Respond to the feedback below.

Arthur, great post on your annotated bibliography. In my opinion, it might offer a one-dimensional perspective of the advantages of digital transformation, but its validity and dependability demand investigation. A study whose narrow focus on productivity gains ignores employee well-being or small-business environments, for example, would have incomplete results. Recent peer-reviewed studies underline how complicated and context-dependent the effects of digital transformation are for employees. Unmanaged employee resistance to digital initiatives can increase stress and impede implementation success, directly undermining employee well-being (Valtonen and Holopainen, 2025). Their multiple-case study revealed elements at the individual, organizational, and technological levels that cause resistance and ways to help lower resistance and support employee well-being during transformation (Valtonen & Holopainen, 2025). Intense training, open communication, and employee participation help to mitigate these elements.

Likewise, Avtowicz et al. (2025) developed the idea of a "digital climate." They noted that employee technostress is lowered, and job satisfaction rises when companies include staff members in technology adoption, allowing input on digital tool selection, streamlining operations, and providing fast IT support. These results imply that studies ignoring the human element could overestimate the advantages; in fact, other academics warn that digitalization can be a "double-edged sword," possibly substituting job tasks and generating uncertainty or perceived unfairness among staff if poorly managed (Avtalion et al., 2025). Positively, though, results usually follow from digital transformation with an employee-centric approach. Digital transformation initiatives, job satisfaction, and employee performance in industry settings showed a noteworthy positive link, according to a large-scale Fettahliolu and Amirli (2024) survey of 757 employees.

This evidence-based viewpoint questions the validity of any source that presents digital transformation as consistently positive without complexity. The peer might deepen their work by examining how small businesses apply employee-oriented digital transformation plans. Including staff training, change-management communication, and supportive leadership would help address employee well-being and satisfaction alongside performance. Recent data support such an expanded approach, showing, for example, that efforts at participatory change and attention to employee needs greatly improve well-being and sustain performance during digital transitions (Valtonen & Holopainen, 2025; Avtalion et al., 2025).

References

Avtalion, A., Elishkov, R., & Fridman, M. (2025). Organizational digital climate and technostress: A participatory approach to digital transformation. Journal of Organizational Psychology, 25(1), 44-59. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379153967Links to an external site.

Fettahliolu, P., & Amirli, F. (2024). Examining the impact of digital transformation on employee job satisfaction and performance: Evidence from the industrial sector. Journal of Management and Strategy, 15(1), 28-38. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/jms/issue/81936/1300742

Valtonen, T., & Holopainen, S. (2025). Employee resistance to digital transformation in SMEs: A multilevel case analysis. Journal of Digital Business and Strategy, 33(2), 111-126. https://ouci.dntb.gov.ua/en/works/9jXeVOZ9/