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Cited by 727Digital Innovation in IndustriesBusiness Strategies and InnovationInformation Technology Governance and Strategy

Implementing a digital strategy: Learning from the experience of three digital transformation projects

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Correani, Alessia, De Massis, Alfredo, Frattini, Federico, Petruzzelli, Antonio Messeni, Natalicchio, Angelo·2020·California Management Review
DOI 10.1177/0008125620934864
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Abstract

The rapid growth of digital technologies and the extraordinary amount of data that devices and applications collect each day are increasingly driving companies to radically transform the business architecture through which they create and appropriate value. However, companies may fail to extract value from digital transformation due to the disconnection between strategy formulation and strategy implementation. Through the analysis of three case studies of firms that digitally transformed their business—namely ABB, CNH Industrial, and Vodafone—this article presents a framework than can help companies implement their digital transformation strategy and thereby renovate their business model.

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Crossref · 10.1177/0008125620934864

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  • It is unclear how IT competencies are modified by AI adoption.

    “While the technological context emphasizes that information technology (IT) capabilities are critical to first adopt and then maintain AI (Enholm et al., 2022), it is unclear how these competencies are modified by AI adoption (Correani et al., 2020; Magistretti et al., 2019).”

    From Artificial intelligence in innovation management: A review of innovation capabilities and a taxonomy of <scp>AI</scp> applications (2025) · cites this paper as Correani et al., 2020

    The AI section says AI’s role in the digital context has not been fully unraveled, and the Data platform section describes new AI-related jobs and skills. Neither section specifically says it is unclear how existing IT competencies are modified by AI adoption; the stated uncertainty is broader. The indexed passages provide no page numbers. (LLM, conf=0.78)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The debate on digital project governance has extended to service maintenance, including the requirement to mitigate concept drift where AI model accuracy degrades over time, advocating reviewing and periodically retraining the algorithm.

    “The debate is not limited to project delivery and has recently extended to service maintenance (Correani et al., 2020), including the requirement to mitigate concept drift where AI model accuracy degrades over time, advocating reviewing and periodically retraining the algorithm (Tambe et al., 2019).”

    From Artificial intelligence in innovation management: A review of innovation capabilities and a taxonomy of <scp>AI</scp> applications (2025) · cites this paper as Correani et al., 2020

    The Processes and procedures section (page unavailable) says firms may need to revise over time the processes used to create value for customers, and the Data platform section describes continuous improvement of a customer-care system. This supports ongoing attention to digital services, but the copy does not explicitly frame it as project governance extending to post-delivery service maintenance. The concept-drift and retraining clause is cited to Tambe et al., not Correani et al., and is not assessed here. (LLM, conf=0.78)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Successful digital strategy requires other contributing factors, such as business model alignment and organizational evolvement in terms of strategy.

    “Successful digital strategy requires other contributing factors, such as business model alignment (Correani et al., 2020) and organizational evolvement in terms of strategy (Lipsmeier et al., 2020).”

    From Mastering digital transformation: The nexus between leadership, agility, and digital strategy (2022) · cites this paper as Correani et al., 2020

  • Digital strategy should focus not only on digitizing and digitalizing but also on implementing these changes by engaging the entire organization and its people.

    “Recent literature has suggested that digital strategy should focus not only on digitizing and digitalizing but also on how to implement these changes by engaging the entire organization and its people (Ahmed Khamis et al., 2020; Correani et al., 2020; Lipsmeier et al., 2020).”

    From Mastering digital transformation: The nexus between leadership, agility, and digital strategy (2022) · cites this paper as Correani et al., 2020

  • AI is also a source of developing innovation capabilities, as its adoption requires new competencies and supports organizations in fostering these.

    “AI is also a source of developing innovation capabilities (Correani et al., 2020), as its adoption requires new competencies and supports organizations in fostering these.”

    From Artificial intelligence in innovation management: A review of innovation capabilities and a taxonomy of <scp>AI</scp> applications (2025) · cites this paper as Correani et al., 2020

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Authors
Correani, A., De Massis, A., Frattini, F., Petruzzelli, A. M., & Natalicchio, A.
Affiliations
  • Microsoft (United States) (US)
  • Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy; Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom; Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
  • Politecnico di Milano (IT)
  • Polytechnic University of Bari (IT)
ORCID
Venue
California Management Review
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2020-07-03
Volume
62
Issue
4
Pages
37-56
ISSN
  • 0008-1256 (ISSN-L)
  • 2162-8564
DOI
10.1177/0008125620934864
OpenAlex
W3039554138
Cited by
727
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 75 · 2025: 142 · 2024: 178 · 2023: 147 · 2022: 110 · 2021: 56 · 2020: 12 · 2016: 1 · 2014: 3 · 2012: 1
FWCI
74.40
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • California Management Review (publishedVersion)
  • Lancaster EPrints (Lancaster University) (acceptedVersion)
  • Virtual Community of Pathological Anatomy (University of Castilla La Mancha) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Open Research (University of Surrey) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management of Technology and Innovation › Digital Innovation in Industries
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Business Strategies and Innovation
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management Information Systems › Information Technology Governance and Strategy
Keywords
digital transformation, digital strategy, strategy implementation, business model innovation, strategy formulation, implementation framework, ABB, Vodafone, value creation

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