Driven by the 4th Industrial Revolution, the aviation industry faces profound structural changes. This study investigates the impact of digital leadership on organizational performance within the aviation sector, specifically examining the mediating roles of digital culture, digital transformation, and digital innovation behavior. Based on an online survey of 270 aviation professionals, the results demonstrate that digital leadership significantly enhances all three mediating factors. Furthermore, digital transformation and innovation behavior effectively mediate the relationship between digital leadership and organizational performance. Conversely, digital culture acts as a supportive organizational context rather than a direct performance driver, as its formation requires considerable time. In conclusion, aviation organizations can achieve optimal performance when strong digital leadership actively drives digital transformation and innovation behavior.
Zhou et al. (Sun,) studied this question.