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In the digital economy, firm performance increasingly depends on the ability to convert raw data into strategic knowledge that generates sustained information advantage. This theory-development article re-examines the knowledge-based view through a digital lens, distinguishing data as raw inputs, information as processed signals, and knowledge as contextually applied understanding. We argue that information advantage emerges not automatically from data volume but through deliberate analytics-enabled transformation processes supported by digital infrastructures. We synthesize insights on data as a strategic resource, analytics capabilities, digital information asymmetries, and knowledge accumulation in data-rich environments. The article advances five theoretical propositions that link data resources to knowledge development, strategic action, and superior firm performance while identifying organizational moderators that strengthen or erode information advantage. A conceptual model illustrates the dynamic flow from data to performance with feedback loops. By integrating the knowledge-based view with digital-specific mechanisms, this work offers a novel framework for understanding competitive positioning in digital markets. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications for capability development are discussed.

Digital maturity has become a widely used concept for assessing how firms progress in digital transformation. In both managerial practice and academic research, maturity is often represented as a measurable condition that indicates how far an organization has advanced in adopting digital technologies, redesigning processes, and developing digital capabilities. This view has helped organizations diagnose digital gaps, compare current and desired states, and structure transformation initiatives. However, the dominant maturity logic also creates theoretical limitations. Many maturity models imply that firms move through relatively stable and sequential stages, even though digital transformation unfolds under uncertainty, competitive pressure, technological discontinuity, and organizational resistance. As a result, maturity scores may describe the presence of digital resources but fail to explain whether firms can adapt strategically when external conditions shift. This article reconceptualises digital maturity as strategic adaptability. Rather than treating maturity as a static stage, it defines digital maturity as the firm’s ongoing capacity to align digital strategy, organizational capabilities, resource configurations, and managerial action with changing technological and market conditions. This reinterpretation positions maturity as a dynamic, adaptive property of the firm rather than a checklist of completed digital initiatives. The contribution is threefold. First, the article critiques the static assumptions of existing digital maturity models. Second, it defines strategic adaptability as the central mechanism that translates digital maturity into transformation outcomes. Third, it offers a conceptual foundation for future empirical research and managerial diagnosis by shifting attention from maturity as status to maturity as adaptive capacity.