2.659, RMSEA = 0.059, TLI = 0.925, CFI = 0.934). Research indicates that digital leadership has a substantial impact on employee performance, employee motivation, and digital self-efficacy. Both employee motivation and digital self-efficacy were found to significantly partially mediate the relationships between various dimensions of digital leadership and employee performance. Digital leadership dimensions explained 44.3% of the variance in employee motivation, 24.2% of the variance in digital self-efficacy, and jointly (via mediators) represented 28.5% of the variance in employee performance. These results highlight the essential need to cultivate digital leadership skills and improve employee digital readiness and motivation to optimize performance in digitally evolving sectors such as the Egyptian petrochemicals industry. The study offers both theoretical and practical contributions by integrating digital leadership into the dynamic capabilities framework and providing empirical evidence from the Egyptian petrochemicals sector. The findings highlight digital leadership’s critical role in fostering adaptability, innovation, and employee performance, enabling organizations to thrive during digital transformation.