Examining the Digital Transformation Maturity of Nigerian State-Owned Enterprises: An Empirical Multi-Case Study

State-owned enterprises in Nigeria face distinctive digital transformation challenges arising from bureaucratic processes, political governance structures, and legacy infrastructure constraints that differ fundamentally from private sector contexts, and empirical assessment of their digital maturity has not been conducted at scale. This study empirically examines the digital transformation maturity of selected Nigerian state-owned enterprises through a multi-case analytical study. Eight SOEs across four sectors (utilities, financial services, logistics, and media) and four geopolitical zones were selected through purposive theoretical sampling. A digital transformation maturity framework adapted from the MIT Center for Digital Business model was applied through mixed data collection combining structured manager surveys (n equals 280 across eight SOEs), IT system architecture documentation review, and semi-structured interviews with 40 C-suite and digital officers. Maturity was scored across four dimensions: digital competency, operations digitalisation, customer experience digitalisation, and IT infrastructure modernisation. Multiple regression and qualitative cross-case analysis were applied. Available SOE digital transformation literature from Nigerian contexts identifies political procurement cycles, frequent leadership change disrupting continuity, and insufficient digital talent attraction as the dominant SOE transformation constraints. The Institutional Theory and the Organisational Ambidexterity Framework provide the analytical basis. Findings indicate that SOEs in the financial services sector score significantly higher on digital maturity than utilities and logistics, with leadership stability as the strongest cross-sector predictor. The study fills an empirical multi-case digital maturity gap for Nigerian SOEs. Keywords: digital transformation maturity, state-owned enterprises, Nigeria, multi-case study, SOE governance.