Received: 20 September 2021 Revised: 4 November 2021 Accepted: 12 November 2021

DOI: 10.1002/mde.3507

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Digital technology adoption, digital dynamic capability, and

digital transformation performance of textile industry:
Moderating role of digital innovation orientation

Lei Shen1 | Xi Zhang1 | Hongda Liu2,3

1
Glorious Sun School of Business &
Management, Donghua University, Shanghai, In the new manufacturing area, the Chinese textile industry is facing the opportuni-
China
ties and challenges under the sustainable development model and advanced
2
School of Economics & Management, Tongji
University, Shanghai, China manufacturing technology. It is urgent to use digital technology to realize digital
3
School of Management, Shanghai University, transformation. In this process, digital dynamic capability and digital innovation are
Shanghai, China
significant for textile firms to achieve digital transformation performance. Drawing
Correspondence on the data from 367 questionnaires of Chinese textile firms, we apply multiple
Hongda Liu, School of Economics &
regression to examine how a firm's digital transformation is affected by adopting digi-
Management, Tongji University, Shanghai
200092, China. tal technology. A conceptual model based on framework of resource–capability–
Email: [email protected]
performance is developed to examine how adoption of digital technology, digital
Funding information dynamic capability, and digital innovation orientation affects a firm's digital transfor-
Graduate Student Innovation Fund of Donghua
mation performance. The results indicate that the positive relationship between digi-
University, Grant/Award Number: GSIF-DH-
M-2021005 tal technology adoption and digital transformation performance is less significant;
this path is fully mediated through digital dynamic capability. Digital innovation orien-
tation has a positive moderating effect and that the efficiency digital innovation has
the most significant moderating effect among all digital innovation types. In addition,
compared with textile firms in the low level of digital technology adoption, the firms
in the high-level group show a significant positive relationship between digital tech-
nology adoption and digital transformation performance. These findings confirm the
validity of the model and contribute to existing literature on technology efforts in
firms and provide guidelines to help managers implement informed decisions about
digital transformation.

1 | I N T RO DU CT I O N (Colli et al., 2021). As of 2018, over 84.9% of Chinese manufacturing

companies have started the digital transformation, with 26.6% inten-
The digital economy takes data resources as the core driving force of sifying their digital transformation process to achieve profitability
production (Teo, 2001). The digital transformation with empower- and productivity improvements. However, in the process of digital
ment of technology, capital, human resources, and knowledge has transformation, 24.4% of companies are restricted by limited digital
developed rapidly, leading the quality, efficiency, and power skills and resources, and 14% are restricted due to the limitations of
upgrading of the real economy (Teece, 2018). In the deep integration the transformation mindset.1 The business behavior aiming to
of the digital economy with the real economy, the disruption and improve firm performance includes two categories: the improvement
reinvention of existing economic models is both an opportunity and of existing value volumes and the creation of new elements (Xie
a challenge (Litvinenko, 2020). According to this development need, et al., 2021). This process corresponds to the dynamic incremental
many manufacturing sectors have started their digital transformation and static stock adjustment process of digital technology adoption

2038 © 2021 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/mde Manage Decis Econ. 2022;43:2038–2054.
SHEN ET AL. 2039

(DTA). Digital technology itself is a kind of external resource. Digital 2 | LI T E RA T U R E RE V I E W

transformation is about absorbing digital resource and generating
new elements. However, the failure rate of this process is extremely 2.1 | Digital technology adoption
high, and the failures are mainly from the limitations of the transfor-
mation mindset. With the limitations of that, technology opportuni- Zhang et al. (2021) uses the concept of DTA in the literature examin-
ties and digital strategies will be excluded, and the weakness of ing the relationship between digital technology and product service
dynamic capabilities will directly isolate the transformation from DTA innovation performance in process industries and suggests that DTA
to digital performance. is an important direction to guide manufacturing industries to adapt
While existing theories and realities are partly indicative that DTA to competitive pressures and to realize the potential for competitive
has a positive effect on the digital transformation of firms advantage based on digital technology. The connotation of DTA is
(Blichfeldt & Faullant, 2021; Usai et al., 2021), there is still a theoreti- heterogeneously resolved depending on the research perspective, and
cal gap as to what the mechanism inside and how the dominant effect its mainstream research can be divided into three categories: (1) The
of incremental and stock DTA on digital transformation performance. first is based on the legal perspective of process innovation, defining
More notably, the respective contribution of digital technology acqui- DTA as the use of digital technology as a means of product and ser-
sition, depth, and breadth of adoption to the final performance needs vice innovation in manufacturing (Mackert et al., 2016). Due to the
to be deeply integrated into the discussion. In addition, the absorp- nature of process innovation, this determines that DTA is an external
tion, integration, and reconfiguration of resources are vital to generat- activity: Its “adoption” determines that it is an “autonomous” “choice”
ing advantages in gaining sustainable competitive advantage (Singh & of external digital technology by the firm, rather than an original
Sahoo, 2020). Thus, digital dynamic capabilities play a mediating role autonomous innovation. These companies are primarily concerned
in integrating DTA and transformation performance (Mikalef & with the original processing and transformation of digital technologies
Pateli, 2017). In terms of mechanism, DTA only completes the front but do not tend to update or create them independently. (2) The sec-
end of digital resource collation. Importing digital technology forms a ond is indicative of a resource-based view, which emphasizes DTA as
dynamic increment. However, if the static stock is merely sit idle or in a resource extraction process that incorporates digital technology
storage, it will lead to the expansion of resource redundancy (Liu resources into its system. This dictates that there is also an intrafirm
et al., 2021). The existence of digital dynamic capabilities provides a sphere of activity in DTA: its adoption will assess the extent to which
valuable perspective for strategic change in organizations. Digital the potential of digital technologies is likely to be used within the firm
sensing capability help to adjust a firm's own static digital technology (Blichfeldt & Faullant, 2021), and if these technologies are fully con-
stock. Agility and digital maturity are enhanced based on digital cap- sidered and utilized, a deep knowledge will be generated, which will
ture and digital transformation, and ultimately, digital resources are become a different resource base for innovation in the firm. This cor-
transformed into the contribute to the firm's digital transformation porate strategy makes DTA a prerequisite for digital innovation but
performance (Annarelli et al., 2021). In this dynamic process, the digi- does not yet involve the innovation process, which determines that
tal innovation orientation acts as a moderator (Xiong et al., 2021). DTA is presented in terms of digital technology breadth. (3) The third
Therefore, it would be of great interest to explore the mechanism of cluster is guided by innovation theory (Yang et al., 2021), which has
the role of digital innovation orientation on digital transformation per- some commonalities with the second type of research, where innova-
formance and to characterize the moderating mechanisms of digital tion theory emphasizes DTA as an antecedent tool focused on serving
innovation orientation in specific practice behaviors. incremental innovation. Schumpeterian innovation theory emphasizes
In summary, this study develops a resource–capability– that innovation can be divided into three categories: original, incre-
performance framework based on dynamic capability theory. Drawing mental, and radical. Since digital adoption is based on externally
on data from textile enterprises, this study examines the mechanism acquired technologies, this isolates the relevance of DTA for firms to
of DTA on the digital transformation performance. It also considers original innovation. In contrast, radical innovation is incremental inno-
the mediating effect of digital dynamic capabilities and identifies the vation, emphasizing the creation of new knowledge and its integration
moderating effect of digital innovation orientation. Ultimately, the with existing knowledge. The contribution of digital adoption to radi-
“black box” of advantage shaping in the digital transformation of tex- cal innovation can only depend on the firm's strategic view: whether
tile companies is revealed, providing new insights for the transforma- it introduces other capabilities to drive its innovation, which should be
tion of other manufacturing industries in the real economy. applied to the acquired digital technology. Incremental innovation is
Specifically, the main research problems of this paper are as follows: stock innovation, the maintenance, and renewal of existing knowl-
In textile enterprises, (1) whether the adoption of digital technology edge, which is clearly in line with the manifestation of DTA and
can positively affect the digital transformation performance of enter- tandem with the idea of a resource-based view (Wu et al., 2019).
prises; (2) whether the digital dynamic capability of enterprises plays In summary, this paper proposes that DTA is the process by
an mediating role in the process of digital transformation; and which companies develop their access to digital technology and trans-
(3) whether digital innovation orientations will have an effect on the form the application of digital technology potential into technology
process of digital transformation, and what are the differences breadth and depth. This process paves the way for companies to build
between them. competitive advantage and develop incremental innovation. It is likely
2040 SHEN ET AL.

to serve further radical innovation based on the extension of corpo- benefits offered by digital technologies. The text identifies different
rate strategy and other capabilities, ultimately driving digital objectives for building digital capabilities: R&D innovation centered,
performance. production management and control centered, supply chain manage-
ment centered, financial management and control centered, business
management decision making centered, and customer service cen-
2.2 | Digital transformation performance tered. The core of digital innovation remains the value creation, and
value creation includes two categories: enhancing the existing value
Digital transformation performance is the result of digital transforma- and creating new elements (Kraus et al., 2019), which coincide with
tion. The academics of it have not uniformly defined due to the diver- digital innovation activities. On the one hand, digital innovation
sity of service objectives and outcomes of digital transformation (Matt achieves the goal of reducing costs and increasing efficiency in all
et al., 2015). In this paper, combined with the actual situation of parts of a company's value chain, including research and development,
manufacturing transformation and digital economy integration under production, management, and sales, through digital technology
the real economy (Ebert & Duarte, 2018), digital transformation per- (Berawi et al., 2020). On the other hand, digital innovation introduces
formance is considered to be efficiency and value oriented (Martínez- new elements to companies, including products, services, architec-
Climent et al., 2019). The purpose of digital transformation is to tures, and even new business models, through the inherent advan-
cocreate value with all stakeholders (Galindo-Martín et al., 2019). tages of digital technology, such as homogeneity, reprogrammability,
Moreover, throughout the entire value creation process, most of the and associativity (Endres et al., 2021). In this regard, organizational
transformation motivation gained by companies comes from the digi- and business model innovation is a higher order concept than new
tal economy, driving the achievement of value goals empowered by products and services. Both adaptation of organization structure
digital technology. As a result, the ultimate performance of a comp- (Bloodgood & Morrow, 2003) and business model (Saebi et al., 2016)
any's digital transformation performance is progressive. (1) At the first involve more links in the company's value chain and more stake-
level, it is the primary demand of the enterprise to meet the essential holders in the process. Whether it helps companies make intelligent
benefits required for business development. The demand is the busi- management decisions or brings about disruptive changes in business
ness growth brought by the expansion of digital marketing channel models, it will have a more direct impact on business transformation
and innovation of offerings (Franke & Knyphausen-Aufsess, 2014). and performance improvement. At this level, digital innovation effec-
(2) At the second level, it is the company's advanced demands to meet tively links DTA and transformation performance, with digital innova-
the advanced benefits required by the industry as a whole to follow tion driving the shaping of the final business model with the
the social progress and innovation (Hickman & Akdere, 2019). It innovative construction of digital capabilities based on DTA access to
mainly includes intelligent production and manufacturing, intelligent technologies such as artificial intelligence.
support and control triggered by intelligent operation optimization. This paper combines value creation based on the types of digital
(3) At the third level, it is the ultimate demand of enterprises to meet innovation outputs and the objectives of building digital capabilities,
the needs of the targeted transformation state. It concludes mainly classifying digital innovation orientation as (1) efficiency (forming new
the revolution of business innovation brought by digital business processes; centered on production management and control, supply
models, digital venture capital, and incubation (Simmons et al., 2013). chain management, financial management, and control); (2) novelty
By achieving the ultimate goal, the traditional manufacturing entity (new products and services; R&D innovation and centered on
industry can supply modern products to society far and wide and customer service); and (3) convergence (forming new organizational
incubate more production factors and enterprise units. structures and business models; centered on business management
decisions).

2.3 | Digital innovation orientation

2.4 | Digital dynamic capabilities
Academic definitions of digital innovation usually contain two compo-
nents: digital technology and innovation. The digital technology defini- The dynamic capabilities framework has become one of the most
tion, in turn, contains two perspectives: the category of technology active topics in strategic management research. The introduction of
and the nature of technology (Li et al., 2019). The former lists digital dynamic capabilities explains how companies can respond to rapid
technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud comput- technological and market changes (Teece, 2010). Dynamic capabilities
ing, while the latter classifies them into information technology, com- emphasize the need to leverage the external environment and adapt
puter technology, and communication and connectivity. Innovation is proactively, to build on the existing innovation base or to discover
then understood as an output: developing new products, offering new innovations on their own, and to provide the ability to create, expand,
services, forming new processes, organizational restructuring, and and modify the company's resource base (Winter, 2003). In this way,
business model changes (Nylén & Holmström, 2015). Li et al. (2019) firms can ultimately build competitive barriers and expand their
argue that digital transformation is a complex process and that com- superior momentum to maintain their high-quality development
panies need to build digital capabilities to take full advantage of the (Teece, 2017). Previous researches interpret dynamic capabilities from
SHEN ET AL. 2041

two perspectives. One is that the environment in which a company business through technological innovation. The advanced demand
operates is relatively static, and when the competitive forces are at a for operational intelligence can be achieved based on the adoption
standstill, the company must explore its internal and external potential of direct technology (Pateli & Giaglis, 2005). It has been shown that
to create an advantage and become a market leader (Helfat & when firms are constrained by advanced factors of production such
Peteraf, 2003). The second is that the enterprise's environment is as knowledge, they can still maintain stable business performance if
more severe and complex when it is at a disadvantage or the industry they can consistently exchange advanced technology for financial
as a whole is unfavorable. The enterprise must change with dynamic or other costs (Stoel & Muhanna, 2009). Of course, some scholars
behavior to adapt to the future and avoid elimination (Zahra oppose this unsustainable business model, where the exchange of
et al., 2015). This kind of strategic decision belongs to the dynamic capital factors for technical factors only undermines the long-term
ability of passive behavior. In the context of the digital economy, the effectiveness of the firm and inhibits the shaping of core competi-
integration of digital technology with the real economy and traditional tive advantage. In the digital economy, business models have
industries is inevitable and trendy. Therefore, as far as manufacturing become an important yardstick for measuring corporate perfor-
enterprises are concerned, the construction of their digital dynamic mance (Ciampi et al., 2020). However, innovation in business
capabilities is a passive strategy. This passive attribute determines models is paradigm revolution achieved with the support of digital
that the subsequent strategies of enterprises are transformational technology architecture, and therefore, the interaction between the
rather than self-upgrading. In terms of this conceptual layer, it is clear two is evident. Accordingly, this paper proposes the following
that digital dynamic capabilities are at the service of digital transfor- hypothesis:
mation (Annarelli et al., 2021). However, the formation of dynamic
capabilities stems from the acquisition of digital resources. When digi- H1. DTA positively influences digital transformation
tal access is broader and digital resources are more deeply rooted and performance.
applied, the possibilities and effects of digital dynamic capabilities will
be significantly enhanced.
Therefore, this paper refers to Warner and Waeger's (2019) 3.2 | DTA and digital dynamic capabilities
study, which argues that digital dynamic capabilities are the behaviors
of digital sensing, digital capture, and digital transformation that fur- From the perspective of dynamic capability theory, knowledge-based
ther assist in the achievement of digital transformation goals. It is theory, and strategic learning theory, the stock of digital technology
based on the adoption of digital technologies by companies. The self- solidified by corporate qualities after acquiring and adopting technol-
adaptation and self-adjustment based on dynamic capabilities provide ogy is an external presentation of knowledge resources. However,
the possibility for companies to achieve original and radical such knowledge resources need to be further deployed and trans-
innovation. formed to form a real force for expanding organizational innovation
and enhancing competitive advantage. Strategic learning capabilities
emphasize that organizations should interpret, implement, dissemi-
3 | THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND nate, and recreate this type of strategic knowledge (Johnson &
HYPOTHESIS Filippini, 2010). This process of knowledge interpretation must be
adapted to the dynamics of the environment in order to avoid ineffi-
3.1 | DTA and digital transformation performance ciency, redundancy, or even outright obsolescence to the external
market once the knowledge is applied (Sunday & Vera, 2018). The
In terms of corporate performance management theory, resource- process of strategic knowledge learning and understanding is closely
based theory, and IT capability theory, the core proposition of admin- related to the construction of dynamic capabilities and the dynamic
istrative performance services and operations is how a company examination of the external environment. It is accompanied by the
understands its current activities and helps itself to achieve its long- perception of digital resources, the capture of digital technologies,
term strategic goals. Around understanding activities and strategic and digital transformation shaping (Fernandes et al., 2017). In this
transformation, companies must practice the mining of resources and regard, the source of perceptual activity is the extraction of digital
the extraction of capabilities. Thus, at that level, the firm's under- technologies already owned by the company rather than the direct
standing of business activity is characterized as the observation, perception of external resources. Studies have shown that simple
extraction, and absorption of external resources. In the digital context interorganizational perceptions cannot tap into technology, that the
and under the pressure of transformational needs, this understanding process of purchasing and applying technology falls within the realm
of activity evolves into a process of adoption of digital technologies of organizational exchange theory, market theory, and that learning
(Usai et al., 2021). In conjunction with the previous section, DTA is from intrinsic perceptions will yield more substantial benefits than
how dynamic digital increments external to an enterprise are trans- open interoperability. Based on perceptions, to enable postlearning
formed into internal operational digital stock. reflection and enhanced exploration of future events and activities,
With this technological impetus, the primary goals of digital companies must further anchor resources to capture them as a basis
transformation can be achieved quickly: growth in the central for future innovation and to meet potential environmental needs
2042 SHEN ET AL.

(Chirumalla, 2021). Finally, digital transformation is empowered H4. DTA positively affects digital transformation per-
through innovative decision making and resource integration. It fol- formance through digital dynamic capabilities.
lows that digital dynamic capability is the processing of DTA, and its
various components are deeply concerned with the qualitative effec-
tiveness of DTA, whereby the following hypothesis is proposed in this 3.5 | The moderating role of digital innovation
paper: orientation

H2. DTA positively affects digital dynamic capabilities. The raw power of the digital transformation process is the innovative
power of the company. In turn, companies have been gradually foster-
ing the innovation environment, resources in the process of DTA, and
3.3 | Digital dynamic capabilities and digital digital dynamic capabilities to obtain the conditions for innovation
transformation performance and carry out original, incremental, and radical innovation (Alvarado-
Vargas et al., 2020). At a logical level, it is clear that DTA and digital
In a complex and changing market environment and a revolutionary dynamic capabilities are formed for innovation development, and the
digital economy, companies are forced to undergo digital transforma- ultimate goal of both is necessarily corporate performance. However,
tion, and dynamic capabilities are a practical tool for retaining compet- the above activities are strung together by the firm's goals, and when
itive advantage and digital transformation. Relevant studies have the firm's goals of innovation convergence are more vital, DTA and
shown that digital dynamic capabilities fit exceptionally well with digi- digital dynamic capabilities under moderator are also enhanced (Arias-
tal transformation performance, even to the extent that they have Pérez et al., 2021).
become a necessary factor in developing business performance Around the type of digital innovation output and the purpose of
(Ringov, 2017). construction, digital innovation has developed three orientations in
Combined with digital dynamic capabilities, digital sensing capa- influencing activities, namely, the efficiency orientation around pro-
bilities focus digital resources to create capabilities that companies cess innovation, the novelty orientation rooted in product and service
rely on for business growth, indirectly supplying intelligent adjust- innovation, and the convergence orientation seeking a breakthrough
ments to operating models, but the mechanics with business model innovation in the model. The efficiency orientation tends to fit better
innovation are open to debate (Daniel & Wilson, 2003). In the process with building intelligent operational areas for digital transformation.
of digital capture, enterprises anchor their existing resources and The novelty orientation meets more the growth of the leading busi-
capabilities, cross-apply the capabilities of digital technology, improve ness. The convergence orientation aims to serve business innovation
and perfect current services and products, secure the growth of their with the extension of the boundaries of digital innovation objectives.
primary business through the acquisition of technological advantages Overall, digital innovation orientation is precisely how to aggregate
and expansion of market share, and on the premise of acquiring an the various practices to influence activities and meet the need of sus-
ample sales market, then gradually adjust their operational model, and tainable development. Accordingly, this paper proposes the following
finally achieve the goal of business model innovation (Enkel E & hypotheses:
Sagmeister, 2020). The digital transformation capability is a top-down
driving mechanism that first leads to a change in corporate gover- H5. Digital innovation orientation moderates the rela-
nance thinking, emphasizing innovation in soft foundations such as tionship between DTA and digital transformation
models. Finally, in the context of optimizing financial foundations performance.
(Ellonen et al., 2009). Accordingly, this paper proposes the following
hypothesis: H5a. The efficiency-based orientation of digital innova-
tion positively moderates the positive relationship
H3. Digital dynamic capabilities positively influence between DTA and digital transformation performance.
digital transformation performance.
H5b. The novelty-type orientation of digital innovation
positively moderates the positive relationship between
3.4 | The mediating role of digital dynamic DTA and digital transformation performance.
capabilities
H5c. Convergence-oriented orientation of digital inno-
Combined with the previous analysis, digital dynamic capabilities will vation positively moderates the positive relationship
present a linking facilitation role between DTA and digital transfor- between DTA and digital transformation performance.
mation performance, and this indirect influence mechanism is a man-
ifestation of mediating capabilities (Wamba et al., 2017). H6. A moderating effect of digital innovation orienta-
Accordingly, this paper adds to H1–H3 by forming the following tion in the relationship between digital dynamic capabili-
hypotheses. ties and digital transformation performance.
SHEN ET AL. 2043

H6a. The efficiency-based orientation of digital innova- company's digital products; and (4) local government officials respon-
tion positively moderates the positive relationship sible for the management of the company. The specific information of
between digital dynamic capabilities and digital transfor- the research sample is shown in Table 1.
mation performance. Overall, all indicators in the sample are relatively balanced, with a
slightly higher proportion of essential data suppliers, effectively
H6b. The novelty-type orientation of digital innovation supporting the value of the research data, and the overall distribution
positively moderates the positive relationship between is in line with the current state of the industry, good representative-
digital dynamic capabilities and digital transformation ness, and researchability.
performance.

H6c. Convergent orientation of digital innovation posi- 4.2 | Measures and variables
tively moderates the positive relationship between digi-
tal dynamic capabilities and digital transformation This study measures the main variables of this study based on comb-
performance. ing relevant domestic and international research, using a mature scale,
and combining the opinions of experts from the Ministry of Industry
The theoretical model in this paper is shown in Figure 1. and Information Technology, local government personnel, and
researchers. The indicators are portrayed using a 7-point Likert scale.
The specific measures are shown in the Table A1.
4 | M E TH O DO LO GY

4.1 | Sample and data 4.2.1 | Digital transformation performance

The research team researched with identified enterprises in the textile Some literature has been presented on the core connotation of digital
industry that have taken the lead in smart manufacturing and digital transformation performance, with Warner and Waeger (2019) empha-
transformation to build a research framework for the “Smart sizing that the core meaning of performance, whatever it is, is the
Manufacturing Development Strategy for China's Textile Industry.” In growth of financial metrics. At the same time, Zhu et al. (2019) argue
the data collection, the study used a combination of on-site and online that in digital transformation, the critical role of performance is to
questionnaires and research interviews. Four hundred questionnaires adjust the business operating model and shift to a digital model. Based
were distributed, 387 were returned, and 31 invalid questionnaires on the digital transformation report of Chinese enterprises by
were excluded, resulting in 356 valid questionnaires, with a valid Accenture Institute for Business Research and the National Industrial
return rate of 89%. The research was conducted with a specific sam- Information Security Development Research Centre, this study sum-
ple of (1) middle and senior management of the company; (2) those marizes the scale of digital transformation performance. It enhances
responsible for or critical participants in intellectual development and the semantic formulation to make the scale analysis more applicable
digital transformation projects; (3) the customer base related to the to the content of this study.

FIGURE 1 Research hypothesis

2044 SHEN ET AL.

TABLE 1 Sample specifics (N = 356)

Classification Sample Proportion Classification Sample Proportion

Age <25 years old 21 5.9% Position Senior management 46 12.9%
25–35 years old 276 77.5% Middle management 218 61.2%
36–45 years old 42 11.8% Grassroots staff 18 5.1%
>46 years old 17 4.8% Specialized heads 74 20.8%
Education College and 15 4.2% Digital scale Less than 5 million 2 18.2%
background below (enterprise)
Undergraduate 263 73.9% 5–20 million 4 36.4%
Master's degree 56 15.7% 20–50 million 3 27.3%
PhD 22 6.2%
Industry chain Upstream 89 25% 50 million or more 2 18.2%
location Midstream 48 13.5% Property State-owned enterprise 8 57.14%
Downstream 167 46.9%
Government 52 14.6% Non-state-owned 6 42.86%
enterprises

4.2.2 | Digital technology adoption 4.2.5 | Control variables

This section mainly refers to the scales of Zhang et al. (2021), and Usai Despite the relatively limited number of companies studied, several
et al. (2021), where Meral's scale is based on a component assessment vital variables were controlled for in the statistical analysis to ensure
of digital technology tools, resulting in seven central IoT, cyber- the rigor of the study and provide a clearer understanding of the
physical systems, big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, impact of variables on the digital transformation process of textile
additive manufacturing, and reality augmentation technology sub- companies. These include age, income, and property.
scales. This study builds on this by further integrating seven scales,
grouping them into two categories, technology access and technology
adoption, and incorporating Blichfeldt's scale reflections on the two 5 | EMP I RICAL TE ST S
dimensions.
5.1 | Reliability and validity analysis

4.2.3 | Digital dynamic capability To test and ensure the consistency, stability, and reliability of the
results, this study portrays the validity of the questionnaire scales
Drawing primarily on the research scales of Mikalef and with Cronbach's coefficient and combined reliability. The results in
Pateli (2017), Warner and Waeger (2019), and Wamba et al. (2017), Table 2 show that the coefficients and combined reliabilities of the
among others, three dimensions were used to portray digital per- variables are within acceptable limits, even reaching a high-reliability
ceptual capacity, digital capture capacity, and digital transformation level of .8 for many indicators, indicating that the scale has a high per-
capacity. suasive and explanatory power. The factor loadings of the question-
naire items are all greater than .5, the overall aggregation of the
questionnaire is strong, and the functional and practical aspects of the
4.2.4 | Digital innovation orientation questionnaire are more prominent, allowing for subsequent research
analysis. Furthermore, given that the moderating effect of digital inno-
Mainly drawing on the research scales of Turetken et al. (2019) and vation orientation will be presented categorically, its presentation in
Zhu et al. (2019) on efficiency, novelty, and value-based business the dimension-specific reliability analysis is presented as an aggrega-
model innovation, but in concrete practice, this study adapted the tion of the inscribed orientation dimension rather than a uniform test
scale semantics based on the connotation of value creation drinking of the entire dimension. As the director of the question inscription in
digital economy and used its portrayal of efficiency, novelty and inte- this paper only shows the intrinsic structure of the variables, and
gration dimensions as sub-regulatory variables. The moderating vari- there is an internal correlation in this direction, this study does not
ables are used as the basis for classifying the types of corporate goals, need and does not lend itself to structural equation work but is tested
grouping the moderating effects, and thus clarifying the impact mech- empirically through regression models such as mediation and
anism of each goal. moderation.
SHEN ET AL. 2045

TABLE 2 Quality criteria of constructs

Variables Dimension Indicator code Loadings Cronbach's α CR

Digital technology adoption (X) Technology acquisition DTA-A1 .726 .735 .798
DTA-A2 .811
Technology adoption DTA-B1 .795
DTA-B2 .849
DTA-B3 .862
DTA-B4 .798
Digital transformation performance (Y) Main business growth DTP-A1 .864 .726 .763
DTP-A2 .672
DTP-A3 .901
Intelligent operation DTP-B1 .577
DTP-B2 .682
DTP-B3 .812
Business innovation DTP-C1 .836
DTP-C2 .791
DTP-C3 .748
Digital dynamic capability (Me) Digital sense capability DYC-A1 .598 .738 .758
DYC-A2 .577
DYC-A3 .604
DYC-A4 .629
Digital capture capability DYC-B1 .822
DYC-B2 .709
DYC-B3 .588
DYC-B4 .878
Digital transformation capability DYC-C1 .754
DYC-C2 .768
DYC-C3 .921
DYC-C4 .908
Digital innovation orientation (Mo) Efficiency DIO-A1 .874 .796 .802
DIO-A2 .839
DIO-A3 .851
Novelty DIO-B1 .673 .712 .746
DIO-B2 .705
DIO-B3 .901
Convergence DIO-C1 .876 .828 .859
DIO-C2 .845
DIO-C3 .826

5.2 | Results of main and mediating effect tests enterprises are larger, their transformation foundation is relatively
solid. Their potential digital performance outlook is relatively substan-
In order to test the impact of DTA on digital transformation perfor- tial. In contrast, firm age and nature of ownership are not associated
mance in the digital development of textile companies, this study used with eventual digital transformation performance, further characteriz-
cascade regression analysis to include independent variables with con- ing the broad scope and low threshold of digital transformation.
trol variables guaranteed and the significance of each regression coef- Undoubtedly, this is a major development opportunity and adjustment
ficient to test the results of the hypothesis. As seen in Table 3, Model for traditional textile companies. Model 2 shows the main effect, and
1 is a test of the control variables, in which there is a weak positive the results (β = .565, p < .01) indicate a direct effect of DTA on digital
relationship between enterprise revenue size and digital transforma- transformation performance and that there is a significant and stable
tion performance (β = .222, p < .05), indicating that when textile link between the two, and H1 holds. This is more in line with previous
2046 SHEN ET AL.

theoretical judgments: The singular and resourceful nature of DTA absorption. While a large resource base can undoubtedly be used as
can positively impact digital transformation performance. However, in an element of business transformation to achieve performance
the absence of competence orientation or contextual adaptation, they empowerment, this weak and significant relationship is not sustain-
are often not used to their full potential and have an immediate, rapid, able in business operations. In conjunction with the question item, the
and relatively strong value for the company, which explains the rela- macrobenefits of DTA will disappear once the cooperation between
tively weak significant relationship. Models 3 and 4 portray separate textile companies and R&D units breaks down or the scale of R&D
effects between DTA, digital dynamic capabilities, and digital transfor- capital and technology purchase funds decreases. In this study, the
mation performance, respectively. In particular, digital dynamic capa- group considered and observed the awkward situation of textile
bility has a significant positive effect on digital transformation enterprises in the digital economy during their practical research: with
performance (β = .614, p < .05), while DTA maintains a positive inter- the scale effect of the gathering of a large number of labor factors,
action on digital dynamic capability (β = .544, p < .05), which further even though the enterprises are concerned about the need for inno-
validates H2 and H3. vation and invest more technology and knowledge elements in the
The study draws on the three-step mediation regression analy- textile sector itself. They neglect their own ability to tap into digital
sis. The prior regressions of Models 2, 3, and 4 indicate that the technology and fail to develop autonomous and independent internal
underlying regression units pass the requirement for the regression R&D activities in DTA.
coefficients to be significant for the mediating effect test. In Model In addition, the paper uses the bootstrapping method to identify
5, the original main effect (X ! Y) coefficient becomes 0.395 and the mediating effect of digital dynamic capabilities between DTA and
disappears from significance (p > .1). In contrast, the mediated digital transformation performance. In this study, in bootstrap analysis,
regression coefficient is significant (β = .402, p < .01), indicating 5000 replicate samples were constructed with 95% bias-corrected
that digital dynamic capabilities present a complete mediated role confidence intervals. PROCESS operations calculated direct and indi-
in the digital transformation of textile companies, as verified rect effects for different assignments of mediators. As seen in Table 4,
by H4. the confidence interval for the direct effect in digital dynamic capabili-
The examination of direct and mediating effects shows the diffi- ties contains zero, indicating that the direct effect is not significant.
culties in the digital transformation of textile companies, that is, the Therefore, the indirect effect is the dominant effect with an effect
need for digital dynamic competence formation. Combined with the size of 0.102 (CI = [0.045, 0.251]), which is consistent with the previ-
previous theoretical analysis, it can be seen that the dynamic transfor- ous analysis results: Digital dynamic capabilities show a complete
mation of DTA is a creative process of technology extraction and mediated effect.

T A B L E 3 Results of the test of direct

DTP DTP DTP DYC DTP
and mediating effects
Dependent variable Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 5
Independent variable
DTA 0.565* 0.544** 0.395
Mediator
DYC 0.614** 0.402**
Control variable
Age 0.034 0.065 0.001 0.012 0.101
Income 0.222* 0.016* 0.142** 0.192* 0.122*
Property 0.007 0.016 0.011 0.03 0.019
R2 .366 .466 .382 .401 .375
F 10.783*** 6.281* 11.283*** 10.285*** 8.094***

*t values significant at the 10% significance level.

**t values significant at the 5% significance level.
***t values significant at the 1% significance level.

TABLE 4 Results of bootstrapping analysis of mediation effects

Path relationships Effect Effect value Standard error Lower limit Upper limit
Digital technology adoption ! digital dynamic Total effect 0.497 0.052 0.032 0.232
capabilities ! digital transformation performance Indirect effect 0.102 0.011 0.045 0.251
Direct effect 0.395 0.039 0.021 0.045
SHEN ET AL. 2047

5.3 | Results of moderating effect tests transformation performance), the efficiency, novelty, and convergence
types of digital innovation orientation all produce positive moderation
This paper centers the variables in order to avoid multicollinearity. On effects. Among them, the convergent orientation is the strongest
this basis, this study analyses the moderating effect on the direct path (β = .549, p < .05), and the driving force of digital dynamic capabilities
of DTA on digital transformation performance. As this paper classifies on digital transformation performance will continue to increase along
digital innovation orientation into three categories, the subdimensions with the clarity and strength of the convergence goal. The efficiency
are sequentially used as moderators to participate in the regression. type had the following most muscular moderating power (β = .547,
Models 6–8 examined the moderating effect of efficiency digital inno- p < .05), while the novelty type had the weakest (β = .512, p < .05).
vation orientation (DIOA), novel digital innovation orientation (DIOB), Overall, H6a, H6b, and H6c all passed the test.
and convergency digital innovation orientation (DIOC) on the relation- In the context of reality, the goal of convergence is most in line
ship between DTA and digital transformation performance, respec- with the demands of digital transformation in textile companies and
tively. As seen in Models 6–8 of Table 5, only the convergency corresponds to the highest level of performance in transformation.
innovation orientation produces a positive and significant moderating The key to convergence lies in guiding digital technology and resource
role on the direct effect (DTA  DIOC, β = .213, p < .05), as verified service organizations to build new organizational structures and ser-
by H5c. However, the moderating relationship between efficiency vice models, a soft power building orientation. In a cross-sectional
and novelty digital innovation orientations is absent. This suggests comparison of the two types of regulation, it is easy to see that the
that with an increased orientation intensity, DTA will have a more convergent orientation is weaker in its direct effects than in its medi-
substantial effect on digital transformation performance under a con- ated activities.
vergent goal. The efficiency and novelty types, on the other hand, do The textile industry itself is a traditional manufacturing industry
not effectively produce a moderating effect and are rejected by H5a and a vital livelihood component of the national economy. Despite
and H5b. the declining labor factor dividend, it is undeniable that the textile
As seen in Models 9–11, in the process of local moderation industry is still a typical factor endowment industry and efficiency is
(M ! Y, the role of digital dynamic capabilities on digital an important direction and outlet to improve performance. The

T A B L E 5 Results of the test of

Dependent DTP DTP DTP DTP DTP DTP
moderating effect
variable Model 6 Model 7 Model 8 Model 9 Model 10 Model 11
Independent variable
DTA 0.386 0.402 0.496* 0.366*** 0.389 0.486*
Mediator
DYC 0.442** 0.432** 0.412** 0.464** 0.402** 0.475*
Moderator
DIOA 0.167 0.344**
DIOB 0.201 0.437**
DIOC 0.277* 0.302*
Interaction
DTA  DIOA 0.287
DTA  DIOB 0.209
DTA  DIOC 0.213*
DYC  DIOA 0.547***
DYC  DIOB 0.512**
DYC  DIOC 0.549**
Control variable
Age 0.001 0.002 0.101 0.004 0.007 0.005
Income 0.122* 0.131* 0.242* 0.102** 0.201* 0.190*
Property 0.011 0.002 0.01 0.03 0.005 0.01
R2 .241 .297 .316 .207 .384 .295
F 7.195*** 9.074*** 9.995*** 8.172*** 10.198*** 8.857***

*t values significant at the 10% significance level.

**t values significant at the 5% significance level.
***t values significant at the 1% significance level.
2048 SHEN ET AL.

advantage of an efficient digital innovation orientation is that it main- T A B L E 6 Results of the test of moderating effect (group with
tains the traditional objectives of textile companies so that they do high digital technology adoption)

not lose their way in the digital transformation. For example, before DTP DTP DTP
the digital transformation, they relied on enlarging workshops and Dependent variable Model 70 Model 80 Model 90
expanding the workforce to strengthen output efficiency. In contrast, Independent variable
after the transformation, the nature of human resources did not DTA 0.614*** 0.592*** 0.625**
change but became dependent on digital talent to promote the opera- Mediator
tion of digital workshops. DYC 0.502*** 0.488*** 0.512***
The novel type of digital innovation orientation is more applicable
Moderator
to a department of a textile company, especially a frontline production
DIOA 0.235**
or operations shop, which, while meeting the smart operational
DIOB 0.372**
requirements of digital transformation performance, is hardly a com-
DIOC 0.298**
plete unification of the company's internal objectives. In a game of
Interaction
interest regulation, it is difficult to obtain the full support of all parts
of the company for changes to the operating model, so the goal is less DTA  DIOA 0.455***

well directed. DTA  DIOB 0.402**

DTA  DIOC 0.501***
Control variable
5.4 | Complementary test analysis Age 0.001 0.002 0.101
Income 0.122* 0.131* 0.242*
Combined with the previous analysis, it can be seen that H5a and Property 0.011 0.002 0.01
H5b are not significant indirect effects subject to moderation. Consid- R2 .311 .362 .298
ering the possibility that there is a threshold for DTA, this study per-
F 8.096*** 8.129*** 7.898***
centile treated the DTA of the research group. It selected the top 50%
*t values significant at the 10% significance level.
of samples with high technology adoption as a group for the comple-
**t values significant at the 5% significance level.
mentary test of the moderating effect. The results are shown in ***t values significant at the 1% significance level.
Table 6.
As seen in Table 6, the moderating effect of each type of digital
innovation orientation maintains a high level of significance and corre-
lation. The relationship between the three moderating forces remains performance adaptation, taking textile enterprises as an example,
consistent with the previous analysis. This comparison shows that it is introducing digital dynamic capability as a mediating variable and digi-
not that the digital innovation orientation of efficiency and novelty tal innovation orientation as a moderating variable, and testing the
are wholly disconnected from DTA, but that the threshold effect relationship between the four through empirical analysis to obtain the
between the two limits the extent of the moderating effect. Among following conclusions:
the high subgroups of DTA, the coefficient of the digital innovation-
oriented regression for the efficiency type increased significantly
(0.287 ! 0.455, β < .001), with an increase of 58.5%, indicating a rel- 6.1 | Direct relationship between digital
atively severe scale dependence of the efficiency type on DTA. The technology and digital transformation performance
goal of efficiency itself is to establish an efficient production system
for products, emphasizing rapid leaps in quantity and quality. There- In terms of the sample as a whole, the significance of the positive
fore, individual stand-alone or simple, innovative factories and digital effect between DTA and digital transformation performance of textile
technology cannot trigger an efficient building structure and, there- firms is low. Whereas when the overall level of DTA in textile compa-
fore, hardly impact the final digital performance. This is because tex- nies is high, the results show that DTA can positively drive the digital
tile companies need a great deal of digital technology if they want to transformation of textile companies, which is not entirely consistent
overhaul their operating models and achieve efficient operations by with the findings of existing research on the ability of technology to
intelligent means. enhance business performance positively. Textile enterprises, as tradi-
tional enterprises, have a low starting point for their digitalization, and
the long-consolidated labor-intensive development model adds to the
6 | DISCUSSION difficulty of their digital transformation. Therefore, it is difficult for
enterprises to take advantage of digital technology when the number
Based on dynamic capability theory, this paper explores the mecha- and degree of DTA are low. Especially in the early stages of transfor-
nism of the role of DTA on the digital transformation performance of mation, the marginal effect of DTA is minimal. When the level of DTA
enterprises under the perspective of resource–capability– crosses the threshold, the company can use digital technology directly
SHEN ET AL. 2049

to improve efficiency, save costs, and so on; advance the company's market demands provides a possible explanation for the lower path
digital transformation; and obtain a marginal incremental transforma- coefficient of the novel digital innovation orientation.
tion performance.

7 | CONC LU SION
6.2 | Mediating effect of digital dynamic capability
7.1 | Contribution to research
Digital dynamic capabilities play a mediating role between firms' DTA
and digital transformation performance, broadly consistent with exis- Our study contributes to research in several ways. First, this study
ting research on dynamic capabilities and firms' competitive advan- enriches the research on the impact of digital technology on business
tage. Digital dynamic competence is an evolution of dynamic performance. Digital technology as a resource for enterprises is often
competence theory in the digital age, which has the knowledge base considered a powerful tool to compete in the digital era. On the one
of dynamic competence theory and reflects the characteristics of the hand, the number of technologies adopted and the extent to which
digital age. Textile companies can often perceive the opportunities they are used will determine a significant variation in the digital
presented by digital technology and identify potential threats and resource base of companies, and the resource-based view suggests
competition in their environment as they acquire and apply them. In that differences in corporate resources will lead to differences in cor-
contrast, digital thinking and strategies help them to make agile deci- porate performance and, therefore, in the digital transformation per-
sions using information from digital reconnaissance. These enable formance of companies. On the other hand, digital technologies offer
companies to transform the information captured by digital technolo- more opportunities for “competition” between companies in the digi-
gies into knowledge, thus contributing more effectively to the digital tal context. As a result, the relationship between digital technology
transformation of their businesses. Compared to companies lacking and the digital transformation performance of enterprises possesses
digital dynamics, companies with higher digital dynamics can extract uncertainty. Second, this study expands the theoretical space of
more useful information from data, forming a unique resource for the dynamic capabilities. Considering the contemporary characteristics of
company, which translates into a unique competitive advantage. dynamic capability theory and using digital dynamic capability as a
mediating variable, a research framework of DTA–digital dynamic
capability–digital transformation performance is constructed, which
6.3 | Moderating effect of digital innovation explains some of the contradictory findings in relevant studies on digi-
orientation tal technology and enterprise performance and provides a black box
for revealing the digital transformation mechanism of traditional
Digital innovation orientation positively moderates the relationship enterprises. Third, we focused on a discussion of digital innovation
between DTA and digital transformation performance, with efficiency orientations in textile companies, which are classified as efficiency,
and convergence moderating more significantly than novel digital novelty, and convergence based on the value creation path and the
innovation orientation. Digital innovation orientation is closely related nature of the digital economy. We explore the contextual role of dif-
to the objectives of companies using digital technology. At the ferent digital innovation orientations. On the one hand, this paper
moment, most textile companies are still in the experimental phase of clarifies the boundary conditions of the relationship between DTA
intelligent manufacturing. As a result, some of the more successful and digital transformation performance. On the other hand, it clarifies
companies at this stage are using digital technology to improve the the distinction among the role of various digital innovation orienta-
productivity and management efficiency of their companies and save tions and provides a new theoretical perspective for understanding
costs. Because the improvement involves fewer organizational and the mechanisms underlying the digital transformation performance of
business model changes, efficiency-oriented companies tend to firms.
achieve improved transformation performance in the short term. In
contrast, the more complex convergent digital innovation orientation,
which requires companies to create business models and organiza- 7.2 | Managerial implications
tional structures that match the digital environment, represents a
long-term, significant challenge for companies. As a result, textile This paper provides the following practical insights into the digital
companies that are now early to realize the importance of digitaliza- transformation of textile companies. First of all, textile companies
tion are gradually building up an industry ecosystem, shaping the posi- should consider the ultimate goal and value creation of the company,
tioning of their core companies (platform leaders), and using the avoiding introducing digital technology blindly. Generally speaking,
network effect to form their competitive advantage and better realize the ultimate goal of companies pursuing digital transformation is stra-
their digital transformation. In contrast to these two digital innovation tegic growth and operational efficiency improvement. It is critical to
orientations, the novel digital innovation orientation aims at forming consider which digital technologies are introduced and how they can
new products and services, and the uncertainty of its role in the per- be adopted to bring about new business growth opportunities and
formance of digital transformation due to the diversity of current meet market needs. Second, textile firms should focus on developing
2050 SHEN ET AL.

digital dynamic capabilities. Firm capabilities are not only unique ACKNOWLEDG MENT
resources but also a strong catalyst for transforming other resources This research was supported by the Graduate Student Innovation
into competitive advantages. As higher order capabilities of enter- Fund of Donghua University (GSIF-DH-M-2021005).
prises, dynamic capabilities can help enterprises form a sustainable
competitive advantage in an environment of high uncertainty. Finally, AUTHOR CONTRIBU TIONS
when carrying out digital innovation, textile companies should choose Lei Shen designed the research. Xi Zhang conducted the investigation,
their digital innovation orientation reasonably according to their curated the data, and wrote the original draft of the manuscript.
digital technology level and digital transformation stage. Whether it is Hongda Liu reviewed and edited the manuscript.
efficiency or novelty-oriented innovation, it requires a large-scale
diffusion of digital technology in textile companies, so the existence CONFLIC T OF INT ER E ST
of this threshold limits many companies who invest in the short term. All authors have approved the manuscript and agree with submission,
Therefore, the process of digital transformation itself is long and and we have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
requires firms to think and compete sustainably.
DATA AVAILABILITY STAT EMEN T
When data acquisition is necessary, we will provide relevant raw data.
7.3 | Limitations and future research
OR CID
Despite profound merits, as in every study, this study also has some Hongda Liu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2628-7041
limitations that should be taken into account when interpreting the
findings. These limitations could be addressed by future research in ENDNOTE
both DTA and digital transformation performance, deepening our 1
Numbers are from “2020 China Digital Transformation Report.”
understanding of their effects.
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SHEN ET AL. 2053

APPENDIX A

TABLE A1 Indicators of variables

Indicator
Variables Dimension code Indicators Reference
Digital technology Technology DTA-A1 Our digital technology resources are Adapted from Huang and Zhou (2013),
adoption (X) acquisition directly imported from scientific and Blichfeldt and Faullant (2021)
research institutes and other firms
DTA-A2 Our digital technology resources are
generated in cooperation with
scientific research institutes and other
firms
Technology DTA-B1 We are digitally connected with smart
adoption devices or and have a database
DTA-B2 Our business benefits from various
digital technologies
DTA-B3 We can produce digitally and have a
creative design basis
DTA-B4 We can interact digitally in activities for
our employees, such as training, co-
processing, etc
Digital transformation Main business DTP-A1 We digitally upgrade the existing Adapted from Aydiner et al. (2019),
performance (Y) growth offerings Chaston (2013), Kafetzopoulos
DTP-A2 We develop intelligent offerings et al. (2020), and Wiengarten
et al. (2014)
DTP-A3 We offer customized offerings based on
individual needs
Intelligent operation DTP-B1 We use digital technology to realize
agile R&D
DTP-B2 We conduct collaborative R&D based
on digital platforms
DTP-B3 We implement smart manufacturing and
flexible supply chain
Business innovation DTP-C1 We implement a digital platform-based
business model
DTP-C2 We flexibly adjust the structure of
functional departments
DTP-C3 We establish a decision making &
control system based on data analysis
Digital dynamic Digital sense DYC-A1 We are constantly searching for Adapted from Teece, 2017, Helfat and
capability (Me) capability technological trends Raubitschek (2018), Warner and
DYC-A2 We are able to analyze the signals Waeger (2019), and Annarelli
scouted and analyze the digital et al. (2021)
scenarios of the future
DYC-A3 We build a long-term digital vision and
digital thinking for the company
DYC-A4 We are able to analyze the signals we
detect and analyze future digital
scenarios
Digital capture DYC-B1 We can use digital innovation labs for
capability rapid prototyping
DYC-B2 We are able to scale up digital
innovation business models
DYC-B3 We are able to reallocate resources
quickly
DYC-B4 We allow for repositioning and change

(Continues)
2054 SHEN ET AL.

TABLE A1 (Continued)

Indicator
Variables Dimension code Indicators Reference
Digital DYC-C1 We interact with multiple external
transformation partners
capability
DYC-C2 We have the ability to generate new
ecosystems
DYC-C3 We recruit digital talent and digital
technology managers from outside
DYC-C4 We are able to leverage digital
knowledge from within the
organization
Digital innovation Efficiency DIO-A1 We use digital technology to improve Adapted from Von Briel (2018)
orientation (Mo) corporate efficiency (including
production efficiency, R&D efficiency,
and communication efficiency)
DIO-A2 We use digital technology to reduce
costs as a goal (including all aspects of
R&D, production, and sales)
DIO-A3 We use digital technology to reduce
information misalignment as a goal
(e.g., by building digital platforms to
enable data sharing)
Novelty DIO-B1 We use digital technology to deliver
new offerings as a goal
DIO-B2 We use digital technology to introduce
new players into the value creation
process (e.g., building personalized
platforms and using customer
knowledge to create value)
DIO-B3 We use digital technology to adopt new
ways of working
Convergence DIO-C1 We use digital technology to make
organization structures more
reasonable
DIO-C2 We use digital technologies to develop
more advantageous business models
DIO-C3 We use digital technology to create new
connections with stakeholders and
collaborate on value creation

T A B L E A 2 Descriptive and person

Construct Mean SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
correlation matrix
DTP 4.750 0.935 .724
DTA 5.080 1.068 .672 .702
DYC 4.821 1.012 .668 .689 .767
DIO 4.274 1.377 .302 .588 .602 .745
Age 3.220 1.102 .102 .090 .088 .090 1.000
Income 2.890 1.256 .233 .122 .201 .211 .188 1.000
Property 1.716 2.407 .009 .010 .007 .011 .023 .045 1.000

Note: Numbers on the main diagonal show the square root of the AVE.
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