Digital technologies’ emergence has changed firms’ innovation and entrepreneurship activities significantly. While the prior literature has investigated how digital technologies stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship, the challenges of the digital transformation process have received limited attention in the information systems (IS) literature. This dissertation aims to examine these challenges by studying policies and governance in the fields of intellectual property, data privacy, and digital infrastructure. In the first essay, I argue that the inefficient protection of employees’ intellectual property rights hampers their innovation activities at work. The second essay evaluates data privacy regulations’ impact on mobile app entrepreneurship. The third essay investigates how mobile platforms’ open policy impedes the adoption of innovative features in operating system (OS) updates. These three essays provide theoretical contributions to the literature on digital transformation, innovation, and entrepreneurship. They also offer practical insights for policymakers and digital infrastructure professionals about how to address digital transformation challenges in innovation and entrepreneurship. / Business Administration/Management Information Systems

Bakgrund: Tjänsteorganisationer, såsom universitet och sjukhus, är särskilt känsliga och sårbara under kriser, något som inte blev ett undantag under Covid-19. Eftersom tjänsteorganisationer generellt sett omfattar en hög nivå av personlig interaktion blev de särskilt drabbade av de restriktionerna som infördes för att minska smittspridningen. Flera tjänsteorganisationer har implementerat digital teknik som en effektiv lösning på att kunna fortsätta bedriva verksamheten under krisen. Under Covid-19 har det därmed mer eller mindre varit omöjligt för tjänsteorganisationer att inte anpassa verksamheten. Att ha förmågan att lära sig samt anpassa sig till framtida utmaningar, samtidigt som organisationen strävar efter sina mål är en del av organisatorisk resiliens. Tidigare forskning beskriver att digital transformation är en nyckelfaktor för organisationer som strävar efter organisatorisk resiliens. Detta eftersom den hjälper organisationer att hantera osäkerhet, arbeta proaktivt och kunna stå emot motgångar. Utifrån detta anser vi att det finns behov att undersöka hur lärare inom högre utbildning har upplevt den påskyndade digitala transformationen samt om och hur organisationens resurser har bidragit till snabbare anpassning av den påtvingade digitala omställningen.  Syfte: Syftet är att med utgångspunkt i högre utbildning under Covid-19 skapa en ökad förståelse för digital transformation som en form av resiliens vid kriser.Genomförande: Denna studie använder sig av en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi med en utgångspunkt i hermeneutiken. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer, där samtliga respondenter är lärare på Linköpings universitet, LiU.  Slutsats: Resultatet visar tydliga tecken på resilienta beteenden bland lärarna, exempelvis identifierar de sig med organisationen, de har ett öppet sinne för nya lösningar och strategier för att hantera nya situationer samt att de söker stöd och resurser hos sina kollegor. Samtidigt visar resultatet att LiU i början arbetade begränsat med digital transformation, men däremot tillräckligt för att kunna ställa om sin verksamhet. Utifrån respondenternas upplevelser visar studien att det har funnits brist på beredskap före Covid-19 men även brist på stöd och resurser under pandemin. Resultatet visar därmed att det är de resilienta individerna som har ökat organisationens resiliens. Vidare visar studien att organisationer med begränsad digital transformation och med lägre organisatoriskt resiliens kan fortfarande vara resilienta genom deras anställdas individuella resiliens.

The job of healthcare professionals in the healthcare sector has never been more critical than now due to the current unprecedented rate of long-term IT infrastructural changes and digital transformation. The 2019/2020 COVID-19 pandemic has been a major driver of these changes. Cultivating a culture of digital innovation and transformation is now at the forefront of the healthcare value-chain. There is an increased need to optimize the operations of the healthcare system, improve collaboration among Health Teams and deliver more agile and secure applications to support both clinical and administrative processes in healthcare institutions. These driving forces require a vision and strategy for digital transformation in the healthcare system, involving a closer look at modern DevSecOps best practices in the application development process. The fast-growing popularity of Cloud Computing has driven the consideration of Low-Code Development Platforms (LCDP), built securely in the cloud infrastructure, to support the transformation of the healthcare system. Low-Code Development Platforms are being considered by enterprises around the world to deliver rapid software development, continuous delivery, and continuous integration of their application systems. The William Osler Health System is recognized for its adoption of technological innovations for improved patient experience and satisfaction. Its innovations include the use of the Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare platforms; and Microsoft 365 and Power Platform services with embedded Low-Code technology to automate and optimize internal operational processes. The aim of this master’s thesis is to demystify the concept of cloud-based Low-Code Application Development approaches to healthcare software development by using a case study of a healthcare application within the systems being built to support operational processes in the William Osler Health System. This study contrasts challenges of current internal tools and methods of operations, communication, and application development in the organization, with the potential benefits of using cloud-based Low-Code platforms to drive digital transformation. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Background: Digital transformation is an important step in businesses’ quest for environmental sustainability, that changes their business models to create, deliver, and capture value from the use of digital technologies. Another field of research that concerns transformations, is research on socio-technical systems. It explains the adoption of new technologies, by incorporating the social context in which transitions happen. An industry that has been notoriously blamed for being conservative and having sustainability concerns, is the construction industry. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to contribute to socio-technical systems theory, by investigating how interactions in the socio-technical regime can help digitally transform established construction companies and make them more environmentally sustainable. Method: A qualitative case study was performed around Smart Built Environment, a strategic innovation program. From the program, nine reports were examined, and four employees were interviewed. Furthermore, three interviews were conducted with employees of three large construction companies, which were part of Smart Built Environment’s projects. The reports and interviews were used to develop a theoretical framework, which was constructed from existing literature on socio-technical systems, business models, and digital transformation. Conclusion: The results show that culture and habits, and policy and regulations in the regimes have the greatest influence on the digital transformation of construction companies. This is because they influence the relationships between the construction companies and other actors in the construction value chain. Changes to business models that were identified to facilitate the digital transformation were long-term collaborations, product-based development, co-creation, and using digital technologies as a use case for sustainability.

Tidigare studier visar att byggbranschen är bland de minst digitaliserade branscherna. Digitaliseringen av samhället i stort har gått fort de senaste åren och det finns många fördelar att vara digitaliserade. Även om forskningen visar att byggbranschen inte uppnått en utbredd digitalisering finns en positiv inställning till att bli mer digitaliserade bland företagen. Syftet med studien är att undersöka digitaliseringsnivån och styrkor och svagheter inom digitalisering hos två mindre företag inom byggbranschen och vilka hinder för att bli mer digitaliserade som anställda upplever.  Studien har genomförts med en litteraturstudie av forskning och litteratur om digitalisering, digitalisering inom byggbranschen och hinder för digitalisering.  Den här studien är en kvalitativ studie som genomförts med semistrukturerade intervjuer av fem anställda på två olika företag. Ett företag verkar inom snickeri och det andra inom fönsterrenovering. Resultatet har analyserats med tematisk analys och en analysmodell för att förstå vilken digitaliseringsnivå de uppnått.  Studien visar att företagen visar en hög digitaliseringsnivå sett till hur aktörer interagerar med nuvarande digitala resurser på företagen samt att kommunikation med olika aktörer i hög uträckning är digitaliserad. Företagen visar inte en lika hög digitaliseringsnivå i dimensionen som beskriver digitala mål där företagen inte har mål som är kopplade till digitalisering. Det visar även att nyttobedömningar görs av företagen innan en investering i en digital resurs görs vilket påverkar hur digitala de är. Resultatet visar även att de digitala landskapen inte är enhetligt på företagen och som att det finns möjligheter att använda sig av fler tekniska verktyg för att uppnå en högre digitaliseringsnivå. Företagen upplever hinder för digitalisering kopplat till dimensionerna ekonomi och nytta, samspel mellan digitala resurser samt aktörer. De upplever att anställdas kunskapsnivå begränsar digitaliseringen, att det digitala landskapet och kommunikation begränsar digitalisering och att bedömningar gjorts att digitala resurser inte skulle bidra med tillräckligt mycket nytta för att väga upp för investeringen.

Manufacturing companies are undergoing a digital transformation as the fourth industrial revolution progresses. These companies strive to track their progress in the transformation, understand the affecting factors, and formulate an effective strategy for the transformation. Studies that have been conducted to date have explored various factors that can influence the transformation process in a range of fields, however, there is a lack of research in the manufacturing industry. Hence, the purpose of this research is to explore the enablers and barriers to digital transformation using the maturity model and the importance of having a comprehensive strategy for digital transformation in manufacturing companies. To accomplish this, empirical data is collected through a survey based on a maturity model and combined with interviews. The data collection is done at a case company that is currently undergoing a digital transformation and is facing challenges in further development. The main factors that enable the transformation is leadership support, knowledge creation, having relevant skills, employee involvement and continuous improvement culture. While the barriers to transformation are lack of top management commitment, absence of strategy, lack of financial investments, knowledge ambiguity, poor data management and highly customized products. Many of these factors are consequences of other factors, such as lack of investment which was found to be a consequence of a lack of top management commitment and strategy. Further, the lack of strategy is seen as a root cause leading to insufficient budget, employee resistance, discrepancies in perception among managers, and problems in prioritization of projects. The main takeaways for manufacturing companies from this report are to ensure top management commitment, continuous improvement, and formulation of a comprehensive strategy to succeed with digital transformation.

Background: With the emerging and disruption of new technologies, digital transformationhas heavily impacted on businesses of all kinds, especially SMEs. Consequently, organizations must innovate their business model to adapt the changeable environment in many ways such as providing new products & services, developing new markets, more collaborations with partnership, and investing digital tools to deliver more value to the customers. It is therefore necessary for organizations and academicians to understand the dynamic capabilities framework for the business model innovation. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out the role of dynamic capabilities in the digital transformation of business model innovation (BMI) in SMEs. During this process, we also explore digital transformation and make future explanations of the key elements of BMI in our case companies. Method: In order to understand how SMEs build up capabilities for digital transformation inthe business model innovation, we carry out this study by using semi-structured interviews with open answered questions. The interviews consisted of 6 participants in various senior management positions at 5 case companies. The participants are either the company owners or the department managers. Findings: From the interviews, we studied that all the case companies had been in process of digital transformation for a certain extent. In terms of their business model, the digitaltransformation reflects in 3 domains: new digital products & services, new markets & segments,and key partnerships. In addition, companies build dynamic capabilities for their digital business model via a total of 8 activities, including digital scouting, digital learning & planning, digital mind-set, agile working, investment in digital assets, collaboration with partners, creating digital culture, and redesigning organizational structure. Relevant management skills are the enablers throughout the whole innovation process. Finally, our study studies theenabling role of management in building dynamic capabilities and reacting to change.

[pt] O presente estudo tem como objetivo compreender como os colaboradores de áreas administrativas da Petrobras entendem o papel das soluções de software na execução de suas rotinas. Para tanto, teve como campo de análise as rotinas organizacionais de empregados da Petrobras que atuam em áreas corporativas. A pesquisa procurou compreender o papel das soluções de software na execução das rotinas de acordo com o relato de indivíduos que as executam. A abordagem geral do presente estudo parte de uma perspectiva interpretativista (SANDBERG, 2000). A partir do método fenomenográfico (AKERLIND, 2005; MARTON, 1981), o uso de soluções de software na execução foi analisado com base na experiência vivida pelos empregados. Como resultado das 20 entrevistas realizadas entre novembro de 2020 e maio de 2021, tratadas e analisadas, descobriu-se que os sujeitos entrevistados compreendem o uso de soluções de software no desempenho de suas rotinas em três categorias descritivas: i) como um repositório de informações, ii) como organizador da rotina e iii) como meio de redução da interferência humana na execução das rotinas. Estas formas apresentaram quatro dimensões de explicação: i) elemento estrutural da rotina; ii) gestão do conhecimento e relação entre atores; iii) performance de execução; e iv) segurança e confiabilidade das informações. / [en] The objective of the present study is to conceive how Petrobras s administrative employees understand the role of software solutions on executing their organizational routines. For this purpose, had as field of analysis organizational routines from employees that works in administrative areas. The research sought to understand the role that software solutions have on the execution of organizational routines according to the individuals who perform them. The general approach of the present study starts from a interpretative perspective (SANDBERG, 2000). From the phenomenography method (AKERLIND, 2005; MARTON, 1981), the use of software solutions on executing organizational routines was analyzed based on the experience of the employees. As result of 20 interviews performed between November 2020 and May 2021, and then treated and analyzed, it turned out that the subjects interviewed understand the use of software solutions on their organizational routines in three different categories: i) as an information repository, ii) as a routine organizer and iii) as a mean to reduce human interference on routine execution. These categories presented four explanatory dimensions: i) structural element of the routine; ii) knowledge management and relationship between actors; iii) execution performance; and iv) information security and reliability.

Past research provides little to no in-depth research regarding digital transformation; ittends to be portrayed as a very holistic and simplified process that organizations oftenimplement to stay competitive. One of the biggest barriers to digital transformation isconsidered to be inertia, we argue that concerning a digital transformation within anincumbent organization there could be more guidelines regarding how inertia emerges. Bybreaking down the components to see what is causing more of a barrier than necessary.Conducting a qualitative case study of an industrial organization located in Sweden. Withearlier research on digital transformation and inertia, we concluded that organizationsmust manage these concerns cohesively by continuously balancing their key roles,organizational structure, communication, and integration. We hope that our thesis canhelp create an understanding for incumbent organizations to realize and prevent inertiafrom emerging as part of future digital transformation.

Background: While the positive sides of digitalisation in work environments have been highlighted in academic research in the field of business administration, there seems to be a lack of representation regarding the negative sides. By systematically identifying, evaluating, and summarising peer-reviewed articles in the field of digitalisation in work environments, this systematic literature review and thematic synthesis, aims to provide a nuanced and applicable overview of the scope in which the potential effects of digitalisation within work-related office contexts are researched in the field of business administration. Methods: Ontology - Relativism; Epistemology - constructionism, inductive approach; Methodology - Qualitative research design, systematic literature review; Data collection - systematic 12-step guideline; Data analysis - thematic synthesis Findings: The findings uncover several patterns in the relevant literature through a summary of the content of the analysed batch in descriptive themes and synthesising patterns through the creation of analytical themes, in which perspectives of organisational as well as employed actors were analysed. The results illustrate the motivations for digital transformations for organisational actors and employees as well as their respective drawbacks. Discussion: The study suggests that digitalisation in work environments is typically portrayed positively in research within the field of business administration. There is an implicit unanimous perception among academics in business administration that depict digitalisation in work environments as desirable and portray a view where digitalisation is not questioned. As a consequence, the papers show an absence in terms of alternatives beyond the digitalisation scope through the retrieved literature batch. Conclusion: As there are clear patterns of the favourable depiction of digital technologies visible in this study, implications of a one-sided representation of digital technology are valid in the context of the analysed data. Other: The papers were subject to no external funding, meaning that the two authors covered all costs derived throughout the writing process.