Digital archetypes: a tool for understanding personality characteristics in the digital culture

Organizational culture, encompassing shared beliefs, behaviors, and practices, significantly impacts employee performance. This study focuses on digital culture, the subset of organizational culture shaped by technology. Individuals vary greatly in their comfort and aptitude with technology and change. Some readily adapt to new technologies and embrace change, while others struggle. This paper builds on existing personality archetype models to develop a framework for identifying digital archetypes, aiming to create more effective and balanced teams for digital projects.

The study critically examines existing research on personality archetypes, particularly the DISC model. It highlights significant methodological flaws in previous DISC model validations, including insufficient attention to factor indeterminacy, confirmatory bias, and the use of unrefined factor score calculation methods. The authors point out that many studies fail to properly validate the structure of the DISC questionnaire, leading to potentially unreliable interpretations and applications, especially in personnel selection and management decisions. The review also addresses the problems of arbitrary variable selection, the use of outdated tests, and violations of psychometric principles like univocity and orthogonality.

The authors propose a new model of digital archetypes based on two axes: interaction with change (Explorer vs. Conservative) and interaction with technology (Digital vs. Analog). These axes create four archetypes: Innovator (Digital, Explorer), Visionary (Digital, Conservative), Cooperative (Analog, Explorer), and Traditional (Analog, Conservative). Combining the primary and secondary archetypes of individuals yields eight digital personality profiles (Pioneer, Flexible, Versatile, Persevering, Reliable, Cautious, Inspirational, Executor, Methodical, Collaborative, Perfectionist, Strategist). A case study involving 200 employees in a digital transformation project demonstrates the practical application of this model. The researchers applied a questionnaire assessing the ten variables to classify employees into digital archetypes and profiles. Analysis of the results revealed the distribution of profiles within the project team, informing the development of targeted change management strategies for each group (Methodical, Pioneer, Persevering).

The case study reveals a diverse distribution of digital profiles within the project team. The largest segment (32%) comprised individuals with a "Methodical" profile, characterized by caution and a preference for controlled change. Another significant group (21%) exhibited a "Pioneer" profile, blending visionary and innovative tendencies. A substantial portion (42%) fell into the "Persevering" profile, highlighting a collaborative and relationship-oriented approach. Targeted strategies were implemented to address the specific needs and potential challenges associated with each profile. For the "Methodical" group, the focus was on reframing the concept of "error" within agile methodologies. The "Pioneer" group's tendency toward overly ambitious ideas was addressed through integration with the more methodical individuals. For the "Persevering" group, the emphasis was on emphasizing human dignity and the redistribution of tasks to maintain a sense of purpose and value in the face of automation.

The findings demonstrate the value of understanding digital archetypes for successful technology projects. By tailoring communication, training, and change management strategies to the specific profiles within a team, organizations can mitigate resistance to change, optimize team interactions, and enhance project outcomes. The authors argue that their model addresses critical limitations of existing personality models in the context of digital transformation, providing a more nuanced understanding of individual responses to technology and change. The successful application of the model in the case study supports its practical utility and potential impact on organizational effectiveness.

This study offers a novel framework for understanding personality in digital environments. The proposed digital archetype model, with its eight profiles, provides a valuable tool for managing teams and implementing successful digital transformation projects. Future research should focus on further refining the psychometric properties of the model, validating it across diverse contexts and populations, and exploring the long-term impact of the proposed strategies on team performance and organizational outcomes.

The study acknowledges limitations in the psychometric validation of its model, specifically the absence of controls for factorial indeterminacy, chance capitalization, and confirmatory biases. Additionally, the sample size in the case study, while informative, may not be fully representative of all organizational contexts. Further research is needed to address these limitations and enhance the generalizability of the findings.