The Nexus Between Digitalization, Employee Change Management, and Organizational Productivity: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Digital transformation has become essential for organizations' existence rather than a mere option. It is described as the process of dramatically changing and improving all parts of entities by the integration of information, processing, communication, and networking technologies. This study aims to identify key theories that explain the relationships between digitalization and organizational productivity, develop a model to show how employee change management influences this relationship, and to identify emerging areas for future research. The PRISMA standards guided the execution of a systematic literature review (SLR). Sixty-four articles published during 2000-2025 were selected from the Scopus and Taylor and Francis online databases according to defined inclusion criteria. Articles were examined using Amos VOS viewer software. Despite extensive research on digital transformation, some areas i.e. digital technologies, digital leadership, digital organizational culture, digital capability, and competitive environment have received limited attention during the years. Employee change management in digitalization is found to be a top priority for future research. Dignity, employee engagement, employee resilience, employee digital performance, and meaningful work are identified as the key attributes of focus. Further, results depict that the impact of digitalization on productivity remains largely unexamined. The model introduced in this study demonstrates the interaction between digital transformation, employee change management, and organizational productivity, emphasizing employee change management as the mediating variable in this interaction. Resource-Based View (RBV) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) are the fundamental theories supporting the model. This study urges firms to integrate digital endeavours with employee-focused change strategies to enhance organizational productivity.