Harnessing information processing theory: key organizational initiatives for digital transformation projects success

Purpose Digital transformation (DT) is connected to how information technologies (IT) can be harnessed to address organizational needs and leverage business opportunities. DT projects are complex endeavors, and IT is just one aspect to manage. Other crucial elements include people, information, business processes, organizational capability and organizational culture. Embedding IT into an organization over poorly established processes or without the correct organizational initiatives can be the first step toward failure in DT projects. Based on the information processing theory, this research focuses on maximizing the success of DT projects by identifying key initiatives to prepare organizations for these endeavors. Design/methodology/approach To better understand the relationship between organizational initiatives and the DT project’s success, we surveyed 205 practitioners. The results were analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings Findings show the relationship between the organizational initiatives proposed by the information processing theory (namely, reducing the need for information processing and improving information capacity), strategic alignment of digital technologies and business, management of the digital technology infrastructure and DT project success. This work built a comprehensive and scalable model that offers a consistent characterization of the organizational initiatives dimension that researchers can use in the future. Originality/value The organizational initiatives identified by Galbraith’s information processing theory and Li’s work have not been used together to explain the success of DT projects. We contribute to the theory and DT projects’ success by validating the impact of these initiatives.