Impact of Servant Leadership and Digital Culture on Credit ‎Union Performance in Indonesia: Mediating Role of Innova‎tion Management

  • Authors

    • Jati Wahyono Agustinus Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia‎
    • Margono Setiawan Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia‎
    • Sunaryo Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia‎
    • Raditha Dwi Vata Hapsari Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia‎
    https://doi.org/10.14419/aeykvb91

    Received date: November 27, 2025

    Accepted date: February 6, 2026

    Published date: February 22, 2026

  • Servant Leadership; Digital Organizational Culture; Innovation Management; Organizational Performance; Credit Union
  • Abstract

    This study aims to understand how servant leadership and digital organisational culture influence the performance of Credit Unions (CU) in ‎Indonesia, especially those that have undergone digital transformation especially those that have undergone digital transformation based on ‎management policies. In addition, this study also examines whether innovation management acts as a link between leadership, digital organi-‎sational culture, and improved organisational performance. The study involved 236 managers from 10 Credit Unions that have implemented ‎digital innovations. The data were analysed using a quantitative approach to examine the relationships between these variables. The results ‎show that servant leadership does not have a direct effect on organisational performance, while digital organisational culture has a positive ‎and significant effect on organisational performance. Servant leadership influences innovation management, while digital organisational ‎culture encourages innovation. Innovation management was found to improve organisational performance and act as a full mediator in the ‎relationship between servant leadership and organisational performance, as well as a partial mediator in the relationship between digital or-‎ganisational culture and organisational performance. These findings emphasise the importance of strengthening digital-based organisational ‎culture and integrating innovation management into CU operations. Such efforts can improve member services and overall organisational ‎results. Further research is recommended to add variables‎.

  • References

    1. Agrawal, P. and S. S. (2017). Digital Economy and Microfinance. Paridnya. The MIBM Research Journal, Vol 5 Issue 1‎
    2. Aidla, A., & Vadi, M. (2007). Relationships between Organizational Culture and Performance in Estonian Schools with Regard to Their Size ‎and Location. Baltic Journal of Economics, 7(1), 3–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/1406099X.2007.10840438.‎
    3. Alayed, S., Adnan Al-Tit, A., Alashjaee, A., & Al-Ayed, S. I. (2023). Migration Letters the Effect of Digital Transformation on Organization-‎al Performance by A Mediating Role of Digital Innovation. https://doi.org/10.59670/ml.v20i7.4313.
    4. Albahri, O. S., Alamoodi, A. H., Deveci, M., Albahri, A. S., Mahmoud, M. A., Al-Quraishi, T., Moslem, S., & Mohamad Sharaf, I. (2023). ‎Evaluation of organizational culture in companies for fostering a digital innovation using q-rung picture fuzzy based decision-making ‎model. Ad-vanced Engineering Informatics, 58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aei.2023.102191.
    5. Al-Madadha, A., Al-Adwan, A. S., & Zakzouk, F. A. (2021). Organisational Culture and Organisational Citizenship Behaviour: The Dark Side ‎of Organisational Politics. Organizacija, 54(1), 36–48. https://doi.org/10.2478/orga-2021-0003.‎
    6. Alqarni, A. M. (2022). Journal Of Langguage and Linguistic Studies Hofstede’s cultural dimensions in relation to learning behaviours and ‎learning styles: A critical analysis of studies under different cultural and language learning environments. In Alqarni / Journal of Lan-‎guage and Linguistic Studies (Vol. 18, Issue 1). www.jlls.org‎.
    7. Bass, B. M., Avolio, B. J., Jung, D. I., & Berson, Y. (2003). Predicting unit performance by assessing transformational and transactional lead-‎ership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(2), 207–218. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.2.207.‎
    8. Benedetta, P. Di, Lieberman, I. W., & Ard, L. (2014). Corporate governance in microfinance institutions.‎ https://doi.org/10.1596/22059.
    9. Branch, S. G. (2018). An Assesment of Fiancial Soundness of the Credit UnionSector in the Bahamas (2008-2015).‎
    10. Brown, A. (1998). Organisational Culture. (2nd ed). Pitman Publishing.‎
    11. Carvalho, A. O. de, Ribeiro, I., Cirani, C. B. S., & Cintra, R. F. (2016). Organizational resilience: a comparative study between innovative and ‎non-innovative companies based on the financial performance analysis. International Journal of Innovation, 4(1), 58–69. ‎ https://doi.org/10.5585/iji.v4i1.73.
    12. Cheah, J.-H., Chuah, F., & Ting, H. (2017). PLS-SEM using SmartPLS 3.0: Chapter 13: Assessment of Moderation Analysis. ‎https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341357609‎.
    13. Daft, R. L. (2016). Management (Twelfth). Cengage Learning.‎
    14. de Waal, A., & Sivro, M. (2012). The Relation Between Servant Leadership, Organizational Performance, and the High-Performance Organi-‎zation Framework. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 19(2), 173–190. https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051812439892.
    15. Evangeline, N. (2021). Organizational Culture and Organizational Performance: A Review of Literature. International Journal of Advances in ‎Engineering and Management (IJAEM), 3, 361.
    16. Favalli, R. T., Gori Maia, A., & da Silveira, J. M. F. J. (2020). Governance and financial efficiency of Brazilian credit unions. RAUSP Man-‎agement Journal, 55(3), 355–373. https://doi.org/10.1108/RAUSP-02-2019-0018.
    17. Fundação, H. T., Cabral, D., Ferreira, H., Tadeu, B., Tasso, J., & Silva, M. (2014). Management Indicators and Measurement of Innovation: ‎Review of the Literature. In Business Management Dynamics (Vol. 3, Issue 10). www.bmdynamics.com‎.
    18. Gede, I., Kawiana, P., Komang, L., Dewi, C., Kadek, L., Martini, B., Bagus, I., & Suardana, R. (2018). The Influence of Organizational Cul-‎ture, Employee Satisfaction, Personality, and Organizational Commitment towards Employee Performance. International Research ‎Journal of Manage-ment. https://sloap.org/journals/index.php/irjmis/article/view/166‎. https://doi.org/10.21744/irjmis.v5i3.666.
    19. Ghormley, J. C. (2009). A Correlation Analysis: Servant Leadership and Participation by Volunteer Leaders of Credit Unions. A Disertation ‎Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership. Phoenix University.
    20. Glass, J. C., McKillop, D. G., & Quinn, B. (2014). Modelling the Performance of Irish Credit Unions, 2002 to 2010. Financial Accountability ‎and Management, 30(4), 430–453. https://doi.org/10.1111/faam.12041.
    21. Gregory Stone, A., Russell, R. F., & Patterson, K. (2004). Transformational versus servant leadership: A difference in leader focus. Leader-‎ship & Organization Development Journal, 25(4), 349–361. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437730410538671.
    22. Guillaume, O., Honeycutt, A., & Cleveland, C. (2012). Servant Leadership Trends Impact on 21st Century Business HDR-Aménagement du ‎territoire View project Leadership & Managerial Decision-Making in the Drug Enforcement Administration to Fight Narco-Terrorism ‎View project.
    23. Hamel, G. (2006). The Why, What, and How of Management Innovation. www.hbr.org‎
    24. Harrington, James. H. (2018). Inovative Change Management (ICM). CRC Press.‎ https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351248556.
    25. Ho, J. C. (2022). Disruptive innovation from the perspective of innovation diffusion theory. Technology Analysis and Strategic Management, ‎‎34(4), 363–376. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537325.2021.1901873.
    26. Hofstede, G., & McCrae, R. R. (2004). Personality and Culture Revisited: Linking Traits and Dimensions of Culture. Cross-Cultural Research, ‎‎38(1), 52–88. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069397103259443.
    27. Hunter, J. (2004). The World’s Most Powerful Leadership Principle. Crown Bussiness.‎
    28. Jackson, T. (2020). The legacy of Geert Hofstede. In International Journal of Cross Cultural Management (Vol. 20, Issue 1, pp. 3–6). SAGE ‎Publications Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470595820915088.
    29. Joseph, O. O., & Kibera, F. (2019). Organizational Culture and Performance: Evidence from Microfinance Institutions in Kenya. SAGE Open, ‎‎9(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019835934.‎
    30. Khin, S., & Ho, T. C. F. (2019). Digital technology, digital capability and organizational performance: A mediating role of digital innovation. ‎International Journal of Innovation Science, 11(2), 177–195. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJIS-08-2018-0083.
    31. Kilick, I. C. (2009). Organizational Culture in Performance Etkisi Ulgama. Nigde University.‎
    32. Kim Jean Lee, S., & Yu, K. (2004). Corporate culture and organizational performance. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 19(4), 340–359. ‎ https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940410537927.
    33. Luthans, Fred. (2011). Organizational behavior : an evidence-based approach. McGraw-Hill Irwin.‎
    34. Martínez-Caro, E., Cegarra-Navarro, J. G., & Alfonso-Ruiz, F. J. (2020). Digital technologies and firm performance: The role of digital organ-‎isational culture. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.119962.‎
    35. Nuryanto, U. W., Mz, M. D., Sutawidjaya, A. H., & Saluy, A. B. (2020). The Impact of Social Capital and Organizational Culture on Improv-‎ing Organizational Performance. International Review of Management and Marketing, 10(3), 93–100. ‎ https://doi.org/10.32479/irmm.9923.
    36. Ogbonna, E., & Business School, C. (1992). Managing Organizational Culture Fantasy or Reality? ‎ https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-8583.1992.tb00309.x.‎
    37. Omwanza, C. O. (2019). Financial Innovations and Fiancial Performance Microfinance Institution in Kenya: A Theoretical Review. Interna-‎tional Academic Journal of Economics and Finance |, 3(4), 32–46. http://www.iajournals.org/articles/iajef_v3_i4_32_46.pdf‎.
    38. Ong, B., Zhe, M., & Hamid, N. A. (2021). The Impact of Digital Technology, Digital Capability and Digital Innovation on Small Business ‎Performance. Research in Management of Technology and Business, 2(1), 499–509. https://doi.org/10.30880/rmtb.
    39. Rasyidi, A. F. Muhammad. , H. S. (2015). The_Factors_that_Influence_the. International Journal of Administrstive Science and Organization, ‎‎22.‎ https://doi.org/10.20476/jbb.v22i1.5425.
    40. Richardson, D. C. (2009). World Council of Credit Unions Toolkit Series. Number 4 PEARLS MONITORING SYSTEM by.‎
    41. Rönnbäck, Å., & Eriksson, H. (2012). A case study on quality management and digital innovation: Relationship and learning aspects. Inter-‎national Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, 4(4), 408–422. https://doi.org/10.1108/17566691211288386.
    42. Sekaran, U. and B. R. (2019). Research Methods for Bussines, a skill building approch . A.Jhon Wiley and Sons, Ltd, Publication.‎
    43. Setyawan, A. A. (2022). Effect of Quality Management Practices, and Digital Innovation on Organizational Performance Mediated by Com-‎petitiveness Strategy and Moderated by Industrial Collaboration at Vocational Colleges in Indonesia (Vol. 12, Issue 2). ‎http://www.italienisch.nl.
    44. Shah, N., Zehri, A. W., Saraih, U. N., Abdelwahed, N. A. A., & Soomro, B. A. (2024). The role of digital technology and digital innovation ‎towards firm performance in a digital economy. Kybernetes, 53(2), 620–644. https://doi.org/10.1108/K-01-2023-0124.
    45. Shettima, U., & Dzolkarnaini, N. (2018). Board characteristics and microfinance institutions’ performance: Panel data evidence from Nigeria. ‎Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, 8(3), 369–386. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAEE-01-2017-0006.
    46. Silva, A., dos Santos, J. F., & Neto, A. R. (2023). Performance of Brazilian credit unions: An analysis from PEARLS indicators. Revista de ‎Administracao Mackenzie, 24(1).
    47. Sumarwan, A., Luke, B., & Furneaux, C. (2021). Putting members in the centre: examining credit union accountability as member-based ‎social en-terprises. Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management, 18(2), 228–254. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRAM-11-2019-0126.
    48. Sumarwan, A., Luke, B., & Furneaux, C. (2022). Managing the Regulatory Space: Examining Credit Union Accountability to Government in a ‎Lightly Regulated Context. Social and Environmental Accountability Journal, 42(3), 140–159. ‎ https://doi.org/10.1080/0969160X.2021.1952886.
    49. Suwanto, D. S. W. A. (2022). Effect of Transformational Leadership, Servant Leadershi, and Digital Transformation on MSMEs Performance ‎and Work Innovation Capabilities. Central European Management Journal. https://doi.org/10.57030/23364890.cemj.30.4.71.
    50. Teguh, M. J., Noermijati, N., Moko, W., & Rofiaty, R. (2022). Exploring Characteristics of Digital Organizational Culture in Post COVID-19: ‎A Systematic Literature Review. Journal of International Conference Proceedings, 5(2), 38–51. https://doi.org/10.32535/jicp.v5i2.1669.
    51. Yıldız, E. (2014). A Study on the Relationship between Organizational Culture and Organizational Performance and a Model Suggestion. In ‎International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science IJRBS (Vol. 3, Issue 4). www.ssbfnet.com‎. https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v3i4.117.
    52. Zhen, Z., Yousaf, Z., Radulescu, M., & Yasir, M. (2021). Nexus of digital organizational culture, capabilities, organizational readiness, and ‎innovation: Investigation of smes operating in the digital economy. Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(2), 1–15. ‎ https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020720.
  • Downloads

  • How to Cite

    Agustinus, J. W., Setiawan, M., Sunaryo, & Hapsari, R. D. V. (2026). Impact of Servant Leadership and Digital Culture on Credit ‎Union Performance in Indonesia: Mediating Role of Innova‎tion Management. International Journal of Accounting and Economics Studies, 13(2), 269-277. https://doi.org/10.14419/aeykvb91