ABSTRACT

Industrial organizations are responding to new risks and opportunities originating from exponentially growing and disruptive digital technologies, by taking company-wide digital transformation initiatives. However, the key enablers of such digital transformation initiatives that facilitate operational performance outcomes in industrial organizations demand further investigation. Therefore, drawing on the sociotechnical system theory (STS), the objective of this study is to explore the digital transformation enablers and their impact on performance outcomes. Research data was collected from four leading industrial organizations that engaged in digital transformation programmes. Our results indicate that leadership, structures, and culture are the key enablers of digital transformation that help industrial organizations to achieve performance outcomes (i.e. collaboration, customer-centricity, and agility). By providing an empirically grounded integrated framework with future research propositions, this study contributes to the existing literature on digital transformation and sociotechnical system theory.

MAD statement

This article aims to make a difference by exploring industrial digital transformation in order to identify the key enablers and performance outcomes. We highlight the need for alignment and joint optimization of social and technical systems to effectively capitalize on the digital transformation initiatives. Moreover, we call for urgent attention to the development of leaders, as well as the further identification of supportive digital transformation leadership competencies. Competent leaders assume a central role in correcting outdated and invalid assumptions, conceptualizing new ideas, and reinforcing cultural values. Furthermore, we elaborate the necessity of cultural transformation in industrial organizations for impactful digital transformation. Lastly, our findings confirm the significance of organizational structure in digital transformation and simultaneously warn that too little is happening.

摘要

工业组织正在通过采取全公司范围的数字化转型计划来应对源自指数增长和颠覆性数字技术的新风险和机遇。然而，此类促进工业组织运营绩效成果的数字化转型计划的关键推动因素需要进一步调查。因此，利用社会技术系统理论 (STS)，本研究的目的是探索数字化转型的推动因素及其对绩效结果的影响。研究数据来自四个从事数字化转型计划的领先工业组织。我们的结果表明，领导力、结构、和文化是数字化转型的关键推动因素，可帮助工业组织实现绩效成果（即协作、以客户为中心和敏捷性）。通过提供一个以经验为基础的综合框架和未来的研究命题，本研究有助于现有关于数字化转型和社会技术系统理论的文献。

疯狂声明

本文旨在通过探索工业数字化转型来做出改变，以确定关键的推动因素和绩效结果。我们强调需要协调和联合优化社会和技术系统，以有效利用数字化转型计划。此外，我们呼吁迫切关注领导者的发展，以及进一步确定支持数字化转型的领导能力。有能力的领导者在纠正过时和无效的假设、概念化新想法和强化文化价值观方面发挥着核心作用。此外，我们阐述了工业组织文化转型的必要性，以实现有影响力的数字化转型。最后，