Navigating Digital Transformation in Management provides a thorough introduction to the implications of digital transformation for leaders and managers. The book clearly outlines what new or enhanced roles and activities digital transformation requires of them. The book takes a practical approach and shapes an actionable guide that students can take with them into their future careers as managers themselves.
With core theoretical grounding, the book explains how the digital transformation imperative requires all organizations to continuously undertake digital business transformation to adapt to ongoing digital disruption and to effectively compete as digital businesses. The book discusses the critical roles managers need to play in establishing, facilitating, and accelerating the day-to-day activities required to build and continuously upgrade these capabilities.
Drawing on cutting edge research, this textbook:
- Explains how digital technology advancements drive digital disruption and why digital business transformation and operating as a digital business are critical to organization survival
- Unpacks the different digital business capabilities required to effectively compete as a digital business
- Considers the new or digitally enhanced competencies required of leaders, managers, and their supporting professionals to effectively play their roles in digital transformation
- Discusses how leaders, managers, and their supporting professionals can keep up with digital technology advancements
- Unpacks key digital technology advancements, providing a plain language understanding of what they are, how they work, and their implications for organizations
Enriched with pedagogical features to support understanding and reinforce learning, such as reflective questions, learning summaries, and case studies, and supported by a suite of instructor materials, this textbook is an ideal choice for teachers that want to enable their information systems, information technology, and digital business students to compete and thrive in the contemporary business environment.
Contents
List of figures
List of tables
Part I Digital disruption and the digital transformation imperative
1 Need for this book and research for this book
Need for this book
Research for this book
Structure of this book
How to use this book
Managers
Instructors
Students
Researchers
2 Getting out of the digital terminology zoo
Introduction
Information systems
Components of an information system
Roles of information systems
Types of information systems
Information technology and information communications technology (ICT)
Strategic information systems and digital technologies
Strategic information systems
Digital technologies
Implications for leaders, managers, and supporting professionals
Google and reflect
Discussion questions
3 Understanding Digital Disruption
Introduction
Digital technology advancements and digital disruption
Digital technology advancements
Digital technology advancements as a source of digital disruption
Unpacking digital disruption
Disruption of customer expectations and behaviors
Disruption of the competitor field and bases of competition
Disruption of data availability
Existential threats and game-changing opportunities
Existential threats
Game-changing opportunities
Implications for the leaders, managers, and supporting professionals
Google and reflect
Discussion questions
4 The digital business and digital transformation imperatives
Introduction
Digital business
Pinning down a slippery term
Digital business as a future state
Digital business as a change journey or change process
Benefits of being a digital business
The digital business imperative
Digital business transformation
Defining digital business transformation
Digital business transformation is not just about digital technologies
Challenges and risks of digital business transformation
The digital transformation imperative
Implications for leaders, managers, and supporting professionals
Google and reflect
Discussion questions
Part II Forming and executing digital transformation strategy
5 Forming digital transformation strategy
Introduction
Digital Transformation strategy vs digital business strategy
Digital Transformation Strategy Caveats
Digital transformation is not a single initiative and does not have an overall end state
Solutions, requirements, and technologies change fast and continuously during digital transformations
It’s extraordinarily easy and dangerous to buy into the hype or cynicism relating to one or more digital technology advancements
Among all the changes required, people and cultural changes are the most important
Knowing the point at which things are mature enough and should scale is a test of real understanding
Digital transformations can’t wait and won’t happen overnight
Digital transformation can be financially ruinous, but it doesn’t have to be
Digital transformation isn’t just for big companies
Traditional IT departments or equivalent technology teams are vital to digital transformation
Digital transformation is ultimately about both keeping and creating customers through offering better value
Forming the initial and subsequent Strategy
Forming the initial digital business strategy and digital transformation strategy
Forming the initial digital business strategy
Forming the initial digital transformation strategy
Subsequent digital business strategy and digital transformation strategy
6 Executing digital transformation strategy
Introduction
Principles for executing digital transformation
Secure ownership and or top management team commitment
Secure Adequate investment
Set clear targets or deliverables that are externally benchmarked wherever possible
Find ways to continuously and effectively involve, engage, and regularly communicate with all internal and external stakeholders
Sequence initiatives so as to continuously deliver value and to build the confidence of the wider organization
Get implementation feedback early and continuously
Observe and measure the right things, then leverage insights to inform transformation decisions
Encourage and promote fast, adaptable, and customer centric ways of working
Appoint a leadership team that can effectively influence/lead stakeholders, can attract top talent, and can execute the digital transformation strategy
Effective processes or approaches for executing digital transformation
Agile program and project management approaches
Hoshin Kanri or Lean strategy deployment
Change acceleration process
Simple rules process
Reverse acquisition approaches
Implications for leaders, managers, and supporting professionals
Part III Leadership and management of digital transformation
7 Building and Leading the Digital Transformation Team
Introduction
Required types of roles and expertise for the digital transformation team
Strategic leader or Principal digital transformation leader (e.g., CDO, COO, CIO, CTO)
Technology leaders and Technology specialists
Technology Implementation leads
Customer experience and engagement specialists
Security and compliance specialists
Business – Technology Liaisons
Project managers and change managers
Digital business capability leaders and specialists
Specialist professional services
Implications and Caveats
8 The Digital disruption and transformation of management
Introduction
Management Functions and Roles
Resilience of Fayol’s management functions
Mintzberg’s ten managerial roles
Digital disruption and transformation of management functions, roles, and competencies
9 Keeping up with the pace of technology changes
Introduction
Importance and challenge of keeping up with digital technologies
Common strategies and practices for keeping up with digital technologies
Strategies and practices from the research on technological knowledge renewal effectiveness
Perceived need for digital technology competencies, appreciation of the technology learning challenge, and tolerance for ambiguity
Learning from external experts and learning from internal experts
Strategies and practices from practitioners
Have an evolving plan for managing information overload
Continuously upgrade your learning efficiently
Choose the right learning platforms
Embrace omnichannel learning
Build and leverage thought leaders on social networks
Configure your search engines, social media, and email subscriptions
Have an effective and sustainable personal information management strategy
Participate in hackathons and accelerators
Volunteer for a startup
Implications for leaders / managers / supporting professionals
Google and reflect
Discussion questions
Part IV Understanding digital business capabilities: Primers for leaders and managers
10 Digital Transformation strategy and Digital Business Strategy Capabilities
Introduction
Understanding digital business strategy
Understanding Digital Transformation Strategy
Implications for leaders, managers, and supporting professionals
Google and reflect
Discussion questions
11 Digital Innovation, digital learning, and Adaptability / Agility capabilities
Introduction
Digital Innovation
Digital innovation vs traditional innovation
Implications for leaders, managers, and supporting professionals
Digital Learning
Digital learning vs traditional learning
Implications for leaders, managers, and supporting professionals
Adaptability and ability
Implications for leaders, managers, and supporting professionals
Google and reflect
Discussion questions
12 Digital customer experience, digital customer engagement, and digital stakeholder engagement capabilities
Introduction
Digital customer engagement and Digital Stakeholder Engagement
Digital Customer Engagement
Digital stakeholder engagement
Implications for leaders, managers, and supporting professionals
Digital customer experience
Implications for leaders, managers, and supporting professionals
Google and reflect
Discussion questions
13 Enterprise architecture management, DT adoption and use, and data management/ data analytics/ data science capabilities
Introduction
Enterprise architecture and enterprise architecture management
Enterprise Architecture
Enterprise Architecture Management
Implications for leaders, managers, and supporting professionals
DT adoption and use
Implications for leaders, managers, and supporting professionals
Data Management, Data Science, and Data Analytics
Data Management
Data Analytics and Data Science
Implications for leaders, managers, and supporting professionals
Google and reflect
Discussion questions
14 Cybersecurity management, digital risk management, and digital governance capabilities
Introduction
Cybersecurity management
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity capability and cybersecurity management capability
Implications for leaders, managers, and supporting professionals
Digital risk management and digital governance
Digital risk management and digital governance vs traditional risk management and governance
Nature of digital risk and the new risk landscape
Role of digital technologies in digital risk management and governance
Implications for leaders, managers, and supporting professionals
Google and reflect
Discussion questions
15 Workforce digital competence, digital culture, and digital ethics capabilities
Introduction
Workforce digital competence
Implications for leaders, managers, and supporting professionals
Digital culture
Implications for leaders, managers, and supporting professionals
Digital ethics
Information privacy
Implications for leaders, managers, and supporting professionals
Google and reflect
Discussion questions
16 Digital Leadership and Accelerated change / transformation capabilities
Introduction
Digital leadership
Digital leadership vs. traditional leadership
The new or adapted leadership roles of digital leadership
Implications for leaders, managers, and supporting professionals
Accelerated change and transformation
Google and reflect
Discussion questions
Part V Understanding digital technologies: Primers for leaders and managers
17 Data, big data, and data management primer
Introduction
Data
Data as the new oil
Types of data
Data risks and other issues
Big data
Data management
Google and reflect
Example tools and vendors
Discussion questions
18 Data, big data, and data management primer
Introduction
Business intelligence and business analytics
Business intelligence
Business analytics
Data analytics and data science
Data analytics
Data science
Data visualization
Implications for leaders, managers, and supporting professionals
Google and reflect
Example tools and vendors
Discussion questions
19 Internet of Things (IoT), Industry 4.0, smart things, and edge computing primer
Introduction
Internet of things (IoT) and internet of everything (IoE)
Internet of things
Internet of everything
Connected vs. smart vs. autonomous
Edge computing and the IoT edge
Industrial internet of things (IIoT)
Cyber-physical systems, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and Industry 4.0
Smart buildings, smart workspaces, and smart homes
Smart buildings
Smart workplaces
Smart homes
Smart infrastructure, smart cities, and smart government
Smart infrastructure
Smart cities
Smart government
Risks and other issues
Google and reflect
Example tools and vendors
Discussion questions
20 Artificial Intelligence Primer
Introduction
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)
Artificial intelligence
General AI vs. narrow AI
Bots
Machine learning
Knowledge graphs, neural networks, and deep learning
Knowledge graphs
Neural networks and deep learning
Natural language processing, speech recognition, and computer vision
Natural language processing and speech recognition
Computer vision
Expert systems
Common AI issues and risks
Implications for leaders, managers, and supporting professionals
Google and reflect
Example tools and vendors
Discussion questions
21 Blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies
Introduction
Distributed ledger technology (DLT)
Blockchain
What it is and how it works
Other blockchain terminology
Append-only data structure
Permissionless vs. permissioned blockchain
Mining vs. miners
Proof of work
Public key vs. private key
Genesis block
Smart contract
Types of blockchain
Public blockchains
Private blockchains
Consortium or federated blockchains
Hybrid blockchains
Blockchain applications and use cases
Cryptocurrency
Smart contracts
Banking
Data storage
Other applications
Implications for leaders, managers, and supporting professionals
Google and reflect
Example tools and vendors
Discussion questions
22 Video content analytics, computer vision, and machine vision primer
Introduction
Video analytics or video content analytics (VCA)
What is video analytics or video content analytics (VCA)?
How video content analytics works
Computer Vision (CV) and Machine vision (MV)
Business value of VCA and computer vision
Example VCA / computer vision / machine vision use cases
Google and reflect
Example tools and vendors
Discussion questions
23 Video content analytics, computer vision, and machine vision primer
Introduction
Virtual reality (VR)
Augmented reality (AR)
Mixed reality (MR)
Business value of VR, AR, and MR
Google and reflect
Example tools and vendors
Discussion questions
24 Robots and robotics primer
Introduction
Robots and robotics
Building blocks of robots
How robots work
Types of robots
Business value and use cases of robotics
Google and reflect
Example tools and vendors
Discussion questions
25 Drones primer
Introduction
Key drone concepts and building blocks
What is a drone?
Building blocks and functioning of drones
Business value and use cases of drones
Google and reflect
Example tools and vendors
Discussion questions
26 3D and 4D printing primer
Introduction
Key 3D/4D printing concepts and building blocks
What are 3D and 4D printing?
Building blocks and functioning of 3D and 4D printing
Types of 3D printers
3D or 4D printing business value and use cases
3D and 4D printing issues and risks
Google and reflect
Example tools and vendors
Discussion questions
27 6G, 5G, 4G, LTE and other cellular networks primer
Introduction
Cellular networks and how they work
4G, LTE, and other cellular networks
5G and 6G cellular networks
Google and reflect
Example tools and vendors
Discussion questions
28 GPS III or GPS block III and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites
Introduction
GPS and GPS III and other global navigation satellite systems (GNSS)
Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites
Google and reflect
Example tools and vendors
Discussion questions
29 NBIoT, LoRa, Sigfox and other LPWAN technologies primer
Introduction
LPWAN technologies
NBIoT
LTE-M
LoRa/LoRaWAN
Other LPWAN technologies
Google and reflect
Example tools and vendors
Discussion questions
30 NFC, Smart Bluetooth, iBeacon and other communication protocols primer
Introduction
NFC, Smart Bluetooth, iBeacon, and other communication protocols
What is NFC and how does it work?
What are Bluetooth 5.0 and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and how do they work?
What is beacon technology and how does it work?
Google and reflect
Example tools and vendors
Discussion questions
Figures
2.1 Components of an information system
2.2 Types of information systems, including example systems and example users
3.1 Kodak failed to effectively respond to disruption from digital cameras and smartphones, despite creating the technology behind them (Kodak invented the first digital camera in 1975)
3.2 Digital technology advancements cause digital disruption but can be leveraged to respond to disruption and recreate value offerings and capabilities
4.1 Digital business maturity models, like this one, attempt to map where an organization is along various digital business capabilities or outcome areas
4.2 Digital business transformation is not just about using digital technologies; it is also about changing organization structures, overcoming change barriers, and managing both digital risks and change risks
5.1 Example initial digital business strategy for a building / construction firm
5.2 Example initial digital transformation strategy for a building / construction firm
5.3 Subsequent digital business and digital transformation strategy is largely about building and optimizing prioritized digital business capabilities
6.1 The Hoshin Planning, Hoshin Kanri, or lean strategy deployment process
6.2 The Change Acceleration process
6.3 The Simple Rules process
8.1 Managerial functions as commonly conceptualized today evolved from Fayol’s research introduced in 1916
8.2 Mintzberg’s ten roles of managers
11.1 Digital business requires new organization capabilities or enhancements of traditional capabilities
12.1 Traditional customer engagement vs. digital customer engagement
12.2 A research-derived taxonomy of digital customer engagement practices
13.1 Example Enterprise Architecture Governance Model
14.1 Ten messages for global leaders from the 2019 World Economic Forum annual meeting on cybersecurity
14.2 NIST cybersecurity capability functions and practices
16.1 Results of a survey of 3,300 MIT Sloan Management Review readers, Deloitte Dbriefs webcast subscribers, and other interested parties regarding what is different about working in a digital business environment
16.2 Results of a survey of 3,300 MIT Sloan Management Review readers, Deloitte Dbriefs webcast subscribers, and other interested parties regarding the most important skill leaders need to succeed in a digital workplace
16.3 Having working knowledge of accelerated change and transformation methodologies like the Change Acceleration Process can be an invaluable tool in digital leaders’ rapid change and transformation arsenal
17.1 An example of different types of data
17.2 Example of sources of big data
18.1 Data management, business intelligence, business analytics, and data science overlaps
18.2 Data-related roles and type of expertise
19.1 The internet of everything extends the internet of things by connecting people, processes, data, and things
19.2 Edge computing brings computation and data storage to the locations where they are needed, instead of requiring sensor data to be sent to the cloud and waiting for the cloud to send the results of computation back to the location
19.3 Cities around the world and their smart city (SC) maturity (e.g., if they have a smart city roadmap or smart city department, and the presence of key smart city domains or application areas)
20.1 Types of AI, their capabilities, and implications for human beings
20.2 Part of a knowledge graph of US politics
20.3 A simple neural network vs. a deep learning neural network
20.4 Computer vision can enable self-driving cars to “see” better than humans
21.1 Each blockchain block contains some data, the hash of the block, and the hash of the previous block.
21.2 A chain of blocks, with each block other than the genesis block having the hash of the previous block
21.3 The funds transfer process in a traditional digital ledger vs in a blockchain network
22.1 An example of VCA/computer vision software developed by Voxel51
22.2 An example of VCA/computer vision software recognizing both people and actions/events
22.3 Computer vision can enable self-driving cars to “see” better than humans
23.1 Using a HoloLens 2 headset
25.1 Components of a drone
25.2 NASA’s proposed space for drone operation: below aircraft space and above suburban infrastructure and dwellings
26.3 Anatomy of a basic 3D printer
27.1 How cellular phones work
28.1 Low Earth orbit (LEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO), and geostationary orbit (GEO)
28.2 Types of satellite or orbit, and what they are used for
30.1 An NFC-enabled phone sets up a current, the NFC tag receives the “induced current,” and – recognizing it is a valid signal – offers connection to the phone and begins data transfer
Tables
1.1 Key literatures reviewed at each research stage for this book and the focus of each literature review
5.1 Example initial digital business strategy for a building / construction firm
5.2 Example initial digital transformation strategy for a building / construction firm
5.3: Subsequent digital business and digital transformation strategy is largely about building and optimizing prioritized digital business capabilities
9.1 Top learning tools by category and change in ranking from year to year – Part 1
9.2 Top learning tools by category and change in ranking from year to year – Part 2
9.3 Top learning tools by category and change in ranking from year to year – Part 3
11.1 Impact of digital technology advancements on digital innovation and examples of opportunities that can be leveraged
13.1: Example Enterprise Architecture Management Activities, Tasks and Artifacts
13.2 Benefits of effective enterprise architecture management
Biography
Richard Busulwa (PhD, MBA, B.Info.Sys) researches and teaches in the Business School at Swinburne University of Technology, home to Australia’s first fully immersed Industry 4.0 facility. His digital transformation research explores different digital technology advancements, how they drive disruption, and their implications for particular industries, business functions, and professions. He is the author of Strategy Execution and Complexity: Thriving in the Era of Disruption (2018); Start-up Accelerators: A Field Guide (2020); Digital Transformation and Hospitality Management (2021); and Digital Transformation in Accounting (2022). Before entering academia, Richard worked as managing director, COO, CFO, middle manager, and frontline manager. He is co-founder of Digital Keys, the world’s first NBIoT smart lock platform.
