The Art of Digital Transformation: CDO Experiences

Transcript:The Art of Digital Transformation: CDO Experiences:
The Art of Digital Transformation: CDO Experiences Robert M Davison Dept of Information Systems, City University of Hong Kong 1 Definitions of Digital Transformation 2 Vial (2019) “a process that aims to improve an entity by triggering significant changes to its properties through combinations of information, computing, communication, and connectivity technologies” Wessel et al. (2021) “activities leverage digital technology in (re)defining an organization’s value proposition, … involves the emergence of a new organizational identity” Background Digital Transformation (DT) has evolved over the last 20 years There are numerous case studies of both successes and failures There is attention to maturity models from pundits who assert that they know how DT should be conducted There is quite a lot of disagreement about what DT actually is – lots of different definitions There is much less attention to the people charged with leading the DT initiative in the organisation, i.e. the Chief Digital Officer. 3 Motivation There is a wealth of research into the nature of DT 4 Existing DT research focuses… Motivation 5 but often ignores the effect of exogenous shocks : Covid-19 The Russia-Ukraine war Financial crises Disrupted supply chains In future we can expect more shocks like this Climate change Migration patterns Zoonotic diseases Problematisation Few investigations & limited understanding of “what CDOs do as they navigate the DT journey?” 6 We investigate the role of the CDO in leading DT initiatives in GEM, a global events and brand management firm, and SilkyJade, a global software and systems firm. We apply punctuated equilibrium theory (PET) (Gersick, 1991) and suggest that GEM’s previously stable, but non-digital state was punctuated by a combination of CDO’s DT initiatives and Covid-19, leading to an emerging new equilibrium We suggest the critical role of guanxi for the CDO of SilkyJade to build personal relationships that facilitate navigation of the firm’s shoals and rapids, with both internal and external transformation taking place. Chief Digital Officers (CDOs) The first CDOs were hired in about 2010 Today, there are more of them – but far fewer than CIOs and CTOs CDOs have a unique (and challenging) responsibility – to spearhead the DT initiative in the organisation and to ensure that it is successful CDOs need to be experts with respect to technology, business processes, communication, culture, people Some CDOs do everything, others are specialists in a particular area CDOs are often appointed from a marketing function, but