Digital skills, adaptive performance and sustainable employee performance: the case of social science graduates in an emerging market

This study aims to clarify the impact of digital skills on sustainable employee performance, emphasising the mediating role of adaptive performance among social science graduates as labour market newcomers in an emerging market, specifically Vietnam. Utilising a simple random sampling method, data were collected from 415 social science graduates in Vietnam. The analysis was conducted using partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings reveal that digital skills significantly and positively influence both adaptive performance and sustainable employee performance. Furthermore, adaptive performance positively affects sustainable employee performance and mediates the relationship between digital skills and sustainable employee performance. This research contributes to both theoretical frameworks and practical applications.