Digital leadership, innovative work behaviour, and service quality in a selected South African government department

Abstract

The rapid digitalisation of the public sector has created an urgent need for leaders who can guide organisations through continuous technological change. Within this environment, digital leadership has become increasingly important for improving service efficiency, strengthening innovation, and enabling employees to adapt to evolving ICT systems. Although digital transformation is advancing across government institutions globally, limited empirical work has examined how digital leadership shapes innovative work behaviour and service quality in the South African public sector. This study addresses this gap by exploring these relationships within the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. Anchored in the Job Demands-Resources Theory and Social Exchange Theory, the research adopted a quantitative design and collected data from 161 employees using an online structured questionnaire. Statistical analysis included descriptive measures, correlation testing, regression analysis and mediation testing. The findings indicate that digital leadership significantly predicts employees' innovative work behaviour. The results further show that innovative work behaviour has a positive effect on service quality. A partial mediation effect was identified, demonstrating that innovative work behaviour strengthens the link between digital leadership and service quality. The study provides empirical evidence on the role of digital leadership in enhancing innovative work behaviour and improving service delivery outcomes. These findings offer practical implications for public sector leaders seeking to build digitally enabled, innovative, and high-performing work environments.