Abstract:

The public sector has been undergoing a great transformation due to the VUCA environment. It comes with the challenges of how the civil servants will adapt to such an event in a fast-changing situation. Therefore, it demands that civil servants to demonstrate adaptive performance to cope with that. Previous studies of adaptive performance have found its significance in the private sector, but lacked evidence in the public sector. Drawing from the contingency theory, this study examines the effect of digital leadership, data-driven decision-making, and adaptive performance in the public sector. Using the quantitative method, a survey has been conducted to collect data from 105 administrative and diplomatic officers in three ministries at Putrajaya, Malaysia. This study provides support for our hypothesis that digital leadership is a good predictor of adaptive performance and that data-driven decision-making mediates the relationship between digital leadership and adaptive performance. These findings contribute to both theory and practice by extending contingency theory to the public sector context. It offers the development of a new model for enhancing adaptive performance in the public sector and suggests new leadership development training and strategies for organisations to be more effective and efficient in a challenging environment, and provides a better delivery system to meet public demands.