In the rapidly evolving digital environment, organizations face increasing pressure to adapt to technological advancements while ensuring long-term sustainability. This study was motivated by the critical need to understand how human resource (HR) leadership can effectively foster digital skills development to drive economic sustainable development. Recognizing that digital competencies are now essential for organizational resilience and competitiveness, this research explores the interplay between HR leadership, digital skills acquisition, and economic sustainable development. This study employed the SERVQUAL tool to assess gaps between employee expectations and perceptions across key demographic variables, including age, education level, and employment status. Data collected from 476 participants across several European Union countries underscore the significant influence of demographic factors on these perceptions. The findings reveal a high alignment between employee expectations and perceptions, reflecting the importance of HR leadership in bridging the digital skills gap. Moreover, this study highlights the necessity of integrating HR leadership practices to ensure that digital transformation contributes not only to immediate organizational goals but also to long-term economic sustainable development. This research provides valuable insights into the role of HR leadership in navigating the challenges of the digital era, ultimately offering a framework for fostering a skilled, adaptable, and sustainably oriented workforce.

This study explores how Human Resource Management (HRM) can help organizations to face the challenges of digital transformation, focusing on reducing digital inequalities and improving employee performance. As digital tools become more important in workplaces, many employees still experience digital exclusion, which affects not only their productivity but also their sense of fairness and inclusion, as well. To investigate these issues, quantitative research was conducted using a structured questionnaire distributed online to employees across EU-based companies. The data were analyzed through PLS-SEM, including IPMA and mediation analysis, to understand the relations between HRM practices, digital skills, and perceptions of organizational justice. The findings show that HRM strategies have a significant impact on bridging the digital divide, especially by promoting digital adaptability and supporting inclusive work environments. Inclusion was also found to mediate the relation between HRM and employee performance. This research offers practical suggestions, like using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to monitor digital participation and encouraging continuous learning. The study adds value by connecting digital empowerment with HRM policies in a way that supports both organizational efficiency and equality. Future research could focus on specific sectors or use longitudinal data to better capture how digital inclusion develops over time.

Nowadays, transactions carried out with digital currencies are increasing. Modern societies are asked to respond to growing challenges related to the management of digital currencies in their daily lives. However, due to the lack of digital skills of users, the management of digital currencies hides risks. To the best of our knowledge, the originality of the current research lies in the act of combining the concept of digital skills with the use of digital currencies. After all, the use of digital currencies is constantly increasing, which means that citizens should familiarize themselves with their use, an element that makes this study valuable for digital societies. Digital skills effectively contribute to the development of digital societies because they increase the employment of citizens, facilitate access to information, and contribute to the social inclusion of individuals through digital communication, while also increasing efficiency and productivity in the workplace. Also, the government and banking institutions can more effectively sensitize citizens to digital skills for more effective use of digital currencies. In this way, tax payments will be facilitated, the use of e-wallets will be safer, and e-governance will be greatly promoted, while the quality of banking services will be improved. The methodology of this study was based on the Digital Competence Framework for Modern Societies (DigComp) and was applied through a questionnaire completed by 443 respondents. The main objective was to evaluate their digital skills from the perspective of digital currency use. The analysis of the responses was carried out by using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The most important result from this research reveals that users of digital currencies are significantly capable of developing communication to solve everyday problems. At the same time, users of digital currencies mostly detect digital threats and effectively manage fake news without being affected by them. However, users of digital currencies consider that security issues are important, but only for transactions and not for their supporting functions. The study concludes with suggestions for improving the experience of digital currency users through individual actions, thus having a positive impact on the state and banking institutions.