Towards a Novel Framework of Barriers and Drivers for Digital Transformation in Industrial Supply Chains

Abstract

Businesses across all sectors are facing the complexity of an increasingly digital economy. Digital transformation offers vast opportunities to businesses and entire supply chains. While many investments are targeted at the organization level, the supply chain perspective can lead to even greater impacts on business performance. However, as supply chains involve interconnections between multiple actors, comprehensive digitalization initiatives at this level are very complex. Several strategic factors affect decision-making around digital investments. For this reason, a framework that categorizes all these factors is needed in order to help managers build digitalization strategies for their supply chains.In this paper, based on a review of existing literature, we give indications for a framework encompassing barriers to and drivers for digital transformation in the context of industrial supply chains. Our framework preliminarily allocates these factors by using two dimensions. The first one classifies them using several categories: financial, knowledge and skills, regulatory, technological, market, organizational, and cultural. The second dimension classifies determinants at the level on which actions can be made, i.e. market, supply chain, or organization. The framework can support organizations to exploit the opportunities provided by digitalization of supply chains and will help managers understand the complexity involved.

The impact of knowledge management on the digital supply chain – a bibliometric literature review

“…(2021) suggest that in the construction industry the integration between Building Information Modeling systems and Industry 4.0 solutions is essential for future research opportunities, with the goal of advancing the DSC technology in a sustainable environment. By contrast, Lammers et al. (2019) and Dolgui et al .…”

“…For example, Yevu et al (2021) suggest that in the construction industry the integration between Building Information Modeling systems and Industry 4.0 solutions is essential for future research opportunities, with the goal of advancing the DSC technology in a sustainable environment. By contrast, Lammers et al (2019) and Dolgui et al (2020) both provide useful contributions to business managers for deciphering opportunities and especially barriers in the transformation from the traditional SC to the DSC, suggesting practical achievements at the organizational, IJPDLM 53,5/6 technological and managerial levels in terms of decision support systems to incentivize progress towards the DSC.…”

Türki̇ye’deki̇ Şi̇rketler İçi̇n Di̇ji̇tal Dönüşüm Önündeki̇ Engelleri̇n Araştirilmasi

“…In an another study the barriers to digital transformation are identifed on the basis of interviews with forty-six experts from various industries, where the barriers are grouped into missing skills, technical barriers, individual barriers, organizational and environmental barriers related to a sociotechnical approach (Vogelsang, Liere-Netheler and Pachmohr, 2019). Another framework of barriers to digital transformation consisting of financial, knowledge & skills, regulatory, technological, environmental, organizational and cultural barriers has been developed based on a comprehensive literature review (Lammers, Tomidei and Trianni, 2019). Kutnjak (2021) show the frequencies of following barriers to digital transformation: difficulties in misunderstanding and mistrust in digital transformation, lack of standards, lack of a coordinated digital strategy.…”

“…One of major organizational barrier is represented by financial factors: High costs of digital transformation need to be financed. Lack of financial resources make it difficult to carry out digital transformation projects (Lammers et al,2019). Since digital transformation is a complex project, it will take time.…”

“…The last barriers identified in the framework are environmental. Standards or norms for digital transformation help companies in the implementation of digital transformation projects (Lammers et al,2019). According regulations and laws support also the digitalization in companies (Raj, 2020;Vogelsang et al, 2019).…”