Assessment of digital maturity: the role of resources and capabilities in digital transformation in B2B firms

Figures & data

Table 1. Identification of digital capability maturity stages.

	Firm group means
Digital capability dimension	Novice (n = 27)	Beginnerm (n = 63)	Competent (n = 97)	Expert (n = 115)	F-valueb
Strategy	30.07	59.03	65.47	87.68	121.41
Technology	28.81	59.51	71.82	88.02	152.35
Operations	28.15	44.76	64.86	84.30	190.31
Organization and culture	27.56	37.19	63.61	81.74	175.77
Customers	20.19	45.62	62.85	83.13	130.88

¹0–100 point scale was reflecting that firms can range from 0 (‘incapable’) – 100 (‘fully capable’), in their digital capabilities.

²F-value is significant where p < 0.001 in all cases.

Table 2. Principal components analysis of IT-enabled resources.

Construct	Item description	Standardised loading
Technology	The increase of digital technologies represents one of our main goals	0.713
Eigenvalue: 4.123	The intensive use of digitisation and automation allows us to increase our performance against competitors	0.830
% of variance explained: 13.74	The intensive use of digitisation and automation allows us to satisfy the needs of our clients better	0.835
	The intensive use of digitisation and automation allows us to increase the revenues	0.847
Strategy and organisation	Our employees in administrative departments possess the skills needed to cope with digital applications	0.527
Eigenvalue: 3.656	Our employees in the production department possess the skills needed to cope with digital applications	0.583
% of variance explained: 12.19	We offer sufficient training activities related to the use of digital technologies	0.604
	At our company, innovation is based on digital technologies	0.500
	We use digital communication systems to interact with customers	0.513
	Our management truly supports the implementation of digital strategies	0.582
	We integrate digitisation within the corporate strategy	0.579
	Both our mission and vision are aligned with digital technologies	0.513
Marketing	We use digital technologies to frame marketing and sales campaigns	0.778
Eigenvalue: 3.607	We collect market data using digital applications	0.836
% of variance explained: 12.02	We analyse market data using digital applications	0.772
	We use digital technologies to improve service activities	0.595
	We use digital technologies for recruiting and selecting personnel	0.546
Production	We use digital technologies to support production activities	0.638
Eigenvalue: 3.220	We facilitate the implementation of automatic production processes	0.653
% of variance explained: 10.73	We have intelligent production facilities	0.761
	We enable manufacturing execution systems	0.642
	We use machine and plant data collection	0.658
Logistics	We use digital technologies to support both inbound and outbound logistics	0.555
Eigenvalue: 2.580	The activities within our warehouses are fully automated	0.823
% of variance explained: 8.60	Transportation activities are planned using digital technologies	0.692
	The manipulation of both raw materials and finished products is done automatically	0.696
Procurement	We use digital technologies for procurement	0.520
Eigenvalue: 2.208	We use digital communication systems to contact suppliers	0.630
% of variance explained: 7.34	We use online bidding and negotiation	0.706
	We use e-procurement technologies	0.543

*Principal component analysis with varimax rotation and Kaiser normalisation converged in nine iterations.

Table 3. IT-enabled resources scale statistics.

			Item-total correlation*
Scale	No. of items	Cronbach’s alpha	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Technology	4	0.89	0.71	0.83	0.84	0.85
Strategy & organisation	8	0.88	0.51	0.53	0.58	0.60	0.50	0.58	0.58	0.51
Marketing	5	0.85	0.78	0.84	0.77	0.60	0.55
Production	5	0.82	0.64	0.65	0.76	0.64	0.66
Logistics	4	0.79	0.56	0.82	0.69	0.70
Procurement	4	0.73	0.52	0.63	0.71	0.54

*Pearson correlation coefficients. All correlations are significant, where p < 0.001.

Table 4. Resource-based differences in digital capability maturity stages.

	Digital capability maturity stage: Group means^a
IT-enabled resource dimension	Novice (n = 27)	Beginner (n = 63)	Competent (n = 97)	Expert (n = 115)	Univariate F-value^b	Scheffe multiple comparison^c
Technology	2.80	3.25	3.72	4.08	17.99	E > N; E > B; C > N; C > B
Strategy & organisation	2.51	2.98	3.35	3.97	36.79	E > N; E > B; E > C; C > N; C > B
Marketing	2.49	2.55	3.06	3.45	13.41	E > N; E > B; C > B
Production	2.56	2.75	3.14	3.65	14.97	E > N; E > B; E > C
Logistics	1.97	2.26	2.56	3.05	15.36	E > N; E > B; E > C; C > N
Procurement	2.55	2.85	2.99	3.49	11.14	E > N; E > B; E > C

^aLikert-type scale from 1 (firms are not using digital resources at all) to 5 (firms are actively using digital resources)

^bF-value is significant where p ≤ 0.001 in all cases.

^cPost-hoc analysis of differences (p ≤ 0.05) demonstrating the extent to which digital capability cluster profiles differ in the extent to which they exploit digital resources where: E = ‘Expert’; C = ‘Competent’; B = ‘Beginner’; and, N = ‘Novice’.

Table 5. Digital Capability Maturity Model summary.

	Maturity stage	1. Novice	2. Beginner	3. Competent	4. Expert
	Description	new to	learning	practising	transformed
	Generic description	IT-enabled resources are used nearly every firm, however, the transformation level is low, mainly conceptual, and technology focused.	Progress is made by combining, deploying, and converting resources.The right strategy is critical for effect deployment of IT-enabled resources.	The interactions between IT-enabled resources elevates transformation.	The firm’s digital capability matures. Organisation is continuously seeking new transformation opportunities.
	Focus	IT	Strategy	Operation	Synergies
Use of IT-enabled resources
	Technology*
	Strategy & organisation*
	Marketing*
	Production*
	Logistics*
	Procurement*
	How to reach a successive maturity stage?How to prioritise the work?	1. Strategy development2. Organisational readiness development3. Technology commitment	Implement IT-enabled resources in operations:1. Production,2. Marketing,3. Procurement, and4. Logistics	Extensive deployment of IT-enabled resources at every functional area.	Fine tuning:1. Further transformation of operations (if possible),2. Continuous seeking of new solutions

Assessment tool: Digital capability maturity assessment scale (Annex 1) and IT-enabled resources assessment scale (Annex 2)

*immature mature.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, Lilla Hortovanyi. The data are not publicly available due to containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.