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The COVID-19 pandemic, which globally affected all the countries of the world both economically and socially, has become one of the biggest crises after the 1929 world economic depression. During this period, not only people's health but also the economic health of countries was affected. In this process, people have created intense connection traffic on the internet to meet their needs, and this has accelerated the digitalization processes of businesses. Thus, the concept of digital transformation began to be widely used. Today, digital transformation processes have become an external environmental variable that covers all sectors, not businesses in a single sector. This situation has revealed the necessity of creating new business/management strategies that increase customer value for business managers. Digital transformation has shown itself in all business functions. In other words, the demands and priorities of each function and its managers have also changed. Therefore, business and department managers are required that they perceive digital transformation processes correctly and integrate their businesses/departments into this process with the right business/management strategies, without conflicting with the digital transformation processes. In this study, various ideas and evaluations put forward about sustainable business/management strategies that can be applied against the current and future importance of the digitalization/digital transformation process and its possible effects on businesses are included.

The conditions that are constantly changing and transforming by digital technologies in today's world have forced businesses to think strategically and to comply with the rules and processes of strategic management. Technologies, such as the internet of things, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and big data, especially in the Industry 4.0 ecosystem, cause some conflicts or constructive and destructive effects on the management approaches and management strategies of businesses. Businesses need to understand these technologies and their effects to maintain their existence and manage their resources and capabilities effectively and strategically. In this chapter, it is aimed to examine the conflicts with destructive and constructive effects of digital technologies on the strategic management of enterprises. For this purpose, the literature was searched qualitatively, and a conceptual study was carried out. At the beginning of the chapter, strategic management literature was researched, and strategic management approaches and views were examined. In the next part, digital technologies in the Industry 4.0 ecosystem are explained. In the last part, digital technologies and their impacts in terms of strategic management approaches (position approach, resource-based approach, and complementing views of resources-based approach) have been examined.

The chapter introduces digital food hubs as disruptive business models in the agri-food system shifting away from the unsustainable industrialized and conventional food sector and moving toward a re-localized food and farming pattern. They are new digital business models developed to support small and mid-size farms with a value focus, forming new ways to leverage the technology as a facilitator for coopetitive organizational forms. Indeed, they respond to a competitive strategy constituted by a “value strategy” oriented to the production and distribution of “shared value.” Second, they are based on an “organizational strategy” that shifts from individual competition to “coopetition” through the development of local “strategic networks” among small size producers. Central to the development of these business models is the digital disruption that has offered the space for the creation of unconventional exchange and transaction mechanisms distinguishing them from the already existing traditional ways of work. The agri-food markets exhibit structural holes that impede small farms from connecting with local consumers. This is due to a lack of material infrastructures and organizational forms on behalf of small farms that cannot reach the consumers, as well as the concentration of power in the hands of a restricted numbers of distributors, which causes the unequal redistribution of the economic value and impedes small farms accessing the food market. The advent of the digital technology is reshaping the market relationship by allowing out centralized intermediaries and creating new bridges between producers and consumers.

In an era where sustainability and digital transformation are becoming indispensable pillars of successful business operations, this chapter explores the potent synergy between these two paradigms. As businesses strive to align their operations with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals, digital transformation emerges as a powerful enabler. This chapter delves into how digital technologies are not only revolutionizing traditional business models but are also paving the way toward more sustainable practices. From data-driven decision-making to improved resource management, this chapter discusses the diverse ways in which digital transformation contributes to sustainability. It also offers an in-depth analysis of real-world case studies, illustrating how businesses have successfully integrated digital transformation in their pursuit of sustainability. Recognizing the potential roadblocks, this chapter also addresses the challenges businesses may face in this journey, including cybersecurity risks, data privacy issues, and the need for technological literacy. It further presents strategies to navigate these challenges and underscores the importance of preparedness in managing potential risks. Finally, this chapter ventures into the future of digital transformation, evaluating current trends and predictions, and their potential impact on sustainable business practices.

Today, businesses, organizations and governments attach great importance to digital transformation to meet the needs of their customers, business partners, and employees to adapt to the developing technology in recent years. Digital transformation, which is a challenging and mandatory process, has been and continues to be passed by institutions today. However, the successful management of this transformation without conflict can be realized by accurately detecting new communication technologies and examining, understanding, and implementing the transformation process in detail. This process will be painful, where radical changes will take place in the structure, processes, functions, and business models of the organization. Different challenges may be encountered in each of the startup, execution, and governance subprocesses examined in the digital transformation process. Many conflicts such as time and budget shortages, inadequate digital skills and lack of vision for digital customer processes, cybersecurity threats, human resource shortages, difficulty in managing technology, failure to achieve cloud structure integration, vision, and culture differences are the reasons why this process cannot be managed fluently and accurately. For businesses that focus on this goal, regardless of scale, digital transformation has become a necessity, not an alternative to choose. In this study, the digital transformation process and maturity model were discussed, and technological and digital conflicts were emphasized. It seeks to shed light on the work they will do by making recommendations for institutions to manage this process in the best way.

In this work, we study the investment processes in the digital economy, which includes determining the specifics of foreign direct investments (FDIs) under the conditions of digital technologies' development and substantiating the key directions and tendencies of investing from the positions of strategies of business integration and digital technologies' development.

This research is based on the multidisciplinary approach, which covers strategic management, investing, the theory of digital economy etc. The chapter combines the theoretical developments of these disciplines and presents them in the context of substantiation of the processes of using foreign direct investments as the tools of the business integration strategy. The proposed methodology allows generalising the view of the studied processes from the position of the digital economy, determining its structure; describing the key directions of development and investing; establishing the specifics of the use of FDI by transnational corporations; substantiating important directions for further processes.

It is revealed that foreign direct investments are not only the important factors in economic systems' development but also the effective tools for the integration of international business through the common use of the potential of parent and subsidiary companies for the reduction of transaction costs, an increase of profit etc. It is substantiated that the character of direct investing in the digital economy is different from the similar processes in the industrial system due to the non-material character of assets and their connection to the Internet. Based on this, implementing the investment strategy in the digital economy, transnational corporations offer access to technologies, ensure technological modernisation and facilitate the achievement of other indirect effects, which are less aimed at the increase in material assets. These processes lead to a change in the balance of revenues compared to the cost of material assets that are invested in the receiving market or subsidiary company. The indicator of such a ratio is the indicator ‘FDI lightness’. A high value of this indicator is a sign of the large perspectives of a company in the sphere of international activities.

The specifics of FDI in the digital economy are determined, the key directions of such activities are described, and the peculiarities and differences of investing in the digital economy are shown.

The abundance of technological innovations has dramatically increased the prominence of digital transformation processes in many organizations and sectors. At the present time, digital transformation is first and foremost depicted in the literature as a strategy carefully elaborated and deployed by diligent executives. This stands in sharp contrast with contemporary organizational theory, and most especially the strategy-as-practice research stream, which has increasingly underlined the capability of middle managers to weigh upon strategizing processes. An empirical inquiry conducted in a major aeronautics company reveals that digital transformation can be largely driven by middle managers in charge of specific technological projects, who operate in the absence of a well-defined, overarching strategy. Drawing on the sociology of translation, the chapter identifies four tactics used by middle managers to ensure that their projects make it to the strategic agenda of the firm. Ultimately, the findings suggest that digital transformation processes cannot be solely understood as strategic endeavors, and can result from the addition of disjointed technological projects driven by middle managers instead.

Digital disruption no longer ensures the security or longevity of established firm structures and business models. Instead, it necessitates that firms reinvent their business models, including business processes, people, and technologies that align with the organizational goals. Despite the exponential growth of digital disruption, prior literature indicates that the concept of business model innovation is poorly understood in developing economies. Furthermore, little is known about how low-tech firms in developing economies should adapt and reinvent their business models to cope with and shape digital disruption as it unfolds. Grounded in two overarching theoretical frameworks, namely the theory of disruptive innovation and the resources–processes–values (RPV) framework, this chapter addresses this void in prior literature. Based on multiple case study analyses of 10 low-tech firms in diverse industries in Sri Lanka, the findings indicate that successful disruptive business model innovation in low-tech firms in Sri Lanka is predicated on an effective technology management strategy, suitable organizational structure, compatible organizational culture, and devoted corporate governance. Moreover, external influences like changing market dynamics, competition, and shifts in consumer behavior also significantly influence disruptive business model innovation of selected firms. This chapter acts as a springboard for future researchers by extending the theory of disruptive innovation and RPV framework to low-tech industries in developing economies.