Digital Transformation in Spanish Companies through Knowledge Strategy and Absorptive Capacity

To improve the competitiveness of Spanish companies, this doctoral thesis develops an adequate framework to cope with the challenges resulting from the implementation of digital transformation (DT) within organizations. At the core of this process, lies the exploration of the impact of a range of factors on the achievement of the innovation capabilities, where the digital transformation strategy, knowledge management (KM) (knowledge strategy and absorptive capacity), and dynamic capabilities (digital capabilities) perform a significant importance as essential driving forces. By applying a hybrid methodology, bibliometric research, narrative literature review and PLS-SEM analysis, this research arrives at developing and empirically validating the predictive theoretical model on the adjustment of the digital transformation strategies to the achievement of the innovation capabilities through the lens of the determining factors of success for the implementation and execution of digital transformation strategies. This doctoral thesis is evolving around the sequential research constituted by three independent, yet connected, studies. The first study of the doctoral thesis explores the convergence of digitalization, KM, and innovation. The results of the first study (bibliometrics) indicate that the interrelatedness between digitalization, KM, innovation, and DT forms a cyclical and reinforcing relationship that propels organizations toward enhanced innovation performance and successful DT. Building upon these research findings, the second study of the doctoral thesis (narrative review) improves our conceptual understanding on the impact of DT on innovation performance and proposes a predictive theoretical model for empirical investigation. This model focuses on the internal effect of digital business strategy on innovation performance through the lens of digital platform capability, absorptive capacity, and knowledge strategy. Given the complexity of the proposed theoretical model, in the third study (PLS-SEM analysis) we validate just a foundational part consisting in studying the interplay between the digital transformation strategy and the firm innovation capabilities through the lens of digital capabilities and knowledge strategy. The predictive theoretical model is tested through a sample of Spanish firms belonging to industrial, innovative sectors. This doctoral thesis research provides substantial theoretical, managerial and societal contributions in relation to the conceptualization and empirical investigation of the important driving factors of innovation capabilities, such as digital transformation strategy, knowledge strategy, absorptive capacity and digital capabilities, and the improvement of our current understanding on how to enable effective and efficient DT of industries to optimal level. Based on the research findings, we reveal actionable insights for the strategic development in the digital era on the example of digital transformation strategy and knowledge strategy implementation in Spanish manufacturing firms and formulate promising avenues for future research.