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1 – 10 of 21Johan Magnusson, Viktor Elliot and Johan Hagberg
The purpose of this study is to contribute to firms’ capabilities of digital transformation through the identification of strategies for digital decoupling and recoupling.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to contribute to firms’ capabilities of digital transformation through the identification of strategies for digital decoupling and recoupling.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reports from multiple studies using a combination of methods such as case studies and clinical studies. The method of analysis involves the revisiting of vignettes from interactions with practitioners with the purpose of analyzing patterns in responses to digital transformation.
Findings
The findings consist of four strategies used by organizations and individuals in the decoupling of digital from their existing operations. Digital decoupling affords the organization the possibility of remaining largely unaffected by digital transformation. The authors also present four digital recoupling strategies that are used to succeed with digital transformation.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited by the analytical approach of drawing from multiple previous studies. The research implications consist primarily of a contribution to a better understanding of why and how digital transformation is constrained.
Practical implications
The four strategies of digital decoupling can be used to identify behavior in organizations that limit digital transformation. The four strategies of digital recoupling can be used to instigate a more successful digital transformation.
Originality/value
According to the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to identify digital decoupling strategies as a micro-foundation for organizational resistance to digital transformation.
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Daniel Ellström, Johan Holtström, Emma Berg and Cecilia Josefsson
The purpose of this paper is to identify sensing, seizing and reconfiguring routines of dynamic capabilities that enable digital transformation in firms.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify sensing, seizing and reconfiguring routines of dynamic capabilities that enable digital transformation in firms.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative approach is used. Representatives from a firm going through digital transformations are interviewed, and focus groups have been carried out with a consultancy firm experienced in giving advice to firms going through digital transformation.
Findings
Six routines identified as relevant specifically for digital transformation are identified. These are cross-industrial digital sensing, inside-out digital infrastructure sensing, digital strategy development, determination of enterprise boundaries, decomposition of digital transformation into specified projects and creation of a unified digital infrastructure.
Practical implications
The authors provide direction for managers on how to approach digital transformation. In relation to previous research, the authors provide more specific guidance regarding how to reconfigure the organization in digital transformation.
Originality/value
The paper uses a novel context for digital transformation and complements the very few studies available using dynamic capabilities to understand digital transformation.
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Marc K. Peter, Corin Kraft and Johan Lindeque
The purpose of this paper is to capture the collective understanding of digital transformation (DT) across Swiss businesses and establish a reference framework based on the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to capture the collective understanding of digital transformation (DT) across Swiss businesses and establish a reference framework based on the strategic action field (SAF) theory.
Design/methodology/approach
A number of Swiss associations provided their databases for an online survey. The large sample includes 2,590 participants from 1,854 organisations and delivered over 4,200 descriptions of DT, categorised into seven SAFs. A cross tabulation of SAF combinations by firm size identified 127 possible SAF combinations which constitute the common understanding of DT.
Findings
The data set allowed the identification of SAFs and the conceptualisation of DT based on a shared understanding. Drivers of digital transformation are: process engineering, new technologies and digital business development, supported by digital leadership and culture, the cloud and data, customer centricity and digital marketing.
Research limitations/implications
For practitioners, the study provides the SAFs that should be considered for DT strategies. For academic scholars, a unique data set has allowed the study of DT by analysing action field combinations, revealing a nuanced constellation of SAFs. Limitations are the focus on Swiss organisations and a convenience sample for collecting the analysed data.
Originality/value
For the first time, the shared understanding of DT in Swiss businesses – based on SAFs – has allowed a conceptualisation of DT in order to provide guidance to businesses managers and employees.
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Corin Kraft, Johan P. Lindeque and Marc K. Peter
The study explores the alignment of Swiss small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) managers' understanding of digital transformation, with evidence of digital tool adoption in…
Abstract
Purpose
The study explores the alignment of Swiss small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) managers' understanding of digital transformation, with evidence of digital tool adoption in managerial and operative work. This reveals opportunities for more fully realizing the potential of digital transformation for SMEs.
Design/methodology/approach
This multiple-case study, with four theoretically sampled cases, analyzes data from the qualitative answers of 1,593 respondents to a survey of Swiss SMEs about digital transformation. The study draws on a convenience sample of Swiss SME managers.
Findings
The analysis shows little understanding of digital transformation as related to managerial work. However, there are two clear digital tool adoption patterns for managerial work: (1) workflow and workforce management and (2) work-flow and team management. Understandings of digital transformation and operative work focus on the (1) organization of operational work or (2) a combination of organization and changing the way people work. The digital tool adoption in operational work additionally focuses on the digital skills of operational employees.
Research limitations/implications
The study is only able to identify patters of understanding of digital transformation and digital tool adoption in managerial and operative work. More research is needed to understand why these patterns are observed.
Practical implications
SME managers need to think far more carefully about aligning their vision for digital transformation and the digital tools they adopt in both managerial and operational work, but especially in managerial work.
Originality/value
This is the first empirical study of the digital transformation of Swiss SMEs and their digital tool adoption. Significant potential for alignment is revealed, suggesting potential performance gains are possible.
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Viktor Elliot, Jonas Floden, Conny Overland, Zeeshan Raza, Miroslaw Staron, Johan Woxenius, Abhinayan Basu, Trisha Rajput, Gerardo Schneider and Gunnar Stefansson
The purpose of this paper is to study current practices in adopting blockchain technology amongst export companies in West Sweden and to capture their CEOs’ knowledge of and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study current practices in adopting blockchain technology amongst export companies in West Sweden and to capture their CEOs’ knowledge of and attitudes towards blockchains.
Design/methodology/approach
Factors enabling or hindering the adoption of blockchains were identified from a comprehensive literature review and a survey of 72 chief executive officers (CEOs) of export-oriented firms in West Sweden, all with turnovers exceeding €2m, regarding their knowledge of and attitudes towards blockchains.
Findings
Blockchain technology is not currently perceived to provide benefits that would outweigh the costs of introducing it into West Sweden’s export firms. Nevertheless, the findings suggest that such technology, though currently too immature to meet today’s industrial requirements, could experience more widespread use if certain key factors (i.e. lower cost, traceability, improved security or trustworthiness and new blockchain-enabled business models) are prioritised.
Research limitations/implications
Answered by 72 CEOs, the survey achieved a response rate of 6%, meaning that the findings are only exploratory. Even so, they offer new insights into CEOs’ attitudes towards blockchain technology.
Practical implications
The CEOs reported comparatively limited knowledge of and experience with implementing blockchains, the lack of which has hampered their large-scale implementation in multi-actor supply chains.
Social implications
Negative sentiment amongst CEOs towards blockchain technology may lower on-the-job satisfaction amongst tech personnel aspiring to develop and implement blockchain applications in their firms.
Originality/value
Knowledge of and attitudes towards blockchain technology amongst top-level managers, as well as about factors enabling or hindering its adoption, guide managers in crafting strategies for implementing blockchains in their organisations and maximising the benefits therein. Unlike past studies focussing on technological aspects or views of experts and middle-management, the study was designed to capture the views of CEOs.
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Paul R. Carlile, Steven H. Davidson, Kenneth W. Freeman, Howard Thomas and N. Venkatraman