Harnessing Digital Transformation for Sustainable Performance: Exploring the Mediating Roles of Green Knowledge Acquisition and Innovation Performance Under Digital Transformational Leadership

The rapidly growing proliferation of digital technology presents unprecedented opportunities to address sustainability challenges in today’s manufacturing sector. This research examines the effects of digital transformation on sustainable corporate performance, focusing on the mediating roles of green knowledge acquisition and innovative performance. Grounded in new institutional theory, this research targets the Turkish manufacturing industry, employing a quantitative methodology. Data were collected via structured surveys from 332 middle and senior managers, representing diverse sectors, using purposive sampling. Statistical analyses, including regression and moderated multiple regression, were executed using AMOS and Hayes’ PROCESS macro. Findings demonstrate that digital transformation positively influences sustainable corporate performance. Green knowledge acquisition and innovation performance serve as significant mediators. Moreover, digital transformational leadership was found to enhance the relations between digital transformation and its mediators. However, limited leadership capabilities weakened these connections. This result highlights the significance of digital tactics with sustainable goals to achieve competitiveness with eco-friendly corporate practices. These findings significantly enhance sustainable performance by facilitating the acquisition of green knowledge and fostering innovation performance. The implications emphasize the necessity for policymakers and business leaders to foster digital leadership, enhance innovation capabilities, and promote green knowledge management as part of their organizational strategies. The research study investigating organizations can leverage digital technologies to achieve sustainable performance by actively acquiring green knowledge and driving innovation. This research introduces a novel distinction into the mechanism through digital transformation that can drive sustainability, thus contributing to a duality of academic literature and practical implementation in a period of rising ecological and economic difficulties.