The digitalization of purchasing: An empirical analysis on the impact of new technologies on organization and performance

The study aims to analyse the impact of digitalization on purchasing. Starting from a preliminary analysis of activities and data characterizing the purchasing process developed by the research team, a multiple-case study approach is adopted to explore the impacts of digitalization on purchasing. The results show an organizational evolution at macro-, in terms of role within the organization, but also at micro-level, in terms of impact on people. The research thus contributes to add relevance to the socio-technical perspective, already adopted to study the technological and organizational evolution induced by the introduction of new Industry 4.0 technologies.