People Powering Digital Transformation in the Public Sector: Cultivating Workforce Agility

Research suggests that the anticipated benefits of digital transformation are realised when organisations demonstrate dynamic capabilities-the ability to integrate, adapt, and reconfigure both internal and external resources. These capabilities enable organisations to meet the demands of today's dynamic technological, political, and business environment. One such capability is the extent to which employees can anticipate and effectively respond to significant internal and external changes. This phenomenon, referred to as workforce agility, has been recognised as a key determinant of how digital transformation strategies are planned and appropriately executed. However, a closer examination of the existing literature reveals that the relationship between workforce agility and digital transformation remains largely unexplored, particularly within the public sector context. Thus, this study set out to contribute to the limited literature on public sector digital transformation by focusing on organisational agility and two related constructs-organisational structure and transformational leadership. Employing PLS-SEM analysis on data from 392 public sector respondents, the findings offer empirical support for the significant direct influence of workforce agility and organisational structure in driving successful digital transformation. The results confirm that well-defined yet flexible organisational structures support the adoption of digital technologies and foster workforce agility, which in turn facilitates digital transformation. Furthermore, the study reveals that transformational leadership significantly strengthens the positive impact of workforce agility on digital transformation, highlighting its role in cultivating an environment where employees actively contribute to digital initiatives. Interestingly, however, the moderating effect of transformational leadership on the direct relationship between organisational structure and digital transformation was not statistically significant, suggesting that a robust organisational structure may provide a sufficient foundation for digital transformation, potentially minimising the additional direct influence of leadership on this specific link. The study's contributions to both research and practice are presented, offering nuanced insights into the interplay of structure, agility, and leadership in public sector digital transformation.