Digital transformation in disaster management: A literature review

•Our literature review synthesizes scholarship on digital technology in disaster management (DM) through theory on digital transformation (DT).•Three main capabilities enable technology-related initiatives in DM: data sensing, data processing, supporting IT and digital capabilities.•Technology-related initiatives in DM can be categorized as digital or IT-enabled, and authority- or public-driven.•Initiatives that appear “digital” often lead to incremental, long-term transformation with limited effects on organizational structures.•The pace and the scope of DT in DM suggest that context-specific patterns exist that differ from those observed in the industry context. While there have been studies focused on digital transformation (DT) in industry, we lack an understanding of how it materializes in disaster management (DM). This research provides a literature review of IT-enabled and digital initiatives in DM and examines the potential for DT in the field. We analyzed 254 articles from six different disciplines on the use of digital technology in DM and then developed a framework that organizes the central concept of DT in DM around five key areas. Using this framework, we explain the key digital capabilities necessary in DM to develop and implement authority- or public-driven initiatives, articulate and demonstrate DT differences in the industry setting, and provide avenues for future research in this area.