O Que é a Transformação Digital? Tensões Fundamentais enfrentadas pelas Empresas estabelecidas no Cenário Mundial

Nathan Furr; Pinar Ozcan; Kathleen Eisenhardt

doi:10.24883/IberoamericanIC.v12i.2022alumniin

Authors

Nathan Furr Strategy Area, INSEAD, Fontainebleau https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1263-7709
Pinar Ozcan Department of Strategy, Innovation andMarketing, Saïd Business School,University of Oxford, Oxford https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7611-187X
Kathleen Eisenhardt Stanford University, Stanford, California https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4879-1679

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24883/IberoamericanIC.v12i.2022alumniin

Keywords:

business models, digital tools, digital transformation, ecosystems, global strategy, platforms

Abstract

Digital transformation is a dominant theme in the global economy, but what it means for established companies remains perplexing for both academics and practitioners. As digital erases familiar geographic, industrial, and organizational boundaries, it has led to simplistic characterizations such as “digital changes everything.” Yet while digital changes some things, others remain the same. Here, we identify three core tensions at the heart of digital transformation—products vs platforms, firms vs ecosystems, and people vs tools—and describe their underlying economics, driving forces, and countervailing forces. These tensions frame a concrete discussion of strategic alternatives for global companies. Overall, we emphasize that digital transformation is not an objective state, but rather a strategic choice by executives from an array of alternatives.

Managerial summary

Digital transformation is a dominant theme in the global economy, but what it means remains perplexing for executives and academics. Pundits claim that “digital changes everything” and that leaders must “disrupt or be disrupted,” but is this really true for established companies serving robust customer needs on the global stage? Understanding what digital transformation means can be challenging as it breaks down familiar geographic, industrial, and organizational boundaries, creating new opportunities and threats. In this paper, we explore three key tensions at the heart of digital transformation—products vs platforms, firms vs ecosystems, and people vs tools—and enumerate their enabling and constraining forces. Building on these concrete constructs provides effective foundations for formulating digital transformation strategy.

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Author Biographies

Nathan Furr, Strategy Area, INSEAD, Fontainebleau

Associate Professor of Strategy at INSEAD, where he teaches innovation and technology strategy. Nathan earned his PhD from the Stanford Technology Ventures Program at Stanford University and holds BA, MA and MBA degrees from Brigham Young University. He has held permanent or visiting positions at INSEAD, ESSEC, and BYU. Nathan Furr is directing Leading Digital Transformation and Innovation and Innovation in the Age of Disruption and Building Digital Partnerships and Ecosystems

Pinar Ozcan, Department of Strategy, Innovation andMarketing, Saïd Business School,University of Oxford, Oxford

Ph.D. at the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP) at the Stanford University Management Science and Engineering Department, and also holds a Master of Science and dual Bachelors degrees from Stanford.

Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Saïd Business School, Oxford University. She is also the academic director of the Oxford Future of Finance and Technology (Fintech) Initiative at Oxford.

Pinar specializes in strategy, entrepreneurship, and technology markets. Her current research includes AI and business models in fintech, open banking, digital disruption, and the rise of big tech platforms.

Kathleen Eisenhardt , Stanford University, Stanford, California

Doctor of Philosophy in Organizational Behavior, Stanford University (EUA). Kathleen Eisenhardt is the Stanford W. Ascherman M.D. Professor and a faculty member in the Stanford Technology Ventures Program. Professor Eisenhardt's research focus is strategy and organization, especially in technology-based companies and high-velocity industries. She is currently studying the use of "simple rules" heuristics, strategic interaction in new markets and ecosystems, strategy making in marketplaces, and business model design. She often uses multi-case theory building methods and more recently machine learning for theory building. She has received the career Scholarly Contribution Award from the Academy of Management and the Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research.

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