Digital Transformation: An Overview of the Current State of the Art of Research

Abstract

The increasing digitalization of economies has highlighted the importance of digital transformation and how it can help businesses stay competitive in the market. However, disruptive changes not only occur at the company level; they also have environmental, societal, and institutional implications. This is the reason why during the past two decades the research on digital transformation has received growing attention, with a wide range of topics investigated in the literature. The following aims to provide insight regarding the current state of the literature on digital transformation (DT) by conducting a systematic literature review. An analysis of co-occurrence using the software VOSviewer was conducted to graphically visualize the literature’s node network. Approached this way, the systematic literature review displays major research avenues of digital transformation that consider technology as the main driver of these changes. This paper qualitatively classifies the literature on digital business transformation into three different clusters based on technological, business, and societal impacts. Several research gaps identified in the literature on DT are proposed as futures lines of research which could provide useful insights to the government and private sectors in order to adapt to the disruptive changes found in business as a result of this phenomenon, as well as to reduce its negative impacts on society and the environment.

Digital transformation and the public sector auditing: The SAI's perspective

“…Organizations are called upon to “move away from traditional hierarchies and embrace leaner and flatter organizational structures which empower employees and allow greater agility and faster decision making” (World Economic Forum [WEF], 2016). Organizations usually create new roles such as chief digital officer (CDO) or chief information officer (CIO) to lead their organization's DT campaign (Kraus et al., 2021). The DT in the organizational dimension is closely related to the other dimensions such as culture, strategy, and technology.…”

“…It is a failure for an organization to invest in technology thinking it will add value without properly considering those who are to use it (Andersson et al., 2018). People here involve both the management and new roles such as CDO and CIO (Kraus et al., 2021). Leading DT does not necessarily mean neglecting the role of people or paying less attention to organizational cultures and other nontechnology aspects of DT.…”

The Importance of Digital Transformation in International Business

“…According to Kraus et al [8], digitalization is changing businesses worldwide because of globalization. In recent decades, the pressure for business has increased to change radically; the emergence of global businesses, such as Uber, Airbnb, among others, can be highlighted, which sustain their globalization through technology and the proposal of innovative business models.…”

Blockchain Enabled Digital Transformation: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Modern organizations are looking for solutions to increase competitiveness in the global market through digital transformation, which is inextricably linked with business requirements [1]. Digitalization affects organizational processes, commercial establishments activities, service providers, governments, and monetary institutions [2]. The wide dissemination of emerging technologies has led to process upgrading and digitalization is no longer a plain opportunity but a strict requirement for all organizations to satisfy business and societal expectations [2].…”

“…Digitalization affects organizational processes, commercial establishments activities, service providers, governments, and monetary institutions [2]. The wide dissemination of emerging technologies has led to process upgrading and digitalization is no longer a plain opportunity but a strict requirement for all organizations to satisfy business and societal expectations [2]. Thus, companies need an effective digital strategy to succeed [3].…”