Navigating Sustainable Value Creation Through Digital Leadership Under Institutional Pressures: The Moderating Role of Environmental Turbulence

This study aims to examine the role of digital leadership in mediating the relationship between institutional pressures (regulatory, normative, and cognitive) and sustainable performance (economic, social, and environmental) from an institutional perspective. It further examines the moderating effect of environmental turbulence as uncertainty rises. Using a sample of 508 Chinese listed firms, this research empirically investigates the mediating role of digital leadership between institutional pressures and sustainable performance. Additionally, it outlines the moderating influence of environmental turbulence between institutional pressure and digital leadership, as well as between digital leadership and sustainable performance. Our findings indicate that enhanced digital leadership under institutional pressures can boost sustainable performance. Moreover, environmental turbulence has been identified as a moderating factor that weakens the relationship between cognitive pressure and digital leadership, and between digital leadership and sustainable performance.