Ethical responsibility of a company in the context of digital transformation of work: Conceptual model

Abstract

The purpose of the research was to study the relationship between the elements of a company’s ethical responsibility and the outcomes of the digital transformation of work, considering the dynamic processes of open innovation. Based on the results obtained, the paper proposes a conceptual model to address the following research questions. How does the ethical responsibility of a company impact the digital transformation of work? How does the digitalization of work relate to the ethical responsibility of a company? How does open innovation advance the ethical responsibility of a company? The research follows the logic of the elaboration of a conceptual model. The theoretical novelty of the article is expressed in the fact that 25 criteria, through which the relationships between the studied concepts are manifested, were identified and systematized. To assess the significance of the criteria, a survey of experts was developed and conducted to obtain a diverse opinion. Kendall’s coefficient of concordance (W) and Pearson’s chi-squared were used to measure the level of agreement of the experts’ evaluation. A conceptual model established the relationship pathways as well as inbound and outbound flows, and highlighted the key findings of the research. Namely, the guiding role of open innovation as the external circumstances for corporate ethical responsibility, and the necessity to apply all elements of ethical responsibility to ensure the viable digital transformation of work.