The Complexity of Digital Transformation – Conceptualizing Multiple Concurrent Initiatives

Bibtex

Cite as text

						@Select Types{,
							 
							 
							 
							 
							 
							Journal   = "Band-1",
							 Title= "The Complexity of Digital Transformation – Conceptualizing Multiple Concurrent Initiatives", 
							Author= "Jan Jöhnk, Severin Oesterle, Philipp Ollig, and Lena-Nicole Riedel", 
							Doi= "https://doi.org/10.30844/wi_2020_j8-joehnk", 
							 Abstract= "Currently, companies launch digital transformation initiatives (DTI) to cope with technological changes, challenging competitive environments, increasing customer demands, and other digitalization challenges. The DTI spectrum is broad and covers structural changes (e.g. dedicated digital units) as well as contextual changes (e.g. overarching cultural change programs). Often companies launch multiple concurrent DTIs resulting in considerable organizational complexity. However, research on how to manage the interplay of DTIs successfully is still scarce. Therefore, we distinguish three coordination aspects (i.e. strategic alignment, governance, communication & culture) to manage DTIs’ interplay. Drawing on organizational and IS research as well as on a single case study with eight interviews, we conceptualize DTIs as manifestations of digital transformation. We show that multiple concurrent DTIs can foster structural and contextual ambidexterity, i.e. leading to hybrid ambidexterity in organizations. Thereby, we contribute to a better understanding of DTIs, their interplay, and their value to increase hybrid ambidexterity.

", 
							 Keywords= "Digital Transformation, Hybrid Ambidexterity, Strategic Alignment, Governance, Communication and Culture.
", 
							}
					
Jan Jöhnk, Severin Oesterle, Philipp Ollig, and Lena-Nicole Riedel: The Complexity of Digital Transformation – Conceptualizing Multiple Concurrent Initiatives. Online: https://doi.org/10.30844/wi_2020_j8-joehnk (Abgerufen 19.04.24)

Abstract

Abstract

Currently, companies launch digital transformation initiatives (DTI) to cope with technological changes, challenging competitive environments, increasing customer demands, and other digitalization challenges. The DTI spectrum is broad and covers structural changes (e.g. dedicated digital units) as well as contextual changes (e.g. overarching cultural change programs). Often companies launch multiple concurrent DTIs resulting in considerable organizational complexity. However, research on how to manage the interplay of DTIs successfully is still scarce. Therefore, we distinguish three coordination aspects (i.e. strategic alignment, governance, communication & culture) to manage DTIs’ interplay. Drawing on organizational and IS research as well as on a single case study with eight interviews, we conceptualize DTIs as manifestations of digital transformation. We show that multiple concurrent DTIs can foster structural and contextual ambidexterity, i.e. leading to hybrid ambidexterity in organizations. Thereby, we contribute to a better understanding of DTIs, their interplay, and their value to increase hybrid ambidexterity.

Keywords

Schlüsselwörter

Digital Transformation, Hybrid Ambidexterity, Strategic Alignment, Governance, Communication and Culture.

References

Referenzen

1. Legner, C., Eymann, T., Hess, T., Matt, C., Böhmann, T., Drews, P., Mädche, A., Urbach, N., Ahlemann, F.: Digitalization: Opportunity and challenge for the business and information systems engineering community. Business & Information Systems Engineering 59, 301–308 (2017)
2. Jöhnk, J., Oesterle, S., Winkler, T.J., Nørbjerg, J., Urbach, N.: Juggling the Paradoxes – Governance Mechanisms in Bimodal IT Organizations. In: 27th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS), pp. 1–15 (2019)
3. Vial, G.: Understanding digital transformation: A review and a research agenda. Journal of Strategic Information Systems in press, 1–27 (2019)
4. Hartl, E.: A Characterization of Culture Change in the Context of Digital Transformation. In: 25th Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), forthcoming (2019)
5. Horlacher, A., Hess, T.: What Does a Chief Digital Officer Do? Managerial Tasks and Roles of a New C-Level Position in the Context of Digital Transformation. In: 49th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), pp. 5126–5135 (2016)
6. Jöhnk, J., Röglinger, M., Thimmel, M., Urbach, N.: How to Implement Agile IT Setups: A Taxonomy of Design Options. In: 25th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS), pp. 1521–1535 (2017)
7. March, J.G.: Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning. Organization Science 2, 71–87 (1991)
8. O’Reilly, C.A., Tushman, M.L.: Organizational Ambidexterity: Past, Present, and Future. Academy of Management Perspectives 27, 324–338 (2013)
9. O’Reilly, C.A., Tushman, M.L.: The Ambidextrous Organization. Harvard Business Review, 74–81 (2004)
10. He, Z.-L., Wong, P.-K.: Exploration vs. Exploitation. An Empirical Test of the Ambidexterity Hypothesis. Organization Science 15, 481–494 (2004)
11. Ossenbrink, J., Hoppmann, J., Hoffmann, V.H.: Hybrid Ambidexterity: How the Environment Shapes Incumbents’ Use of Structural and Contextual Approaches. Organization Science in press, 1–30 (2019)
12. Matt, C., Hess, T., Benlian, A.: Digital Transformation Strategies. Business & Information Systems Engineering 57, 339–343 (2015)
13. Bharadwaj, A., El Sawy, O.A., Pavlou, P.A., Venkatraman, N.: Digital Business Strategy: Toward a Next Generation of Insights. MIS Quarterly 37, 471–482 (2013)
14. Hess, T., Matt, C., Benlian, A., Wiesböck, F.: Options for Formulating a Digital Transformation Strategy. MIS Quarterly Excecutive 15, 123–139 (2016)
15. Haffke, I., Kalgovas, B., Benlian, A.: Options for Transforming the IT Function Using Bimodal IT. MIS Quarterly Executive 16, 101–120 (2017)
16. Hess, T., Matt, C., Benlian, A., Wiesböck, F.: How German Media Companies Defined Their Digital Transformation Strategies (2016)
17. Berghaus, S., Back, A.: Disentangling the Fuzzy Front End of Digital Transformation: Activities and Approaches. In: 38th International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), pp. 1–17 (2017)
18. Zimmer, M.P.: Improvising Digital Transformation: Strategy Unfolding in Acts of Organizational Improvisation. In: 25th Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), pp. 1–10 (2019)
19. Lee, O.-K., Sambamurthy, V., Lim, K.H., Wei, K.K.: How Does IT Ambidexterity Impact Organizational Agility? Information Systems Research 26, 398–417 (2015)
20. Tushman, M.L., O’Reilly, C.A.: Ambidextrous Organizations. Managing Evolutionary and Revolutionary Change. California Management Review 38, 8–30 (1996)
21. Sethi, R., Sethi, A.: Can Quality-Oriented Firms Develop Innovative New Products? Journal of Product Innovation Management 26, 206–221 (2009)
22. Gibson, C.B., Birkinshaw, J.: The Antecedents, Consequences, and Mediating Role of Organizational Ambidexterity. The Academy of Management Journal 47, 209–226 (2004)
23. de Clercq, D., Thongpapanl, N., Dimov, D.: Contextual ambidexterity in SMEs. The roles of internal and external rivalry. Small Business Economics 42, 191–205 (2014)
24. Raisch, S., Birkinshaw, J.: Organizational Ambidexterity. Antecedents, Outcomes, and Moderators. Journal of Management 34, 375–409 (2008)
25. Chen, Y.: Dynamic ambidexterity: How innovators manage exploration and exploitation. Business Horizons 60, 385–394 (2017)
26. Gregory, R.W., Keil, M., Muntermann, J., Mähring, M.: Paradoxes and the nature of ambidexterity in IT transformation programs. Information Systems Research 26, 57–80 (2015)
27. Horlach, B., Drews, P., Schirmer, I., Böhmann, T.: Increasing the Agility of IT Delivery. Five Types of Bimodal IT Organization. In: Proceedings of the 50th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences | 2017, pp. 5420–5429 (2017)
28. Reich, B.H., Benbasat, I.: Measuring the Linkage between Business and Information Technology Objectives. MIS Quarterly 20, 55–81 (1996)
29. Burgelman, R.A.: Strategy as Vector and the Inertia of Coevolutionary Lock-in. Administrative Science Quarterly 47, 325–357 (2002)
30. Mintzberg, H., Waters, J.A.: Of Strategies, Deliberate and Emergent. Strategic Management Journal 6, 257–272 (1985)
31. Wu, S.P.-J., Straub, D.W., Liang, T.-P.: How Information Technology Governance Mechanisms and Strategic Alignment Influence Organizational Performance. Insights from a Matched Survey of Business and IT Managers. MIS Quarterly 39, 497–518 (2015)
32. Weill, P., Ross, J.: A Matrixed Approach to Designing IT Governance. MIT Sloan Management Review 46, 26–34 (2005)
33. de Haes, S., van Grembergen, W.: Exploring the relationship between IT governance practices and business/IT alignment through extreme case analysis in Belgian mid‐to‐large size financial enterprises. Journal of Enterprise Information Management 22, 615–637 (2009)
34. Vejseli, S., Proba, D., Rossmann, A., Jung, R.: The agile strategies in IT Governance: Towards a framework of agile IT Governance in the banking industry. In: 26th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS), pp. 1–17 (2018)
35. Tiwana, A., Konsynski, B.: Complementarities Between Organizational IT Architecture and Governance Structure. Information Systems Research, 288–304 (2010)
36. Philip, G., McKeown, I.: Business Transformation and Organizational Culture: The Role of Competency, IS and TQM. European Management Journal 22, 624–636 (2004)
37. Liang, H., Wang, N., Xue, Y., Ge, S.: Unraveling the Alignment Paradox. How Does Business—IT Alignment Shape Organizational Agility? Information Systems Research 28, 863–879 (2017)
38. Preston, D.S., Karahanna, E.: Antecedents of IS Strategic Alignment. A Nomological Network. Information Systems Research 20, 159–179 (2009)
39. Chan, Y.E., Sabherwal, R., Thatcher, J.B.: Antecedents and Outcomes of Strategic IS Alignment. An Empirical Investigation. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management 53, 27–47 (2006)
40. Reich, B.H., Benbasat, I.: Factors That Influence the Social Dimension of Alignment between Business and Information Technology Objectives. MIS Quarterly 24, 81–113 (2000)
41. Andriopoulos, C., Lewis, M.W.: Exploitation-Exploration Tensions and Organizational Ambidexterity: Managing Paradoxes of Innovation. Organization Science 20, 696–717 (2009)
42. Svahn, F., Mathiassen, L., Lindgren, R.: Embracing Digital Innovation in Incumbent Firms: How Volvo Cars Managed Competing Concerns. MISQ 41, 239–253 (2017)
43. Bettis, R.A., Gambardella, A., Helfat, C., Mitchell, W.: Qualitative Empirical Research in Strategic Management. Strategic Management Journal 36, 637–639 (2015)
44. Benbasat, I., Goldstein, D.K., Mead, M.: The Case Research Strategy in Studies of Information Systems. MIS Quarterly 11, 369–386 (1987)
45. Bhattacherjee, A.: Social Science Research. Principles, Methods, and Practices. Global Text Project, Tampa, USA (2012)
46. Myers, M.D., Newman, M.: The qualitative interview in IS research. Examining the craft. Information and Organization 17, 2–26 (2007)
47. Mayring, P.: Qualitative Content Analysis. Theoretical Foundation, Basic Procedures and Software Solution. Social Science Open Access Repository, Klagenfurt, Austria (2014)
48. Birkinshaw, J., Gupta, K.: Clarifying the Distinctive Contribution of Ambidexterity to the Field of Organization Studies. The Academy of Management Perspectives 27, 287–298 (2013)

Most viewed articles

Meist angesehene Beiträge

GITO events | library.gito