Digital Maturity in the Context of Smart Organizations: Conceptual Foundations, Model Approaches, and Development Process
Chapter from the book:
Yaralı,
M.
C.
(ed.)
2026.
Smart Organizations: Digital Maturity, Strategic Management, Learning, and Competitive Advantage.
Synopsis
In this study, the concept of digital maturity is addressed within the context of smart organizations through its conceptual, strategic, and organizational dimensions. Rapid developments in digital technologies are transforming not only the technological infrastructures of businesses, but also their management approaches, decision-making processes, and competitive strategies. In this regard, digital maturity is considered an important factor that reflects organizations’ capacity to manage digital transformation processes. The study first examines the definition and historical development of the concept of digital maturity and explains the differences among digitization, digitalization, and digital transformation. In addition, it is emphasized that digital maturity does not merely refer to the use of technology, but represents a multidimensional structure encompassing strategy, leadership, organizational culture, human resources, learning capacity, and innovativeness. Furthermore, it is argued that businesses may exhibit different levels of digital maturity throughout their digital development processes and that this process has a dynamic nature. Finally, the strategic and organizational impacts of digital maturity are discussed, and it is concluded that businesses with higher levels of digital maturity are more capable of adapting to changing environmental conditions, managing data-driven decision-making processes more effectively, and achieving sustainable competitive advantage. In this context, digital maturity is regarded as a fundamental factor that goes beyond indicating the level of technological development and shapes strategic orientations as well as organizational transformation processes in today’s businesses.
