Making a digital innovator: antecedents of innovativeness with digital technologies

• Published in: Information technology & people (West Linn, Or.) Vol. 34; no. 1; pp. 318 - 335
• Main Authors: Mancha, Rubén, Shankaranarayanan, G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: West Linn Emerald Publishing Limited 22.01.2021; Emerald Group Publishing Limited
• Subjects: Antecedents; Blockchain; Business models; Digital literacy; Digital technology; Digitization; Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurship; Experimentation; GDP; Gross Domestic Product; Hiring; Information technology; Innovations; Organizations; Self-efficacy; Talent management; Technological change; Technology; Value; Workforce; United States > US; Digital innovation; Entrepreneurial orientation; Digital literacy; Experiential learning; Self-efficacy
• ISSN: 0959-3845; 1758-5813
• DOI: 10.1108/ITP-12-2018-0577

PurposeTo compete in the current digital economy, organizations need a workforce capable of developing novel products/services using digital technologies to create value. The purpose of this study is to explore and understand the antecedents of digital innovativeness so that we can appropriately train the workforce.Design/methodology/approachThe authors theorize a model linking four individual characteristics (entrepreneurial orientation, digital literacy, entrepreneurial self-efficacy and digital technology self-efficacy) to digital innovativeness. They frame four hypotheses and validate them using a survey.FindingsThis study reveals that two antecedents of individual digital innovativeness linked to personal beliefs of competency are correlated to an individual's digital innovativeness. It also challenges long-held assumptions in technology education and industry by revealing that two other factors typically associated with digital innovativeness – basic digital literacy and entrepreneurial orientation – do not relate to the individual's digital innovativeness.Originality/valueWe believe that the study is the first of its kind to examine the antecedents of digital innovativeness with an eye on the characteristics necessary to innovate with digital technologies to create value. By hiring employees exhibiting high levels of these characteristics, promoting a culture of experimentation and educating its workforce to gain confidence in its abilities to execute and deploy digital technologies, organizations can secure their strategic position in a business landscape driven by digital innovations.