The association between digital leadership and VUCA -related psychological and cognitive dimensions among healthcare professionals: a cross-sectional study.

Authors

Gizem Şahin, Nurcan Coşkun Us

Published in

BMC health services research. Jul 11, 2026. Epub Jul 11, 2026.

Abstract

Healthcare organizations increasingly operate in volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environments, requiring leadership approaches that facilitate adaptation and resilience. Although digital leadership has gained growing attention, evidence regarding its association with VUCA-related psychological and cognitive dimensions, such as resistance to change, intolerance of uncertainty, cognitive flexibility, and ambiguity tolerance, remains limited among healthcare professionals.
This study examined the association between digital leadership and perceived VUCA-related psychological and cognitive dimensions among healthcare professionals.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 495 healthcare professionals working in three hospitals in Muğla, Türkiye. Data were collected using validated instruments measuring digital leadership, resistance to change, intolerance of uncertainty, cognitive flexibility, and ambiguity tolerance. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and linear regression analyses were performed.
Digital leadership was negatively associated with resistance to change (r = - 0.550, p < 0.001) and intolerance of uncertainty (r = - 0.547, p < 0.001). Positive associations were observed between digital leadership and cognitive flexibility (r = 0.466, p < 0.001) as well as ambiguity tolerance (r = 0.500, p < 0.001). Regression analyses showed that digital leadership was significantly associated with all examined VUCA-related psychological and cognitive dimensions.
Higher perceptions of digital leadership were associated with lower resistance to change and uncertainty intolerance, and with higher cognitive flexibility and ambiguity tolerance among healthcare professionals. These findings suggest that digital leadership may support adaptive responses in healthcare environments characterized by uncertainty and complexity.

PMID:
42436492
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 12 Jul 2026.

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