How digital transformation mindfulness affects digital business model innovation: the moderating role of digital orientation

Purpose – With the development of digital technology, insufficient research on digital business model innovation (DMI) may bring many confusions to entrepreneurs and policymakers. This study constructs and tests a theoretical framework based on resource orchestration theory, aiming to explore how digital transformation mindfulness affects DMI and the moderating role of digital orientation. Design/methodology/approach – Using data collected from 329 Chinese manufacturing enterprises and using hierarchical regression analysis, we test hypotheses. In addition, we tested the robustness of the results using the congeneric approach and the heterotrait-mornotrait ratio. Findings – Digital transformation mindfulness significantly promotes DMI, and both the depth and breadth of digital technology deployment, respectively, mediate the impact of digital transformation mindfulness on DMI. In addition, digital orientation alleviates the impact of digital transformation mindfulness on digital technology deployment. Research limitations/implications – Our results provide new insights for enterprises to achieve DMI through fostering digital transformation mindfulness and digital orientation. This study also provides new ideas for increasing social employment opportunities and improving policy formulation. Originality/value – This study adds to the literature on DMI by confirming the driving role of digital transformation mindfulness and revealing the mediating role of digital technology deployment. Surprisingly, digital orientation has a negative moderating effect, indicating the substitutability between digital transformation mindfulness and digital orientation, enriching the implementation scenarios of DMI.