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NTU Management Review Vol. 34 No. 3 Dec. 2024

1. Introduction

Digital transformation has been crucial for company and industry development
in recent decades, involving actors or stakeholders who adopt a new technology and

influence actors to change their behavior in adapting to advanced technology (Dąbrowska,
Almpanopoulou, Brem, Chesbrough, Cucino, Di Minin, Giones, Hakala, Marullo,
Mention, Mortara, Nørskov, Nylund, Oddo, Radziwon, and Ritala, 2022). According to
Dąbrowska et al. (2022), digital transformation refers to a process of technology adoption

with three stages: modernization, enterprise-wide transformation, and new business
creation (Bonnet, 2022). The last stage might result in the creation of new enterprises and
the discovery of new sources of wealth, whereas the first two stages focus on changing
the firm’s current operations. Although digital transformation requires several stages, we

cannot neglect the role of technology adopters and features. Integrating new technologies
and altering current behavior should undergo iterative and continual refinement, better
suiting a particular environment or business.
Prior digital transformation research has focused on how technological characteristics

help businesses and what major elements affect technology deployment (Kamble,
Gunasekaran, Parekh, and Joshi, 2019; Pereira, Moura, Costa, Vieira, Landim, Bazaki,
and Wanick, 2022). Technology deployment benefits companies variously by helping
companies conduct business and connect to customers or partners through building dyadic

communication (Bresciani, Ferraris, and Del Giudice, 2018; Scuotto, Arrigo, Candelo,
and Nicotra, 2020), enhancing the development of new business distribution channels
(Matarazzo, Penco, Profumo, and Quaglia, 2021; Windasari and Santoso, 2022), and
reshaping value creation (Sjödin, Parida, and Visnjic, 2022).

The retail industry is highly active in hastening technology adoption to fulfill the fast-
changing needs of customers. Retailers seize the opportunity and identify how technology
can improve operational efficiency and customer experience. One emerging technology for
retailers to reshape the existing retail business practices is electronic shelf labels (ESLs).

Replacing paper labels on shelf edges, these small, battery-operated e-paper (Electronic
Paper) displays offer product and pricing information. To connect with a central hub
and create a network for dynamic price automation, ESLs utilize wireless technologies.
Although an ESL is a tiny device, it can make shopping more engaging and interactive by

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