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Management Journal Article hero
Management Journal Article

Managing Organizational Explosions During Digital Business Transformations

We describe the four organizational explosions and provide five recommendations for digital leaders on how to handle them.
By Nick van der Meulen, Peter Weill, and Stephanie L. Woerner
Abstract

Performance improvements from digital business transformations require companies to deal with four types of disruptive organizational changes, which we call “explosions:” changing Decision Rights, adopting New Ways of Working, performing Organizational Surgery and creating a Platform Mindset. For these explosions to create—rather than destroy—value, they need to be carefully designed, and their impacts anticipated and managed. We provide five recommendations for digital leaders on how to handle the explosions, by drawing on four case studies of companies on distinct transformation pathways.

About the Authors

MIT CENTER FOR INFORMATION SYSTEMS RESEARCH (CISR)

Founded in 1974 and grounded in the MIT tradition of rigorous field-based research, MIT CISR helps executives meet the challenge of leading dynamic, global, and information-intensive organizations. Through research, teaching, and events, the center stimulates interaction among scholars, students, and practitioners. More than seventy-five firms sponsor our work and participate in our consortium. 

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