The Role of Digital Literacy in Supporting Performance Through Innovative Work Behavior: The Case of Indonesia’s Telecommunications Industry

Abstract

The so-called “fourth industrial revolution” that is developing at an exponential pace today is characterized by several new technologies, such as robotics, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Especially in Indonesia's telecommunications industry, there is a change in the use of telecommunications services with a greater need to provide innovative data services. This research aimed to investigate the relationship among transformational leadership, innovative work behavior, performance, and digital literacy (as a moderator of the relationship between innovative work behavior and performance). This illustrates how innovation in technology can serve as a core element to drive the competitiveness of a company, especially in high-tech industries. The role of innovation is becoming increasingly significant and can determine the survival and growth of a company. This study surveyed 230 managerial-level and above employees from three telecommunication companies in Indonesia. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed with LISREL to analyze the data in this quantitative research. The results showed that there was a significant and positive relationship between transformational leadership and innovative work behavior, innovative work behavior was also significantly and positively related to performance, and digital literacy significantly moderated the relationship between innovative work behavior and performance.

Keywords

• digital literacy
• innovative work behavior
• strategic management
• transformational leadership
• telecommunication industry