Today’s digitalized business atmosphere places significant emphasis on digital leadership, as digital transformation can only be successful for leaders who are capable of overseeing the entire digitalization process. In this study, we examine the employee-level outputs of digital leadership in terms of individual creativity and employee performance. Based on the data of 348 employees and by using PLS-SEM, we find that (i) digital leadership is a significant antecedent of individual creativity, and (ii) individual creativity fully mediates the relationship between digital leadership and employee performance. When digital leadership abilities are a matter of concern, it becomes necessary to mention the importance of generational differences between those leaders, as OB studies also underline the generational differences toward new technologies. Hence, we also conducted a multigroup analysis (MGA) to determine if those interrelationships among digital leadership, individual creativity, and employee performance differ due to the generations of the managers. Surprisingly, the MGA results reveal minor differences. The findings of this study highlight the importance of embracing digital leadership in fostering a creative and high-performing work environment and provide insights for organizations aiming to harness the unique strengths and talents of their multigenerational workforce. Digital leaders who foster a culture of innovation, adaptability, and open communication can inspire employees to think creatively and come up with novel ideas. By leveraging digital tools and providing a supportive environment, digital leaders can also enhance employee creativity and performance.

Digital technologies, which have made significant progress in the last two decades, have paved the way for the emergence of many new-generation devices, platforms and applications. The increase in the use of these technologies has transformed many activities in daily life and significantly changed the business world. The concept of digital transformation, which has become a popular motto for many companies today, has improved the interaction between companies and consumers and changed how companies do business, making the transformation necessary. Digital transformation in businesses can be partial (such as establishing new departments or marketing channels) or major (such as changing the entire business model). In any case, digital transformation is a necessity of the current age. Human capital is vital in increasing the firm performance of companies and gaining a competitive advantage against their competitors. Today, one factor that can improve employees’ task performance in digital economies is digital competencies. Therefore, having a certain level of digital literacy among employees is crucial for companies to achieve adequate performance in digitalization and beyond. From this perspective, this research aims to determine the effect of employees’ digital literacy on their task performance and firm performance. Investigation of this topic in the paper is carried out in the following logical sequence: First of all, the research presents the conceptual framework for digital literacy, task performance, and firm performance. The results of studies in the literature are presented, and the hypothesis development process is based on the research results. The subsequent section provides information about the study’s methodology and findings. Finally, the research concludes with the results and discussion section. Within the scope of the study, data were collected from 222 white-collar employees in Istanbul through online questionnaires. A convenience sampling technique was used to determine the sample. SPSS 25 and SPSS Process 2.13 package programs were used to analyse the data. The research results show a medium-level relationship between digital literacy and task performance, a medium-level relationship between digital literacy and firm performance, and a high and positive relationship between firm performance and task performance. According to the mediation analysis results, employees’ digital literacy positively affects task performance and firm performance. In addition, it has been determined that task performance plays a mediating role in the effect of employees’ digital literacy on firm performance. It appears that company managers should prioritize the focus of the «Reskilling Revolution Initiative», which emphasizes the transformation of employees’ skills to attain sustainable competitive advantage and enable digital transformation.

PURPOSE: Stakeholders such as consumers, nongovernmental organizations, and public institutions have increasingly pressured companies to adopt corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies. This trend has led to the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting into business strategies to achieve long-term competitive advantages and enhance financial performance. ESG reporting has become a critical tool for measuring corporate CSR efforts, contributing to the institutionalization of nonfinancial reporting standards. This study aims to determine how the adoption of ESG sub-dimensions affects the financial performance of companies in Turkey. METHODOLOGY: The study employed panel regression analysis on data from 21 companies listed in the Borsa Istanbul-100 index over the period 2011–2020 to investigate the relationship between ESG sub-dimensions and firm performance. FINDINGS: The findings indicate that adopting the environmental and governance sub-dimensions positively affects ROE and Tobin’s Q. However, the adoption of the governance sub-dimension negatively impacts Tobin’s Q while positively influencing ROE. No statistically significant results were found regarding the impact of ESG sub-dimensions on firms’ ROA ratios. IMPLICATIONS: The results of the research, based on the example of Turkey, are important to determine how companies’ social responsibility strategies in developing countries provide them with outputs in terms of environment, social and governance and whether social responsibility-based activities are truly sustainable strategy for companies in developing countries.The findings highlight the importance of considering the macroeconomic structure, legal system, and financial development of countries when evaluating CSR activities. The regulatory environment plays a significant role, as weaker legal protections can negatively affect the relationship between governance practices and firm performance. For practitioners, the insights suggest prioritizing environmental investments and carefully strategizing governance practices to align with investor expectations and regulatory frameworks. ORIGINALITY AND VALUE: By focusing on the BIST 100 companies, this study contributes to the limited literature on the role of ESG sub-dimensions in shaping financial performance in developing markets. This research provides valuable insights into how environmental, social, and governance practices specifically impact the financial outcomes of firms in Turkey, offering a nuanced understanding that can inform both academic discussions and practical strategies in similar contexts.

This study aims to determine the factors affecting the use of paperless technologies by university office staff and academicians. The study sample comprised 726 academics and administrative staff from 10 public and 3 foundation higher education institutions in Turkey. Care was taken to ensure that the selected universities had switched to paperless processes or that work was largely conducted through digital tools. When the path analysis results were examined, it was determined that performance expectation, effort expectation, and social impact positively affected the intention to use paperless technologies. In addition, intent to use has a mediating role on the effect of social influence, effort expectation, and performance expectation on actual usage of paperless technologies. Our hypotheses were supported. According to the research results, social impact, effort to be spent, and the performance of paperless technologies effectively encourage academic and administrative staff at universities to use paperless technologies.

İstanbul Üniversitesi Yayın Projesi