Digital Transformation – The Hype and Conceptual Changes

Abstract

Digital transformation (DT) is attracting increased attention; many papers and special issues focus on various aspects of DT. Still, DT often serves solely as a repackaging of previously existing ideas. Our paper argues that the term is over-hyped and has been used to rebrand various fields to attract management attention. However, this alone cannot explain the reasons for such an immense rise in the popularity of the concept. To understand the underlying motives for current DT adoration, our paper aims to identify conceptual changes that have happened in the last decade. These changes have to be considered if companies want to strategically approach DT and use the hype to acquire the needed ‘organizational energy’ to implement the changes.

Keywords

• digital transformation
• employee engagement
• customer process management
• instant gratification
• attention span
• marginal costs