Assessing the impact of employee-centric digital transformation initiatives on job performance: the mediating role of digital empowerment

Abstract

Background: The wave of digital disruption has been experienced across different industries in the fourth industrial revolution, altering processes and procedures as well strategies of many industries.

Purpose - As businesses strive to attain supremacy in their respective industries, reliance on technology has become an inevitable tool for sustainability and competitive advantage. Firms are employing novel business strategies and streamlining their operations by adapting to technology in order to transform digitally. Based on the theory of structural empowerment, we assess, from employees’ perspective, the efficacy of key employee-centric digital transformation initiatives, namely, digital skills training and access to digital platforms on employees’ performance through the mediating role of employee digital empowerment.

Design/methodology/approach - Survey data was collected from a sample 214 employees and their 89 direct supervisors across four banking institutions in China for the purpose of this study. Correlation and regression analysis were conducted to test the hypotheses.

Findings - The result of the study showed support for the positive impact of both digital skills training and employees’ access to digital platforms at the workplace on job performance and also for the mediating role of employee digital empowerment. This study contributes to the empowerment literature by identifying key structural empowerment initiatives in an organization that enhance employee digital empowerment and performance at the workplace as firms transform digitally.

Practical implications - The results of the study suggest that firms should view digital transformation as an employee empowerment tool which, when implemented properly, could help enhance employees’ performance and the overall organizational goal achievement potentials. Hence, organizations should align their digital transformation strategy with the needs of its human resource in order to ensure overall success of such transformations.

Limitations/future research – The study focuses on the banking sector only. Further research could focus on other industries that are equally affected by the waves of digital disruptions.