Digital transformation: a review, synthesis and opportunities for future research

Artikel

In the last years, scholarly attention was on a steady rise leading to a significant increase in the number of papers addressing different technological and organizational aspects of digital transformation. In this paper, we consolidate existing findings which mainly stem from the literature of information systems, map the territory by sharing important macro- and micro-level observations, and propose future research opportunities for this pervasive field. The paper systematically reviews 58 peer-reviewed studies published between 2001 and 2019, dealing with different aspects of digital transformation. Emerging from our review, we develop inductive thematic maps which identify technology and actor as the two aggregate dimensions of digital transformation. For each dimension, we derive further units of analysis (nine core themes in total) which help to disentangle the particularities of digital transformation processes and thereby emphasize the most influential and unique antecedents and consequences. In a second step, in order to assist in breaking down disciplinary silos and strengthen the management perspective, we supplement the resulting state-of-the-art of digital transformation by integrating cross-disciplinary contributions from reviewing 28 papers on technological disruption and 32 papers on corporate entrepreneurship. The review reveals that certain aspects, such as the pace of transformation, the culture and work environment, or the middle management perspective are significantly underdeveloped.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Journal: Management Review Quarterly ; ISSN: 2198-1639 ; Volume: 71 ; Year: 2020 ; Issue: 2 ; Pages: 233-341 ; Cham: Springer International Publishing

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Management ; Business Administration: General
• Subject: Digital transformation ; Digital disruption ; Technological disruption ; Corporate entrepreneurship ; Literature review ; Research agenda

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Nadkarni, Swen ; Prügl, Reinhard
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Springer International Publishing
• (where): Cham
• (when): 2020

Further information

• DOI: doi:10.1007/s11301-020-00185-7
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET