The study investigates the mediating role of a digital work environment in leadership and training and their influence on employee engagement and job performance in a higher education context. Quantitative approach with a sample size of 161 non-academic employees at ABC State University in Sri Lanka. The data collection was done through structured questionnaires. Regression analysis and structural equation modeling were used to test the hypothesized relationships. The results indicated that leadership and training were significant influencers of the digital work environment, which then influenced employee engagement. Employee engagement mediates between digital work environments and job performance, emphasizing the importance of transformational leadership and continuous training for effective digital transformation. The study is limited to one state university in Sri Lanka, which may affect generalizability. Future research could explore multi-institutional or cross-country analyses for broader applicability.
digital work environment, employee engagement, job performance, transformational leadership, training, higher education
Dinusha Gunarathna. Corresponding author. Chartered Qualified Human Resource Management Professional, Chartered Institute of Personal Management Sri Lanka (CIPM). Email: dinushpg@eng.pdn.ac.lk
Anuradha Iddagoda. Member - Chartered Institute of Personnel Management Sri Lanka (CIPM) Sri Lanka., Senior Lecturer, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka. Email: anuradhaiddagoda@sjp.ac.lk
Hiranya Dissanayake. Senior Lecturer, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka. Email: hiranya@wyb.ac.lk
"All authors equally contributed to the conception, design, preparation, data gathering and analysis, and writing of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
This work was not supported by any funding.
The author declares the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in writing this paper. In particular, the author used ChatGPT by OpenAI to aid in literature review organization, refinement of language, and formatting in line with academic norms. The author takes full responsibility in ensuring that research idea, analysis and interpretations are original work.
This paper is presented in the 2nd International Conference on Management, Education and Innovation (ICMEI) 2025
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Cite this article:
Gunarathna, D., Iddagoda, A. & Dissanayake, H. (2024). Digital work environment, employee engagement and job performance: A study of a state university in Sri Lanka. Management, Education & Innovation Review, 2(1), 48-64. https://doi.org/10.53378/meir.155
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