Examining the Role of Digital Transformation as an Enabler of Sustainability and Servitization: A Dynamic Capability Perspective

Digitalization, servitization, and sustainability are three developments that significantly influence and threaten companies’ competitiveness. In order to deal successfully with the requisite transformation processes to incorporate these trends, organizations need to acquire a set of dynamic capabilities (DCs). As the developments of DT, servitization, and sustainability show close interrelations between each other, the purpose of this study is to analyze their synergies from a DC perspective. Therefore, we conducted a systematic literature review to identify capabilities and underlying synergies for the three respective transformation contexts. In sum, we analyzed 64 publications, on which we base our results. We found 11 dynamic capability clusters that appear to be indispensable in all three transformational contexts. These should be considered by companies in order to harness the synergies of the transformational developments. Together with further unveiled specific skills, the capabilities that we identified further illuminate the role of DT as an enabler of servitization and sustainability from a DC perspective. We have translated the results into a comprehensive framework that contributes to the scientific literature and helps practitioners leading an organizational transformation.