Managing dynamic capabilities and competencies for digital transformation

Résumé

In the so-called “era of Industry 4.0.”, digital transformation is transforming all areas of society and, as it could not be otherwise, also that of companies. Without a doubt, it is one of the research topics that is arousing the greatest interest in the literature on business management due to the shared concern that current business models could not work in the new scenario, and it is necessary to undertake profound changes in the way the current company is managed. Our work is based on the need that exists in the company to adapt its processes and products to the new scenario, characterized by the inclusion of greater technology, automation and innovation, and in which the common variable continues to be the creation of new organizational knowledge. for value creation. Although the importance of knowledge creation has been widely defended by previous literature during these last two decades, the demands derived from digital transformation processes are going to be even greater, introducing a greater expiration date and depth of useful knowledge and increasing the need to update essential organizational knowledge. Although ordinary capabilities will continue to be essential for the daily functioning of operations, the company will require new and different skills, processes, procedures, organizational structures, even decision rules and disciplines, that allow the detection and capture of the opportunities that arise. They emerge in new, more dynamic environments. That is, digital transformation will require new dynamic capabilities that facilitate the creation of new knowledge and behaviors in employees to transform their processes. In this work, three empirical studies are presented that analyze the impact of said dynamic capabilities and employee behaviors on digital transformation and its results, based on a survey conducted with 184 companies in the industrial sector located in the Region of Murcia. The data are analyzed using structural equation modeling through PLS-SEM methodology. The main results derived from the study reveal, first of all, the importance of certain dynamic capabilities on the digital transformation: information capacity, organizational agility and absorption. These three capabilities will allow those companies that transform their businesses to be able to introduce changes in their business models and improve their results. In addition to these dynamic capabilities, the work also delves into the need to have employees whose behavior is aligned with the objectives required by the digital transformation. The second study shows that the alignment of human resources practices and staff behaviors are essential to implement the changes in production processes required by the new paradigm. These results suggest that investment in more knowledge- intensive processes requires a workforce that is more committed to change and adopts more innovative behavior. The study culminates by showing the main contributions that complete the existing academic framework, as well as the more practical implications towards the business world and that encourage company leaders to implement a series of dynamic capabilities based on knowledge and to promote innovative and efficient behaviors. commitment to face the changes required by digital transformation