Digital Leadership and Organizational Learning for Sustainable Teaching Innovation in Higher Education: An Educational Management Strategy Perspective

Abstract

Digital transformation has become a central management agenda for higher education institutions seeking to improve teaching quality, organizational resilience, and long-term educational sustainability. However, the managerial pathways through which digital leadership contributes to sustainable teaching innovation remain insufficiently explained. Drawing on digital leadership, organizational learning, and sustainable higher education literature, this study develops and tests a conceptual path model linking digital leadership, organizational learning, faculty professional development, institutional support, and sustainable teaching innovation. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 300 university faculty members and teaching-related personnel who had experience with digital teaching tools. Composite-score-based path analysis showed that digital leadership positively predicted organizational learning, faculty professional development, and sustainable teaching innovation. Organizational learning and faculty professional development also significantly predicted sustainable teaching innovation and served as indirect transmission mechanisms. Institutional support had a positive direct effect but did not significantly moderate the organizational learning–innovation relationship. The findings indicate that sustainable teaching innovation depends not only on digital infrastructure but also on leadership-enabled learning processes, faculty development, and institutional support. This study contributes an educational management strategy model that reframes sustainable teaching innovation as an organizational capability shaped by leadership, learning, professional development, and support mechanisms.