Managing Digital Transformation: Analysing Digitalization of How Firms Attract, Retain, and Develop Digital Skills

Abstract

Businesses' and people' online activities are made possible by the continuous and widespread digitisation of today's society. Businesses sell their goods and services, and people deal with them and with each other. Online interactions between businesses and consumers (documented in digital trail data, or the digital footprints users leave on different digital platforms that contain information about their activities) have the potential to generate significant innovation for the businesses involved. Reaching this kind of value creation is no easy feat, since it is hard to even gather digital trail data due to its massive volume of generation. Furthermore, a company's ability to process and appropriate information rather than the quantity of information produced in their environment limits how innovative they may be. As a result, businesses require methods for managing the vast amounts of digital trace data and other types of accessible data, including collecting, screening, processing, analysing, and utilising the data. It is evident that every type of digital trail data serves a purpose. For instance, a post on social media shares some information with a larger audience, and a user who posts a request for assistance in a forum participates in a conversation with a group of professionals who have the same interests. Digital trail data, however, can also offer thorough logs of online activity, which could promote creativity and novel approaches. Businesses must proactively develop plans for making the most of these resources.