Does the Strategy Improve Employee Innovativeness? Understanding the Impact of Digital Business Strategy

Tomoharu Mukaidaira & Hidenori Sato

Strategic Change2026https://doi.org/10.1002/jsc.70064article
AJG 2
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

Gaining competitive advantage via digital technology is a central theme in the digital age. To succeed, companies must formulate a digital business strategy (DBS) that integrates business and IT. Although employee creativity is essential for DBS‐driven business model restructuring, the link remains under‐researched. This study examines how DBS influences employee digital innovativeness, specifically mediating through digital literacy and digital technology self‐efficacy. Using structural equation modeling on data from 572 employees in Japan, we analyze the pathway from strategy to innovation. The results indicate that DBS promotes digital innovativeness not just directly, but also through an indirect path where digital literacy enhances self‐efficacy. The findings suggest that strategy alone does not build confidence; capability development is a prerequisite. This study advances management theory by identifying the behavioral mechanisms linking firm‐level strategy to individual innovation, highlighting that for a DBS to be effective, managers must foster employees' digital capabilities to ensure value for both the firm and employees.

Open paper page →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/jsc.70064

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{tomoharu2026,
  title        = {{Does the Strategy Improve Employee Innovativeness? Understanding the Impact of Digital Business Strategy}},
  author       = {Tomoharu Mukaidaira & Hidenori Sato},
  journal      = {Strategic Change},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/jsc.70064},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

Does the Strategy Improve Employee Innovativeness? Understanding the Impact of Digital Business Strategy

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.


Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.