Research Article
Open access
Published on 20 November 2024
Download pdf
Xiao,H. (2024). Employee Role Transformation and Adaptation in Digital Transformation: Barriers, Misalignments, and Solutions in Digital Tool Application. Journal of Applied Economics and Policy Studies,13,33-38.
Export citation

Employee Role Transformation and Adaptation in Digital Transformation: Barriers, Misalignments, and Solutions in Digital Tool Application

Huilian Xiao *,1,
  • 1 Sun yet-sen university

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

https://doi.org/10.54254/2977-5701/13/2024115

Abstract

Employees must adapt to new digital tools and workflows as part of this digital transformation, but this process often faces significant barriers, including resistances to change, inadequate training and the complexity of technological tools themselves. This paper will focus on these challenges, including how misaligned leadership goals and rigid organisational cultures can further impede successful adaptation. It will examine case studies from retail and healthcare, and how tiered training programs, leadership involvement and culture play a role in this process. The findings reveal that addressing technological and human factors are important in allowing employees to not only adopt digital tools, but to actually applicable. Some practical recommendations to overcome these barriers include training employees on a case-by-case basis, and having leadership advocate for this digital transformation. Leaders should create an environment where employees feel empowered and supported.

Keywords

digital transformation, employee adaptation, resistance to change, digital tools, organizational barriers

[1]. Van Der Schaft, A. H. T., et al. (2024). How employees experience digital transformation: A dynamic and multi-layered sensemaking perspective. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 48(5), 803–820.

[2]. Leo, W. W. C., Laud, G., & Chou, C. Y. (2023). Digital transformation for crisis preparedness: Service employees’ perspective. Journal of Services Marketing, 37(3), 351–370.

[3]. Shwedeh, F., Aburayya, A., & Mansour, M. (2023). The impact of organizational digital transformation on employee performance: A study in the UAE. Migration Letters, 20(S10), 1260–1274.

[4]. Ullrich, A., et al. (2023). Employee involvement and participation in digital transformation: A combined analysis of literature and practitioners' expertise. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 36(8), 29–48.

[5]. Wulandari, A. R., et al. (2023). Digital HR: Digital transformation in increasing productivity in the work environment. Jurnal Publikasi Ilmu Manajemen, 2(4), 29–42.

[6]. Galanti, T., et al. (2023). Digital transformation: Inevitable change or sizable opportunity? The strategic role of HR management in Industry 4.0. Administrative Sciences, 13(2), 30.

[7]. Demir, M., Yaşar, E., & Demir, Ş. Ş. (2023). Digital transformation and human resources planning: The mediating role of innovation. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 14(1), 21–36.

[8]. Zoppelletto, A., et al. (2023). Organizational roles in the context of digital transformation: A micro-level perspective. Journal of Business Research, 157, 113563.

[9]. Purwanto, A., et al. (2023). Investigating the role of digital transformation and human resource management on the performance of universities. Available at SSRN.

[10]. Lau, V. P., & Shaffer, M. A. (2023). A typological theory of domestic employees’ acculturation stress and adaptation in the context of globalization. Academy of Management Review, 48(1), 57–77.

Cite this article

Xiao,H. (2024). Employee Role Transformation and Adaptation in Digital Transformation: Barriers, Misalignments, and Solutions in Digital Tool Application. Journal of Applied Economics and Policy Studies,13,33-38.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

Disclaimer/Publisher's Note

The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

About volume

Journal:Journal of Applied Economics and Policy Studies

Volume number: Vol.13
ISSN:2977-5701(Print) / 2977-571X(Online)

© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See Open access policy for details).