Aug 2026· Economics & Business Management· Vol 6, pp. 93· 0 citations· 27 references
TL;DR
The review reveals that both endogenous and exogenous factors jointly propel the transformation process, and at the macro level, digital transformation facilitates industrial upgrading and regional innovation; at the micro level, it improves firm innovation performance and governance efficacy.
Abstract
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.
Digital transformation is increasingly redefining the managerial practices, organizational coordination, and results of innovation in diverse industries. Empirical studies have created connections between digital capabilities, organisational agility, performance measures, and the creation of new business models, but the current literature is scattered and mostly descriptive. This current research paper is a systemic review of recent literature that aims at questioning the processes by which digital transformation enables managerial innovation. The review uses a PRISMA-conformable screening protocol to summarize the results of 25 peer-reviewed articles. The analysis presents three most common ways in which digital transformation is connected to the results of innovation: (1) digital capability building, (2) managerial process redesign, and (3) business-model innovation. The comparative analysis reveals that small and medium enterprises focus on ability building, industrial firms are oriented on strategic performance, and organisations of the public sector dedicate their efforts to the system of governance and role redesigning. The article reflects gaps in research in relation to intersecting research sectors, integration of theory, and causal explanation. It hypothesizes a conceptual framework that locates the digital capabilities onto managerial and innovation outcomes through mediating mechanisms and contextual moderators. These observations are the refinement of a research agenda based on multilevel processes, longitudinal studies, and sector-specific patterns of digital transformation.
Gopala B, S. P. Singh· International Journal of Int...· 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
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.
Samukeliso Musendame, Patson Chawuruka, Oliver Kapepa· African Journal of Managemen...· 0 citations
The study concludes that digital transformation represents a holistic redesign of business and social systems rather than a purely technological upgrade.
Bharad waj, Menaka Nayak· International Journal of Eme...· 0 citations
Digital transformation has come to the fore as a pivotal force behind corporate green innovation in the digital economy. Although previous research has documented that digital transformation can promote green innovation, the underlying organizational mechanisms remain theoretically fragmented. Moreover, the external conditions that shape the effectiveness of this relationship are not yet fully understood. To address these gaps, we develop an integrated analytical framework anchored in Organizational Information Processing Theory (OIPT) and the Resource-Based View (RBV). This framework explains how digital transformation promotes green innovation through two complementary organizational mechanisms—resource investment and technology application—and incorporates the moderating role of digital infrastructure. Using panel data on Chinese A-share-listed firms covering 2015–2024, this study examines the proposed relationships through a Bidirectional Fixed Effects Model, mediation analysis, and moderation analysis. The findings demonstrate a significant positive association between digital transformation and green innovation. This effect is partially mediated by increased R&D(Resource and Development) investment and deeper digital organizational embedding, which constitute complementary pathways reflecting resource investment and enhanced resource utilization, respectively. Additionally, digital infrastructure positively moderates this relationship by providing a more supportive external digital environment. This study enriches the existing literature by synthesizing previously dispersed perspectives on mechanisms into an OIPT-RBV framework, offering a more comprehensive account of how and under what circumstances digital transformation facilitates green innovation. Our findings also carry practical implications for managers seeking to strengthen innovation capabilities and for policymakers aiming to advance digital infrastructure and firms’ sustainable development.
Amid the revolution in information technology, the digital transformation of manufacturing is reshaping traditional production models toward smart systems. While existing research has explored industrial digitalization at a macro level, systematic studies on how micro-level manufacturing firms evolve in performance and innovation during this process remain limited. This article aims to reveal the performance changes of manufacturing enterprises during digital transformation and examine the dynamic interaction between these changes and technological innovation capability. The study constructs a multi-level framework linking “digital transformation–innovation capability–corporate performance” focusing specifically on the mediating role of innovation capability in the transformation-performance relationship and comparing heterogeneous effects across ownership types and geographic regions. Using data from Chinese A-share listed manufacturing companies from 2019 to 2023, the research applies empirical modeling to test the proposed relationships. Findings indicate that digital transformation significantly enhances corporate performance, with innovation capability playing a crucial mediating role. Heterogeneity analysis shows that state-owned enterprises experience stronger performance gains than non-state-owned firms, and companies in central and western China benefit more than those in the eastern region. Based on these results, the study offers practical policy recommendations to support effective digital transformation in manufacturing.
Suyan Gong, Heng Ma· Proceedings of the Internati...· 0 citations
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