Transformational Leadership and Employee Performance in Malaysia’s F&B Sector: The Mediation Effect of Digital Age Learning Culture

Abstract

As organisations increasingly operate in digitally driven environments, understanding how leadership translates into performance through learning-oriented cultures has become critical. Despite extensive research on transformational leadership and employee outcomes, limited empirical attention has been given to the mechanisms, particularly digital learning cultures that explain this relationship, highlighting a significant research gap. This study examines the mediating role of Digital Age Learning Culture (DALC) in the relationship between transformational leadership (TL) and employee performance (EP) within the food and beverage (F&B) industry in Malaysia. Adopting a quantitative research design, this study collected survey data from 151 employees in Malaysia’s F&B sector. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) via SmartPLS, both measurement and structural models were assessed for reliability, validity, and predictive relevance. Mediation analysis was conducted using bootstrapping techniques to evaluate indirect effects. The findings reveal that TL strongly predicts DALC, which in turn positively influences EP, confirming a significant mediating effect. The model demonstrates substantial explanatory power (R² = 0.629) and strong predictive capability, reinforcing the robustness of the proposed framework. In practice, the findings suggest that organisations and managers, particularly in digitally evolving industries, should cultivate a strong digital learning culture alongside transformational leadership practices to maximise employee performance. Policymakers and HR practitioners can also leverage these insights to design leadership development and digital upskilling initiatives. This study contributes to the literature by integrating leadership theory with digital learning culture, offering a novel explanatory mechanism that enriches the understanding of performance outcomes in modern organisational contexts.