Digital transformation with agility: The emerging dynamic capability of complementary services

ABSTRACT Purpose: This study aims to understand how organizations accelerate a digital transformation (DT) and leverage innovations in digital services in the modus operandi of dynamic capabilities (DC) development. DT provides an agile resource mobilization in relation to the operational flexibility and to the technological and informational capabilities. Originality/value: This study contributes with a new theoretical-applied perspective on agility as a necessary competence for DC development, being investigated in an emerging country, in this case, Brazil. The development of DC that are suitable for DT becomes critical for capturing opportunities in the dynamic digital environment. Design/methodology/approach: Forty companies in the Brazilian territory were investigated in order to explore the relation between DC and DT, focusing on agility and based on the logic of literal and theoretical replication of case studies. The theoretical framework was applied to investigate companies from three empirical fields (energy, automotive, and digital services), within the triangulation of secondary sources, management reports and internal documents. Findings: The cases analyzed provide evidence that agility does not presuppose strong DC in sensing, as it depends on services’ maturity. We highlight the mediation of the applied use of intangible resources and digitized assets that speed up the seizing and transformation of the business. In the context of digital assets in intensive environments, we propose that DT strategy may be used with analytical intelligence and agility by integrating technological processes.