Sustainability and digitalisation: Using Means-End Chain Theory to determine the key elements of the digital maturity model for research and development organisations with the aspect of sustainability

Abstract

Organisations are under pressure to digitally transform and become more sustainable. Thus, the convergence of digitalisation and sustainability is inevitable. There are several Digital Maturity models that help companies to develop their digital roadmaps, however, none of them have been developed for Research and Development (R&D) organisations. Additionally, none of these models include the dimension of sustainability. In this paper the authors used the Means-End Chain method to determine which are the key dimensions of the digital maturity model tailored for R&D, as well as to investigate the link between digital transformation and sustainability. The results show that although technologies are important, they cannot successfully transform the organisation on their own. They must be supported by people and culture change. The results also highlighted that sustainability is high on the agenda and cannot be ignored when progressing towards the higher level of Digital Maturity. The findings may serve as a reference for any organisation that is building or revising its digitalisation or sustainability strategies. It highlights the important dimensions that should be considered and prioritised when preparing the transformation roadmap. These dimensions are tailored for R&D but can be a good indication for any other type of organisation.