ifkad articles

The Impact of Digital Transformation: Managing Skills to Deal with Digitalization

Alessandro Annarelli, Federica Di Meo

In the digital age, organizations are built upon and rely on people and their technical skills, which are becoming an important source of competitive advantage. In this context, the role of Human Resources Management changes significantly, and this change has a direct impact on the governance of the company as well, thus configuring it as a Strategic Human Resource Management. It has the task of transmitting an innovative and cooperative corporate culture directly to the employees, helping them to develop a digital mind-set and new digital skills in line with the objectives of the business model. This research aims to provide a qualitative analysis of the impact of Digital Transformation on Human Resources processes, to address organizational change, and on the development of appropriate transversal skills of individuals to incorporate and capitalize on innovations in the digital environment. The research work was carried out using the methodology of the illustrative (and explanatory) case study, involving an Italian company that has witnessed a relevant digital transformation process in the last years. Results show that Human Resources Management can (and must) have a guiding role in driving the organizational change through digitalization, particularly by incubating and accelerating digital innovations, while at the same time fostering the development of Digital Leadership.

IN: Proceedings IFKAD 2021 – Managing Knowledge in Uncertain Times
PP: 1212-1225