Organizational Innovation Model for Successful Digital Transformation in Swedish Firms

Purpose and goal

The central purpose of the project was to analyze factors that enable or hinder firms’ digitalization, to assess how digitalization creates tension in the organization and the ecosystem and to suggest organizational models and tools to manage those challenges. In addition to the partner firms the project also built knowledge from external firms and organizations in consultancy, tourism, and manufacturing. Existing and new partner firms provided sufficient variation in the creation of actionable knowledge.

Expected results and effects

The project shows that factors such as inertia and profits from current products and R&D centric product development logic challenge the digitalization of firms and highlights the need to develop digital products, services and solutions early on in the process. It shows that firms´ digital transformation requires organizational innovations to reduce the tensions between existing and new businesses and ecosystems, and to balance the skill development needed to manage the challenges of digital transformation.

Planned approach and implementation

The project included multiple case studies at leading Swedish firms in the manufacturing and service sectors. Comparisons of the case findings have been used to identify patterns, problems, and important factors that enable or hinder digitalization. The project results have been shared among the partners through joint or individual workshops and disseminated among extended stakeholders in meetings and in advanced university courses. The results have been presented at several leading conferences.