Digital Orientation Scale
DOFirm-Level Digital Orientation
19 items
2024
α 0.78-0.84 across all dimensions and the composite construct
Free
Kindermann, B., Schmidt, C.V.H., Fengel, F. and Strese, S.
What it measures
This scale measures the extent to which a firm is organizationally oriented toward digital transformation, for use in survey-based research rather than the secondary/text-analytic data prior measures relied on. It is a second-order reflective construct built from four dimensions: how broadly the firm uses digital technology to expand its offerings, how capable employees are at using that technology, how well the firm coordinates with external partners in digital ecosystems, and how adaptable its internal architecture and processes are to digital change. It was validated on survey data from top executives at 1,488 German companies and shown to predict firm performance.
Response format
7-point Likert scale (1 = does not apply at all to 7 = fully applies); preceded by a definition clarifying that 'digital technologies' includes apps, big data, cloud, IoT, AI, mobile internet, social media, robotics, etc.
Scale items
Digital Technology Scope
- Our company uses digital technologies to offer a larger portfolio of products/services.
- Our company uses digital technologies to add new functionalities to our products/services.
- Our company uses digital technologies as key asset in expanding our product/service offering.
- Our company uses digital technologies to create additional value for our customers.
- Our company generates new revenue streams through the use of digital technologies.
Digital Capabilities
- The employees of our company understand the potential uses and consequences of digital technologies.
- The employees of our company are enabled to use digital technologies to realize the company's goals.
- The employees of our company overcome potential challenges arising from the use of digital technologies.
- The employees of our company use all functionalities of the digital technologies used in our company to perform their tasks.
- The employees of our company have a technology-savvy mindset.
Digital Ecosystem Coordination
- Our company is able to coordinate digital partner networks that extend our company's range of products/services.
- Our company successfully integrates external partners with different objectives into our digital ecosystems in order to offer products/services in bundled form.
- Our company is able to attract partners to our digital ecosystems that create a value-add for us and the entire ecosystem.
- Our company creates the right incentives for our partners in the digital ecosystem to share their competencies.
Digital Architecture Configuration
- In response to digital change, our company continuously adapts organizational structures.
- Our company's business processes are adaptable to digital change.
- Our company digitizes internal processes with digital technologies (e.g., automation).
- Our company uses digital tools to promote and enhance internal collaboration.
- Our IT infrastructure and IT systems offer a wide range of potential uses.
Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.
Usage notes & scoring
Explicitly validated by the authors as a reflective, second-order construct (not formative). Reliability at the dimension level: Digital Technology Scope alpha=.78/CR=.93/AVE=.77; Digital Capabilities alpha=.80/CR=.93/AVE=.77; Digital Ecosystem Coordination alpha=.82/CR=.96/AVE=.86; Digital Architecture Configuration alpha=.83/CR=.92/AVE=.73. The composite second-order Digital Orientation construct: alpha=.84/CR=.90/AVE=.72. Digital Technology Scope's alpha (.78) falls just under .80, but its CR (.93) is high. Discriminant validity was confirmed for all constructs (square root of AVE exceeds inter-construct correlations). The scale significantly predicted both subjective and an objective (industry-relative return on sales) measure of firm performance.
Citation
Kindermann, B., Schmidt, C.V.H., Fengel, F. and Strese, S. (2024). Expanding the boundaries of digital orientation research: Scale development and validation. Journal of Business Research, 185, 114895.
Keywords
#digitalorientation#digitaltransformation#digitalstrategy#firmperformance#organizationalorientation#scaledevelopment