How Mature are You? : An Exploratory Investigation on Digital Maturity and the Effects Management Teams Have on Digital Transformation.

Abstract: With the rapid growth of industry 4.0 and the digital age, we can see that the use of digital tools, systems and solutions are becoming more standardized in all sectors. We are currently witnessing these tools becoming a much more integral part of future industry and therefore putting pressure on current organizations to adapt. Digital maturity is a phenomenon that has gained an abundance of exposure in recent years, and the importance of this phenomenon grows in relation to the growth of the digital environment. According to academia, questions about companies’ digital status have recently become topical. Digital maturity can act as a portal for possibilities and change. For example, exploiting opportunities, implementing technological processes and averting business risks that stem from advanced technologies. Academic research in this field mainly concentrates on the quantitative aspects and therefore we have engaged in a qualitative approach in order to fill the gap within this field of research. Moreover, we have identified that studies and contemporary assessment models do not consider the importance of management and aspect of change to the necessary extent. Academia mentions the importance of converting digital maturity assessments to company actions through a systematic engagement from managers. However, most studies in the field have focused on either giving overviews on different perspectives of assessments or answered questions regarding the success rate of digital transformations, we believe that management and change management are key components to digital maturity and transformational success. A qualitative approach is therefore suitable because of the exploratory nature of our interests. To gather data, we conducted interviews with participants chosen through a purposive sampling technique. The purposive sampling method was chosen to achieve a better and more qualitative result since the participants all had expertise within the field of digital development, digital maturity measurements and management. The interview questions were based on theories in our conceptual framework and served as a foundation for the interview guide. The intention was to see if our initial theories on digital maturity transformation would match the views of the participants. By using a thematic analysis method, we connected the participants answers to our identified framework themes, potentially altering our conceptual framework. The original components of our conceptual framework were: Importance of management and change management, which included theories of organizations, people, change kaleidoscope, the theory of constraints, PDSA-cycle and RACI-model. The result of the study showed that our predicted components of importance of management and change management were essential for the success of digital maturity. Our underlying theories also matched the participants views. However, new theories and components were added based on the empirical findings. These were: long term solutions and strategies, strong and motivating leadership, project triangle and communication plans. Our study indicates that management and change management can be success factors in the process of becoming more digitally mature.