Causal effect between digitalisation and agility: the leadership mediating role

Abstract

Digitisation is an essential aspect concerning various academic fields and affecting practice. Digital contribution was the subject of multiple research streams. The present study seeks to examine relationships among digitalisation towards organisational agility through the mediating effect of leadership. To achieve the purpose, we conducted a quantitative study on 347 companies from the industrial sector. Data was gathered using a questionnaire survey. Based on structural equation modelling, the findings demonstrate that digitalisation is an important driver of organisational agility. The results confirm a positive mediating role of leadership on the verified link. The study highlighted that leadership is more than an individual behaviour. Leadership depends on the collective and it is dispensed across the entire organisation during the digital change management. The findings give original support for practitioners and academics. The study contributed to the knowledge field by providing empirical evidence and therefore a valuable knowledge repository about the leadership and its effect on agility in a digital world.