Digital leadership and employee creativity: exploring the role of digital literacy and learning orientation

Purpose Digitalization is transforming public services, making employee creativity essential for driving this transformation and enhancing the quality of service delivery. In this context, digital leaders can play a pivotal role in employees' development and creativity. This study aims to examine the direct effects of digital leadership on employee creativity as well as its indirect effects through digital literacy and learning orientation. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 300 employees working in public sector organizations in the United Arab Emirates. A quantitative method was adopted, and statistical analyses were performed. Findings The findings demonstrate that digital leadership affects employees' digital literacy and learning orientation. While the latter influences employees' creativity. Additionally, employee learning orientation mediates the relationship between digital leadership and employee creativity. Practical implications This study highlights the critical role digital leaders play in fostering a learning-oriented environment that enhances both digital literacy and employee creativity. Public sector organizations should invest in developing digital leadership capabilities and encourage continuous learning programs to promote employees' creativity, ultimately improving organizational performance and adaptability in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. This study provides practical recommendations for leaders, employees and human resource management (HRM) practitioners in the public sector. Originality/value Studies examining the associations between digital leadership, employee creativity, digital literacy and learning orientation in the public sector are sparse. This study not only addresses this research gap but also broadens the scope and adds evidence to leadership, management and HRM studies in the public sector.