Bibtex
Cite as text
@Select Types{,
Journal = "Band-1",
Title= "Digital Innovation Units: Exploring Types, Linking Mechanisms and Evolution Strategies in Bimodal IT Setups",
Author= "Jun-Patrick Raabe, Bettina Horlach, Paul Drews, and Ingrid Schirmer",
Doi= "https://doi.org/10.30844/wi_2020_h5-raabe",
Abstract= "Due to rapidly changing customer needs, enterprises seek to innovate continuously. This includes the capability of discovering and developing digital innovations. As a nascent phenomenon, companies increasingly use digital innovation units (DIU) as fast and flexible accelerators. Although DIUs are established in practice, research on them and their role in bimodal IT setups is still sparse. Based on a qualitative cross-industry study in nine organizations, we identified two types of DIUs: Coaching & Screening (C&S) units and Center of Excellence (CoE) units. Furthermore, we describe two linking mechanisms between the DIUs and the main organization for ensuring impact and continuous innovation. Finally, we present four DIU evolution strategies, which can be employed by companies seeking to establish a DIU. Our study contributes to research on bimodal IT by developing a foundational understanding of how digital innovation activities are organized in DIUs to create impact on the main organization.
",
Keywords= "Digital Innovation Units, Digital Innovation Labs, Bimodal IT, Digital Innovation Management.
",
}
Jun-Patrick Raabe, Bettina Horlach, Paul Drews, and Ingrid Schirmer: Digital Innovation Units: Exploring Types, Linking Mechanisms and Evolution Strategies in Bimodal IT Setups. Online: https://doi.org/10.30844/wi_2020_h5-raabe (Abgerufen 23.11.24)
Open Access
Due to rapidly changing customer needs, enterprises seek to innovate continuously. This includes the capability of discovering and developing digital innovations. As a nascent phenomenon, companies increasingly use digital innovation units (DIU) as fast and flexible accelerators. Although DIUs are established in practice, research on them and their role in bimodal IT setups is still sparse. Based on a qualitative cross-industry study in nine organizations, we identified two types of DIUs: Coaching & Screening (C&S) units and Center of Excellence (CoE) units. Furthermore, we describe two linking mechanisms between the DIUs and the main organization for ensuring impact and continuous innovation. Finally, we present four DIU evolution strategies, which can be employed by companies seeking to establish a DIU. Our study contributes to research on bimodal IT by developing a foundational understanding of how digital innovation activities are organized in DIUs to create impact on the main organization.
Digital Innovation Units, Digital Innovation Labs, Bimodal IT, Digital Innovation Management.
1. Fichman, R.G., Santos, B.L.D., Zheng, Z.: Digital Innovation as a Fundamental and Powerful Concept in the Information Systems Curriculum. MIS Quarterly 38, 329–343 (2014)
2. Yoo, Y., Henfridsson, O., Lyytinen, K.: The New Organizing Logic of Digital Innovation: An Agenda for Information Systems Research. Information Systems Research 21, 724– 735 (2010)
3. Shapiro, C., Varian, H.R.: Information Rules. A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy. Harvard Business School Press, Boston (1999)
4. Holotiuk, F., Beimborn, D.: Organizational Ambidexterity for Digital Innovation: The Approach of Digital Innovation Labs. Academy of Management Global Proceedings (2018)
5. Nambisan, S., Lyytinen, K., Majchrzak, A., Song, M.: Digital Innovation Management: Reinventing Innovation Management Research in a Digital World. MIS Quarterly 41, 223– 238 (2017)
6. Dixon, J.: Seizing the Future: Enabling Digital Business Innovation through Digital Awareness. Administrative Sciences Association of Canada (2017)
7. 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)
8. Haffke, I., Kalgovas, B., Benlian, A.: The Transformative Role of Bimodal IT in an Era of Digital Business. Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 5460–5469 (2017)
9. Gartner: IT Glossary: Bimodal IT, https://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/bimodal/
10. Horlach, B., Drews, P., Schirmer, I.: Bimodal IT: Business-IT Alignment in the Age of Digital Transformation. Multikonferenz Wirtschaftsinformatik, 1417–1428 (2016)
11. Dixon, J., Brohman, K., Chan, Y.: Dynamic Ambidexterity: Exploiting Exploration for Business Success in the Digital Age. International Conference on Information Systems (2017)
12. Vial, G.: Understanding Digital Transformation: A Review and a Research Agenda. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems 28, 118–144 (2019)
13. Urbach, N.: Bimodale IT, http://www.enzyklopaedie-der-wirtschaftsinformatik.de /lexikon/is-management/Software-Projektmanagement/bimodale-it
14. Svahn, F., Mathiassen, L., Lindgren, R.: Embracing Digital Innovation in Incumbent Firms: How Volvo Cars Managed Competing Concerns. MIS Quarterly 41, 239–253 (2017)
15. Velten, C., Michel, J., Özdem, A.: Digital Labs – How to Build, How to Run. crisp research, Kassel (2016)
16. etventure: Was ist ein Digital Lab? Einblicke in das Thema Digital Lab – und wie Unternehmen einen kreativen Raum für neue digitale Geschäftsideen schaffen können, https://www.etventure.de/digital-lab/
17. Fuchs, C., Barthel, P., Herberg, I., Berger, M., Hess, T.: Characterizing Approaches to Digital Transformation: Development of a Taxonomy of Digital Units. International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik, 632–645 (2019)
18. Hund, A., Holotiuk, F., Wagner, H.-T., Beimborn, D.: Knowledge Management in the Digital Era: How Digital Innovation Labs Facilitate Knowledge Recombination. European Conference on Information Systems (2019)
19. Christensen, C.M.: The Innovator’s Dilemma. When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail. Harvard Business School, Boston (1997)
20. Dahlin, K.B., Behrens, D.M.: When is an Invention really Radical?: Defining and Measuring Technological Radicalness. Research Policy 34, 717–737 (2005)
21. Binetti, D.: The Three Innovation Types, https://blog.innovation-options.com/the-threeinnovation- types-9eb5ec92ab72
22. Rogers, E.M.: Diffusion of Innovations. Free Press, New York (2010)
23. Yoo, Y., Boland, R.J., Lyytinen, K., Majchrzak, A.: Organizing for Innovation in the Digitized World. Organization Science 23, 1398–1408 (2012)
24. Hauschildt, J., Salomo, S.: Innovationsmanagement. Vahlen, München (2007)
25. Cooper, R.G.: Stage-Gate Systems: A New Tool for Managing New Products. Business Horizons 33, 44–54 (1990)
26. Gartner: Taming the Digital Dragon: The 2014 CIO Agenda. Insights From the 2014 Gartner CIO Agenda Report, https://www.gartner.com/imagesrv/cio/pdf/cio_agenda_insights2014.pdf
27. Horlach, B., Drews, P., Schirmer, I., Böhmann, T.: Increasing the Agility of IT Delivery: Five Types of Bimodal IT Organization. Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 5420–5429 (2017)
28. Jöhnk, J., Röglinger, M., Thimmel, M., Urbach, N.: How to Implement Agile IT Setups: A Taxonomy of Design Options. European Conference on Information Systems, 1521–1535 (2017)
29. Gerster, J., Dremel, C., Brenner, W., Kelker, P.: How Enterprises Adopt Agile Structures: A Multiple-Case Study. Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 4957–4966 (2019)
30. Turrin, R.: Innovation Lab Excellence. Digital Transformation From Within. Authority Publishing, Gold River (2019)
31. Chiesa, V.: Global R&D Project Management and Organization: a Taxonomy. Journal of Product Innovation Management 17, 341–359 (2000)
32. Sindemann, T., Buttlar, H.v.: Konzerne auf den Spuren von Startups 2018. Infront Consulting & Management, Hamburg (2018)
33. Edmondson, A.C., McManus, S.E.: Methodological Fit in Management Field Research. Academy of Management Review 32, 1155–1179 (2007)
34. Mayring, P.: Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse. Grundlagen und Techniken. Beltz, Weinheim (2015)