Sustainable Digital Leadership and University Teachers’ Sustainable Teaching Performance: The Mediating Role of Psychological Capital and Work Engagement
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Published in Vol. 1 No. 4 (2026) of Sustainable Management Review.
Sustainable Management Review (SMR) is a multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed international journal dedicated to advancing research on sustainable management and sustainable development across disciplines. SMR welcomes sustainability-oriented studies from diverse academic fields, including but not limited to economics and management, public administration, culture, education, sociology, communication, law, environmental studies, biology, chemistry, materials science, engineering, water resources management, and other STEM-related areas. The journal encourages scholars to examine the application, transformation, and development of sustainability principles from organizational, social, technological, ecological, and institutional perspectives, thereby providing theoretical support and practical insights for more responsible, resilient, and future-oriented models of management and development.
ISSN3106-5805 eISSN3106-5813
About the JournalAbstract
Digital transformation has reshaped higher education and increased the need for sustainable teaching performance. This study examines the relationship between digital leadership and university teachers’ sustainable teaching performance and explores the mediating roles of psychological capital and work engagement. Based on data from 376 university teachers in China, structural equation modeling with bootstrap analysis was conducted to test the proposed serial mediation model. The results showed that digital leadership significantly enhanced sustainable teaching performance. Moreover, digital leadership positively influenced psychological capital, which further promoted work engagement and improved teaching performance. Psychological capital and work engagement both served as significant mediators, while their serial mediation effect was also supported. These findings highlight the importance of integrating organizational leadership, teachers’ psychological resources, and professional engagement in promoting sustainable educational development. The study contributes to sustainable educational management by revealing the psychological and motivational mechanisms underlying the influence of digital leadership on teachers’ long-term teaching practices.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Xinrui Ju, Huixin Yuan, Bingbing Yao, Yixin Yang, Zhaoyu Zheng
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