European Journal of Information Systems (2023) AI Processed Human Approved
Transform or be transformed:the importance of research on managing and sustaining digital transformations
This editorial outlines the critical challenges and research directions associated with managing and sustaining digital transformations within the Information Systems field. It discusses the gap between short-term adoption studies and long-term organizational normalization, providing a framework for future scholarly inquiry. Additionally, it introduces four selected papers from the Special Issue that explore leadership, theoretical metaphors, scaling tensions, and small business readiness.
Problem
Although initiating a digital transformation is widely emphasized, organizations face high failure rates because sustaining long-term transformation remains difficult and under-researched. Existing Information Systems literature often focuses on short timeframes and successful case studies, creating a disconnect with real-world complexities, cultural barriers, and structural obstacles.
Outcome
- Emphasizes the need for longitudinal research designs to observe how digital transformations unfold, normalize, and sustain over extended periods.
- Identifies key research challenges, including the misuse of terminology, unexamined assumptions, root causes of failure, and the dark side of digital transformations.
- Introduces the concept of an 'execution engine' to fundamentally adapt decision-making processes and performance rhythms for long-term transformation success.
- Showcases four special issue papers focusing on healthcare value landscapes, CIO-CDO role alignment, prototype ambiguity in scaling, and microbusiness owner-manager mindsets.
- Identifies key research challenges, including the misuse of terminology, unexamined assumptions, root causes of failure, and the dark side of digital transformations.
- Introduces the concept of an 'execution engine' to fundamentally adapt decision-making processes and performance rhythms for long-term transformation success.
- Showcases four special issue papers focusing on healthcare value landscapes, CIO-CDO role alignment, prototype ambiguity in scaling, and microbusiness owner-manager mindsets.
What it means for you
- CIO / IT Executive: On Monday morning, schedule a 30-minute meeting with your direct reports to discuss the 'execution engine' concept and brainstorm one specific process within your IT department that needs fundamental adaptation for long-term digital transformation success. Assign one person to draft a brief proposal by end-of-week.
- IT Manager: On Monday morning, identify one digital initiative currently underway that is showing signs of slowing adoption or unexpected friction. Gather the project team for a 1-hour 'root cause analysis' session, focusing specifically on potential cultural or structural obstacles, not just technical issues, and document the top 2-3 hypothesized causes.
- Business Strategist: On Monday morning, review your organization's current digital transformation roadmap and flag any objectives that are solely focused on short-term adoption metrics. Draft a list of 3-5 questions to explore how these objectives will be sustained and normalized over the next 1-3 years, and schedule a preliminary discussion with your team by Wednesday.
- Researcher: On Monday morning, analyze your current research project's data collection plan. Identify if it allows for longitudinal observation of digital transformation normalization (beyond initial adoption) and, if not, sketch out one modification to incorporate this perspective in future data gathering or analysis.
- Policymaker: On Monday morning, review existing public funding guidelines or incentives for digital transformation. Identify one specific criterion or reporting requirement that might unintentionally discourage longitudinal sustainability efforts and draft a brief memo suggesting a minor amendment to encourage long-term impact.
Transcript
Host: Welcome to A.I.S. Insights — powered by Living Knowledge. I'm Anna Ivy Summers, and today we're diving into a crucial topic for modern organizations: "Transform or be transformed: the importance of research on managing and sustaining digital transformations". Joining me is our analyst, Alex Ian Sutherland. Alex, welcome!
Expert: Thanks Anna. It's great to be here. Today's study is a real eye-opener because it addresses why so many companies struggle not just to start a digital transformation, but to actually sustain it over the long haul.
Host: Exactly. We hear about digital transformation everywhere, but what is the core problem this study highlights?
Expert: Well, Anna, initiating a digital transformation is hard, but sustaining it is where most companies fall apart. Industry estimates cited in the study suggest an aggregated failure rate of around eighty-seven point five percent. Yet, if you look at most academic literature or corporate case studies, they almost exclusively highlight success stories. That creates a massive disconnect between published success narratives and the real-world complexities practitioners face every day.
Host: Eighty-seven point five percent is a staggering failure rate. Why are so many organizations stumbling after the initial hype wears off?
Expert: The study points out that research and industry practice have been far too focused on short-term adoption—often looking at just six months to a year of rolling out new software. But true digital transformation goes way beyond digitizing paper documents or automating basic workflows. It requires deep, structural changes to core business processes, company culture, business models, and employee mindsets. When companies treat it as a short-term project rather than an ongoing journey, the initial momentum collapses under traditional bureaucracy, skill shortages, and employee resistance.
Host: So how did the authors approach this issue to help us better understand what is going wrong and how to fix it?
Expert: The authors curated a Special Issue in the European Journal of Information Systems to gather global insights on managing and sustaining these efforts. They synthesized the core challenges facing the field and advocated for longitudinal research—tracking transformations over many years rather than taking quick snapshots. Crucially, they propose that long-term success requires building what they call an "execution engine."
Host: An execution engine? That sounds intriguing. What does that mean in practice?
Expert: An execution engine is a replicable, embedded organizational process that fundamentally changes how decisions are made and how performance is measured on a daily basis. Instead of viewing technology as a one-time upgrade, the execution engine embeds capabilities into the fabric of the organization. This allows the business to continuously adapt its operations and culture as technologies and market demands evolve.
Host: That shift from a one-off project to an ongoing execution engine seems key. What other major insights or themes emerged from the study?
Expert: The study highlights several vital findings summarized across key research themes. First, it warns against using "digital transformation" as a catch-all buzzword for simple IT updates. Second, it emphasizes the human and socio-technical side, pointing out modern trends like citizen development—empowering non-IT employees to build low-code applications to solve everyday operational issues. Third, it highlights four specific research articles that explore real-world angles, including how executive roles must align, how healthcare practices navigate changing value landscapes, how scaling creates identity ambiguity, and how small business owner-managers need growth mindsets to sustain digital change.
Host: That point about executive leadership is especially relevant for business leaders. What does the study say about roles like the Chief Information Officer and Chief Digital Officer?
Expert: It highlights that without tight alignment between the CIO and CDO, organizations face role confusion and conflicting strategies. To sustain transformation, companies need seamless collaboration, and in some cases, organizations are even creating a unified role—the Chief Digital and Information Officer, or CDIO—to ensure technical infrastructure and digital innovation move forward in sync.
Host: So, bringing this all together, why does this matter so much for business leaders listening today?
Expert: For leaders, the biggest takeaway is that digital transformation is not a static destination; it is a permanent organizational capability. If you only plan for the technology launch, you are setting yourself up for failure down the road. Business leaders need to establish clear roadmaps, foster a culture of continuous learning and employee empowerment, align top leadership, and build that execution engine to normalize digital change into daily operations.
Host: "Transform or be transformed"—a powerful reminder that long-term sustainability is where the real business value lives. Alex, thank you so much for breaking down this important study for us today.
Expert: My pleasure, Anna.
Host: And thank you to our listeners for tuning in to A.I.S. Insights — powered by Living Knowledge. Stay curious, keep innovating, and we will see you next time!
Expert: Thanks Anna. It's great to be here. Today's study is a real eye-opener because it addresses why so many companies struggle not just to start a digital transformation, but to actually sustain it over the long haul.
Host: Exactly. We hear about digital transformation everywhere, but what is the core problem this study highlights?
Expert: Well, Anna, initiating a digital transformation is hard, but sustaining it is where most companies fall apart. Industry estimates cited in the study suggest an aggregated failure rate of around eighty-seven point five percent. Yet, if you look at most academic literature or corporate case studies, they almost exclusively highlight success stories. That creates a massive disconnect between published success narratives and the real-world complexities practitioners face every day.
Host: Eighty-seven point five percent is a staggering failure rate. Why are so many organizations stumbling after the initial hype wears off?
Expert: The study points out that research and industry practice have been far too focused on short-term adoption—often looking at just six months to a year of rolling out new software. But true digital transformation goes way beyond digitizing paper documents or automating basic workflows. It requires deep, structural changes to core business processes, company culture, business models, and employee mindsets. When companies treat it as a short-term project rather than an ongoing journey, the initial momentum collapses under traditional bureaucracy, skill shortages, and employee resistance.
Host: So how did the authors approach this issue to help us better understand what is going wrong and how to fix it?
Expert: The authors curated a Special Issue in the European Journal of Information Systems to gather global insights on managing and sustaining these efforts. They synthesized the core challenges facing the field and advocated for longitudinal research—tracking transformations over many years rather than taking quick snapshots. Crucially, they propose that long-term success requires building what they call an "execution engine."
Host: An execution engine? That sounds intriguing. What does that mean in practice?
Expert: An execution engine is a replicable, embedded organizational process that fundamentally changes how decisions are made and how performance is measured on a daily basis. Instead of viewing technology as a one-time upgrade, the execution engine embeds capabilities into the fabric of the organization. This allows the business to continuously adapt its operations and culture as technologies and market demands evolve.
Host: That shift from a one-off project to an ongoing execution engine seems key. What other major insights or themes emerged from the study?
Expert: The study highlights several vital findings summarized across key research themes. First, it warns against using "digital transformation" as a catch-all buzzword for simple IT updates. Second, it emphasizes the human and socio-technical side, pointing out modern trends like citizen development—empowering non-IT employees to build low-code applications to solve everyday operational issues. Third, it highlights four specific research articles that explore real-world angles, including how executive roles must align, how healthcare practices navigate changing value landscapes, how scaling creates identity ambiguity, and how small business owner-managers need growth mindsets to sustain digital change.
Host: That point about executive leadership is especially relevant for business leaders. What does the study say about roles like the Chief Information Officer and Chief Digital Officer?
Expert: It highlights that without tight alignment between the CIO and CDO, organizations face role confusion and conflicting strategies. To sustain transformation, companies need seamless collaboration, and in some cases, organizations are even creating a unified role—the Chief Digital and Information Officer, or CDIO—to ensure technical infrastructure and digital innovation move forward in sync.
Host: So, bringing this all together, why does this matter so much for business leaders listening today?
Expert: For leaders, the biggest takeaway is that digital transformation is not a static destination; it is a permanent organizational capability. If you only plan for the technology launch, you are setting yourself up for failure down the road. Business leaders need to establish clear roadmaps, foster a culture of continuous learning and employee empowerment, align top leadership, and build that execution engine to normalize digital change into daily operations.
Host: "Transform or be transformed"—a powerful reminder that long-term sustainability is where the real business value lives. Alex, thank you so much for breaking down this important study for us today.
Expert: My pleasure, Anna.
Host: And thank you to our listeners for tuning in to A.I.S. Insights — powered by Living Knowledge. Stay curious, keep innovating, and we will see you next time!