In earlier research, we found that companies that realize significant strategic value from digital innovations have redesigned themselves around three learning imperatives:
- Innovation teams use a test-and-learn approach to build successful digital innovations
- Top-level management learn from initiatives to build an innovation portfolio that allocates scarce resources to the set of initiatives that promises to have the greatest strategic impact
- Functional experts learn from initiatives to build shared resources that help teams overcome common barriers to scaling innovations
We will focus on the following research questions:
- How do companies build business commitment to all three learning imperatives?
- How do companies regularly reallocate scarce resources—especially people—to the initiatives that contribute most to their strategic objectives?
- How do companies realize synergies across sets of similar digital innovation initiatives in order to avoid accumulating a new generation of “IT spaghetti” and generate benefits from reuse?
In 2024, we will conduct a survey to identify practices that distinguish top-performing companies. In addition, we will update a case study.
This project is a continuation of MIT CISR’s 2023 research project on Essential Practices to Realize More Value Faster from Digital Innovations.
SEEKING: We are seeking participation in the research from executives who have a holistic understanding of their organization’s portfolio of digital innovation investments and practices, and also of the extent to which the organization’s digital innovation initiatives relate to its strategic objectives.
CONTACT: Nils Fonstad
