Design thinking: strategy for digital transformation

Abstract

Purpose Digital advancements offer several opportunities to firms to gain competitive advantages, pushing them to transform their operating models. From the managerial standpoint, governing a digital transformation process is a complex task, as it means steering the process that goes from the exploration of the ample spectrum of opportunities that digital technologies provide, to the reduction of this complexity to a final set of actions to be designed and executed. As design theories are suited to solve complex problems, the purpose of this paper is to frame a design-driven approach to plan and execute a digital transformation. Design/methodology/approach This study pivots on an in-depth case study of a large Italian firm in the fashion sector that adopted design thinking to craft its digital transformation strategy and turn it into a list of projects to be executed. Findings Drawing from design theories, the authors framed a three-stage process (understanding reality, defining a digital transformation strategy and converting the digital transformation strategy into digital projects). Research limitations/implications The external validity of the study is limited due to the choice to rely on an in-depth single case study. Practical implications The framework provided offers a structure for managing the digital transformation through strategy development and execution. Moreover, practitioners and companies can evaluate if their digital transformation process is under control and reflect whether they have been giving the right attention to each of the three identified stages. They could follow the footsteps of EYEWEAR and adopt the proposed framework to design their company’s digital transformation process. Social implications This paper is supposed to help firms in reflecting on how to organize their digital transformation process. A positive transition to digital technologies enabled by the human-centeredness of design is likely to improve the quality of life of the people that belong to the transformed organization. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first research attempts at the crossroad between the fields of design, strategy and technology management and a groundwork for further studies to be conducted in this field.