Cultivating digital culture: exploring the impact of digital knowledge management on employee performance in higher educational institutions

In today's rapidly digitalizing landscape, integrating digital culture and knowledge management systems (DKM) to enhance employee performance has become necessary for higher education institutions (HEIs). The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between digital culture, digital knowledge management (DKM), and employee performance in higher educational institutions (HEIs), with the main aim to address the gap by focusing on HEIs since their development must integrate aspects of both digital culture and DKM for successful operation in a digital age. A quantitative research approach was used to determine how digital culture affects DKM and employee performance. Adapted Questionnaires were used for data collection from 364 faculty members drawn from different universities in the Delhi/NCR region. A non-probability sampling method was used to reach these participants. The relationships between digital culture, DKM, and employee performance were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) through Smart PLS-4.0. The findings show a strong positive association (beta = 0.653) between a high level of digitization DKM. Also, a significantly positive association is shown between (beta = 0.516) DKM and employee performance. The results highlighted that higher educational institutes with a well-developed digital culture can have high levels of DKM adoption, resulting in increased employee performance. The study provides useful insights for HEI administrators and policymakers. When institutions understand that digital culture is key to improving DKM, they can apply various strategies, such as promoting digital literacy skills, encouraging collaboration through online platforms, and making technology resources available to develop an enabling digital environment. These findings imply that these initiatives will improve employee performance, thus enhancing higher education institutions' overall efficiency and competitiveness even as the learning space is increasingly digitalized. This research adds to existing scholarship by investigating the interrelationship between digital culture, DKM, and employee performance, which remains under-researched within HEIs.