Digital capabilities as mediators: Fostering managerial and sustainable capabilities among digital users and providers

Due to the degree of exposure to activities carried out through digital channels, digital transformation is no longer an avoidable option for companies. However, being exposed to an eminently digital environment does not automatically make companies able to embrace the benefits of digitalisation. Therefore, it is vital to explore the mechanisms that enable companies to transform their digital transformation efforts and activities into results. That is, what are the capabilities that enable firms, depending on their degree of digitalisation (being either digital users or digital providers), to achieve effective value generation and value appropriation? The analysis of a sample of 204 companies belonging to four European countries was performed on a causal competence model using PLS-SEM to answer the research questions. Results show that digital enterprises are greener only if the business model includes sustainability and that only for digital users is the degree of being a digital company positively related to managerial and sustainable capabilities. Similarly, we found an indirect, positive effect between being digital and having managerial and sustainable capabilities through the mediation of digital capabilities, especially for digital providers, exposing the complementarity of these capabilities.