Key Theme: The research investigates how social capital contributes to successful digital transformations in Australian healthcare organisations, specifically focusing on the development of dynamic capabilities.

Key Takeaways:

Successful digital transformations require organisations to look beyond their internal resources and leverage their social capital to access and integrate valuable external knowledge.

• Cultivating strong network relationships and strategically engaging in collaborative ecosystems are critical for acquiring non-generic complementarities.
• Focusing on developing dynamic capabilities such as absorptive capacity, integration effort, and big data analytics is crucial for achieving positive digital transformation outcomes.
• The findings offer a new perspective for practitioners in the healthcare sector, highlighting the importance of a digital business ecosystem view and a shift from inward-looking approaches.

Social Capital as the Source of External Complementarities: The research posits that social capital, defined as "the aggregate of resources embedded within, available through, and derived from the network of relationships possessed by an organisation", is crucial for accessing the non-generic and non-substitutable external complementarities necessary for digital transformation.

"Social capital refers to this ability of a firm to source such non-generic complementarities from network relationships."

Dynamic Capabilities as Mediators: The study argues that social capital facilitates the development of crucial dynamic capabilities including absorptive capacity, integration effort, and big data analytics. These capabilities, in turn, directly influence positive digital transformation outcomes.

"Dynamic capabilities provide the mechanisms to continually alter the ordinary capabilities of a firm to cope with digital disruptions, therefore, building dynamic capabilities is essential for effective digital transformation outcomes."

Focus on the Australian Healthcare Sector: The research focuses on the Australian healthcare sector as a context where digital transformation is both advanced and presents unique challenges, including regulatory constraints and data privacy concerns.

Detailed Breakdown of Key Mediators:

Absorptive Capacity: The ability to identify, acquire, assimilate, and apply external knowledge related to digital technologies is crucial. This allows organisations to internalise valuable knowledge from their network and translate it into practical applications for their transformation.

Integration Effort: Effective digital transformations require a strategic alignment of digital technologies with existing organisational resources and processes. This involves reshaping structures, managerial mindsets, and collaborative efforts to achieve synergy between transactional and digital aspects.

"Integration effort is one such attempt by the management to create synergies between digital technologies and transactional resources."

Big Data Analytics Capability: Leveraging the abundance of data available within and beyond the organisation's boundaries is vital. This requires developing strong big data analytics capabilities, encompassing both the technical infrastructure and the expertise to extract actionable insights and business value.

Sources: Excerpts from "A relational view of how social capital contributes to effective digital transformation outcomes": Malik et al. (2024). Journal of Strategic Information Systems 33 (2024) 101837