The Impact of Digital Leadership on Employee Performance in Guangdong Civil Engineering Construction Enterprises The Mediating Role of Psychological Safety
Keywords:
civil engineering construction, digital leadership, employee performance, Guangdong, psychological safetyAbstract
Digital transformation in civil engineering depends on technology adoption, leadership, and interpersonal conditions that allow employees to learn, speak up, and experiment. This study examines relationships among digital leadership, psychological safety, and employee performance in privately owned civil engineering construction enterprises in Guangdong Province, China. Drawing on Job Demands-Resources theory, it tests whether digital leadership is associated with performance directly and indirectly through psychological safety. A quantitative cross-sectional survey produced 484 valid responses. SPSS 29.0 supported preliminary screening and descriptive analysis, while SmartPLS 4.1 assessed the measurement and structural models using 5,000 bootstrap resamples. The measures demonstrated strong reliability and convergent validity: Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.926 to 0.933, composite reliability from 0.940 to 0.945, and average variance extracted from 0.612 to 0.694. Digital leadership was positively associated with psychological safety (beta = 0.276, p < .001) and employee performance (beta = 0.215, p < .001), while psychological safety was positively associated with employee performance (beta = 0.236, p < .001). The indirect effect through psychological safety was significant (beta = 0.065, p < .001), indicating partial mediation. Construction enterprises can improve digital-transformation outcomes by developing leaders who combine digital competence with empowerment, feedback, and non-punitive communication.References
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