Case Study on the Strategic Digitization of a Retail Organization, Emphasizing the Tactical Integration and Embrace of Advanced Technological Initiatives

The purpose of the research is to study the transformation of a retail firm in India that has undergone digitization by embracing advanced technological initiatives - implementation of Point of Sales, CRM solution, Endless Isle, watsapp shopping, Click and Collect in their stores with an objective of sales growth from the same set of stores. The authors have studied the end-to- end journey of implementation of these initiatives in the 500 exclusive business outlets in India of the organization. The phases of the transformation considered are – 1)Factors that have triggered the embracing of these technological initiatives 2) digital readiness as an antecedent to the adoption of the technology and 3) adoption of transformation initiatives in the organization. The authors have conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews of fourteen organization executives in scope. These experts have been part of the transformation of this organization. They had either been instrumental in making decisions or actual users of the digital initiatives. The data was content analyzed for themes. Post discussions with the experts on the three phases, themes were identified across the phases. Salient findings from the research include the support from leadership on initiating the program to implement technology initiatives, organization-wide communication including the adoption of initiatives, the impact of the Pandemic on digital transformation in the firm in scope importance of adoption and tracking adoption during this journey and more. The research plays an important part for academicians to understand that apart from triggering digital transformation projects in organizations, what else should companies do to increase readiness and adoption of initiatives in organizations. From this study, new theoretical contributions to the existing bodyof knowledge have been identified which are related to technology Transformation on all the 3 phases of digital transformation for organizations – Drivers which trigger digital transformation, digital readiness as an antecedent to digital transformation and adoption of technological initiatives by organizations. The findings from the study would help managers leading digital transformation initiatives in their firms. The findings would help the managers understand what went right and what could potentially go wrong during the implementation of initiatives inorganizations. The study findings can act as a guiding principle workbook for organizations that are planning to embark on the journey of launching transformation in their organizations by focusing on internal and external factors. The study also sheds light on how organizations are driven by external catastrophic events like Covid-19 pandemic. The study findings will also be relevant for the change leaders of organizations to understand how to be the chief narrator of digital transformation.