Application of Design Thinking for Service Innovation: Current Practices, Expectations and Adoption Barriers

There is an increasing interest from both academics and practitioners on the application of Design Thinking (DT) for innovation efforts. This study explores the current real-life application of DT within five large Dutch multinationals for service innovation projects. It aims to develop an understanding of how and why DT is applied, and what the benefits and challenges are of the adoption. Based on existing literature, five propositions are developed that guide the data collection and analysis for eight case studies on service innovation projects where DT was applied. The results show that DT is applied as a mindset or \u27way-of-thinking\u27, supported by methods, processes and tools. Expected benefits that drive its application are increased customer value delivered by service innovations, as well as an improved ability to deal with complexity. Adoption of DT is hampered by the individual’s understanding of DT as well as uncertainty avoidance. Based on the discussion of these findings within the extant literature, we propose a model comprising four interconnected factors driving DT adoption

Empower the Workforce, Empower the Company? Citizen Development Adoption

IT departments today face a substantial backlog of business innovation-related activities and struggle with a shortage of software developers. Low-code development platforms can help solve these issues by using technology to empower end-users without programming background to participate in the software development process. This trend is referred to as “citizen development.” Through six case studies, this study advances our understanding of the factors that influence organizational citizen development adoption decisions. We use an extended technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework, which enhances the explanatory power of the base TOE framework. Our results show that multiple risk perceptions, active top management support, project-based business-IT alignment, centralized IT governance, and business network systems influence organizational citizen development adoption decisions. Based on the results, we discuss academic and practical implications and suggestions for future research

The O-Factor: Aligning Organizational Arrangements with Big Data Analytics Diffusion

This study aims to better understand how and why organizational arrangements of Big Data Analytics (BDA) evolve over time in established firms. As BDA initiatives grow in scope and importance, organizational arrangements tend to change, with changes impacting the success of the initiative. This study focuses on the importance of four constructs influencing organizational arrangements during BDA diffusion: the analytics structure, the leadership role, the culture, and the employee skills. Propositions derived from the literature guide the analysis of seven case studies of organizations adopting BDA. The findings help to understand BDA diffusion through (1) aligning structure with business value creation, (2) (new) leadership that trusts and shows exemplary usage of BDA, (3) a culture of trust with constant experimentation for business opportunities and (4) more diversified employee roles. A discussion of academic and managerial implications and suggestions for future research completes this study

Understanding challenges and success factors in creating a data-driven culture

Increasingly, organizations aspire to practices of data-driven decision making. The necessary transformation to a data-driven culture poses challenges, and this paper explores these as well as success factors. The study is based on six in-depth case studies of organizations that are in different phases of their transformation towards a data-driven organization. Propositions derived from change management and digital transformation literature guide our exploration. Our findings show how challenges and responses differ across the various stages of the transformation. Challenges include resistance to new technology; rigid organizational structures; and too little focus on usable analyses. Success factors include clear communication and leading by example by top-management; showing relevant and clear results of the transformation; and openness to experimentation. A discussion of implications and future research directions rounds off the paper

New Kid On The Block! Understanding Blockchain Adoption in the Public Sector

Blockchain has been heralded as a technology that can transform entire sectors, including the public sector where blockchain applications are believed to bring a wide range of benefits. The public sector is lagging behind, however, in its actual adoption of blockchain technology, and our understanding of the factors that explain the slow adoption rate, is lacking. Based on seven case studies of blockchain projects at various adoption stages, this research contributes to our understanding of what factors influence blockchain adoption in the public sector. We use an extended TOE framework that includes an inter-organizational perspective. The findings show that adoption is influenced by the hype around—and resistance to—blockchain technology; by top management support, by (perceptions of) the regulatory environment; as well as by trust between blockchain partners, which is both an antecedent as well as a consequence of blockchain adoption

IT governance: oil or sand in the wheels of innovation?

The purpose of this study is to understand how IT Governance (ITG) can foster or hinder the development and roll-out of radical or disruptive IT-enabled innovations. Propositions derived from the extant literature guide the analysis of seven embedded case studies of different innovation initiatives within a single large Dutch multinational bank with various contingency factors affecting ITG across the cases. Our findings confirm and extend earlier studies that emphasize the importance of proper business-IT communication and identify challenges caused by long gatekeeping processes and by the use of novel technologies in a traditional IT landscape. Radical or disruptive innovations also add new challenges, as they often cross business lines and therefore may be exposed to a heterogeneous set of ITG mechanisms. Our study further demonstrates that these innovations demand a different approach on an IT-functional level and a reconsideration of the risk capability structure to optimize efficiency

Mastering the Downward-Facing Dog: IT Flexibility and Business-IT Alignment

With a rising quest to leverage information technologies (IT) for attaining strategic objectives, enterprises require sufficient flexibility to cope with dynamic business environments. The flexibility of IT infrastructure is investigated in this study as a mechanism to induce more aligned business and IT activities in large organizations. To complement earlier findings of IT flexibility’s influence on alignment, this study operationalizes three models. Using standardized survey responses from 130 organizations from around the globe, structural equation modeling is applied. Investigating the impact of IT flexibility on alignment, we find a positive and meaningful effect of IT flexibility on alignment. Moreover, positive effects on several alignment practices are found. Although no moderating effect of cloud adoption rates is found, this study concluded with several meaningful implications to understand the strategic relevance of a flexible IT

Understanding Leadership Challenges and Responses in Data-driven Transformations

The purpose of this study is to better understand challenges and typical responses of leadership in data-driven transformations. Increasingly organizations aspire to practices of data-driven decision making. In this context the transformational aspects transcend traditional change management processes and pose new and different challenges to leadership. To explore these challenges and typical responses we performed four in-depth case studies of organizations that are more mature in terms of their transformation towards a data-driven organization. Propositions derived from change management and digital transformation literature guide our exploration. Our findings help understand the key role of leadership in a data-driven transformation, particularly through (1) continuously communicating and explaining the value of being data-driven, (2) securing and managing critical resources, including data and analysts, and (3) creating a data-driven culture. Our study contributes to literature by combining insights from change management and data-driven transformations to better understand the dynamics of leadership in this context

A Wheelbarrow Full of Frogs: Understanding Portfolio Management for Agile Projects

Organizations increasingly embrace agile approaches for IT projects, replacing rigid formal stage-gate control by flexible output-orientation. This challenges established program or portfolio management approaches that largely rely on consolidated (stage-gate) project metrics. Based on seven case studies of large Dutch organizations we explore these challenges and the organizational responses towards a new approach to portfolio management for agile projects. Data-collection is guided by four propositions derived from control theory and portfolio management literature. Our findings show that portfolio management adapts to agile projects by performing fewer and less strict process controls, by modifying the budget controls and by shifting from IT project/program control to business outcome control, with an increased focus on business value

Success Lies in the Eye of the Beholder: A Quantitative Analysis of the Mismatch Between Perceived and Real IT Project Management Performance

Building on an earlier exploratory study, this paper investigates the drivers of the possible mismatch between traditional real IT project management performance criteria - quality, time and cost - and perceived project management performance. We use partial least squares structural equation modeling to test five main hypotheses with survey data from 248 managers with extensive IT/IS project involvement. The results demonstrate that mismatches between real and perceived project management performance indeed occur. They are predominantly driven by poor expectation management before and during the execution of IT projects, as well as by a low project sponsor commitment. A discussion of the findings and limitations, as well as suggestions for future research, conclude the article