Unlocking employee adaptation in digital transformation: the interplay of digital mindset, attitudes, and digital organizational culture

As digital transformation reshapes organisational practices, understanding the factors that influence employees’ attitudes and behaviours becomes increasingly critical. However, there have been limited investigations at the employee level. This paper addresses this gap by examining the relationship between digital mindset, digital organisational culture and employee attitudes by using a survey of full-time employees who work under traditional employment contracts. Results demonstrate that digital mindset significantly predicts individual job satisfaction, which is positively associated with affective commitment. In turn, positive associations were observed between affective commitment and employees’ intention to stay. Digital organizational culture was found to strengthen the positive relationships between digital business acumen, digital consciousness, and job satisfaction, while dampening the relationship between digital expertise and job satisfaction. Our findings highlight the importance of considering both employees’ digital mindsets and the organizational context in which digital work takes place when supporting employee satisfaction and retention during digital transformation. The findings underscore the importance of developing employees’ digital mindset while fostering a balanced digital culture that aligns technological expectations with employee experiences, so that organizational digitalization can support rather than inadvertently diminish the motivational benefits associated with employees’ digital strengths.