ABSTRACT

Emerging technologies are having a profound impact upon business as individuals and organisations increasingly embrace the benefits of the ‘always on’ attitude that digital technologies produce. The use of the web, apps, cloud storage, GPS and Internet-connected devices has transformed the way we live, learn, play and interact – yet how a business can fully benefit from this transformation is not always clear. In response, this book enables students and business leaders to take a strategic and sustainable approach to realising the value of digital technologies. It offers results-driven solutions that successfully transform organisations into data-driven, people-focused businesses capable of sustainably competing at a global level.

Split across four key parts, the material moves through understanding digital business to planning, implementing and assessing digital transformation. The current challenges facing all small organisations, including limited resources, financial pressures and the lack of dedicated IT departments, are explored. The authors consider the ways in which innovation can increase competitive advantage, how innovative business models can create new opportunities and how a data-driven perspective can release embedded value within the organisation. Contemporary international case studies and examples throughout each chapter bridge theory with practical application and systematically document the patterns of activities that enable success.

This textbook is a vital resource for postgraduate and undergraduate students of digital business, innovation and transformation. By showing how to initiate digital transformation across an organisation, it will prepare business owners, directors and management of small- and medium-sized businesses to take strategic advantage of new and emerging technologies to stay ahead of their competition.

part I|61 pages

Understanding the digital in business

part II|84 pages

Digitally transforming the organisation

part III|35 pages

Making your plans happen

chapter 17|8 pages

Visible change and inspiring

Making events that challenge innovation

chapter 18|8 pages

Managing your human resources

Sequential-tasking and maker time

chapter 19|9 pages

Enabling organisational change

Co-creation, co-production and co-consumption

chapter 20|8 pages

Service innovation and transformation

The case of WeChat

part IV|31 pages

Assessing your success

chapter 21|9 pages

Permanently embed innovation into your organisation

Always interconnected

chapter 22|7 pages

Measuring the digital transformation in an organisation

Audit to discover what value was added

chapter 23|13 pages

Read me first

The importance of continuous change