Recent Research and Developments of Digitalization Transformation and innovation in Businesses

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the business environment has been characterised by the emergence of a different set of digital infrastructures, platforms, and technologies that have changed the way people live and work (Jafari-Sadeghi et al., 2021; Rezaei et al., 2020). This has been boosted by the current trends of automation of manufacturing, applying innovative business practices, and employing advanced technologies in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0). Therefore, the “digitalisation transformation” is employed to highlight the disruptive and transformational implications of the latest digital technologies for businesses (Matt et al., 2016).

Literature has tried to investigate the role of innovation and digitalisation transformation in various fields, such as business models and performance (Garousi Mokhtarzadeh, Amoozad Mahdiraji, Jafari-Sadeghi, et al., 2020; Garousi Mokhtarzadeh, Amoozad Mahdiraji, Jafarpanah, et al., 2020; Hinterhuber & Nilles, 2021; Kotarba, 2018; Sukumar et al., 2020), entrepreneurship (Jafari Sadeghi & Biancone, 2018), healthcare (Rezaei et al., 2021), etc. However, there is little known still about the extent to which businesses employ innovative digital strategies to survive and grow in the intricate business environment. For this reason, this Special Issue aims to disentangle specific digital resources, dynamic capabilities, innovative strategies, etc. which are crucial for successful digital transformation in a different type of businesses, such as (but not limited to) entrepreneurial businesses, digital start-ups, innovative international new ventures, etc.

We encourage conceptual and empirical papers using a diverse range of methods (either qualitative or quantitative). In particular, research papers bridging the gap between theoretical conceptions and practical insights are highly welcome. As such, this Special Issue focuses on research on digital innovation and strategies, digitalisation, and digital transformation and calls for is but not limited to the below themes:

• Digital innovation and strategies and value creation;
• External (e.g., institutions, infrastructure) and internal (e.g., unique resources, dynamic capabilities) factors of digitalisation transformation;
• Key drivers and main outcomes of digitalisation transformation and innovation for businesses;
• Effect of digitalisation transformation in firm internationalisation;
• Digitalisation transformation in small firms;
• Digital entrepreneurship and new venture creation;
• Digital supply chain transformation;
• Decision-making processes for digital transformation;
• Decision analytics and decision-making frameworks towards digitalisation;
• New business models and transformation within key industries;
• Individual- and firm-level motivations towards digitalisation transformation;
• Managerial characteristics and for digital transformation.

References

Garousi Mokhtarzadeh, N., Amoozad Mahdiraji, H., Jafari-Sadeghi, V., Soltani, A., & Abbasi Kamardi, A. (2020). A product-technology portfolio alignment approach for food industry : A multi-criteria decision making with z-numbers. British Food Journal, 122(12), 3947–3967. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-02-2020-0115

Garousi Mokhtarzadeh, N., Amoozad Mahdiraji, H., Jafarpanah, I., Jafari-Sadeghi, V., & Cardinali, S. (2020). Investigating the impact of networking capability on firm innovation performance: using the resource-action-performance framework. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 21(6), 1009–1034. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-01-2020-0005

Hinterhuber, A., & Nilles, M. (2021). Digital transformation, the holy greail and the disruption of business models. Business Horizons.

Jafari-Sadeghi, V., Garcia-Perez, A., Candelo, E., & Couturier, J. (2021). Exploring the impact of digital transformation on technology entrepreneurship and technological market expansion : The role of technology readiness , exploration and exploitation. Journal of Business Research, 124(2021), 100–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.11.020

Jafari Sadeghi, V., & Biancone, P. Pietro. (2018). How micro, small and medium-sized enterprises are driven outward the superior international trade performance? A multidimensional study on Italian food sector. Research in International Business and Finance, 45(October 2018), 597–606. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2017.07.136

Kotarba, M. (2018). Digital transformation of business models. Foundations of Management, 10(1), 123–142.

Matt, C., Hess, T., Benlian, A., & Wiesbock, F. (2016). Options for formulating a digital transformation strategy. MIS Quarterly Executive, 15(2), 6.

Rezaei, M., Jafari-Sadeghi, V., & Bresciani, S. (2020). What Drives the Process of Knowledge Management in a Cross-Cultural Setting: The Impact of Social Capital. European Business Review, 32(3), 485–511. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-06-2019-0127

Rezaei, M., Jafari-Sadeghi, V., Cao, D., & Amoozad Mahdiraji, H. (2021). Key indicators of ethical challenges in digital healthcare: A combined Delphi exploration and confirmative factor analysis approach with evidence from Khorasan province in Iran. Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 167(2021), 120724. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.120724

Sukumar, A., Jafari-Sadeghi, V., Garcia-Perez, A., & Dutta, D. K. (2020). The potential link between corporate innovations and corporate competitiveness: evidence from IT firms in the UK. Journal of Knowledge Management, 24(5), 965–983. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-10-2019-0590

Dr. Vahid Jafari-Sadeghi
Dr. Hannan Amoozad Mahdiraji
Guest Editors

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