Despite increasing scholarly attention to digital transformation, there is only limited understanding of why firms choose different approaches to this process. This study provides micro-level insights into the question how cognitive frames affect the digital transformation of manufacturing firms. There are some paradoxes in the process of digitalization such as the tensions between the need to maintain strength in conventional operations and the need to digitalize. Borrowing from the paradox literature, we categorize responses to these tensions as either/or, both/and, and more/than approaches. We link these approaches to the cognitive frames of top managers, articulated along two dimensions: frame contents and frame structures. Our findings contribute to the digital transformation literature by laying out the underlying micro-cognitive processes of digital transformation. Moreover, we show how cognitive frames influence firm strategy in the context of digital transformation.