CASE STUDY
An in-depth description of a firm’s approach to an IT management issue (intended for MBA and executive education)
Working Paper: Case Study
Scaling at Scale: How Repsol Realized €800 Million from Digital Innovations
Global multi-energy company Repsol realized 20 percent greater profit from digital innovation initiatives in five years by building shared resources that helped hundreds of initiatives scale their innovation and realize value from it.
Abstract
This case study describes how in five years the global multi-energy company Repsol realized 20 percent greater profit—specifically, €800 million in cash flow from operations—by launching 505 digital innovation initiatives and building shared resources that systematically helped over seventy-six percent of the initiatives scale their innovation and realize value from it. Rather than simply empowering initiative teams, Repsol executives designed a holistic approach coordinated across initiatives to scale innovations. This case study describes how they identified and addressed a variety of barriers that would keep initiatives from scaling and realizing value.
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This case study was prepared by Nils. O. Fonstad, Academic Research Fellow at the MIT Center for Information Systems Research (CISR); Martin Mocker, Professor at ESB Business School, Reutlingen University, and Academic Research Fellow at MIT CISR; and Jukka Salonen, Industry Research Fellow at MIT CISR. The case was written for the purpose of class discussion rather than to illustrate effective or ineffective handling of managerial situations. The authors would like to acknowledge and thank the executives at Repsol SA for participating in the case study.
© 2024 MIT Center for Information Systems Research. All rights reserved to the authors.
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About the Researchers
Nils O. Fonstad, Academic Research Fellow, MIT Center for Information Systems Research (CISR)
Martin Mocker, Professor, ESB Business School, Reutlingen University, and Academic Research Fellow, MIT Center for Information Systems Research (CISR)
Jukka Salonen, Industry Research Fellow, MIT Center for Information Systems Research (CISR)
MIT CENTER FOR INFORMATION SYSTEMS RESEARCH (CISR)
Founded in 1974 and grounded in MIT's tradition of combining academic knowledge and practical purpose, MIT CISR helps executives meet the challenge of leading increasingly digital and data-driven organizations. We work directly with digital leaders, executives, and boards to develop our insights. Our consortium forms a global community that comprises more than seventy-five organizations.
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