The Influence of Work Competency and Digital Literacy on Work Motivation in the Maritime Sector and Its Implications for the Quality of Generation Z Human Resources at PT McMOL Crewing International

Indonesia's maritime sector still lags its strategic potential, partly because it is unclear how to convert a growing Generation Z (Gen Z) workforce into reliable human resource (HR) quality. Prior studies treat work competency and digital literacy as separate levers, leaving unresolved which matters more when both operate together and how they translate into HR quality rather than motivation alone. This study tests work competency and digital literacy as joint predictors of work motivation and Gen Z HR quality, with work motivation as mediator, at an Indonesian LNG crewing firm. Grounded in McClelland's Three Needs Theory, Human Capital Theory, and Self-Efficacy Theory, 120 Gen Z junior crew of PT McMOL Crewing International were surveyed via census and analyzed with SEM-PLS using SmartPLS 4.1.1.8. All seven hypotheses were supported. Work competency most strongly drove work motivation (β = 0.517; p < 0.001), while Digital literacy showed a numerically larger total effect on HR quality (0.427) than work competency (0.387). However, this difference should be interpreted cautiously because its statistical significance was not separately tested. Work motivation partially mediated both relationships. The model explained moderate variance in motivation (R² = 0.464) and HR quality (R² = 0.486). The findings suggest that digital literacy is positively associated with perceived HR quality among the surveyed crew members in this maritime organization.