2026· African Journal of Management Research· 0 citations
TL;DR
The study identifies key drivers of digital transformation, including leadership commitment, customer-centric innovation, and technological readiness, and proposes a conceptual framework to guide digital transformation in emerging markets.
Abstract
This study examines the drivers, challenges, and outcomes of digital transformation within organizations, with a particular focus on the African context. Drawing on dynamic capabilities theory and the resource-based view, the research explores how organizations leverage digital technologies to enhance performance and competitiveness. Using empirical data, the study identifies key drivers of digital transformation, including leadership commitment, customer-centric innovation, and technological readiness. It also highlights significant challenges, such as skills gaps, infrastructural limitations, and governance issues. The findings reveal that successful digital transformation requires a holistic approach that integrates technological, organizational, and human factors. The study contributes to existing literature by providing context-specific insights and offers practical recommendations for managers and policymakers. The paper concludes by proposing a conceptual framework to guide digital transformation in emerging markets and suggests avenues for future research.
This paper presents a systematic literature review on enterprise digital transformation, comprehensively synthesizing its conceptual connotations, driving factors, economic implications, and associated challenges. Digital transformation is defined as a systemic organizational change that leverages digital technologies to restructure business processes, innovate business models, and enhance competitive advantage, with its core lying in the synergistic co-evolution of technological enablement and organizational capabilities. The review reveals that both endogenous and exogenous factors jointly propel the transformation process. At the macro level, digital transformation facilitates industrial upgrading and regional innovation; at the micro level, it improves firm innovation performance and governance efficacy. However, it also presents challenges, including data security risks and technological integration complexities. Future research should develop multi-theoretic analytical frameworks, deepen investigations into managerial traits, industry heterogeneity, and dynamic evolutionary mechanisms, thereby offering more precise theoretical guidance and practical support.
Lanlan Ma, Weiting Liang· Economics & Business Man...· 0 citations
It is argued that Africa’s effective participation in the 4IR depends not only on adopting technology but also on strong governance, sound regulatory frameworks, strategic policy implementation, cross-sector collaboration, targeted investment, and skills development.
Stella Gichuhi-Karau· Proceedings of the 1st Afric...· 0 citations
Digital innovation has become a key enabler of the circular economy, yet existing research on SMEs remains fragmented across technological, organizational, and institutional perspectives. This study addresses this gap through a bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review of 87 peer-reviewed articles published between 2017 and 2025. The review synthesizes the evolution of digital research, identifies its theoretical foundations, key barriers, enabling factors, and performance outcomes, and develops a multi-level conceptual framework linking micro-, meso-, macro-, and ecosystem-level perspectives. The findings suggest that successful digital innovation-enabled circular transformation depends on the interaction of digital capabilities, organizational resources, institutional support, and stakeholder collaboration. The study further reveals that financial constraints, limited digital capabilities, and weak institutional support remain major barriers, whereas Industry 4.0 technologies, leadership commitment, and ecosystem collaboration serve as critical enablers. By integrating fragmented theoretical perspectives into a coherent framework, this review advances the understanding of digital adoption in SMEs and provides a structured research agenda together with practical implications for managers and policymakers seeking to accelerate sustainable digital transformation.
Yi-Jun Cheng, Umar H. A. Kohar· Sustainability· 0 citations
By promoting healthier digital practices, organisations can improve employee well-being and effectively use digital tools, ultimately enhancing competitiveness in a dynamic landscape.
Dilek Şahin Yomralıoğlu, Beyza Toksoy· Istanbul Journal of Economic...· 0 citations
This systematic literature review explores the relationship between digital maturity and economic sustainability, with government support as a moderating factor, and proposes a multi-level conceptual framework and actionable policy recommendations to support inclusive and adaptive SME digitalization.
Bisri Bisri· Dinasti International Journa...· 0 citations
This study explores the relationship between corporate governance and organisational performance within state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the Zimbabwean transport sector, with the objective of developing an integrated and contextually relevant governance-performance model. Despite their critical role in facilitating mobility and supporting trade, SOEs such as Air Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO) continue to experience persistent challenges, including financial deficits, operational inefficiencies, and declining service delivery standards. Existing scholarship tends to examine corporate governance in isolation, often overlooking the broader organisational and institutional contexts within which these enterprises operate. Adopting a mixed-methods research design, this study integrates quantitative analyses, comprising descriptive statistics, correlation, regression, and moderation techniques, with qualitative insights derived from interviews. The research is underpinned by a multi-theoretical framework that incorporates the resource-based view (RBV), institutional theory, systems theory, and contingency theory. The findings reveal that corporate governance plays a pivotal role in influencing organisational performance, alongside key internal factors such as human capital, technological capability, organisational culture, leadership, and the external operating environment. These elements collectively affirm the multidimensional nature of organisational performance. However, the study also finds that political interference significantly undermines the positive impact of governance structures and organisational capabilities. The study makes a theoretical contribution by advancing an integrated governance-performance model, while empirically highlighting the moderating effect of political interference. From a practical standpoint, the findings underscore the importance of comprehensive reforms in SOEs that prioritise strengthened governance frameworks, reduced political intrusion, and enhanced organisational capacity.
Samukeliso Musendame· Corporate Governance and Org...· 0 citations