ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Higher Education
Impact of Educational Managers Competencies and Leadership Styles on Digital Transformation and Quality in Higher Education
Provisionally accepted
Adriana Elizabeth Ricartti Villagrán1,2*
Marko Antonio González Preza1José Alberto Pérez de la Cruz1Humberto Israel Rosales Ronquillo1,2Erik Iván Hernández Cosain1Imelda Shahar Bujanda Celis3
Alma Cristina Salas-Leal3Isaias Iván Briceño Rodríguez4
Melissa Fernanda Cupich Olivares5- 1Universidad Juarez del Estado de Durango Facultad de Medicina y Nutricion, Durango, Mexico
- 2CRUZ ROJA MEXICANA DELEGACION DURANGO, DURANGO, Mexico
- 3Univesidad Juárez del Estado de Durango Instituto de Investigación Científica, Durango, Mexico
- 4Universidad Juarez del Estado de Durango Facultad de Enfermeria y Obstetricia, Durango, Mexico
- 5Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango Facultad de Lenguas, Durango, Mexico
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This study examines the relationship between managerial competencies, leadership styles, and educational quality within the context of digital transformation in higher education. Although leadership and institutional quality have been widely studied, there remains a research gap regarding how educational managers' profiles influence organizational performance in Latin American universities. Methods: A non-experimental, cross-sectional, and correlational design was used. Data were collected from 161 participants (139 students, 12 professors, and 10 administrative staff) from a faculty of a Mexican university through stratified random sampling. A validated 127-item instrument assessed managerial competencies, leadership styles, and perceived educational quality. Statistical analyses included the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, t-tests, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation. Results: The findings revealed significant positive correlations between transformational leadership, competence-based management, and perceived quality indicators, confirming consistent patterns across all participant groups. Discussion: Results highlight the influence of leadership centered on human and technological development as a key driver of educational innovation and institutional performance. Conclusion: The study contributes contextualized evidence from Mexico and offers practical implications for higher education policymakers and administrators seeking to enhance leadership training and digital transformation within universities.
Keywords: digital transformation, educational managers, Educational Quality, higher education, Leadership styles, Technology implementaion
Received: 07 Sep 2025; Accepted: 19 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Ricartti Villagrán, González Preza, Pérez de la Cruz, Rosales Ronquillo, Hernández Cosain, Bujanda Celis, Salas-Leal, Briceño Rodríguez and Cupich Olivares. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Adriana Elizabeth Ricartti Villagrán
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