Isabella Urban and Ralf Plattfaut published a new paper on digital responsibility and digital transformation.

In this study, we empirically explore how digital responsibility can be conceptualized in the context of digital transformation and the interplay of digital responsibility and digital transformation.

Based on our results, we derive four core contributions for Information Systems theory as we 

• highlight the prime role of digital responsibility in contemporary digital transformation processes
• refine the conceptualization of digital responsibility in the context of digital transformation
• propose six dynamic interplays of digital responsibility and digital transformation
• and present promising avenues for further research on this increasingly relevant phenomenon.

Key Insights:

Dual nature of digital responsibility: 

In the context of digital transformation, the potential negative but also the positive impacts of the increasing use of digital technologies and respective transformation processes are rising in scope. Digital responsibility is therefore not just about minimizing the potential risks of digital transformation but also about proactively seeking to take advantage of the increasing potentials of digital transformation.

Dual impact of digital responsibility:

• Digital transformation fuels the relevance and awareness of digital responsibility and digital responsibility triggers a shift in the scope of digital transformation.
• As digital transformation unfolds, digital responsibility both hinders and promotes digital transformation processes.
• Ultimately, digital responsibility moderates both the negative and positive outcomes of digital transformation and therefore potentially decreases negative impacts and increases positive impacts. 

As digital responsibility impacts all stages of digital transformation processes, we propose digital responsibility to be an integral part of contemporary and future digital transformation phenomena.

More details and the paper can be found here:

The Interplay of Digital Responsibility and Digital Transformation: Empirical Insights from a Nationwide Digital Transformation | Information Systems Frontiers