Purpose For pre-digital organizations, an important aspect likely to be transformed in their digital transformation (DT) is the business process. This study explores the challenges and coping practices underlying DT of business process in pre-digital organizations. Design/methodology/approach A seven-year canonical action research (CAR) study was conducted in SD Energy (a pseudonym), one of the largest new energy companies in China. Following the principle of CAR, we chose the inductive research approach as our instrumental theory in the diagnostic phase and empowerment theory as our focal theory in the action planning and intervention phase. Findings Our diagnosis phase revealed four groups of challenges encountered by SD Energy in its DT of business processes, namely, process challenges, system challenges, data challenges and people-related challenges. In the action planning and intervention phase, we developed three practices, process redesign, system integration and data governance, to tackle the process, system and data challenges. The implementation of the three practices further empowered organizational members of SD Energy to overcome the people-related challenges. Research limitations/implications The study's single-case, China-specific energy context limits generalizability. Future research should test the sequential process-system-data framework and empowerment mechanisms in other industries and institutional settings. Practitioners should prioritize process redesign before system integration and data governance, adapting leadership from co-creation to top-down mandates for cultural change. Originality/value The findings of our CAR study provide important theoretical contributions to research on DT and practical implications for pre-digital organizations that pursue DT of business process.
Sixuan Zhang (Mon,) studied this question.