ashfordalum
Need help revising these questions. For this project, two…
Need help revising these questions.
For this project, two primary questions need to be answered:
What are retail executives’ leadership qualities and perspectives regarding leveraging digital transformation successfully?
What effective leadership strategies and motivations can be utilized to increase profitability and competitive advantage with digital transformation?
Please provide two project questions that align with an approved project technique. For example:
Qualitative Inquiry: What are the (attitudes, perspectives or motivations) of xxxx regarding yyyyy?
or
Quantitative Descriptive (Correlational): To what extent is there a (predictive) relationship between x and y?
Quantitative Descriptive (Comparative): To what extent is there a difference between x and y?
Problem of Practice
The general problem is that retailers lose to digitally transformed competition, lowering profitability and customer happiness (Dutta & Sandhane, 2022). Brick-and-mortar establishments cannot compete with digital services like online buying, fast delivery, and mobile payments. Customers prefer the Internet over traditional stores, lowering sales and customer happiness. Eighty million extra digital buyers are expected in 2023a 3.1% rise from 2022. (Gaubys, 2023). Companies that do not adapt to the changing business climate risk falling behind (Matsunaga, 2021). Retail leaders need practical skills to traverse the digital environment and highlight digital transformation’s benefits and problems (Dutta & Sandhane, 2022). Executives struggle to attract the proper people, learn new skills, and incorporate new technology into the business model (Ivancic et al., 2019).
The specific problem is that some companies are not embracing digital media platforms like social media, search engine optimization, and e-commerce to reach customers and develop their businesses, making them uncompetitive and unable to meet customers’ desires for more convenient shopping platforms that fit their lives (Dutta & Sandhane, 2022). Several companies use digital media to reach customers and expand. Some companies still need to adapt and are falling behind. Some companies need an online presence yet underuse social media, SEO, and e-commerce. This can boost profits and success by seizing sales and expansion chances (Dutta & Sandhane, 2022). So, companies must evaluate their digital media strategies and guarantee they reach their target audiences. Customers can readily compare prices and items online, so businesses without an internet presence are disadvantaged. 36% of small-personal firms sell online, 18% of local mobile searches convert to a sale within one day, organizations with a blog see 126% higher lead growth, and 29.7% of US commerce is done online (Flynn, 2023). Ineffective use of digital media platforms can lose firms sales income, consumer engagement, and market share, and trouble recruiting top digital media talent. The company’s finances, customer loyalty, and satisfaction may suffer. Businesses with a robust online presence may need help to hire digital media experts.
Gap in Practice
The gap in practice is that some retail executives need more leadership and vision to use digital transformation for profit and advantage. Leaders must understand the digital ecosystem, identify digital transformation opportunities, and overcome digital transformation hurdles. Digital transformation requires customer-centered approaches and the ability to negotiate and manage the change from traditional to digital enterprises (Kudyba et al., 2020). Retail leaders can close this gap with digital transformation. Digital transformation tasks necessitate ideation, intellectualization, decision-making, and negotiation. Teams utilize a variety of collaborative and interactive platforms and methods. The digital era has enabled businesses to improve the customer experience (Kudyba et al., 2020).
Many merchants lack the leadership skills and mindset to use digital tools, despite understanding their relevance. They may struggle to adjust to changing client wants and tastes, causing their enterprises to underperform. Retail leaders may likewise struggle without digital transformation knowledge.. As a result of this gap, executives need to understand the complexities of digital transformation better, incorporate customer-centered approaches into their strategies, and effectively manage the transition from traditional to digital businesses (Dutta & Sandhane, 2022; Fan et al., 2020). There needs to be more knowledge and skills among executives, particularly regarding how to navigate the digital ecosystem effectively, identify digital transformation opportunities, and address the challenges associated with digital transformation initiatives, as well as a need for strategies for managing digital transformation initiatives effectively (Cetindamar Kozanoglu & Abedin, 2021).
Among the implications for practice are the need to operationalize digital literacy at the organizational and individual levels of the organization and to make available to managers a tool for assessing the digital literacy of their employees (Cetindamar Kozanoglu & Abedin, 2021). Literature on innovation has emphasized the importance of employee participation in fostering innovation. Organizations must create a decision structure enabling employees to participate in organizational governance through institutionalized mechanisms such as workers’ congress, board-level representatives, and labor unions. (Fan et al., 2020). However, empowering employees starts with leading the team through change and having them be adaptable, which will help them rally to bring change, like digital transformation in retail.
Purpose of the Project and Project Questions
A study is needed to uncover the leadership abilities, attitudes, and motivations retail executives need to lead their enterprises through digital transformation projects while optimizing profitability and competitive advantage. A qualitative interview or survey is a better way to gain insights and viewpoints on retail executives’ attitudes, motives, and behaviors toward digital transformation. A mixed-methods approach can collect quantitative and qualitative data, triangulating findings and providing a more comprehensive understanding. Qualitative interviews or focus groups with retail executives who have effectively utilized digital transformation can be used to examine the leadership attributes and methods that drove successful digital transformation efforts. Open-ended and follow-up questions can be used to explore certain aspects of leadership and strategy. The researcher can also learn about their motivations and attitudes toward digital transformation. This qualitative approach can provide practical advice to other executives navigating digital transformation. This qualitative inquiry project aims to explore how high-performing leader uses leadership skills to adapt and use digital transformation in their favor to boost profitability and generate a competitive advantage. This project examines how exemplary leadership skills can leverage digital transformation that drives retail change and identifies the best practices to be more profitable. As a result of this project, a systematic literature review will be undertaken to evaluate leaders’ responses to digital transformation to achieve this objective. To justify the right leadership behaviors, the nexus between leadership, agility, and digital strategy will be examined to identify strategies for achieving effective digital transformation (AlNuaimi et al., 2022). Successful digital transformation requires leadership, agility, and digital design. Evaluation of these three aspects can help firms achieve their desired objectives through effective digital transformation. This study examines the relationship between leadership, agility, digital design, and employee participation in digital transformation initiatives. Digital transformation highlights the importance of employee participation in encouraging creativity (Weller et al., 2020). This study will examine how high-performing leaders can motivate and empower workers to participate in digital transformation (Fan et al., 2020; Weller et al, 2020). This study uses leaders’ and employees’ views and experiences to identify best practices for successful digital transformation across the retail industry.
References
Anthony, J. (2023). Seventy-four Amazon statistics you must know: 2023 Market Share Analysis & Data. Financesonline.com. Retrieved March 30, 2023, from https://financesonline.com/amazon-statistics/.
AlNuaimi, B. K., Kumar Singh, S., Ren, S., Budhwar, P., & Vorobyev, D. (2022). Mastering digital transformation: The nexus between leadership, agility, and digital strategy. Journal of Business Research, pp. 145, 636-648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.03.038
Cetindamar Kozanoglu, D., & Abedin, B. (2021). Understanding the role of employees in digital transformation: Conceptualization of digital literacy of employees as a multi-dimensional organizational affordance. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 34(6), 1649-1672. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-01-2020-0010
Dosik, D., Bhalla, V., & Bailey, A. (2020). A Lot Will ChangeSo Must Leadership. (). Boston: Boston Consulting Group Boston, MA. Retrieved from ProQuest Central http://library.capella.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Freports%2Flot-will-change-so-must-leadership%2Fdocview%2F2492035069%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D27965.
Dutta, S., & Sandhane, R. (2022). Digital transformation in Retail Industry. Cardiometry, (24), 859-866. https://doi.org/10.18137/cardiometry.2022.24.859866
Fan, X.-L., Zhou, Y., Wang, C.-X., & Chang, X.-X. (2020). The Interactive Effect of Employee-Involved Governance and CEO Change-Oriented Leadership on Organizational Innovation: A Moderated Mediation Model. Group & Organization Management, 45(3), 417-455. https://doi-org.library.capella.edu/10.1177/1059601119862896
Flynn, J. (2023, March 1). Twenty incredible online business statistics [2023]. Zippia. Retrieved April 6, 2023, from https://www.zippia.com/advice/online-business-statistics/
Gaubys, J. (2023). How many people will shop online in 2023? Oberlo. Retrieved April 6, 2023, from https://www.oberlo.com/statistics/how-many-people-shop-online#:~:text=This%20makes%20up%2033.3%25%20of,year%2Dover%2Dyear%20increase.
Gurbaxani, V., & Dunkle, D. (2019). Gearing up for successful digital transformation. MIS Quarterly Executive, 18(3), 209-220. https://doi.org/10.17705/2msqe.00017. Executive, 18(3), 6.
Henderikx, M., & Stoffers, J. (2022). An Exploratory Literature Study into Digital Transformation and Leadership: Toward Future-Proof Middle Managers. Sustainability, 14(2), 687. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14020687
Ivancic, L., Vukic, V., & Spremic, M. (2019). Mastering the Digital Transformation Process: Business Practices and Lessons Learned. Technology Innovation Management Review, 9(2). 36-50. http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1217
Kraus, S., Jones, P., Kailer, N., Weinmann, A., Chaparro-Banegas, N., & Roig-Tierno, N. (2021). Digital transformation: An overview of the current state of the art of research. SAGE Open, 11(3), 215824402110475. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211047576
Kudyba, S., Fjermestad, J., & Davenport, T. (2020). A research model for identifying factors that drive effective decision-making and the future of work. A research model for the future of work. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 21(6), 835-851. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-05-2019-0130
Matsunaga, M. (2021). Testing the theory of communication and uncertainty management in the context of digital transformation with transformational leadership as a moderator. International Journal of Business Communication (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), 232948842110239. https://doi.org/10.1177/23294884211023966
Morgan, B. (2022). Fifty stats that prove the value of customer experience. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakemorgan/2019/09/24/50-stats-that-prove-the-value-of-customer-experience/?sh=3d5249e04ef2.
Weller, I., Süß, J., Evanschitzky, H., & von Wangenheim, F. (2020). Transformational Leadership, High-Performance Work System Consensus, and Customer Satisfaction. Journal of Management, 46(8), 1469-1497. https://doi-org.library.capella.edu/10.1177/0149206318817605
