Twin Transformation In Action: Conceptualising The Entanglement Of Digitalisation And Sustainability In Organisational Routines

Research increasingly acknowledges that organisations must undergo a transformation that simultaneously addresses digitalisation and sustainability, commonly referred to as the ‘Twin Transformation.’ However, much of the emerging literature on this topic adopts a high-level view, often overlooking the everyday organisational routines through which work is carried out in organisations. This conceptual paper argues that a more comprehensive understanding of the Twin Transformation can be achieved by focusing on organisational routines as loci where digitalisation and sustainability interact. To support this argument, the paper theorises three processes — pressuring, resourcing and inspiring — through which digitalisation and sustainability interact within and across routine performances. These processes have the potential to drive transformation when they spill over into other routines, creating momentum for fundamental change. By conceptualising the Twin Transformation as a continuous and situated process and by advancing understanding of the intertwined nature of digitalisation and sustainability, this paper contributes to research on the Twin Transformation. Additionally, the paper provides managerial implications to guide organisations through their own Twin Transformations.