New technologies and a permanently changing environment constantly confront companies with the challenge of adapting to new customer needs, disruptive innovation, and new competitors to survive on the market in the long term. For this purpose, the literature proposes the use of a digital business strategy (DBS) as an independent business strategy for the digital age, uniting IT strategy and business-level strategy, which have been considered separately until the advent of DBS.
By using the method of a systematic literature review, this paper has analyzed 33 relevant publications and identified critical internal and external factors to be considered in the process of development of a company’s DBS to ensure a successful digital transformation of the company. Furthermore, the findings were embedded in a conceptual model. In doing so, this paper contributes to the further development of previous research on the digital transformation of companies and places the development of DBS in its context.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Theoretical Basis
2.1 Traditional view on business-level strategy
2.2 The role of IT strategy
2.3 The emergence of digital business strategy
3 Review Methodology
4 Findings
4.1 Internal factors influencing DBS
4.2 External factors influencing DBS
5 Discussion
Research Objectives and Key Topics
The primary research objective of this paper is to identify and synthesize critical internal and external factors that influence the development of a company's Digital Business Strategy (DBS) to successfully navigate digital transformation. The paper addresses the central research question: "Which factors influence the development of a company’s digital business strategy for a successful digital transformation?"
- Theoretical foundations of traditional business-level strategies versus digital strategies.
- Methodological approach of conducting a systematic literature review to identify critical success factors.
- Categorization of internal influencing factors such as technical requirements, organizational structure, executive leadership, and knowledge base.
- Analysis of external influencing factors including customer behavior, partnerships, competitive dynamics, and environmental changes.
- Integration of findings into a conceptual model demonstrating the relationship between Digital Business Strategy and digital transformation.
Excerpt from the Book
Technical requirements and IT
In the literature review, we identified 17 paper (see Appendix 3. [2], [5], [6], [7], [9], [10], [13], [14], [15], [16], [18], [19], [21], [22], [23], [28], [30]) describing technical requirements, specifically IT systems or architecture, as critical internal factors for a successful DBS. For companies to develop their operational, dynamic and improvisational capabilities to improve business performance, investments in IT infrastructures and applications with a long-term vision (Kane, Palmer, Phillips, & Kiron, 2015a) are crucial and thus have a strategic function (Croteau & Bergeron, 2001; Hess et al., 2016; Mithas et al., 2013; Ritala et al., 2021). Some publications indicate, that IT should be understood as a core competence and take a more proactive and orchestrating role. (Becker & Schmid, 2020; Chanias, Myers, & Hess, 2019; Verhoef et al., 2021). Woodard et al. (2013) define the cumulative inventory of designs, that a company owns or controls as design capital. In the context of DBS, the most important elements of a company’s design capital are typically designs for digital artifacts, such as software components and data structures (Correani, De Massis, Frattini, Petruzzelli, & Natalicchio, 2020; Woodard et al., 2013) and their associated interfaces. These designs are sometimes referred to as the digital architecture of the enterprise.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: Provides an overview of the challenges digitalization poses to existing business models and introduces the necessity of a Digital Business Strategy (DBS).
2 Theoretical Basis: Explores the conceptual roots of business-level and IT strategies to define the emergence and necessity of integrated digital business strategies.
3 Review Methodology: Outlines the systematic literature review process used to gather and analyze the 33 publications that form the basis of this study.
4 Findings: Synthesizes the identified internal factors (e.g., IT, organization, leadership) and external factors (e.g., customers, competition) that influence DBS development.
5 Discussion: Derives core conclusions from the findings, presents a conceptual model, and discusses theoretical and managerial implications.
Keywords
Digital Business Strategy, DBS, Digital Transformation, Information Technology, IT Strategy, Strategic Alignment, Business-Level Strategy, Dynamic Capabilities, Digital Architecture, Organizational Structure, Competitive Advantage, Systematic Literature Review, Digitalization, Knowledge Base, Executive Leadership.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper systematically evaluates existing literature to determine the critical internal and external factors that drive the development of a company's Digital Business Strategy (DBS) during digital transformation.
What are the primary thematic areas covered?
The themes include the evolution of IT and business strategy, internal organizational requirements (structure, leadership, workforce skills), and external market pressures (competitive dynamics, customer behavior, ecosystems).
What is the research goal or main question?
The goal is to answer: "Which factors influence the development of a company’s digital business strategy for a successful digital transformation?" while providing a conceptual model to guide management.
Which methodology was applied?
The authors conducted a systematic literature review, analyzing 33 highly relevant, peer-reviewed publications selected through a rigorous multi-stage screening process (VHB-ranked journals).
What does the main body discuss?
The main body categorizes findings into internal factors (Technical Requirements, Organizational Structure, Executive Level, Knowledge Base) and external factors (Customers, Partnerships, Environmental Changes and Competition).
Which primary keywords characterize the paper?
The paper is characterized by terms such as Digital Business Strategy, Digital Transformation, Organizational Structure, IT Strategy, and Dynamic Capabilities.
How does the paper define a Digital Business Strategy?
It adopts the definition of DBS as the merging of business-level strategy and IT strategy to achieve competitive advantage, going beyond traditional IT support roles.
What role does 'Design Capital' play in the study?
The study highlights 'design capital'—the inventory of digital designs and architectures—as a critical component of technical requirements that enables competitiveness and faster market response.
How is the relationship between 'Digital Business Strategy' and 'Digital Transformation Strategy' distinguished?
The paper distinguishes DBS as the strategic vision (more long-term) and Digital Transformation Strategy (DTS) as the more operational, concrete implementation plan.
What are the key managerial conclusions regarding executive leadership?
The study concludes that leadership must go beyond delegation; it requires collective sensitization, commitment to change, and the ability to reconfigure resources dynamically to adapt to digital environments.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Anonym (Autor:in), 2022, Which Factors Influence the Development of a Companies’ Digital Business Strategy for a Successful Digital Transformation? A Systematic Literature Review, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1276245
