The digitalization of physical reality: Theoretical lenses to incorporate digitalization into management research

The management literature has recently witnessed a considerable escalation of research around the implications of digitalization for firms and their environment. Yet, the conceptualization of the construct of digitalization remains elusive at best. In this chapter, we develop a taxonomy of the outcomes of the digitalization of physical reality, and of the interaction amongst digitalized units of physical reality. We maintain that these taxonomies may enhance the scope for combining extant research in integrative frameworks as well as informing management research that links digitalization and its agency in a more systematic way.