Competencies for Corporate Digital Responsibility: A literature and practice perspective

As digital transformation continues to gain momentum, a new subject area for companies is emerging, namely Corporate Digital Responsibility (CDR). In this context, this working paper aims to answer the following research question: "Which individual competencies support effective CDR implementation?" Both a theoretical and an empirical analysis are conducted to derive a comprehensive set of individual competencies necessary for successful CDR management. After a systematic literature review, a subsequent qualitative content analysis based on semi-structured interviews is performed to gain exploratory insights and to specify the theoretical findings. An overall set of 23 CDR-related competencies is identified across four domains (cognitive, functional, social, and meta). In particular, "understanding internal and external stakeholder needs" and the ability to "employ adaptability" play a crucial role. These results are contextualized and discussed in light of the current academic debate on competencies for implementing CDR. To the author's knowledge, the paper constitutes one of the first attempts to provide empirical evidence on individual competencies for CDR implementation. In this way, the working paper contributes to the theoretical research. In addition, practitioners may use the derived competency framework as input for recruitment, professional development, or advancement of CDR in their companies. However, the generalizability of the findings is limited as the interviewed experts are located in Germany and thus might represent a geographically and culturally similar background. A future avenue of research could be to examine the importance of each of the identified competencies through an in-depth assessment in the form of a quantitative follow-up study.