Integrating socio-technical perspectives in digital transformations in sales: a research agenda

This study introduces socio-technical systems (STS) theory as an external grand theory (EGT) for the sales domain, offering a framework to understand how digital transformation (DT) unfolds through the interplay of people, technologies, and structures. Using the Semantic Similarity Score (S3) method with a systematic review of 97 studies, we identify three overarching themes and nine sub-themes at the DT–STS intersection. The findings highlight socio-technical inertia, micro-foundations, and human-centric design as vital for the joint optimization of social and technical subsystems. The study proposes twelve guiding questions, positioning STS as a meta-theoretical foundation for examining DT in sales.