Exploring the relationship between multidimensional digital readiness and digital transformation outcomes

Given that many large-scale digital transformations fail, researchers have sought to identify factors that may increase the likelihood of success when institutionalising organisational changes. The importance of digital readiness for digital transformations has attracted increasing interest recently in this context. However, prior research has not addressed which specific aspects of digital readiness links to digital transformation outcomes under a given context. This study contributes to filling this gap in the literature. Using a sample of 207 Danish SMEs, we conduct an ordinal regression analysis to find out which dimension(s) of digital readiness are important to digital transformation outcomes for small companies. The results show that the strategy and technology dimensions have a positive impact on the dependent variables. The results further highlight the importance of a company’s capacity for change to deploy existing resources. Our results have strong implications for practitioners, as they provide guidance on what to focus on with respect to digital readiness at the outset of a firm’s digital transformation journey.