How legacy firms achieve digital transformation through brand flagship platform: the role of digital platform capability

作者：Shuang Zhang, Jiaye Ge, Yao Li · 发表于：Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1108/jbim-08-2024-0586 · 被引用次数：7 · 研究领域：Digital Marketing and Social Media、Digital Platforms and Economics、Technology Adoption and User Behaviour

Purpose Digital transformation is widely recognized as a fundamental strategy for business-to-business (B2B) firms to attain long-term growth. However, the mechanism by which B2B firms leverage digital platforms to drive transformation and enhance competitiveness remains unclear. This paper aims to conceptualize the brand flagship platform as a business-to-business-to-customer (B2B2C) model by integrating B2B and business-to-consumer (B2C) models and explore its potential mechanisms for promoting digital transformation. Design/methodology/approach In this empirical study, this paper obtained 296 questionnaires from three companies across categories, namely Haier (manufacturing), China Merchants Bank (finance service) and Luckin Coffee (retail). The participants were managers who had access to the digital strategies. A structural equation model was conducted to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings This research shows that brand flagship platforms, which integrate B2B and B2C models, facilitate the digital transformation of B2B firms. Specifically, digital leadership capability and digital business capability positively influence digital platform capability, which is enabled by brand flagship platforms. Moreover, organizational flexibility amplifies the positive effects of digital leadership capability and digital business capability on digital platform capability. In turn, digital platform capability significantly enhances brand competitiveness. Practical implications This s...