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Digitalization is a trend and many companies are going through this process at a different pace and intensity (Solis, 2017). In fact, one of the most important challenges that companies face is embracing the opportunities offered by new digital technologies (Singh & Hess, 2017). However, one of the important challenge for organizations is digital transformation that at a higher level includes extensive changes that industries and society go through with the use of digital technologies (Agarwal, Johnson, & Lucas, 2011). According to Hess, Matt, Benlian, & Wiesböck (2016) digital transformation at the organizational level can be described as the use of digital technologies by producing “strategies that embrace the implications of digital transformation and drive better operational performance” (Hess et al., 2016, p. 123). Digital transformation changes and disrupts industries and customer behaviors. The understanding of digital transformation is conceptual, and managers are still lacking in knowledge regarding the development and implementation of digital strategies (Bughin & Van Zeebroeck, 2017; Hebbert, 2017; Römer, et al., 2017). The lack of clarity about the various options and elements to consider in the digital transformation efforts by managers leads them to overlook important elements of digital transformation or neglect the solutions that are most appropriate for their particular business situations (Hess, et al., 2016). However, many companies are still struggling to realize the transformation due to the existing different barriers (Hess, et al., 2016). They face many obstacles in the development and implementation of the new digital processes (Hirsch-Kreinsen, 2016). In fact, only one in five organizations succeed in realizing the true values of transformation (Kane, Palmer, Philips, Kiron, & Buckley, 2017). The agile sectors, like IT, struggle less with new technologies compared to other firms but still, they face some challenges (Dremel, 2017). If the companies do not reflect these challenges, they can prevent the digital transformation realization or maybe lead to complete failure (Vogelsang, Packmohr, & Hoppe, 2019). Therefore, there is still a research interest in what organizations have done to succeed in digital transformation and what have enabled them to succeed (Morakanyane, O'Reilly, & McAvoy, 2020).
Digital transformation in companies in Sweden and its strong economic performance are tightly bound (OECD, 2018). Hällgren, Granberg, Rantala, & Björk (2019, p. 1) noticed that in 2017 “the Swedish commission for digitalization launched a national strategy for sustainable digital transformation in Sweden” with the aim to make Sweden “a leading country in advancing the opportunities of digitalization”. Like all the other countries in the world, Sweden is also facing new opportunities and challenges as the digital economy continues to grow at a fast pace. However, the barriers in digital transformation are the lack of those few things that can hinder the successful implementation of digital transformation in an organization (Vogelsang et al. 2019, p. 4938). No sector is free from the effects of digital transformation. According to Hess et al. (2016, p. 123) ”While structural blocks are known as a digital transformation strategy, there are no clear guidelines for managers to know the barriers and how to achieve digital transformation and implement a well-defined digital transformation strategy”. Moreover, according to Vogelsang et al. (2019, p. 4938) “There is only little specific research regarding the nature of barriers to digital transformation”. Furthermore, there is a lack of knowledge concerning the barriers in digital transformation in IT companies in Sweden. To address this knowledge gap we have formulated the following research question: “What barriers in digital transformation are facing an IT company in Sweden?” The findings of this study can help executives and managers to be more prepared to mitigate these barriers in the IT companies in Sweden and improve their digital transformation.