Digital transformation: Corporate culture is one of the biggest hurdles

Vantage point: Insights from cutting-edge research

Cultural issues are the biggest obstacle to organisations’ digital transformation 

Corporate culture is one of the biggest hurdles in the journey to becoming a digital organisation, as cited by 62 per cent respondents to a survey by global consulting, technology and outsourcing services company Capgemini and leading digital analyst Brian Solis. As a result, companies risk falling behind competition in today’s digital environment, mentioned the survey in its report titled “The Digital Culture Challenge; Bridging the Employee-Leadership Disconnect”. There is a profound disconnect between leadership and employees on all the dimensions of digital culture: innovation is still not a reality for many organisations. Only seven per cent of companies surveyed feel that their organisation can test new ideas and deploy them quickly. This figure echoes employees’ sentiment about the culture of innovation, with only 37 per cent respondents saying that their organisations have a culture of innovation, experimentation and risk-taking, against 75 per cent of senior executives.

Marketing automation is getting its due share of digital marketing spends

The B2C Marketing Automation India Report, put together by Research NXT in association with Netcore — a full-stack marketing automation firm — provides key insights into adoption of marketing automation solutions (MAS) by the B2C (business-to-consumer) market in India. According to the survey, India is the third largest MAS provider after the US and UK. Marketing automation is being used by most organisations with 48 per cent of respondents having either successfully implemented MAS in their organisations. 

About 63 per cent of marketers say that lack of internal skills and expertise is the biggest barrier for MAS adoption. Cloud-based marketing automation solutions are preferred by marketers with 61 per cent respondents saying they are considering cloud-based solutions over in-house solutions. The survey findings are based on interactions with more than 150 marketing professionals from leading B2C brands across India.

One in four purchase transactions utilises cashless payment mode in urban India

Brandscapes Worldwide, a global consumer insights and research enterprise, has published a study titled “Rupee Matters”. According to the study, 28 per cent of consumer purchase transactions in 20 cities of India were made using cashless modes of payment after the demonetisation phase. Furthermore, cashless modes accounted for as much as 43 per cent of the total value of consumer spending during this period. Debit cards emerged as the dominant cashless payment mode with 83 per cent ownership amongst the urban banked population. Debit cards are also the leading cashless payment vehicle, accounting for 18 per cent of purchase transactions and 27 per cent of total purchase value. Key categories where debit cards account for 50 per cent of transactions are hypermarkets and supermarkets and petrol stations. The nascent category of digital wallets has been adopted by eight per cent — a more mature category.