Research Article: 2023 Vol: 27 Issue: 1
Salem Alanizan, Saudi Electronic University
Citation Information: Alanizan S (2023). The Effectiveness of Digital Transformation on Employee Performance (During The Covid-19 Pandemic). International Journal of Entrepreneurship, 27(1), 1-8.
Employees are better able to adapt to the digital revolution when organisations implement digital transformation as a distinct organisational operating paradigm, which enhances performance and results. The results of this study indicate that employees are capable of embracing digital transformation and this impacts their quality of life. Essentially, technological adaptation and digital transformation before a pandemic improved employee knowledge, skill, and competence toward job performance. Findings suggest that the majority of enterprises invested sufficient funds to promote technological and digital transformation, which influenced how well those organisations performed during the COVID-19 epidemic.
Effectiveness, Digital Culture, Digital Transformation, Performance, COVID-19 Pandemic.
Saudi Arabia is at an advanced level of digital development, necessitating innovation in computer systems, technology, and other areas (Rogers, 2016; Transformation, 2022). Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 is built on three pillars to ensure a high standard of living and achieve the objectives of the country (Arabia, 2022). Saudi Arabia is one of the G20 nations that have implemented digital transformation, ranking second in frequency bands (Gazette, 2019). Furthermore, introducing digital transformation and digital healthcare technology during the pandemic rated Saudi Arabia among the top in medical efficacy (Gazette, 2018).
Saudi Arabia implemented a digital organizational model, which was the cornerstone of the Vision 2030 model, that enabled the entire country both the government and corporate sector to respond quickly during the COVID-19 pandemic (Hassounah et al., 2020). Coved-19 has thereby raised awareness of digital transformation, which the majority of the region's enterprises have embraced (Kim, 2020). Furthermore, the findings of this study would aid organizations in recognizing how efficaciously digital transformation has promoted employee performance in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the world's most advanced countries in terms of digital transformation is Saudi Arabia, which trains its workforce in both the public and private sectors with knowledge and experience in this domain (Arabia, 2022). Furthermore, it is necessary to demonstrate how well digital transformation impacts employee performance to promote change in the country's digital culture and business model.
Digital Transformation
All employees must be committed to using organisational resources and digital tools efficiently that allow transformation in the workplace structure and model as part of the digital transformation (Kutnjak et al., 2019). (Abolhassan, 2017) highlights the positive effects of digital transformation on worker performance and the necessity of critically examining the model and its stages. Additionally, automating business models helps preserve a competitive edge over its competitors (Gruia et al., 2022). In effect, management faced a significant challenge in implementing the theory of digital transformation in an actual firm (Jedynak et al., 2021).
Digital Culture
According to (Stark, 2020) the adoption of technology transformation and the resulting improvement in performance and outcome have a significant impact on organizational culture as well as personnel performance when using technology. Employees also benefited from the role that digital transformation played in raising environmental awareness and productivity (Vial, 2021). As a result, during the COVID-19 pandemic, few organizations were able to discern the difference between traditional and digital practices, which bolstered their potency for dealing with obstacles (Wallace, 2020). (Fanea-Ivanovici et al., 2020) observed that by rendering the internet more accessible, digital transformation has a positive influence on the evolution of society and social interactions.
Performance
(Mughal, 2020) asserts that performance increases employee engagement and promotes organizational results. According to (Roslin et al., 2019) firms should emphasize increasing staff productivity through the accurate allocation of responsibility among employees.' Furthermore, effective reward systems and employee feedback are correlated with employee accomplishment (Awan et al., 2020). (Al-Malki, Juan, & Juan, 2018) found that leadership styles had a positive impact on employees' productivity and efficiency within the firm.
Objectives
The primary objective of this interview is to assess the efficacy of digital transformation and optimize employee productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic, which benefits enterprises.
Interview Questions
The primary goal of the interview was to assess how well the digital transformation had affected employee performance and to design necessary adjustments to the digital culture of the organization to raise awareness of employees' performance. Open-ended interviews and the constant comparative method were employed in the qualitative research techniques to analyse the data (Glaser & Strauss, 2017).
The interview questions listed below are meant to support the effectiveness of digital transformation:
1. What is the most influential digital technology in implementing digital transformation?
2. How important is digital transformation to your organisation?
3. How does digital transformation enhance digital culture at your organisation?
4. How do you manage change at your organisation?
5. Do you have the right knowledge to implement digital transformation at your organisation?
6. Do you have the right skills to implement digital transformation at your organisation?
7. How competent is your organisation regarding digital transformation?
8. How does digital transformation change your life?
Study Sample
The study employed an interview to respond to inquiries from various employees in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, to see what they thought about on-the-job training at their companies. The interview included demographic data about the respondents and questions chosen based on the available research and the respondents' knowledge of Saudi culture. Many employees at Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia organisations were interviewed in 2022 during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Interviews were conducted with 39 employees, and the response rate was 100%.
Discussions
SPSS-V.21 was used to analyse the data, measure the participants' demographic traits, and interpret the findings (Daniel, 2014). The findings from the study of the responses demonstrate the usefulness of digital transformation in enhancing employee performance during the COVID-19 epidemic, which benefits businesses and raises the standard of living for employees.
Descriptive Statistics
Table 1 displays the proportion of male (56.4%) and female employees (43.6 percent). The survey reveals that 71.8 percent of those in the position do not have managerial positions in their organisations. The majority of participants (97.5%) were under the age of 40 and all of them reported working full-time. The majority of respondents (89.8%) said they had no more than 10 years of work experience, while 10.3% said they had more than 11 years.
| Table 1 Description Of Participants (N=39) |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic | Frequency | Percentage | Characteristic | Frequency | Percentage |
| Gender | Marital | ||||
| Male | 22 | 56.4 | Married | 20 | 51.3 |
| Female | 17 | 43.6 | Single | 19 | 48.7 |
| Total | 39 | 100.0 | Total | 39 | 100.0 |
| Age | Nationality | ||||
| 21-30 year | 23 | 59.0 | Saudi | 36 | 92.3 |
| 31-40 year | 15 | 38.5 | Arab | 2 | 5.1 |
| 41-50 year | 1 | 2.6 | Other | 1 | 2.6 |
| Total | 39 | 100.0 | Total | 39 | 100.0 |
| Experience | Position | ||||
| 1-5 year | 23 | 59.0 | Staff | 28 | 71.8 |
| 6-10 year | 12 | 30.8 | Supervisor | 10 | 25.6 |
| 11-15 year | 3 | 7.7 | Manager | 1 | 2.6 |
| 16-20 year | 1 | 2.6 | Total | 39 | 100.0 |
| Total | 39 | 100.0 | --- | --- | --- |
The Interview Questions
Eight research questions guided the study:
1. What is the most influential digital technology in implementing digital transformation?
Table 2 reveals that 39 of the study's employees who were interviewed claimed that the digital transformation has affected how digital technology was used in their organisations.
| Table 2 Digital Technology |
|
|---|---|
| Influence | No influence |
| 39 | 0 |
| 100% | 0% |
When it was put into practice, the digital transformation had a beneficial overall impact on the workforce.
The most significant digital technology in implementing digital transformation and the efficacy of performance in your organisation were questions that participants were asked during their interviews.
2. How important is digital transformation to your organisation?
Table 3 reveals that 39 of the study's employees who were interviewed said they understood the significance of digital transformation for their organisations.
| Table 3 Digital Transformation |
|
|---|---|
| Important | Not important |
| 39 | 0 |
| 100% | 0% |
When it was put into practice, the digital transformation had a beneficial overall impact on the workforce.
During the interviews, participants were questioned about the significance of digital transformation to their organisations.
3. How does digital transformation enhance digital culture in your organisation?
According to Table 4, 39 of the employees who participated in this study's interviews said that the digital transformation had improved their digital culture.
| Table 4 Digital Culture |
|
|---|---|
| Enhance | Not enhanced |
| 39 | 0 |
| 100% | 0% |
When the digital transformation was implemented, employees saw a positive impact from the digital culture.
During the interviews, participants were questioned about how digital transformation has improved digital culture in their organsations.
4. How do you manage change at your organisation?
Table 5 reveals that 39 of the study's employees who were interviewed said the organisation's digital transformation had caused the managed change.
| Table 5 Change In The Organisation |
|
|---|---|
| Managed | Not managed |
| 39 | 0 |
| 100% | 0% |
When it was put into practice, the digital transformation had a beneficial overall impact on the workforce.
During the interviews, participants were questioned about how they handle change within their organsations.
5. Do you have the right knowledge to implement digital transformation in your organisation?
Table 6 demonstrates that 39 of the employees surveyed for this study claimed to have the skill to conduct digital transformation within the organisation.
| Table 6 Knowledge | |
|---|---|
| Yes | No |
| 34 | 5 |
| 87.18% | 12.82% |
When implemented properly, digital transformation has a favorable overall impact on employees.
During the interviews, participants were questioned about whether they had the skill necessary to achieve digital transformation within their organsations.
6. Do you have the right skills to implement digital transformation at your organisation?
Table 7 demonstrates that 39 of the study's employees who were interviewed said they had the skills to undertake digital transformation within the organisation.
| Table 7 Skills |
|
|---|---|
| Yes | No |
| 33 | 6 |
| 84.62% | 15.38% |
Employees benefited from digital transformation when they had the skills to put it into practice.
During the interviews, participants were questioned about whether they had the skills to achieve digital transformation at their organisations.
7. How competent is your organisation regarding digital transformation?
Table 8 revealed that 39 of the study's employees who were interviewed said they were qualified to carry out the organisation's digital transformation.
| Table 8 Competent |
|
|---|---|
| Competent | Incompetent |
| 32 | 7 |
| 82.05% | 17.95% |
When it was put into practice, the digital transformation had a beneficial overall impact on the workforce.
During the interviews, participants were questioned about their level of expertise in relation to digital transformation and performance effectiveness inside their organisations.
8. How does digital transformation change your life?
Table 9 demonstrates that 39 of the employees who participated in this study's interviews said that the digital revolution has changed their lives.
| Table 9 Change Your Life |
|
|---|---|
| Change | No change |
| 39 | 0 |
| 100% | 0% |
When the digital transformation was implemented, it had a beneficial overall impact on the lives of the employees.
During the interviews, participants were questioned about how their lives have changed as a result of the organisation's adoption of digital transformation and performance effectiveness.
According to the findings of the study, digital transformation can affect how well employees perform in their profession. The performance of the employees in the firm is enhanced as a result of their skills and understanding of digital transformation. There is evidence that digitalization raises productivity, which in turn boosts employees' well-being. In light of the findings, we advise enhancing digital transformation knowledge, skills, and culture to help employees function effectively. By implementing digital transformation in the corporate culture, this objective can be accomplished.
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Received: 01-Nov-2022, Manuscript No. IJE-22-12835; Editor assigned: 03-Nov-2022, PreQC No. IJE-22-12835(PQ); Reviewed: 17-Nov-2022, QC No. IJE-22-12835; Revised: 22-Nov-2022, Manuscript No. IJE-22-12835(R); Published: 29-Nov-2022