What are the General Mechanisms that Pushes a Company to Transform Digitally?

There is broad acknowledgment among the majority of leaders in almost every industry that the role of digital technology is rapidly shifting, from being a driver of minor efficiency to a source of significant disruption and innovation. In our fast-paced world of digital and technological advancement, being prepared for digital disruption as well as being able to transform a business digitally is indispensable and will ensure the survival of the organization in the competitive market. Consequently, the growing digitization and digitalization of business processes, products, and services make it imperative for companies to develop a better understanding of the critical drivers for a digital transformation (DT). The digital age already started, and far too many companies do not take advantage of the possibilities or even understand the consequences of the rapidly changing economy. However, in order to stay competitive and to avoid disruption by a new market entrant, incumbents’ companies need to adapt and even remodel their core business models in alignment with the digitalization trend. organizations need to make decisions on which technologies to adopt and how to incorporate them into their day-to-day operations. However, to do this efficiently, organizations first need to understand the critical drivers of DT that affect their business as well as their industry sector. This paper reports the result of an explanatory mixed-method research project to discover the most relevant key drivers for a DT. The quantitative as well qualitative analysis has highlighted two drivers in particular: rising customer expectations and continuously changing customer needs. These two drivers represent the most significant challenge, as well as opportunity companies, face nowadays in the business environment. The overarching objective of this conference paper is to give a universal outlook about the general mechanisms that could alert and subsequently drive a company to undergo a DT.