Structural Requirements for Digital Transformation – Insights from German Enterprises

Overview & Synopsis

German enterprises are often characterised by low levels of digital maturity. One reason for this is a lack of required structural changes on the path towards digital transformation. We consider a prescriptive framework, the digital transformation framework (DTF), which contains four structural requirements for digital transformation. Based on 16 interviews with German digitalisation experts, we aim at an evaluation of the DTF. The outcome is an enriched version of it containing seven structural requirements including the newly identified factors culture of change, agility of organizational structure, and integration of cloud computing and platforms. The extended DTF sheds light on additional facets of the digital transformation and thus supports managers in navigating their undertaking in this dynamic environment. Corresponding implications for research and practice are discussed.