The Impact of Digital Leadership on Competitive Performance: Uncovering the Mediating Role of Affective Commitment in Pakistan’s Organizational Context

Abstract

Digital transformation has profoundly altered organizational competitiveness, rendering digital leadership an indispensable competency for contemporary enterprises. This research analyzes the influence of digital leadership on competitive performance, while exploring the mediating effect of affective commitment and the moderating influence of strategic agility within the organizational framework of Pakistan. Based on the Resource-Based View (RBV), the study posits that digital leadership augments organizational competitiveness by fortifying employees' emotional engagement and enhancing adaptive organizational capacities. A quantitative study design was utilized, and primary data were gathered using a structured questionnaire from employees in manufacturing, service, and technology-oriented firms in Pakistan. We used SPSS and AMOS to test the claimed connections on a total of 215 valid replies. The results show that digital leadership has a big and beneficial effect on how well a company does in competition. Furthermore, affective commitment is what connects digital leadership with competitive performance. This means that employees' emotional attachment helps turn leadership techniques into better results for the firm. The findings indicate that strategic agility enhances the correlation between digital leadership and competitive performance. This study enhances the literature by synthesizing leadership behavior, employee commitment, and organizational agility into a cohesive framework, offering practical insights for firms seeking to improve competitiveness in the digital age.