Institutional Theory and Digital Maturity – A Framework for Analysing the Digital Transformation of the Transport Sector

This paper analyses the digitalisation of the transport sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina through the theoretical frameworks of institutional theory, the resource-based view (RBV) and the concept of digital maturity. The study, conducted on a sample of 85 transport companies, aimed to examine the role of institutional pressures and internal capacities in the implementation of digital technologies, with particular emphasis on smart tachographs as a key regulatory and technological driver of digital transformation. Smart tachographs, together with telematics and navigation systems, are considered indicators of the digital maturity level of transport companies. The results show that legislation remains the main driver of digitalisation, supporting institutional theory, while companies with higher levels of digital maturity are more likely to recognise strategic benefits such as efficiency improvements, data-driven decision-making and advanced analytics. The findings also suggest that the intensive use of tachograph and telematics data contributes to the development of organisational competencies that represent valuable and hard-to-imitate resources, consistent with RBV. The paper contributes by linking institutional pressures and digital maturity and by introducing the concept of the “digital stack”, while the practical implications highlight the need to strengthen internal digital capacities beyond regulatory compliance.