Resources: Main Page | Research Methods (A) | Major Theories (B) | Issues and Contemporary Topics (C) | Professional Community (D)
Aisle C (Topics and Issues): Agility and Adaptability (CA) | Digital Technologies (CD) | Employee Well-Being (CE) | Inequality & Justice (CI) | 21st Century Leadership (CL) | Resource Management (CR) | Sustainability (CS) | Meaningful Work (CW)
Rack CD (Digital Transformation): Artificial Intelligence Adoption | Platform Capitalism | Algorithmic Management | Workers in Digital Organizations
Jump to: Importance | Challenges | Research Areas | Foundational Works | TAOP Episodes | References
Why is Digital Transformation, etc. an Important Contemporary Topic?
Organizational leaders are increasingly concerned about the implications of digital transformation and the gig economy, as these phenomena present both challenges and opportunities for their organizations. We have done several episodes on the Gig Economy in this program, including Episode 18 on algorithmic management, the myth of “human capital” as critiqued in Episode 36, and our first symposium which we conducted on the gig economy back in 2018 (Episode 40). Digital transformation has also been covered in our Episode on Zuboff’s In the Age of the Smart Machine (Episode 96). Some general concerns include:
There are several difficulties that organizations may face undergoing digital transformation, which is the effort to change business practices and culture through the introduction of digital technologies where traditional methods were still in use. The rapid pace of technological change poses challenges for organizations in integrating new digital tools and platforms. The gig economy, facilitated by digital platforms, requires organizations to rethink their traditional work models (Joshi, 2024). Leaders worry about how to effectively implement these technologies while minimizing disruptions to existing operations. Organizational leaders ordinarily face a need to recruit and retain talent with the necessary digital skills. Gilch & Sieweke (2020) highlight the strategic role of recruitment in adapting to digital changes, emphasizing that many existing employees may lack the required IT competencies. Resistance to change is another concern due to the disruption felt by employees who are accustomed to traditional ways of working. Azieva (2021) discusses the need for managers to change their thinking and business strategies to optimize organizational structures and overcome cultural inertia.
The relationship between employers and employees is also a concern. In the gig economy, in which work is performed in a largely on-demand and workers are more akin to independent contractors, this relationship is often much weaker than in traditional employment and this potentially creates uncertainty in workers’ minds of the workers. Roberts and Douglas (2022) note that organizations need to understand gig workers’ psychological contracts to foster engagement and performance. Leaders may also be concerned about how to maintain motivation and commitment among gig workers who may not have the same level of attachment to the organization. To compensate for this, organizations must balance the flexibility offered by gig workers with the need for control and oversight and without compromising quality and accountability. For example, one study discusses the importance of helping gig workers achieve self-actualization while maintaining organizational standards (Wason et al., 2023).
The gig economy also presents both opportunities and threats for traditional organizations. Bansal notes that organizations must adapt to the changing landscape to remain competitive while addressing the challenges posed by gig workers (Bansal, 2024). At the same time, the shift to digital and remote work necessitates new leadership styles and approaches. Kutnjak (2021) highlights that organizations must adapt their leadership practices to navigate the complexities of digital transformation and manage virtual teams effectively. And of course, because of the dependence on technology, cybersecurity becomes a major concern. With the increasing reliance on digital technologies, organizations face heightened cybersecurity threats. Azizi emphasizes the importance of IT audits in evaluating controls and safeguards in complex IT environments (Azizi, 2024). Leaders are concerned about protecting sensitive data and ensuring compliance with evolving regulatory frameworks.
Relevant Theories or Literature Streams
The menu for this rack lists several subtopics that might be of interest and which we may produce a dedicated page in future. The Rack CD menu as the top and bottom of the page and resource links below will include active and available subpages. Also, Aisle B (Theories) may include resource pages on some of these streams. This is not intended to be comprehensive, but illustrative of the different perspectives that research can take in matters pertaining to digital transformation and the gig economy:
Algorithmic Management: This perspective focuses on how algorithms and digital technologies shape the management of gig workers. Duggan et al. propose a research agenda for examining the implications of algorithmic management for employment relations and human resource management in the gig economy (Duggan et al., 2019). We have also explored algorithmic management in some of our episodes (especially Episode 18 and Episode 40).
Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI has become ubiquitous within digital transformation efforts today and has gained entry into just about all aspects of digital life, both in the workplace and in the home. Not all of it good. Mirbabaie et al., (2021), for example, found that as AI technologies become more integrated into workplace practices, employees may experience anxiety regarding their roles and identities, reflecting broader implications for job security and professional identity. Or, how might the prevalence of AI technologies enhance operational efficiency while simultaneously raising concerns about worker health and safety (Cebulla et al., 2023)?
Platform Capitalism and its Effects. The gig economy is just one form of platform capitalism, which is a spectrum of business models that involve the use of digital technologies for interactions between the organization and its consumers. Crowdsourcing is another example (Srnicek, 2016). Montgomery and Baglioni (2020) discuss the implications of platform capitalism for precarious work, which reflect work that is irregular or insecure and where workers are generally unprotected or exposed to high risk.
Spotlighting the Gig Worker. Several literature streams are concentrated on the micro-level of analysis, such as the psychological impacts of gig work on the individual worker. Examples include self-determination theory, a psychological framework exploring the motivations behind individuals’ engagement in work, including gig work (e.g., Jabagi et al. ,2019), social identity theory that examines how individuals derive their identity from group memberships, which can be relevant in the context of gig work (e.g., Liu et al., 2020), and job characteristics theory that focuses on how specific job characteristics influence employee motivation and satisfaction. For example, Lang (2023) studied algorithmically controlled gig workers and examined how job design and algorithmic management impact work engagement and emotional experiences (Lang, 2023). There is also considerable work being done on the downsides of gig work. For example, Healy et al. (2020) examined how the gig economy is often associated with precarious work conditions, exploring consumers’ views of work and the socio-economic dynamics and the implications of gig work for job security and worker rights.
Regulatory Frameworks. Jumping to the macro level, the gig economy raises important questions about labor rights and regulations. For example, Koutsimpogiorgos et al. (2020) provide an analytical framework for understanding the regulatory challenges associated with the gig economy emphasizing the need for effective policies to protect gig workers.
Some Contemporary Areas of Research
The above challenges have spurred a surge in research focused on how leaders can better integrate digital technologies or understand the impacts of the gig economy on workers. Here are some active research topics regarding how organizations are coping or addressing the challenges while adopting these practices. Some of these topics also speak to examination of broader social impacts.
Please note that this is not to be considered an exhaustive list. We welcome feedback to ensure currency on contemporary challenges and research efforts. This is also not intended to provide a comprehensive look at ongoing research in any of these areas but just to highlight some of the specific topic areas being pursued as of this writing.
Readiness for Digital Transformation. Assessing an organization’s readiness for digital transformation is crucial for successful implementation. Research explores the factors that influence readiness, including organizational culture, leadership, and existing technological infrastructure. Azieva (2021), for example, discusses the need for managers to adapt their thinking and strategies to facilitate this transition.
Sustaining a Digitally-Talented Workforce. As organizations undergo digital transformation, there is a pressing need to recruit and retain digital talent. For example, Gilch and Sieweke highlight the strategic role of recruitment in renewing the human resource base to meet the demands of digitalization, emphasizing the importance of IT-related competencies among employees (Gilch & Sieweke, 2020). We covered this topic in several of our special episodes on the gig economy and digital transformation (see Episodes 40 and 118).
Leadership and Organizational Performance: Leadership plays a critical role in guiding organizations through digital transformation. Research by Alasiri and Alkubaisy examines the impact of leadership styles and organizational alignment on performance during the digital transformation process, indicating that effective leadership can optimize company performance (Alasiri & AlKubaisy, 2022).
Resource Alignment: The alignment of resources with digital transformation initiatives is essential for achieving competitive advantage. Liu et al. discuss the concept of resource fit in digital transformation, emphasizing the need for organizations to integrate digital technologies into their business processes to enhance performance (Liu et al., 2011).
Transforming Business Practices: Digital transformation significantly impacts information management practices within organizations and may drive changes in business models. Some scholars are studiying how newer information management strategies may leverage digital technologies more effectively and create value (Mokhtar et al., 2020). Other researchers are exploring innovation more directly, such as to what extent organizations can exploit digital opportunities to restructure their operations and create new value propositions (Rachinger et al., 2019). There is also the question of agility (also see Rack CA) as the adoption of agile practices may contribute to successful digital transformation (Haffke et al., 2017).
“Digital Strategy” Development: Digital transformation and the gig economy present many challenges, including cultural resistance and technological barriers, and therefore there are questions about what constitutes a useful organizational strategy. Strategies might be needed for organizations to overcome intrinsic and extrinsic barriers against digital transformation (Li et al., 2017), while researchers are also exploring how strategies that are integrative can lead to better business processes that aligns with digital transformation objectives (Butt, 2020).
Foundational Works
These are books or articles that could be considered helpful or useful for understanding some of the foundational ideas behind the studies of digital transformation and the gig economy. These may provide insights on historical developments, technological underpinnings, and socioeconomic impacts –but your perspectives may differ. Feedback is welcome. The inclusion of readings on this list does not necessarily constitute endorsement.
C. M. Christensen. The innovator’s dilemma: when new technologies cause great firms to fail. This is a well-known book that introduces the concept of disruptive innovation, providing a framework for understanding how digital transformation affects businesses. Current edition was released in 2015 as of this writing.
Erik Brynjolfsson & Andrew McAfee, The second machine age: Work, progress, and prosperity in a time of brilliant technologies. This 2014 book explores how digital technologies are transforming economies and societies, focusing on AI, robotics, and automation.
Shoshanna Zuboff, In the age of the smart machine: The future of work and power. We covered this 1998 book in Episode 96. It begins with a history of meaningful work (also see Rack CW) and then examines several cases of organizations introducing information technologies in the workplace. Managers were hoping to improve organizational performance, transparency, and collaboration but instead dehumanized the workplace and ushered in new ways of managerial surveillance. We also covered a similar theme in corporate culturism in tech start-ups in Episode 49.
Symposium on Interplay of Organizational Structure and Digital Technologies, Academy of Management Annual Meeting 2024. Episode 118 represented our latest look at this topic. Four presenters gave their views on perspectives such as how organizational design has entered the virtual realm, how the introductions of digital technologies has manifested into very different organizational structures around the world, the on-going radical changes that are disrupting how individual interpret their roles in the organization, and the particular challenges of doing research in this area. Among the articles covered in the symposium were:
- Davis, G. F. (2016). What Might Replace the Modern Corporation? Uberization and the Web Page Enterprise. Seattle University Law Review, 39(2).
- Davis, G. F. and Sinha, A. (2021). Varieties of Uberization: How technology and institutions change the organization(s) of late capitalism. Organization Theory, 2(1): 263178772199519.
- Valentine, M. A. and Hinds, R. (2022). How Algorithms Change Occupational Expertise by Prompting Explicit Articulation and Testing of Experts’ Theories. Stanford University Working Paper.
Related TAOP Episodes, Events, and Notes
118: Organizational Structures & Digital Technologies – AoM 2024 Symposium
96: Informating at Work – Shoshana Zuboff
51: The Tyranny of Light — Hari Tsoukas
40: Symposium on the Gig Economy LIVE
22: Human-Machine Reconfigurations – Lucy Suchman
18: Gig Economy, Labor Relations and Algorithmic Management
Related Resource Pages
Rack CA – Organizational Agility & Adaptability
Rack CD – Digital Transformation and Future of Work
Rack CE – Employee Well-Being & Mental Health
Rack CI – Inequality and Justice
Rack CL – Leadership in the 21st Century
Rack CR — Resource Management
Rack CS – Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Rack CW – Meaningful Work
References
Alasiri, N., & AlKubaisy, Z. (2022). Exploring the role of leadership, work environment, it alignment and company performance on the digital transformation: a study on the private sector companies in western region, Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Professional Business Review: Int. J. Prof. Bus. Rev., 7(2), 5.
Azieva, R. K., Tayamaskhanov, H. E., & Zelimhkanova, N. Z. (2021). Assessing the readiness of oil and gas companies for digital transformation. European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences.
Azizi, M., Hakimi, M., Amiri, F., & Shahidzay, A. K. (2024). The Role of IT (Information Technology) audit in digital transformation: Opportunities and challenges. Open Access Indonesia Journal of Social Sciences, 7(2), 1473-1482.
Bansal, P. (2024). India’s digital transformation: opportunities and challenges in the digital economy. International Journal of Economic Policy, 4(2), 53-57. https://doi.org/10.47941/ijecop.1947
Butt, J. (2020). A conceptual framework to support digital transformation in manufacturing using an integrated business process management approach. Designs, 4(3), 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/designs4030017
Bylinskaya, A., & Loginova, T. (2021, March). Economic and Social Contradictions in the Implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility of Companies. In VIII International Scientific and Practical Conference: Current problems of social and labour relations'(ISPC-CPSLR 2020) (pp. 138-143). Atlantis Press.
Duggan, J., Sherman, U., Carbery, R., & McDonnell, A. (2019). Algorithmic management and app‐work in the gig economy: A research agenda for employment relations and HRM. Human Resource Management Journal, 30(1), 114-132. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12258
Gilch, P. and Sieweke, J. (2020). Recruiting digital talent: the strategic role of recruitment in organisations’ digital transformation. German Journal of Human Resource Management Zeitschrift Für Personalforschung, 35(1), 53-82. https://doi.org/10.1177/2397002220952734
Haffke, I., Kalgovas, B., & Benlian, A. (2017). The transformative role of bimodal IT in an era of digital business. Proceedings of the 50th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 5460-5469. https://doi.org/10.24251/hicss.2017.660
Healy, J., Pekarek, A., & Vromen, A. (2020). Sceptics or supporters? Consumers’ views of work in the gig economy. New Technology Work and Employment, 35(1), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12157
Jabagi, N., Croteau, A., Audebrand, L., & Marsan, J. (2019). Gig-workers’ motivation: Thinking beyond carrots and sticks. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 34(4), 192-213. https://doi.org/10.1108/jmp-06-2018-0255
Koutsimpogiorgos, N., Slageren, J., Herrmann, A., & Frenken, K. (2020). Conceptualizing the gig economy and its regulatory problems. Policy & Internet, 12(4), 525-545. https://doi.org/10.1002/poi3.237
Kutnjak, A. (2021). COVID-19 accelerates digital transformation in industries: Challenges, issues, barriers and problems in transformation. IEEE Access, 9, 79373-79388. https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2021.3084801
Lang, J. (2023). Are algorithmically controlled gig workers deeply burned out? An empirical study on employee work engagement. BMC Psychology, 11(1), 354. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-023-01402-0
Li, L., Su, F., Zhang, W., & Mao, J. (2017). Digital transformation by SME entrepreneurs: A capability perspective. Information Systems Journal, 28(6), 1129-1157. https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12153
Liu, D., Chen, S., & Chou, T. (2011). Resource fit in digital transformation. Management Decision, 49(10), 1728-1742. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251741111183852
Liu, K. (2023). Examining the role of digitalization and gig economy in achieving a low carbon society: An empirical study across nations. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 11:1197708. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1197708
Liu, W., He, C., Jiang, Y., Ji, R., & Zhai, X. (2020). Effect of gig workers’ psychological contract fulfillment on their task performance in a sharing economy: A perspective from the mediation of organizational identification and the moderation of length of service. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(7), 2208. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072208
Mirbabaie, M., Brünker, F., Möllmann, N., & Stieglitz, S. (2021). The rise of artificial intelligence – understanding the AI identity threat at the workplace. Electronic Markets, 32(1), 73-99. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-021-00496-x
Mokhtar, S., Hussin, N., Tokiran, N., Wahab, H., & Ibrahim, A. (2020). Digital transformation in information management. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 10(11), 1453-1460. https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarbss/v10-i11/9071
Montgomery, T. and Baglioni, S. (2020). Defining the gig economy: Platform capitalism and the reinvention of precarious work. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 41(9/10), 1012-1025. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijssp-08-2020-0400
OpenAI. (2024). What are the major research topics regarding how organizations are trying to cope with digital transformation; What are the foundational theoretical streams or texts that organization researchers are using most to examine matters of digital transformation and the gig economy. ChatGPT (November 2022 version) [Large Language Model].
Rachinger, M., Rauter, R., Müller, C., Vorraber, W., & Eva, S. (2019). Digitalization and its influence on business model innovation. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 30(8), 1143-1160. https://doi.org/10.1108/jmtm-01-2018-0020
Roberts, R. and Douglas, S. (2022). Gig workers: Highly engaged and leadership independent. Psychology of Leaders and Leadership, 25(3-4), 187-211. https://doi.org/10.1037/mgr0000131
Scite. (2024). What are the major research topics regarding how organizations are trying to cope with digital transformation; What worries organizational leaders most about digital transformation and the gig economy;, What are the major research topics regarding how organizations are trying to cope with digital transformation; What is one example of a study examining the impacts of artificial intelligence technologies being so prevalent in both work and home environments. Scite (April 2024 version) [Large Language Model].
Tılfarlıoğlu, F. and Ciftci, F. (2011). Supporting self-efficacy and learner autonomy in relation to academic success in EFL classrooms (a case study). Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 1(10), 1284-1294. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.1.10.1284-1294
Wason, R., Kaur, I., & Wilfred, S. (2023). Help your gig workers become their best selves: a self-actualization action framework. International Journal of Business and Applied Social Science, 9(3), 16-22.
The inclusion of external links is for informational purposes only and does not necessarily constitute endorsement by TAOP or any of its members.
Jump to: Importance | Challenges | Research Areas | Foundational Works | TAOP Episodes | References
Rack CD (Digital Transformation): Artificial Intelligence Adoption | Platform Capitalism | Algorithmic Management | Workers in Digital Organizations
Aisle C (Topics and Issues): Agility and Adaptability (CA) | Digital Technologies (CD) | Employee Well-Being (CE) | Inequality & Justice (CI) | 21st Century Leadership (CL) | Resource Management (CR) | Sustainability (CS) | Meaningful Work (CW)
Resources: Main Page | Research Methods (A) | Major Theories (B) | Issues and Contemporary Topics (C) | Professional Community (D)