Factors that influence the successful implementation of digitalisation in South African manufacturing firms

Abstract

Digitalisation has been shown to be a game-changer for manufacturing companies, leading to increased productivity and operational performance. Over and above the economic benefits, manufacturing firms have benefited from digitalisation throughout the value chain. For example, digitalisation has been shown to improve the firms' product development cycle by eliminating the need for physical trials and prototypes and using digital solutions like digital prototyping, digital twins, and augmented reality, thereby simplifying product design. However, there is evidence that technology adoption in developing economies has been uneven and primarily dependent on available resources, making technology adoption relatively difficult. The objective of this study is to explore the factors that influence digitalisation in the South African manufacturing industry. The goal is to understand the factors that impact successful digitalisation and uncover the methods that organisations that have digitalised their manufacturing operations have used to digitalise successfully as well as the capabilities that have enabled successful digitalisation. A phenomenological qualitative approach is used as the research strategy to expand the organisation's application of phenomenological studies and offer a structured method for exploring the digitalisation phenomenon. The study's outcomes offer a qualitative textual and structural definition of digitalisation within a South African context founded on TOE and PBV. This adds to the existing knowledge and provides a conceptual strategic framework for digitalisation in the form of a digitalisation house to guide practitioners on their digitalisation journey.