Start Date

16-8-2018 12:00 AM

Description

In the context of the digitalization, a growing number of both researchers and practitioners recommend developing a Digital Business Strategy (DBS). While drivers such as technological trends, organizational shifts, as well as key themes of the DBS are well understood, its impact on organizational performance lacks investigation. The objective of this paper is to contribute to a more detailed understanding of performance by focusing on the mechanisms that lead to a higher profitability as a result of the DBS. Based on a sample consisting of 123 large enterprises from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, including 16 stock-listed enterprises (DAX), we calculated a mediated path model in AMOS. Results indicate that a) DBS is positively related to innovation and b) innovation has a strong positive impact on profitability, but that it is fully mediated by organizational agility. Corresponding theoretical as well as practical contributions are discussed.

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Aug 16th, 12:00 AM

How Digital Business Strategy Affects Profitability: Opening the ‘Black Box’ of Performance

In the context of the digitalization, a growing number of both researchers and practitioners recommend developing a Digital Business Strategy (DBS). While drivers such as technological trends, organizational shifts, as well as key themes of the DBS are well understood, its impact on organizational performance lacks investigation. The objective of this paper is to contribute to a more detailed understanding of performance by focusing on the mechanisms that lead to a higher profitability as a result of the DBS. Based on a sample consisting of 123 large enterprises from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, including 16 stock-listed enterprises (DAX), we calculated a mediated path model in AMOS. Results indicate that a) DBS is positively related to innovation and b) innovation has a strong positive impact on profitability, but that it is fully mediated by organizational agility. Corresponding theoretical as well as practical contributions are discussed.