Abstract
In the era of digital disruption, the cultivation of digital leadership and the construction of digital platforms have received high attention from a wide range of technological enterprises. However, their impact on the sustainable competitive advantage of enterprises is still unclear. Based on a knowledge perspective, this study develops a theoretical framework that links the digital leadership, platform digitization capability and sustainable growth. The findings from technological enterprises reveal that digital leadership has a positive and significant effect on sustainable growth. Platform digitization capability plays a mediating role in this relationship. Additionally, digital infrastructure investment as well as digital talent training and development positively strengthens the relationship between digital leadership and platform digitization capability. This study uses regression analysis and structural equation modelling to examine the underlying mechanism through which digital leadership influences the sustainable growth of technology enterprises, thereby expanding its application within the existing field of knowledge management. It provides a robust theoretical framework and actionable guidelines for both academics and technological business practitioners.
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The datasets used of this study is available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their efforts to help us to improve this paper.
Funding
This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing [Grant Number CSTB2022NSCQ-MSX0502].
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P.L. and Y.X. led study conceptualization, data curation, investigation, methodology, and initial drafting; Y.X. also secured funding and supervised the project. J.Y. contributed to conceptualization and data curation, acted as corresponding author. A. Z., L.A.A., Y.G., and J.Y. designed visualizations and explained the results; Y.X. and J.Y. managed ethics and informed consent. All authors contributed to writing original draft and reviewed the manuscript.
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Lu, P., Xie, Y., Zhou, A. et al. Promoting firm sustainable growth through digital leadership and platform digital capabilities in the digital disruptive era. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-45825-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-45825-2
