Navigating Digital Transformation: Landscape, Dynamics and Scaling up

This PhD research aims to advance theoretical insights about control theory within the information systems discipline by exploring the roles senior managers should adopt and how control mechanisms unfold during digital transformation (DT). The central research question focuses on how senior management can effectively propel the DT journey in digital organizations through control, control mechanisms, and enactment. Understanding the dynamics resulting from DT implementation over time is crucial for identifying effective control and coordination mechanisms. Anticipating and addressing minor issues can mitigate possible ‘butterfly effects’ and avoid pitfalls in DT endeavors. These effects are especially important for incumbent DT programs, where small events and obstacles can have a significant impact, as they tend to surface much later. The dissertation comprises three studies in which three conceptual models (Digital Landscape, Infinity model, and Scaling Up) were developed to explain the characteristics of the DT journey and how senior management can control its implementation over time. These models enable senior management to understand the characteristics of the DT trajectory, providing insight into the underlying mechanisms, narratives, and the impact of management control behavior while navigating the DT journey.