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|title=Design and Validation of a Framework for Sustainable Digital Transformation in the Context of Strategic Management
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3397/phd5.pdf
|volume=Vol-3397
|authors=Gianni Peter Pasqual
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==Design and Validation of a Framework for Sustainable Digital Transformation in the Context of Strategic Management==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3397/phd5.pdf
Design and Validation of a Framework for Sustainable
Digital Transformation in the Context of Strategic
Management
Gianni Peter Pasqual
Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Nibelungenplatz 1, 60318 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Keywords
digital transformation, digital business strategy, corporate sustainability, strategic management, design
science research
1. Introduction
Due to digital technologies’ unprecedented and disruptive impact, companies across all industry
sectors must adjust corporate structures, processes, functions and business models to stay
competitive [1]. The retail industry exemplifies the phenomenon of digital transformation
(DT), where established retailers, like Toys’R’Us and RadioShack, have succumbed to the rapid
rise of e-commerce giants like Amazon and Alibaba, ultimately resulting in their bankruptcy.
Digital technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), analytics,
big data and mobile devices are one of the main drivers for companies to engage in DT [2]. With
the widespread availability of those technologies, entry barriers into the market are fading,
decreasing the competitive advantage of traditional companies [3]. Besides rapid technological
development, sustainability has emerged as a significant concern due to the alarming rate of
environmental degradation, climate change, and social inequalities [4]. The need to balance
economic growth with environmental and social responsibility has become a pressing issue
across various sectors. Thus, the digital transformation strategy of a company can serve as a
central point to integrate and advance sustainability efforts [5].
2. Research questions and objective
This dissertation seeks to assist companies in realigning corporate structures, culture, and strate-
gies to compete in a dynamic, customer-centric environment driven by digital technologies. It
involves developing a set of principles, practices, and recommendations for organizations to
follow when implementing DT initiatives. The framework attempts to facilitate the adoption of
sustainable practices, align them with an organization’s strategic objectives and contribute to
its long-term success. The focal point of the framework is to empower companies to achieve
EMISA 2023: 13th International Workshop on Enterprise Modeling and Information Systems Architectures, May 11–12,
2023 – Stockholm, Sweden
$ gianni.pasqual@fb2.fra-uas.de (G. P. Pasqual)
© 2023 Copyright for this paper by its authors. Use permitted under Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
CEUR
Workshop
Proceedings
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CEUR Workshop Proceedings (CEUR-WS.org)
their sustainability goals rather than emphasizing a specific sustainable methodology. Using
design science research (DSR), the artifact will be the documented framework, consisting of
digital readiness, technology adoption and organizational culture as constructs. Models could be
sustainability frameworks or change management and technology adoption models, illustrating
the relations between the constructs. The artefact might be validated by applying process
modelling methods, most likely in the aviation, logistics or banking industry.
Research Questions (RQ):
RQ1: How can sustainability aspects be incorporated into digital transformation strategies?
RQ2: What methods and tools support the planning and execution of sustainable digital trans-
formation initiatives?
3. Relevance, related research and contributions
Even with enough financial resources at a company’s disposal, there is no guarantee for a
successful DT, as expressed by a 70% failure rate [6]. GE, for example, attempted a digital
transformation by creating a new business unit, GE Digital, and investing heavily in big data
analytics and machine learning. However, despite significant investment, GE failed to establish
itself in the new market due to its size, unattractiveness for talented personnel, targeting an
unrealistic time frame, inability to keep up with fast developments of smaller startups, and a
misinterpretation of the corporate culture [7]. GE is only one of many examples, as Kodak,
Blockbuster and Sears showcase. Besides the complexity of DT, many companies believe that
becoming more environmentally friendly will harm their competitiveness and profitability [8].
However, research shows that sustainability can lead to cost savings, increased revenue, and
new business opportunities. Early adoption of sustainable processes and practices can provide
a head start over the competition when guidelines become law [8].
3.1. RQ1
In contrast to IT strategies, concerned with the internal IT infrastructure, digital transformation
strategies (DTS) take a broad perspective on the business, focusing on transforming products,
processes and organizational structures affected by new technologies [9]. While businesses
must adapt quickly to customer demands, competitors and technological innovations, DTS is
responsible for defining goals and measurements that enable fast responses [10]. Since DTS still
lacks clarity [11], there is a need for active research on "[...] digital transformation strategies
across different industries [...]" [9]. Despite being complex and crucial for the success of digital
transformation initiatives, DTS can act as the central point for implementing sustainability
in various DT areas [5]. Even though digitalization has the potential to reduce waste and
help companies meet the expectations of stakeholders and consumers [12], there is an urge
for more literature on digital transformation and sustainability [13]. Research in this area
varies from the United Nations ESG goals [14] and technological implications [15] to factors
limiting sustainability in DT [12]. While there have been investigations on the implications
and opportunities of environmental sustainability, [4] stress that further research also needs to
consider social and economic sustainability. With the increasing use of technologies such as AI,
blockchain, and big data, there is the potential to disrupt traditional work structures and create
a separation of the human workforce [16]. RQ1 will contribute to the body of knowledge in two
ways. First, the research question aims to mitigate the vagueness of DTS [11] by identifying
parallels and differences across industries. Second, it points out the potentials and limitations
of incorporating social, economic and environmental sustainability into DTS, adding to the
increasing demand for sustainable DT [4, 13].
3.2. RQ2
RQ2 focuses on integrating sustainability-related aspects of RQ1 into existing tools that support
sustainable digital transformation initiatives. Dynamic capabilities and enterprise architecture
management (EAM) are common tools investigated in the context of DT. While EAM can be
a valuable tool to support the implementation of DTS [17], literature on EAM is still under-
represented as an instrument to steer DT endeavours [18]. In order to serve as a valuable
instrument of DTS, enterprise architecture management must expand its scope to include the
value-oriented mapping between digital strategies and business models [19]. As current EAM
practices and frameworks often do not act as a valuable tool to support the dynamic nature of
DT initiatives [19], dynamic capabilities enable quick adaptation to changing market conditions,
customer needs, and technological advancements. They involve the development of new skills,
processes, and technologies, as well as the ability to integrate these capabilities seamlessly into
the existing digital ecosystem [20]. Concerning sustainability, it is crucial to integrate envi-
ronmental, social, and economic aspects into digital transformation strategies while ensuring
they are adequately measured. However, these aspects can conflict with corporate interests
or with each other. Sustainable Business Models-Canvas can be a valuable tool for creating
new business models or adapting existing ones to incorporate digital technologies and promote
sustainability [21]. Measuring key performance indicators (KPIs) such as energy consumption
and carbon emissions, e-waste reduction, and social impact is essential. For instance, a company
could track the amount of energy consumed and carbon emissions generated during the digital
transformation process, monitor the amount of electronic waste produced and recycled, and
evaluate the impact of the transformation on society in terms of job creation, economic growth,
and access to technology [22]. By doing so, organizations can make informed decisions to
promote sustainable development while leveraging the benefits of DT.
4. Research methodologies
Design science research will be applied to develop innovative solutions to real-world problems
by creating artefacts that can be applied in practice [23]. The methodology emphasizes rigour
and relevance, meaning that the solutions must be based on a solid theoretical foundation
while simultaneously being practical and valuable for real-world problems [23]. In IS research,
this method already makes up a significant portion of publications [24] and has been recently
applied in digital transformation DSR [25]. The method will be used to create a framework that
is theoretically sound and applicable in practice. Figure 1 presents the conceptual DSR approach
for designing, executing, and evaluating a framework for sustainable digital transformation.
Figure 1: Framework for Sustainable Digital Transformation
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