The Impact of Digital Transformation on Incumbent Firms: An Analysis of Changes, Challenges, and Responses at the Business Model Level

The digital transformation has become a key concern for incumbent firms in traditional industries. However, the impact of digital transformation on the business model of such firms has been insufficiently investigated so far. Particularly, existing research lacks a cross-industry overview of the impact of digital transformation on the overall business model of incumbent firms in traditional industries, including detailed elaborated dimensions and characteristics of this impact. This paper aims to address this specific research gap by analyzing the impact of digital transformation, which we conceptualize as changes, challenges, and responses, on each business model element of incumbent firms in traditional industries. By conducting in-depth multiple case study research in incumbent firms across four major traditional industries, we contribute to the literature of digital transformation by providing new insights on changes within the business model, resulting challenges, as well as potential organizational responses on how to react to these challenges