{"title":"Digital Skills Mobilization within Incumbent Organizations: The Agentic Role of Digital Champions","authors":"Stefano D'angelo, Antonio Ghezzi, Angelo Cavallo","doi":"10.1111/1467-8551.12810","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>In a world increasingly influenced by digital technologies, incumbent organizations are urged to equip their employees with digital skills to unlock the transformative power of digitalization for their strategy and business model. Yet, extant research lacks guidance on how to mobilize and implement effective initiatives to develop digital skills in incumbents. Therefore, through an in-depth case study of a utility company, this paper explores how an incumbent can mobilize its digital skills to embrace digital transformation. Based on the process perspective of resource mobilization, we shed light on the mechanisms for searching, accessing and transferring digital skills, namely: (i) <i>unearthing dormant digital skills</i>; (ii) <i>awakening digital skill-holders</i>; and (iii) <i>disseminating digital skills</i>. In the investigation of these mechanisms, we uncover the agentic role of digital champions, who become an organizational capability for mobilizing digital skills in incumbents. We also document how digital technologies, as operant resources, can transversally support all stages of the mobilization of digital skills aimed at developing and leveraging digital skills in incumbents. In doing so, we explore the role of digitalization, both as the content of resource mobilization, in terms of digital skills, and as the means through which mobilization is enacted, in terms of digital assets and initiatives. Based on the findings of this study, we contribute to knowledge at the interface between digitalization and resource mobilization in the broader context of digital transformation.</p>","PeriodicalId":48342,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"British Journal of Management","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-8551.12810","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BUSINESS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In a world increasingly influenced by digital technologies, incumbent organizations are urged to equip their employees with digital skills to unlock the transformative power of digitalization for their strategy and business model. Yet, extant research lacks guidance on how to mobilize and implement effective initiatives to develop digital skills in incumbents. Therefore, through an in-depth case study of a utility company, this paper explores how an incumbent can mobilize its digital skills to embrace digital transformation. Based on the process perspective of resource mobilization, we shed light on the mechanisms for searching, accessing and transferring digital skills, namely: (i) unearthing dormant digital skills; (ii) awakening digital skill-holders; and (iii) disseminating digital skills. In the investigation of these mechanisms, we uncover the agentic role of digital champions, who become an organizational capability for mobilizing digital skills in incumbents. We also document how digital technologies, as operant resources, can transversally support all stages of the mobilization of digital skills aimed at developing and leveraging digital skills in incumbents. In doing so, we explore the role of digitalization, both as the content of resource mobilization, in terms of digital skills, and as the means through which mobilization is enacted, in terms of digital assets and initiatives. Based on the findings of this study, we contribute to knowledge at the interface between digitalization and resource mobilization in the broader context of digital transformation.
期刊介绍:
The British Journal of Management provides a valuable outlet for research and scholarship on management-orientated themes and topics. It publishes articles of a multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary nature as well as empirical research from within traditional disciplines and managerial functions. With contributions from around the globe, the journal includes articles across the full range of business and management disciplines. A subscription to British Journal of Management includes International Journal of Management Reviews, also published on behalf of the British Academy of Management.