The relationship between university presidents' digital leadership and lecturers' technology usage: the mediating of digital competence and moderating of gender

Abstract

In digital age, the goal of digital transformation of higher education cannot be achieved without effective presidents’ digital leadership, lecturers’ digital competence, and whether or not technology usage by lecturers consistently. However, the performance of presidents and lecturers in the digital environment still needs improvement. This research aimed to investigate the level of presidents’ digital leadership, lecturers’ digital competence and lecturers’ technology usage, determine the relationships between these three variables. Meanwhile, the research examines the mediating effect of lecturers’ digital competence, as well as the moderating effect of lecturer gender on the relationship between presidents’ digital leadership and lecturers’ technology usage. A quantitative correlational survey research was employed, and the data was collected through online questionnaires obtained from a sample of 442 lecturers of a total of 25 universities in Jilin Province. For the data analysis, both descriptive and inferential analysis approaches were used with SPSS Statistics 27.0 and SmartPLS 4.0. The research findings revealed that the level of presidents’ digital leadership (Mean=4.020), lecturers’ digital competence (Mean=4.037) and technology usage (Mean=4.050) were high. Presidents’ digital leadership has a positive effect on lecturers’ digital competence and lecturers’ technology usage. Meanwhile, lecturers’ digital competence has a positive effect on lecturers’ technology usage. PLS-SEM analysis indicated that lecturers’ digital competence mediates the relationship between presidents’ digital leadership and lecturers’ technology usage. But not all the dimensions of lecturers’ digital competence contributes to the mediating effect. Smart pedagogy contributes most, while professional growth and leadership does not mediate the relationship. Meanwhile, lecturer gender does not significantly moderate the relationship. The findings of this research offered implications for universities undergoing digital transformation. Including that relevant national policies with clear practical guidance, more targeted training programs for both presidents and lecturers. Conclusion, the research found that the presidents and lecturers are well-prepared for digital transformation, they must recognize the importance of their roles in this process, ensuring their active participation and commitment to fostering a digitally advanced educational environment.