A Recent Systematic Review of Digital Workplace Adoption: Digital Competencies, Impacts and Challenges

Abstract

Digital workplaces have emerged as a transformative paradigm in modern organizations, offering promises of higher productivity, employee engagement, and innovation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). However, the data reveals that Malaysian enterprises are lagging in adopting digital transformation, and 4IR-readiness among Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) is generally low. This systematic review examined the adoption of digital workplaces, providing insight into the existing knowledge in this field. Although there is increasing interest in adopting digital workplaces, there is limited knowledge of the complete range of competencies, impacts, and challenges that either support or impede this process. This knowledge gap poses a significant obstacle to organizations seeking to harness the full potential of digital workplaces. Addressing this gap is crucial for enhancing organizational efficiency and competitiveness in an increasingly digitalized world. In conducting this systematic review, we followed a rigorous methodology offered by Pre-Recording Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). An advanced searching technique in Scopus, Web of Science (WoS), and Science Direct was conducted, yielding a corpus of peer-reviewed articles published between 2020-2024. We applied strict inclusion and exclusion criteria to select studies, resulting in a final sample size of 36 publications. Our analysis focuses on the digital competencies, impacts, and challenges. The findings from this review can guide organizations in devising effective strategies to foster digital workplace adoption and capitalize on its benefits. Subsequent studies can explore each determinant and their interrelationships deeper and investigate evolving trends in the digital workplace landscape. In conclusion, this systematic review contributes to understanding digital workplace adoption, offering valuable insights for researchers and practitioners.