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Digital Transformation and Employee Engagement in Service Industry

Author(s)

Meng Xing

Affiliation(s)

Hubei Business College, Wuhan, Hubei, China

Abstract

Against the backdrop of the rapid expansion of the global digital economy and accelerated advancements in technologies such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence, the service industry faces disruptive shocks from digital-native competitors and mounting pressures for seamless omnichannel service upgrades, with widening internal talent capability gaps and persistent operational inefficiencies becoming increasingly acute. This study aims to systematically examine the drivers, strategic imperatives of digital transformation in the service industry and its profound implications for employee engagement and human resource management (HRM) practices. Adopting a combined methodology of systematic literature analysis and empirical research, this study investigates the interactive mechanism between digital transformation and HRM evolution from the dual perspectives of macro institutional environment and micro organizational internal dynamics, and empirically validates key influencing factors and causal pathways. The findings reveal that HRM is transitioning from a traditional administrative function to a strategic orchestrator of technological adoption, cultural adaptation and human capital recalibration; employee engagement has evolved into a dynamic three-dimensional process encompassing cognitive absorption, emotional identification and behavioral activation; transformational leadership and agile HR practices effectively mitigate change resistance, while traditional hierarchical supervisory support exhibits limited effectiveness. This study demonstrates that sustainable digital transformation in the service industry relies on the holistic integration of technological, institutional and human-centric dimensions to build a resilient and adaptive organizational ecosystem.

Keywords

Digital Transformation; Service Industry; Human Resource Management; Employee Engagement; Transformational Leadership; Organizational Resilience; Digital Governance; Human-Centric Management

References

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