Abstract:     The emergence of digital technology presents an opportunity for traditional enterprises to overcome organizational inertia during digital transformation. Based on the theory of digital technology affordance actualization, this paper launched a case study on the digital transformation process of Midea to analyze the mechanism of digital technology affordance on the construction of organizational inertia. It was found that in the process of digital transformation (1) “Digital Technology Affordance-Resource Integration-Organizational Inertia Construction” is an effective path for traditional enterprises to construction of organizational inertia. Among them, different types of organizational inertia have different digital technology affordance and resource integration strategies. Under the meaning-making affordance, traditional enterprises construct data decision-making cognitive inertia through diffusion-exploitation resource integration. Under the architecture replacement affordance, traditional enterprises construct agile organizational structure inertia through diffusion-exploration resource integration. (2) Digital technology affordance is the power source of organizational inertia construction, which pulls traditional enterprises to construct new organizational inertia, including meaning-making affordance and architecture replacement affordance. (3) Resource integration is the process of the digital technology affordance actualizing, and traditional enterprises construct new organizational inertia through the shaping mechanism of resource integration. Under the driving of digital technology meaning-making affordance, enterprises build data decision-making cognitive inertia through the analogical shaping mechanism of resource integration; under the drive of architectural replacement affordance, enterprises construct agile organizational structure inertia through the inheritance shaping mechanism of resource integration. The study will not only extend the theoretical research on the construction of organizational inertia in the context of digital transformation, but also provide more theoretical guidance and management enlightenment for the digital transformation of traditional enterprises in China.

Key words: digital transformation, organizational inertia, digital technology affordance, resource integration