DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION INDEX OF UAE ENTERPRISES: DRIVERS AND ENABLERS, A BOTTOM UP VIEW

This study uses primary data which are amassed with the help of a structured questionnaire from executives of various UAE based enterprises as the universe. In the pre digital era, stability and entry barriers were the defining factors of competitive advantage, while recently incidents of more black swan events like COVID-19 stresses the pressing need for blended strategy process where the building blocks of organizational design – structure, control and culture permits a top down vision and bottom up strategic initiatives to emerge. (David et.al, 2020). In this respect, 110 executives are surveyed on random sampling technique. Statistical Package for Social Sciences SPSS version 22 used to analyze the data, and statistical tools like Factor Analysis and Indexing methods are used to analyze data for identifying the pertinent variables leading to digital transformation. The result of the study is evaluated on the basis of a process model consists of the pertinent variables that are connected to digital transformation strategies. This paper is part of larger research project carried by out by the researchers, and this research examined the digital maturity of the UAE organizations based on their Digital Transformation Index. The findings of this study show that 50 percent of the institutions focus on improving operational efficiency capabilities as a first step towards DT, 21.8 percent of UAE based firms focus on customer experience improvements and 14.5 percent on more than one aspect of DT.