Designing a Structural-Interpretive Model (ISM) of Digital Transformation Culture Mechanisms with a Contextual Approach in Tehran Province Water and Wastewater Company

Subject Areas : Behavioral Studies in Management

Mohammad pourmoghaddam ¹ , Dariush Golamzadeh ² , Ahmad Vedadi ³ , Alireza Amirkabiri ⁴

1 - PhD Student, Department of Public Administration, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 - Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
3 - Associate Professor, Department of Public Administration, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
4 - Associate Professor, Department of Public Administration, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2025-02-11 Accepted : 2025-02-17 Published : 2025-04-30

Keywords: Mechanisms of digital transformation culture, structural-interpretive modeling, contextual approach, Tehran Province Water and Wastewater Company,

Abstract :

Digital transformation is not only a choice, but also a necessity for survival and growth in the digital age. The purpose of the present study is to design a structural-interpretive model of the mechanisms for developing a digital transformation culture with a contextual approach in the Tehran Province Water and Wastewater Company. The present study is an applied research in terms of purpose and an exploratory mixed research in terms of method. In the qualitative part, theme analysis was used, and in the quantitative part, structural-interpretive modeling was used. The study population in the qualitative part included 14 experts who were purposefully selected until reaching data saturation point, and in the quantitative part, 234 experts were selected by simple random selection. Also, 12 experts were purposefully selected for structural-interpretive modeling. In-depth semi-structured interviews were used to collect data in the qualitative part, and a researcher-made questionnaire was used in the quantitative part. The research findings show that the digital transformation culture in Tehran Province Water and Wastewater Company can be developed with the help of 5 mechanisms of developing digital competencies of employees, human resource management processes, organizational climate change, soft organizational change and development, and the use of digital technology. The research findings showed that the two components of "soft organizational change and development" and "digital competencies of employees" play the greatest role in developing a digital transformation culture.

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