Antecedents of technological readiness in times of crises: A comparison between before and during COVID-19

We examine how individual characteristics of employees such as digital self-efficacy, workforce agility, innovativeness, and commitment to change influence technological readiness in different stages of a crisis, i.e., before a crisis and during a crisis. We carried out a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) on data from 2892 employees representing companies across several sectors and countries. Our results show that specific characteristics of employees can be beneficial for reaching technological readiness in organisations before a crisis and during a crisis. Our results, e.g., show that digital self-efficacy has a differential impact on technological readiness prior to a crisis and during a crisis while workforce agility is essential for both phases.

Automated summary

This study investigates the influence of individual employee characteristics (such as digital self-efficacy, workforce agility, innovativeness, and commitment to change) on technological readiness in different stages of a crisis (before and during a crisis). Through fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) on data from 2892 employees representing various sectors and countries, the study finds that specific employee characteristics are beneficial for achieving technological readiness in organizations before and during a crisis. For example, the impact of digital self-efficacy on technological readiness differs in the pre-crisis and crisis phases, while workforce agility is essential in both phases.