Digital leadership, technological infrastructure, and digital readiness as determinants of employee performance in the telecommunications industry
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35335/ijafibs.v14i1.484Keywords:
Digital Leadership, Digital Readiness, Employee Performance, Telecommunications Industry, Technological InfrastructureAbstract
Digital transformation has intensified the need for high-performing employees in the telecommunications industry. This study examines the effects of digital leadership, technological infrastructure, and digital readiness on employee performance. A quantitative explanatory design was employed using survey data from 182 employees in the telecommunications sector. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings show that digital leadership, technological infrastructure, and digital readiness have positive and significant effects on employee performance. Among these predictors, digital readiness has the strongest effect, indicating that employees’ ability, confidence, and adaptability in using digital technologies are critical for improving performance in digitally intensive work environments. The study contributes to digital transformation and employee performance literature by offering a socio-technical explanation of how leadership capability, technological support, and individual digital readiness jointly shape employee performance. Practically, the findings suggest that telecommunications companies should not only invest in technological infrastructure but also strengthen digital leadership and continuously develop employees’ digital readiness through training, coaching, and adaptive digital work systems.
References
Anja Abendroth & Mareike Reimann. (2023). Organisational inhibition and promotion of flexible working in digitalised work environments. New Technology Work and Employment. https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12275
Anwar, S., & Saraih, U. N. (2024). Digital leadership in the digital era of education: Enhancing knowledge sharing and emotional intelligence. International Journal of Educational Management, 38(6), 1581–1611. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-11-2023-0540
Aránega, A., Montesinos, C., & ... (2023). Towards an entrepreneurial leadership based on kindness in a digital age. Journal of Business …, (Query date: 2025-09-21 03:31:48). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296323001054
Asraf, A., Erwanto, E., Malihah, L., Yakin, I., & Suryani, N. K. (2024). The Influence of Self Efficacy and Workload on Work on Employee Performance. JURNAL ILMIAH EDUNOMIKA, 8(1).
Asraf, A., Lutfi, L. M. K., & Qadri, M. N. (2025). Transformational Leadership Style in Human Resource Management: A Case Study in a Multinational Company. Jurnal Ilmiah Manajemen Kesatuan, 13(2), 767–776.
Asraf, A., Nabila, M., Bagea, A., Sahili, L., & Abbas, B. (2023). Effect of Work Environment, Motivation and Job Satisfaction on Employee Performance at PT. Dua Tiga Sejahtera. Journal of Business Management and Economic Development, 1(03), 420–463.
Avolio, B. J., Kahai, S., & Dodge, G. E. (2000). E-leadership: Implications for theory, research, and practice. The Leadership Quarterly, 11(4), 615–668. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1048-9843(00)00062-X
Chatterjee, S., Chaudhuri, R., Vrontis, D., & Basile, G. (2023). Digital workplace and organization performance: Moderating role of digital leadership capability. Journal of Innovation and Knowledge, 8(1), 100334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2023.100334
Chen, C.-T. (2024). Atmospherics fosters customer loyalty: Exploring the mediating effects of memorable customer experience and customer satisfaction in factory outlet malls in Taiwan. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 80, 103936. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.103936
Cortellazzo, L., Bruni, E., & Zampieri, R. (2019). The role of leadership in a digitalized world: A review. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1938. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01938
Hair Jr., J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M., Danks, N. P., & Ray, S. (2021). Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) Using R. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80519-7
Hair, N., Akdevelioglu, D., & Clark, M. (2023). The philosophical and methodological guidelines for ethical online ethnography. International Journal of …, (Query date: 2025-09-20 21:36:50). https://doi.org/10.1177/14707853221137459
Höyng, M., & Lau, A. (2023). Being ready for digital transformation: How to enhance employees’ digital readiness. Journal of Innovation and Knowledge, 8(4), 100410. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2023.100410
HUTAPEA, J., NIMRAN, U., IQBAL, M., & ... (2021). Organizational change readiness, service innovation, and corporate image in improving competitiveness: A case study in Indonesia. … Journal of Asian Finance …, (Query date: 2025-10-06 05:05:40). https://www.academia.edu/download/111127408/JAKO202106438543504.pdf
Nadia Zahoor, Anastasios Zopiatis, Samuel Adomako, & Grigorios Lamprinakos. (2023). The micro-foundations of digitally transforming SMEs: How digital literacy and technology interact with managerial attributes. Journal of business research, 159, 113755–113755. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113755
Nora Hampel, Kai Sassenberg, Ann Scholl, & Lara Rebecca Ditrich. (2023). Enactive mastery experience improves attitudes towards digital technology via self-efficacy – a pre-registered quasi-experiment. Behaviour & Information Technology, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929x.2022.2162436
Parasuraman, A., & Colby, C. L. (2015). An updated and streamlined Technology Readiness Index: TRI 2.0. Journal of Service Research, 18(1), 59–74. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670514539730
Sean Newman & Shalini S. Gopalkrishnan. (2023). The prospect of digital human communication for organizational purposes. Frontiers in Communication, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2023.1200985
Trenerry, B. (2021). Preparing workplaces for digital transformation. Human Resource Management Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2019.100712
Verhoef, P., Broekhuizen, T., Bart, Y., & ... (2021). Digital transformation: A multidisciplinary reflection and research agenda. Journal of business …, (Query date: 2025-09-20 05:46:32). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296319305478
Vial, G. (2019). Understanding digital transformation: A review and a research agenda. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 28(2), 118–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsis.2019.01.003
Wang, J. J. (2024). The effect of Covid-19 on global supply chains. Dalam How to Conduct Qualitative Research in Finance (hlm. 251–269). Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781803927008.00025
Warner, K. S. R., & Wäger, M. (2019). Building dynamic capabilities for digital transformation: An ongoing process of strategic renewal. Long Range Planning, 52(3), 326–349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2018.12.001
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 International Journal of Applied Finance and Business Studies

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
