Legacy firms and digital transformation beyond the dynamic capability approach: A Study of the Organisational Behaviour of Software Test Engineers, Contributing to the Digital Transformation of Banks in the Irish Financial Sector

Abstract: The central focus of this paper is to go beyond the dynamic capabilities approach to better understand how legacy firms such as Bank of Ireland (BOI) embrace new digital ecosystems to generate value as they digitally transform, whilst also examining the organisational behaviour (OB) and social relationships of Software Test Engineers (STEs) within the non-traditional context of a recently conceived digital first banking environment. With a focus on how such professions appropriate and subsequently enact their own realities, the paper will be of interest to readers concerned with going beyond the dynamic capabilities approach to integrate multi-level experiences and perceptions of changing roles in an organisation adapting to change due to market transformations. Insider research methods combined with principles of auto-ethnography and reflectivity will be used as the researcher presents himself as an ‘object of research’. The cohorts studied represent a diversified range of individual identities/experiences, with varied educational backgrounds including business/IT, bank staff/contractors and traditional finance stock; representing a unique research opportunity to study the human relations of a ‘virtual team’ leveraging technology to transcend traditional organisational boundaries, including the relational, geographical, and even temporal; as team members combine their efforts across cultures, locations, and time zones. The research will contribute to practice by highlighting the OB of a specific team with growing prominence/importance within the organisation. Contributions to theory will emerge as the research process develops and will be centred around going beyond dynamic capabilities by leveraging key concepts such as the TOE (technical, organisation, environment) framework, digital customer orientation & job crafting. Keywords: legacy firms, dynamic capabilities, digital transformation, TOE framework, digital customer orientation, job crafting.