Digital transformation as structural adaptation: an adaptive structuration and institutional perspective

Purpose This study develops a conceptual framework to explain the dynamic and socially embedded nature of digital transformation within organizations. It examines how technological affordances, social interactions, and structural contexts jointly shape organizational adaptation and performance outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The framework integrates structuration theory, Adaptive Structuration Theory (AST) and its individual-level extension (ASTI), along with organizational structure and institutional theory, to conceptualize digital transformation as an iterative process in which human agency, organizational routines, and institutional pressures interact with emerging digital technologies. Central to the model is the appropriation of structures, operationalized through consensus and faithfulness of appropriation. Findings The framework generates propositions linking technology, task, and individual characteristics to appropriation processes and demonstrates how organizational structures and institutional pressures influence performance outcomes. It emphasizes that new organizational forms emerge through socially enacted and institutionally moderated interactions with digital technologies, enabling adaptation in volatile environments. Originality/value By reframing digital transformation as a socially constructed and institutionally embedded phenomenon, this study provides a multi-level theoretical lens and establishes a foundation for future empirical research on the interplay between digital technologies, organizational structures, and institutional dynamics.