Editor-in-Chief Lecture
Author
Full Professor, Knowledge and Information Science, Management and Economics Faculty, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
The term “virtual” has been associated with real-world businesses and entities in recent years. Until a few years ago, the notion of “virtual” encompassed spaces such as websites, information networks, digital libraries, etc. But today, most of the citizens' time is spent in completely virtual spaces. Stores, businesses, monetary and financial activities, leisure and entertainment, etc. are all being transferred to cyberspace. The rapid pace of joining cyberspace has created a state of disharmony and exhaustion among businesses, especially large organizations. Many of them have embarked on digital transformation and implemented some programs, however, this process does not seem to be sufficiently tailored to meet the requirements, and organizations are to see “virtual transformation” as a complementary action and umbrella plan to cover sparse actions on their agenda. In this article, the concept of virtual transformation and its requirements and phases are briefly explained. Attempts have been made to look into the virtual transformation from different dimensions and to identify and introduce its key actors as well. The six steps presented in this article are deemed to provide useful insights for managers on their virtual transformation journey. The content of the article also can be seen as a starting point for extensive studies on the concept of virtual transformation.
Keywords
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