From Clicks to Care: How Digital Leadership Shapes Service Employee Well-Being

This study explores how digital leadership shapes psychological well-being among service employees in China, focusing on the mediating role of digital communication quality and the moderating influence of knowledge sharing willingness. Drawing on Social Exchange Theory, we develop and test a moderated mediation model using data collected from 308 service-sector employees across multiple Chinese cities. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed construct validity, and structural equation modeling demonstrated that digital leadership positively affects communication quality, which in turn enhances psychological well-being. Moderation analysis revealed that the relationship between digital leadership and communication quality is stronger when employees are more willing to share knowledge. Further, PROCESS analysis supported a significant conditional indirect effect, suggesting that the mediating path is amplified under high knowledge sharing willingness. These findings underscore the importance of employee disposition in shaping the outcomes of digital leadership. The study contributes to leadership and organizational behavior literature by integrating communication and knowledge behaviors into a relational leadership framework, with implications for improving well-being in digitally intensive service settings.