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Human Interaction and Emerging Technologies (IHIET 2022), Vol. 68, 2022, 751–759
https://doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1002802
The Impact of Digital Transformation on
Corporate Identity Management
Didzis Rutitis and Eduards Aksjonenko
BA School of Business and Finance, Riga, LV-1013, Latvia
ABSTRACT
Digital transformation concept has emerged as an essential concept within mana-
gement sciences in recent considering the influence of pandemics on the way how
companies provide service, arrange manufacturing, and perform business operations
in general. This paper analyzes digital transformation in the context of management
of corporate identity by highlighting possibilities of managing individual corporate
identity dimensions considering the role and impact of digital transformation and com-
petitive strategy formation. The newly developed framework is based on the synthesis
of corporate identity and digital transformation conceptual frameworks. Literature
review identifies gaps in how to accelerate and support small and medium enterprises
(SME) in their path of digitalization and maximizing their value delivery to customers
- while maintaining competitiveness and keeping the active, specific, and valuable
scorecard of strategic goals. Further exploration and research will indicate potential
roadmap solutions and will enable to answer the question of – how to optimize resou-
rces, competence, and ability to execute digital transformation in parallel of building
strong corporate identity and business strategy.
Keywords: Corporate identity, Digital transformation, Management, Business strategy, SME
INTRODUCTION
The concept of corporate identity in the management and marketing sciences
has been known since the 1970s, when the research distinguished between
the concepts of corporate identity and corporate image. The concept of cor-
porate identity is often used in marketing in connection with image building,
corporate brand management, but in public relations it is associated with
the concept of reputation. However, the concept of corporate identity is
interdisciplinary, as it covers the strategic and organizational management
of companies, as well as marketing, corporate communication, personnel
management, other areas (Melewar, 2003).
Digital transformation can cover anything from IT modernization (such
as cloud computing) to digital optimization and the invention of new digital
business models. The term is widely used in public sector organizations to
describe modest initiatives such as the online deployment of services or the
modernization of legacy information systems. Thus, the term tends to be
more reminiscent of “digitalization” than “digital business transformation”
(Gartner, 2022).
© 2022. Published by AHFE Open Access. All rights reserved. 751
752 Rutitis and Aksjonenko
The aim of the research is to assess the topicality of corporate iden-
tity dimension management based on the research of corporate identity
dimension management models and digital transformation concept, and to
develop conceptual framework for management of corporate identity dimen-
sions in the context of tools and solutions enabled by digital transformation
processes.
Identified research gaps relate to the lack of data on the extent to which
do executives of SMEs rely on outsourced help from advisors, consultants or
IT support and service management companies involved in daily operations.
Also, there has been little exploration done on what are the main consi-
derations for SMEs in developing strategies with strong base of the digital
transformation. Future strategy development, including digital strategy, is
assumed to be one of corporate identity dimensions.
Building on this discussion, the following propositions are presented and
examined throughout the paper:
P1: Digital transformation is a significant part of corporate identity mana-
gement processes and company strategy on it’s growing path from SME
level.
P2: Value creation for customers is crucial in SME product innovation
process and includes delivery of efficient solutions within digital tran-
sformation.
P3: Decision making process is more openly oriented towards higher level
digitalization in SME’s – but there is a lack of competence – how to find
a balance in managing resources and limit the risk exposure while on the
way of disruptive path. Outsourced help or high-level competence from
executives is needed to take bold and smart business minded actions.
P4: There should be strict and adopted balanced scorecard method that indi-
cates the goals reached and areas impacted that can help monitoring and
assuring the success of both, corporate identity management and digital
transformation.
WHAT DOES DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION MEAN TODAY?
Disruption happens in various industries because of unstable and fast chan-
ging business environment. C-level executives are investigating opportunities
that digitalization can bring to the strategy, business model and product
innovation.
Digitalization today is a synonym for broadly used digital transformation
that according to Stolterman E. and Fors A. (2004), refers to “the changes
that digital technology causes or influences in all aspects of human life”. Even
if it covers wider potential of scope – the most topics about digitalization are
about technological innovations – but it should include different angles as
leading author of the field like Henriette et al. (2015) states in their research.
After research article reviews and case study analysis of various industries –
academics agree that business transformation prompted by digital technolo-
gies takes no specific exceptions and can be implemented in various segments
(Ivanˇ
ci´
c L., Vuksic V., Vugec D., 2018)
The Impact of Digital Transformation on Corporate Identity Management 753
Bharadwaj N. et al. (2013) expressed that IT should not been viewed as
functional level strategy, but as a part of business level strategy resulting to
digital transformation strategy. But in the literature reviews we find an often
conflict of frameworks’s, concepts and definitions of digital transformation
strategies (Chanias, Myers, & Hess, 2018; Nadeem et al., 2018).
In order for businesses to be efficient and can gain from decision-making
process, Fonstad (2017) defines a digital strategy: “A business strategy,
inspired by the capabilities of powerful, readily accessible technologies (like
SMACIT), intent on delivering unique, integrated business capabilities in
ways that are responsive to constantly changing market conditions”, where
SMACIT refers to - social, mobile, analytics, cloud and Internet of things
[IoT] technologies - that present both game-changing opportunities and
existential threats to the companies.
When the value chain of the company is changing (being transformed or
impacted) – there are operational and a human element. According to Ismail
et al. (2018) both are important in creating digital management systems
to lead the changes. Digital transformation requires companies to rethink
their business in the path of innovation – and specific challenge for SME’s is
shortage of time and resources allowed for experiments (Bouwman H. et al.
2019).
Can Management Consulting Services Help in Digital Transformation
for SME’s?
SMEs are a distinct group of organizations. Duan, X., Deng, H., & Corbitt,
B. (2012) stresses out unique characteristics of SMEs that are different from
large sized companies and often face lack of technical expertise, poor infra-
structure, inadequate capital, inadequate organizational planning, strong
executive controlled decision-making system and huge dependence on busi-
ness partners, limited resources. It also indicates and exposes them to external
uncertainty. On the same time SMEs are more responsive to digital disruption
that is even more enabled in digital entrepreneurship: growing access to emer-
ging platform service providers and tools help if the path of digitalization (Li,
L. et al., 2018).
The scholarly interest in SME-focused digitalization and digital transfor-
mation has also grown significantly in recent years. Kraft C. (2022) indicates
growing number of publications in business end entrepreneurship journals.
Studies of SME digitalization and digital transformation explains:
•sources of value creation
•dynamic capabilities (Cannas, 2021),
•digital strategies and innovation strategies/performance
•product, services, and process digitalization (Proksch D. et al., 2021)
Company level digital capabilities are based on employee digital skills that
enable use of digital tools and platforms. Currently there is a lack of stu-
dies that indicate employee skills in using the digital tools towards digital
transformation in SMEs (Scuotto D. et al., 2021).
754 Rutitis and Aksjonenko
Figure 1: A conceptual model of digital transformation (Verina and Titko, 2019).
Reviewing literature and summing up opinions of internal factors that
companies at various sizes are in control - Nasiri M. (2020) mentions that
successful theories and practices applied to large companies might not neces-
sarily apply to SMEs even if their exposure for disruptive and digitally
oriented innovation is higher. Larger companies even with decent corpo-
rate and sustainable strategies are afraid of losing their competitive edge and
stable situation.
OVERLAP OF CORPORATE IDENTITY AND DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION FRAMEWORKS
Disruption happens in various industries because of unstable and fast chan-
ging business environment. C-level executives are investigating opportunities
that digitalization can bring to the strategy, business model and product
innovation. The integration of corporate identity management and digi-
tal transformation frameworks proposes opportunities for new blend of
managerial instruments to emerge to facilitate successful supervision of com-
pany development during times of increasing uncertainty and new kind of
managerial challenges.
Fig. 1 depicts a conceptual model by Verina and Titko (2019) that descri-
bes relationship between drivers of digital transformation and the expected
results that can derived from proper implementation in form of technologies,
management, and people.
This model clearly states why digital transformation is essential for SMEs
since emergence of new markets and opportunities and several other challen-
ges relevant to any manager of SME are among drivers towards numerous
benefits listed within results to be experienced by the SME after successful
implementation of digital transformation. If a more detailed look is taken
at the middle stage (see Fig. 2), then the Management and processes cate-
gory within digital transformation concept contains numerous elements from
corporate identity framework (see Fig. 3).
Also, the category People includes majority of stakeholders (e.g. top and
middle managers, regular employees, customers, and owners) that are directly
The Impact of Digital Transformation on Corporate Identity Management 755
Figure 2: Categories of the concept “Digital transformation” and the elements within
(Verina and Titko, 2019).
Figure 3: Conceptual model for categorization of corporate identity dimensions (Rutitis,
2016).
involved in corporate identity management or have indirect impact on its
formation through one of dimensions.
It is important to note that these two conceptual frameworks serve dif-
ferent purposes, but at the same time they can be regarded as important
managerial tools that help company management to navigate company tow-
ards more competitive position in the market and stronger competitive
advantage, which is one the main benefits from proper corporate identity
management (Melewar, 2003).
756 Rutitis and Aksjonenko
The Role of Digital Transformation For Management of Corporate
Idenity
By blending a concept of digital transformation together with a conceptual
model for categorization of corporate identity dimensions it is possible to
identify several corporate identity dimensions and align them with rele-
vant managerial processes that have certain impact and role within digital
transformation of any SME company.
These correlations and assumptions derived by the authors regarding spe-
cific corporate dimensions and management process having experiencing
impact of digital transformation are depicted in Table 1.
Corporate identity dimension column states the respective fully manage-
able or partially manageable dimension, which can be managed through
one of the management processes listed right next in the middle column.
Next, the impact (high/medium/low) and role of digital transformation is
assessed along with tools for implementation. Authors have also intro-
duced a categorization of role of digital transformation to indicate if it
relates to Management/Processes or People, while Technology is assumed
to be embedded in each dimension as given variable to implement digital
transformation.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
Decision making process is hard when there is little or knowledge for exe-
cutive teams of SMEs of how to digitalize in parallel of creating competitive
strategy. Either internal level competence or external and outsourced help is
needed to be attracted. Challenge is to keep the focus on the business, poten-
tial disruption possibilities and management plus allocation of the resources.
How to maximize value for customers and how to do it in the best way –
should be explored in further.
There is a practical necessity to explore potential of roadmap and balanced
scorecard method combination that as a tool can be developed and widely
used by SME in their way of creating competitive strategy within and with
digital transformation. The model proposed by authors to assess impact of
digital transformation on management of corporate identity dimensions and
related management processes serves as the first attempt to bring together two
different conceptual frameworks to introduce such roadmap and balanced
scorecard.
Further research should generate primary data with interviews from lea-
ding experts in the field who both work with business and digitalization
dimensions while consulting and implementing various projects for SMEs.
The questions should include factors influencing and defining roadmap from
practical aspects that can be adjust to specific industries and various levels
of digitalization. Also, they should be asked to discuss possibility of corpo-
rate identity management in the context of digital transformation drivers and
expected results. Next, the approbation and tests should be run on SME com-
panies with respective frameworks, models and methods developed for them
to incorporate them in daily set of managerial tools.
The Impact of Digital Transformation on Corporate Identity Management 757
Table 1. The model assessing impact of digital transformation on management of cor-
porate identity dimensions and related management processes (based on
Rutitis et al., 2014; Rutitis, 2016, Verina and Titko, 2019).
Corporate identity
dimension
Management processes The impact and role of
digital transformation
1. Profile,
specialization,
positioning
•Development of business plan
•Strategic decision-making
Impact: High
Tools: Internal financial and
business analytics, BI
Category: Management
2. Visual identity,
other sensory
dimensions
•Development of visual identity
and other sensory dimension
guidelines
•Visual and other sensory
dimension audit once a year
Impact: Medium
Tools: audit of visual identity
and other sensory dimensions
once a year
Category: Management
3. Scientific research,
employee
achievements
•Decision-making regarding
investment in R&D once a year
•Development of scientific
projects and collaboration with
other research institutions
Impact: Medium
Tools: monitoring of scien-
tific paper databases, use of
database and website craw-
lers, including artificial intel-
ligence (AI)
Category: Management
4.Customer service
culture
•Development of patient service
standards and process
descriptions
•Development and
implementation of rules and
guidelines for interaction
between staff and patients
•Development and
implementation of service
quality model
Impact: High
Tools: internet environment
monitoring, online customer
surveys and feedback forms,
quality audit and certification
Category: People
5.Corporate
communication
•Corporate communications
planning, including crisis
communication
•Implementation of guidelines for
staff communication over the
Internet
Impact: Medium
Tools: external research,
media monitoring, social
media review, website visitor
analytics, customer surveys
online
Category: Management
6. Internal
communication
•Development and
implementation of internal
regulations
Impact: Medium
Tools: use of intranet
platform, additional
communication, and
collaboration tools
Category: Management
7. Future
development strategy
•Digital strategy
•EU fund acquisition for
improvement of infrastructure,
products, and processes
Impact: High
Tools: financial and business
analytics
Category: Management
8. Corporate
structure
•Strategic decision-making
according to shareholder goals
Impact: Medium
Tools: internal financial and
business analytics, internal
surveys
Category: Management
758 Rutitis and Aksjonenko
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This researched has been financed by the Project “Rıgas Tehnisk¯
as uni-
versit¯
ates un Banku augstskolas doktorantu un akad¯
emisk¯
a person¯
ala sti-
prin¯
ašana strat¯
e´
gisk¯
as specializ¯
acijas jom¯
as”, Nr. 8.2.2.0/20/I/008.
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