Prof. Dr. Thomas Hess (LMU): Beyond the Digital Transformation? Towards an Integrated Model of Digital Change of Companies

Many companies undergo far-reaching changes in organizational structure to systematically recognize the opportunities and risks of new digital technologies and to deal with them adequately. To grasp these changes theoretically, two concepts were established in IS research: “IS/IT-enabled organizational transformation” (ITOT) and digital transformation (DT). Even though both concepts refer to digital technology-induced organizational changes, the theoretical foundation and specifics of the concepts continue to be the subject of academic discussion. Moreover, it remains unclear whether digital change in companies is a finite process or not. Based on an interpretative case study, we analyzed the process of digital change of a European media group. Utilizing the model of punctuated equilibrium, we derive an integrated model of digital change. It describes the interplay between relative stable and open phases of a company in the context of the availability of new digital technologies and integrates both well-established concepts of ITOT and DT.

Thomas Hess is Full Professor of Information Systems and Management at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), LMU Munich School of Management, where he also serves as director of the Institute for Digital Management and New Media. He is also co-director of the Bavarian Research Institute for the Digital Transformation and member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
Thomas holds a Ph.D. from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland and a diploma in Business Informatics form the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany. His research focuses on the potential of digital technologies for the value creation and the management structure of companies. His work has appeared in international journals as MIS Quarterly, Journal of Management Information Systems, European Journal of Information Systems, Electronic Markets, and Long Range Planning. Professor Hess has also published in the proceedings of conferences such as ICIS and in journals for the management practice like MISQ Executive. His work has, according to Google Scholar, already been cited more than 30,000 times.