The Role of Employee Engagement in Mediating the Effects of Digital Leadership on Employee Performance

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the role of employee engagement in mediating the effect of digital leadership on employee performance at the Human Resources Bureau of the North Sumatra Regional Police. This study employs a quantitative approach with a population of 115 employees. The sampling technique used was saturation sampling, meaning the entire population was included as the study sample. The research data consists of primary data collected through the distribution of questionnaires using a Likert scale. Data analysis was conducted using the Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) method with the assistance of the SmartPLS 3.0 software. The results indicate that digital leadership has a positive and significant effect on employee performance, with a path coefficient of 0.182, a t-statistic of 3.064, and a p-value of 0.002. Digital leadership also has a positive and significant effect on employee engagement, with a coefficient of 0.410, a t-statistic of 8.050, and a p-value of 0.000. Furthermore, employee engagement has a positive and significant effect on employee performance, with a coefficient of 0.563, a t-statistic of 10.287, and a p-value of 0.000. The results of the indirect effect test indicate that employee engagement positively and significantly mediates the effect of digital leadership on employee performance, with a coefficient of 0.231, a t-statistic of 6.462, and a p-value of 0.000. The R-squared value indicates that digital leadership explains 16.8% of employee engagement, while digital leadership and employee engagement together explain 43.5% of employee performance. Thus, enhancing digital leadership to foster employee engagement can drive improved employee performance at the Human Resources Bureau of the North Sumatra Regional Police.