To Develop a Digital Plan of Attack

Strategically speaking, new data shows that companies that successfully digitally alter their business
processes and organisational structure have a well-defined digital strategy (Kane, Palmer, Phillips, Kiron,
& Buckley, 2015). Beyond merely acknowledging the widespread use of digital resources across
departments like operations, purchasing, and marketing (Bharadwaj, El Sawy, Pavlou, & Venkatraman,
2013), a digital strategy also prompts inquiries into business model reconfiguration (Bouncken et al.,
2019; Clauss, Bouncken, Laudien, & Kraus, 2020) and the extent to which the company is innovative
(Beliaeva et al., 2019). An organization's expectations for acquiring new resources may be set and met
with the use of a digital strategy (Bharadwaj et al., 2013). (Fisher et al., 2016). When employees in an
organisation share the same level of enthusiasm, values, and beliefs about digital technologies, they are
more likely to work together to develop and expand those technologies, as found by Bouncken and
Barwinski (2020). Organizational change that requires members to alter their long-held ways of thinking
and behaving is rarely easy and often meets with opposition (Gioia, Patvardhan, Hamilton, & Corley,
2013). This means that owner-managers need to include identity conflicts into their overall strategic
plans (Gioia et al., 2013; Miller, Le Breton-Miller, & Lester, 2011). An obstacle to a unified digital identity
is the possibility of identity conflicts among workers caused by unfulfilled expectations and
contradictory actions that run counter to the company's new transformational aims (Bouncken &
Barwinski, 2020). Studies have revealed that family businesses are particularly sensitive to identity issues
since corporate identity and family identity are often active simultaneously (Shepherd & Haynie, 2009).
Despite the fact that SME management teams only create formal strategies when absolutely necessary,
research shows that companies going through a transition are more inclined to stick to them (Blackburn,
Hart, & Wainwright, 2013). The combination of a business-focused approach with digital technology to
innovate goods and services is what we call a "digital strategy" (Matt et al., 2015; Teubner, 2013). Value
proposition, digital technologies, major organisational developments, external and internal causes, and
the value generating mechanism all fall under this category (Bharadwaj et al., 2013; Grover & Kohli,
2013; Matt et al., 2015). The use of digital technology affects all levels of an organisation, goes beyond
the boundaries of a conventional business, and requires a coordinated effort to achieve a set objective
(Grover & Kohli, 2013; Matt et al., 2015). Key to the success of many digital strategies is the
development of a new value proposition, which necessitates four interrelated components: (1) the
application of digital tools, (2) the modification of value creation processes, (3) the implementation of
structural adjustments, and (4) the allocation of resources (Gioia et al., 2013; Kane et al., 2015; Matt et
al., 2015). Recent studies have shown that in order to achieve and maintain competitiveness, businesses
need to implement a digital strategy that coordinates all necessary resources (Grover & Kohli, 2013;
Yeow, Soh, & Hansen, 2018). Conversely, not having a digital strategy may result in wasted time and
money (Hess, Matt, Benlian, & Wiesböck, 2016).

CATALYST FOR DIGITALIZATION IN BUSINESSES

Economic Results
Better access to skills and talent, wider access to markets, deeper access to financing, enhanced
collaboration and communication, easier access to technology and applications, expanded product
development, and reduced red tape are just some of the benefits of digitalization for businesses,
according to the OECD (2017). "By digitalization organisations utilise digital technology to enhance
current business processes by enabling a more effective coordination across operations, and/or by
producing extra customer value through better user experiences," (Verhoef et al., 2019, p. 3). According
to research by Bley, Leyh, and Schäffer (2016), automating business procedures online improves
productivity while cutting expenses. Support for core competences (Ravichandran & Lertwongsatien,
2014); use of e-procurement systems (Albano, Antellini, Castaldi, & Zampino, 2015); and supplier- and
customer-side digitalization all correlate favourably with financial success.