Digital leadership, digital platform capability and digital business model innovation of start-ups

In the digital economy era, digital business model innovation is an important way for start-ups to participate in market competition and improve organizational performance. However, as the core driving force for promoting disruptive innovation in organizations, the mechanisms by which digital leadership can stimulate digital business model innovation remain limited. To address this gap, based on the upper echelons theory, dynamic capability theory, and business model innovation theory, a theoretical model is proposed to examine the impact of digital leadership on digital business model innovation. The study focuses on the mediating role of digital platform capability and the moderating roles of digital self-efficacy. Hierarchical regression analysis is applied to data from 376 Chinese start-ups. The results show that digital positively influences digital business model innovation. The relationship is fully mediated by digital platform capability. Digital self-efficacy moderates the relationship between digital leadership and digital platform capability and between digital leadership and digital business model innovation. This study contributes to the literature on digital leadership and business model innovation. It also provides practical insights for start-ups to achieve digital business model innovation and sustainability development in the digital context.