DTS2026 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Digital transformation (DT) refers to “a fundamental change process, enabled by the innovative use of digital technologies accompanied by the strategic leverage of key resources and capabilities, aiming to radically improve an entity and redefine its value proposition for its stakeholders” (Gong and Riebere, p. 12, 2021). An entity could refer to various subjects, such as an organisation, a business network, an industry, or society.

This phenomenon is generating unprecedented disruptions in society, industry, and organisations, stimulated by a variety of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), the metaverse, big data analytics, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT). The use of digital technologies is considered a great enabler of various strategic approaches, such as digital servitization, that support value co-creation and product personalisation in many industrial sectors and service industries.

A growing number of articles in informative press and technical reports show that DT and its technologies form a complex phenomenon which, of course, can generate positive outcomes but also negative effects for its end-users. Thus, despite the great potential of DT, it is a double-edged sword, implying risks and ethical challenges. Indeed, digital technologies’ criticality includes: the spread of biases, privacy abuses, job losses, lower human faculties engagement and a significant environmental impact.

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