Digital transformation: Why organizations often fail?

Many companies struggle to implement genuine and effective Digital Transformation (DT). This paper aims to tackle the fundamental question: What are the factors that contribute to the failure of DT in organizations, especially considering that many organizations seem to struggle in achieving successful DT? DT is a complex and pervasive phenomenon with broad and deep economic and organizational implications. Although specific implications may vary depending on the industry, organization size, and the scope of the transformation effort, the paper aims to demonstrate that clear strategy, redesigning the business model, relying on data-driven decision making, implementing a mindset that accepts change, fostering innovation and agility, and creating a culture that promotes experimentation, continuous learning, and adaptability are key factors in responding to market changes and customer demands. Additionally, ensuring that employees have the necessary skills to leverage digital technologies effectively is crucial. The paper provides a brief review of the literature and presents a conceptual framework to explain the features and drivers of DT. Additionally, by utilizing the software VOSviewer, the paper offers a metadata-based analysis that can help in identifying the factors contributing to the failure of DT. The principal findings highlight that DT serves as a constant catalyst for change and necessitates a holistic approach aligned with the business strategy. Strategy, mindset, skills, and technology emerge as the primary factors contributing to both the failure and success of DT. Being a relatively new topic, the available literature on this subject is limited, and obtaining relevant data can be challenging. It's important to note that the VOSviewer dataset adopted may not be comprehensive enough to offer a complete understanding of failures in DT. Despite these limitations, this contribution aims to enrich the literature and enhance knowledge regarding this important issue. The study's originality lies in the metadata analysis, providing a deeper insight into the problem at hand.