Driving Performance in the Digital Era: The Mediating Role of Digital Transformation and the Dominance of Organizational Agility
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17509/image.2026.243Keywords:
Digital Transformation, Dynamic Capabilities, Higher Education, Organizational Agility, Organizational PerformanceAbstract
Keywords: Digital transformation, leadership capability, digital investment, organizational agility and organizational performance. Using the Dynamic Capabilities View (DCV) as a foundation, the research aims to identify what organizational capabilities enhance institutional performance in conjunction with digital transformation. This study utilized a quantitative explanatory method with a population of 185 students at private universities in Banjarmasin, Indonesia. Data were analysed with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) bootstrapping. The results show that the effects of digital investment, organizational flexibility and leadership capability on digital transformation are all significant effects but the strongest effect is from organizational flexibility. Yet, out of all the dimensions only organizational agility has a direct effect on organizational performance and an indirect effect via digital transformation. The impact of leadership capability and digital investment, does not directly add to organizational performance or indirectly through digital transformation. These findings show that organizational agility is actually the key capability by which digital transformation leads to improved organizational performance, and that neither technological investment nor leadership on their own are enough. The implications of these findings are developed and advance the understanding that higher education institutions can improve their digital transformation initiatives by strengthening organizational agility.
Downloads
References
Agarwal, V., Kaur, S., Raghu, N., Gupta, S., Zaveri, B., Sohal, J., & Shrivastav, A. K. (2024). Adoption of advanced systems for digital resource management in academic institutions. Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture, 913–923. https://doi.org/10.70082/esiculture.vi.1089
Al-Omush, A. M., Momany, M. T., Hannoon, A., & Anwar, M. (2023). Digitalization and sustainable competitive performance in small–medium enterprises: A moderation mediation model. Sustainability, 15(21). https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115668
Albannai, N. A. A., Raziq, M. M., Malik, M., & Abrar, A. (2026). Digital leadership and its impact on agility, innovation and resilience: a qualitative study of the UAE media industry. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 33(3), 717-735. https://doi.org/10.1108/bij-06-2024-0492
Budiman, M. A., Soetjipto, B. W., Kusumastuti, R. D., & Wijanto, S. H. (2023). Organizational agility, dynamic managerial capability, stakeholder management, discretion, and project success. Heliyon, 9(9), e19198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19198
Bygstad, B., Øvrelid, E., Ludvigsen, S. R., & Daehlen, M. (2022). From dual digitalization to digital learning space: Exploring the digital transformation of higher education. Computers & Education, 182, 104463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2022.104463
Chang, S.-C., & Gomes, C. (2022). Why the digitalization of international education matters. Journal of Studies in International Education, 26(2), 119–127. https://doi.org/10.1177/10283153221095163
Chen, A., Li, L., & Shahid, W. (2024). Digital transformation as the driving force for sustainable business performance. Heliyon, 10(9), e29509. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29509
Cuong, N. K., Ngoc-Long, N., Dung, H. T., & Hai, T. V. (2025). Digital transformation, organizational agility, and firm performance in emerging markets: Evidence from Vietnam’s machinery sector. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 23(3), 342-357.
Esteve-Mon, F. M., Postigo-Fuentes, A. Y., & Castañeda, L. (2022). A strategic approach of the crucial elements for the implementation of digital tools and processes in higher education. Higher Education Quarterly, 76(3). https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12411
Goraya, M. A. S., Kemal, A. A., Xu, M., Shareef, M. A., & Akram, M. S. (2026). Leveraging digital transformation strategy and data-driven decision-making to improve organisational performance in a hostile environment. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 126(2), 650-677. https://doi.org/10.1108/imds-10-2024-1039
Hart, P. F., & Rodgers, W. (2024). Competition, competitiveness, and competitive advantage in higher education institutions: a systematic literature review. Studies in Higher Education, 49(11), 2153-2177. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2023.2293926
Kemendikbud. (2020). Kebijakan Merdeka Belajar–Kampus Merdeka. Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia.
Kumar, R. (2022). Mastering digital transformation: The nexus between leadership, agility, and digital strategy. Journal of Business Research, 145, 636–648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.03.038
Le, L., Jeenanunta, C., Ueki, Y., Intalar, N., & Komolavanij, S. (2024). The role of managerial competencies in driving Industry 4.0 adoption. Sustainability, 17(1), 77. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17010077
Lee, O.-K. D., Xu, P., Kuilboer, J.-P., & Ashrafi, N. (2021). How to be agile: The distinctive roles of IT capabilities for knowledge management and process integration. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 121(11), 2276–2297. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-07-2020-0425
Li, Y. (2024). Exploration of digital transformation path of education management in colleges and universities in the internet era. Applied Mathematics and Nonlinear Sciences, 9(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.2478/amns-2024-0802
Martínez-Caro, E., Cegarra-Navarro, J.-G., & Alfonso-Ruíz, F. (2020). Digital technologies and firm performance: The role of digital organisational culture. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 154, 119962.
Michelotto, F., & Jóia, L. A. (2024). Organizational digital transformation readiness: An exploratory investigation. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 19(4), 3283–3304. https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer19040159
Motwani, J., & Katatria, A. (2024). Organization agility: a literature review and research agenda. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 73(9), 2709-2754. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijppm-07-2023-0383
Nwankpa, J. K., & Merhout, J. W. (2020). Exploring the effect of digital investment on IT innovation. Sustainability, 12(18), 7374. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187374
Pashkov, M., & Pashkova, V. M. (2022). Problems and risks of digitalization in higher education. Higher Education in Russia, 31(3), 40–57. https://doi.org/10.31992/0869-3617-2022-31-22-3-40-57
Russo, G., Nappo, F., Manzari, A., Cicchini, D., & Santis, S. (2025). Intellectual capital under institutional pressures: The role of digital transformation in shaping university processes. Business Process Management Journal, 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1108/bpmj-04-2025-0455
Teece, D. J. (2007). Explicating dynamic capabilities: The nature and microfoundations of (sustainable) enterprise performance. Strategic Management Journal, 28(13), 1319–1350. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.640
Teece, D. J., Pisano, G., & Shuen, A. (1997). Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 18(7), 509–533.
Timotheou, S., Miliou, O., Dimitriadis, Y., Villagrá Sobrino, S., Giannoutsou, N., Cachia, R., Martínez-Monés, A., & Ioannou, A. (2022). Impacts of digital technologies on education and factors influencing schools' digital capacity and transformation: A literature review. Education and Information Technologies, 28(6), 6695–6726. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-11431-8
Tran, T. P., & Meacheam, D. (2020). Enhancing learners' experience through extending learning systems. IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, 13(3), 540–551. https://doi.org/10.1109/TLT.2020.2989333
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, X., & Yan, Y. (2024). A study on the impact of digital transformation on enterprise performance: The mediating role of dual innovation and the moderating role of management power. Sustainability, 16(21), 9298. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16219298
Wu, W., Song, J., Lu, L., & Guo, H. (2024). Is managerial ability a catalyst for driving digital transformation in enterprises? PLOS ONE, 19. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0293454
Yang, L., & Gan, C. (2021). Cooperative goals and dynamic capability: The mediating role of strategic flexibility and the moderating role of human resource flexibility. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 36(5), 782–795. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-11-2019-0495
Yu, J., & Moon, T. (2021). Impact of digital strategic orientation on organizational performance through digital competence. Sustainability, 13(17), 9766. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179766
Yusup, Y., Subyantoro, A., & HC, R. H. K. (2025). Enhancing organizational performance through agility strategies: The mediating effects of green innovation and digital transformation. Asian Management and Business Review, 5(2), 349-365. https://doi.org/10.20885/AMBR.vol5.iss2.art7
Zhang, H., Ding, H., & Xiao, J. (2023). How organizational agility promotes digital transformation: An empirical study. Sustainability, 15(14), 11304. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151411304
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Syamsuddinnor Syamsuddinnor, Bambang Supriyadi, Hardiansyah Hardiansyah (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
