Dynamic capabilities for nimbleness and resilience in a continuous digital transformation: action design research in an Australian financial services organisation

Purpose: The research aims to understand the co-existence of nimbleness and resilience in a continuous digital transformation, along with the dynamic capabilities needed to balance the challenges of their co-existence.

Design/methodology/approach: The current study draws on dialogical action design research (D-ADR) to investigate interactions among practitioners and executives. Data are collected from a major Australian financial services organisation (FSO) and many international experts.

Findings: The study presents a framework, the continuous transformation model (CTM), to describe digital transformation within an FSO context, emphasising nimbleness and resilience as its foundational pillars. This framework facilitates the identification of the critical role of organisational capabilities in managing continuous digital transformation, supported by dynamic IT capabilities. More importantly, the findings underscore how these capabilities enable managers to effectively balance the coexistence of nimbleness and resilience.

Research limitations/implications: The CTM contributes to the enterprise information systems literature by offering a coherent understanding of balancing resilience and nimbleness to succeed in digital transformation. In particular, the research model elucidates the relationship between dynamic capabilities and continuous digital transformations.

Practical implications: Digital transformations are not a one-off exercise. Managers in the FSO context must cultivate their organisational capabilities to achieve nimbleness and resilience during their digital transformation journey.

Originality/value: The relationship between dynamic capabilities and continuous digital transformation sheds light on establishing successful management processes within FSOs.