The Influence of Digital Leadership on Employee Performance at the Food Security and Agriculture Office of Binjai City

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of digital leadership on employee performance at the Food Security and Agriculture Office of Binjai City. The research adopts a quantitative causal-associative design to analyze the relationship between digital leadership as the independent variable and employee performance as the dependent variable. The study was conducted from September to December 2025 with a saturated sample of 40 employees. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed with SPSS version 25.0 through descriptive statistics, validity and reliability testing, regression analysis, and hypothesis testing. The descriptive results showed that both digital leadership (M = 4.45, SD = 0.49) and employee performance (M = 4.37, SD = 0.44) were rated above average, reflecting favorable employee perceptions. Regression analysis confirmed a significant positive effect of digital leadership on employee performance, with digital leadership explaining 58.5% of performance variance. Hypothesis testing indicated that every one-point increase in digital leadership contributes to a 1.197-point improvement in employee performance.The findings underscored the importance of digital leadership in enhancing productivity, efficiency, and engagement in the public sector. Practical implications include the need for capacity-building programs to strengthen leadership competencies and the alignment of employee development with digital strategies. Future studies are recommended to explore additional factors such as organizational culture and technological readiness to broaden the model.