Digital transformation as an intermediary mechanism to enhance the quality of leadership performance in educational institutions: A multidisciplinary approach between digital human resource management and organizational culture

Abstract

This paper focuses on exploring how digital transformation mediates the relationship between digital human resource management, organizational culture, and quality of leadership performance among institutions of learning. It is based on the assumption that the adoption of digital tools does not necessarily improve the performance of leaders without an integrated institutional system that integrates digital HR practices, a change-friendly culture, and the use of data and technology to make managerial decisions. The research fills one of the gaps in the educational and Gulf research, as it offers an explanatory model on the connection between human, cultural, and digital aspects and leadership outcomes. The research design used was a quantitative explanatory cross-sectional design. The research used a structured questionnaire that was given to 268 top and middle leaders in educational institutions in the North Al Batinah Governorate in the Sultanate of Oman. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data. The results show that digital HRM and organizational culture explain 58 percent of the variation in digital transformation, whereas digital HRM, organizational culture, and digital transformation jointly explain 67 percent of the difference in the quality of leadership performance. Significant positive impacts of digital HRM and organizational culture on the quality of digital transformation and leadership performance are also manifested by the results. In addition, the relationships between digital HRM and the quality of leadership performance and the relationship between organizational culture and the quality of leadership performance are mediated somewhat by digital transformation. It can be concluded that the performance of leadership in educational institutions cannot be enhanced only by the impact of technology, but it is essential to align digital HRM with digital transformation of organizational culture and institutions. The research adds a transdisciplinary explanatory framework with potential to inform educational organizations aiming to enhance the quality of leadership in the digital age.