Strategic Adaptation to Digital Disruption: A Scoping Review of Firm Responses in Commercial Printing
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24191/ji.v21i2.11374Keywords:
strategic adaptation, digital distruption, commercial printing, scoping review, Technological investment, Hybrid business modelsAbstract
Digital disruption has reshaped many business-to-business industries, yet evidence on how firms adapt at the strategic level remains fragmented and context-specific. The commercial printing industry offers a useful setting to examine these dynamics, as firms face both external substitution by digital media and internal pressure to adopt digital technologies. This study maps the literature on firm-level strategic responses to digitalization through a scoping review of commercial printing and print-service firms. Following Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and PRISMA-ScR guidelines, 54 studies published between 2010 and March 2026 were identified from Scopus and Web of Science. The review identifies seven recurring categories of strategic response: technology adoption and digital investment, business model innovation, market diversification, vertical integration and partnerships, process improvement, capability development, and supply chain adjustment. The evidence shows that adaptation is rarely driven by isolated actions. Instead, firms combine technological investment with shifts toward service-oriented and hybrid business models. Internal conditions, including managerial capability, financial resources, and technological readiness, shape the form and speed of response, while external pressures such as digitalization, changing customer demand, and competitive intensity act as primary drivers. Beyond the industry context, the findings highlight a broader pattern of strategic adaptation under digital disruption, where firms move from production-centric logics toward integrated product–service offerings. The review also identifies key gaps, including limited longitudinal evidence, uneven geographic coverage, and minimal research on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. This study contributes by consolidating fragmented evidence on firm adaptation and offering a structured basis for future research on strategic responses to digital disruption in manufacturing and service-oriented industries.
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