An Integrated Framework of Dynamic Capabilities, Digital Transformation, and Organizational Resilience: A Multimethod Qualitative Study in the Construction Sector
TL;DR
The findings demonstrate that DCs, through their microfoundations of sensing, seizing, and transforming, are critical enablers of DT, and highlights the importance of digital leadership, workforce training, and adaptive organizational structures in embedding resilience at the design and planning stages of projects.
Abstract
The construction industry operates in a highly volatile environment characterized by economic fluctuations, project uncertainties, and unexpected disruptions. Therefore, to withstand disruptions, firms increasingly seek to build resilience using digital tools alongside the development of organizational capabilities. However, the existing literature has broadly examined digital transformation (DT), dynamic capabilities (DCs), and organizational resilience (OR) either in isolation or through pairwise relationships. This study addresses that gap by investigating how DCs drive DT, which in turn fosters resilience in the construction industry. A multimethod qualitative design was adopted, combining 10 semistructured interviews with senior construction professionals, including consultants, managers, digital leaders, and chief executive officers (CEOs), with content analysis of six industry reports. Participants brought experience from both advanced economies, such as those in Europe and Australia, and emerging markets, including South Asia, providing insights into how contextual factors shape digitalization and resilience strategies. The findings demonstrate that DCs, through their microfoundations of sensing, seizing, and transforming, are critical enablers of DT. Digital technologies, such as building information modeling (BIM), artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, drones, and the Internet of Things (IoT), have been found to enhance efficiency, sustainability, and agility. Simultaneously, DT supports resilience by enabling firms to anticipate risks, adapt their operations, and recover effectively from disruptions using advanced digital tools. Notably, DT emerged as a transforming mechanism that operationalizes DCs into resilience outcomes. This study contributes to theory by extending the DC framework to a construction-specific context and by conceptualizing DT as a bridge between DCs and resilience. For practitioners, it highlights the importance of digital leadership, workforce training, and adaptive organizational structures in embedding resilience at the design and planning stages of projects. Future research should further examine these relationships across regions and subsectors to refine generalizability.