I am doung an assignment based on the following case study ' Implementing a Digital Strategy: Learning from the experience of three Digital transformation projects'. I need you to read carefully and answer academicly and perfectly the question 2 and 3. Thank you.

Question 2. Correani et al. (2020) (Case study 1) present a framework for implementing digital transformation. It also reports how the framework applied to ABB, CNH Industrial, and Vodafone.

- (a) Discuss the key similarities and differences of the digital transformation processes and steps adopted by three firms - ABB, CNH Industrial, and Vodafone.

- (b) What lessons can the company of your Assessment 2 (Amazon) learn from these three firms that digitally transformed their business?

Question 3: Correani et al. (2020) (Case study 1) suggest that firms require a new managing role and specific employee competencies to drive digital transformation.

- (a) Based on the new roles for both management and staff suggested by Correani et al. (2020), what do you think are the new competencies organisations undergoing digital transformation should acquire? Discuss the key features of these new competencies.

- (b) Using the skills outlook 2023-2027*, discuss how the above digital transformation competencies affect the reskilling and upskilling strategies of firms intending to undergo digital transformation.

*Source: Skills outlook (Chapter 4), presented in the Future of Jobs Report 2023 by the World Economic Forum, Available on Canvas under Module 12 - 12.4 Tutorial Activities.

Case study :

Case Study 1: Implementing a Digital Strategy: Learning from the experience of three Digital transformation projects.

Authors: Alessia Correani1, Alfredo De Massis2, Federico Frattini3, Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli4, and Angelo Natalicchio4

SUMMARY of the case:

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 aquire 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.

The case:

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The remarkable growth of digital technologies and the increasing per- vasiveness and reliability of high-speed Internet services have radi- cally reshaped the operations and business models of companies.1This has led to substantial changes in their activities, processes, and

capabilities.2A growing number of companies have adopted a digital transforma- tion strategy to transform how they build and appropriate value. Consequently, they need to reexamine and revise the current architecture of their value cre- ation and appropriation models to sustain their competitive advantage. Also, a key requirement for firms adopting digital transformation is to renovate their business models so that they are consistent with their business strategy.3

New digital technologies can improve competitive performance by increas- ing the flexibility of products and services by supporting the continuous evolution of their scope, features, and value, even after they have reached the market;4lowering the barriers across industries, favoring connections, exchanges, and partnerships among companies operating in different sectors;5and supporting companies in accessing continuous, timely, and reliable data streams.6

Digital transformation can lead to notable advantages for firms, such as helping create products and services that are more efficient and consistent with customer needs,7providing a shorter innovation process and time to market,8and creating related digital ecosystems.9Moreover, digital transformation favors the interconnection among diverse industries by guiding firms to new opportunities for creating and appropriating value through digitization and connectivity.10For instance, Becton Dickinson, a medical equipment manufacturer, has been devel- oping connections with software and analytics industries to increase the effective- ness of its products.11Also, another example of how digital transformation reduces barriers between industries is that companies such as Google, Apple, and Uber are devoting more attention to the automotive industry for the development of autonomous vehicles.

However, the adoption of digital transformation strategies also involves challenges.12According to recent estimates, 66% to 84% of digital transformation projects fail,13which is a sizable proportion considering the costs, both monetary and otherwise, of putting these projects in place. One major challenge is to ensure consistency between strategy formulation and strategy implementation,14which despite their interdependence are considered distinct concepts. Specifically, digital strategy formulation refers to defining a guiding policy for the creation and appro- priation of value by exploiting digital technologies to achieve long-term objec- tives?which include factors related to the external environment, the technological potential in the current competitive scenario, and the evolution of the market. Therefore, digital strategy formulation should identify the elements of the firm's business model that must be modified according to the new strategy, along with the scope of the digital transformation.

In contrast, digital strategy implementation refers to how firms translate the digital strategy formulated into a concrete plan and set of actions.15Careful implementation is crucial to ensure consistency between the firm's actions and

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the objectives defined in the digital strategy formulation.16In fact, existing knowledge implicitly assumes that once a strategy has been defined, implemen- tation will follow.17However, corporate practice shows that this is notalways the case, and senior executives cannot achieve any benefit from digital transforma- tion strategies if they cannot effectively implement them.18Prior studies point out that effective strategy implementation is more critical for avoiding failure as compared with good strategy formulation.19On the one hand, a precise imple- mentation allows for adaptation to evolving conditions,20thus correcting for an inaccurate formulation,21but on the other hand, a good formulation is of no value if not properly executed.22

A prominent example of this is GE. GE's top management planned to digi- tally transform the firm. However, while deemed an appropriate strategic choice in the current competitive environment, GE failed to implement this strategy to the point of having to fire more than 100 employees at the software operation facility that had been created to support GE's digital strategy.23Recently, John Flannery, GE's CEO, pointed out that the company is "still deeply committed to [digital], but we want a much more focused strategy."24Given such disconnection between strategy formulation and implementation,25our aim is to understand howfirms can implement a digital transformation strategy. Specifically, we describe and analyze three cases of firms that digitally transformed their business?ABB, CNH Industrial, and Vodafone. They were supported by a "digital companion" globally renowned for its excellence in the execution of digital transformation strategies, namely, Microsoft. The rich body of qualitative evidence allowed us to identify the critical building blocks?resources, capabilities, and activities, as well as stakeholders?that need to be taken into account when a firm implements a digital transformation strategy. Our framework illustrates how the three compa- nies used these building blocks to ensure consistency between their strategy for- mulation and implementation, which led to successful digital transformation projects. In particular, our framework allows companies to renovate their busi- ness models, conceived as the "conceptual and architectural implementation of a business strategy."26

Conceptual Background

The increasing spread of new digital technologies is disrupting exist- ing industries.27Indeed, due to digitalization, many products and services offer new features and functions. A prominent example is the Nest thermostat, which alongside the traditional functions increases energy use efficiency by collecting data on energy consumption, sharing these with utilities for more accurate fore- casting, improving the service, providing customers with suggestions to reduce energy consumption, and connecting to other home devices.28Another notable example of a company that has completely and successfully revised its busi- ness thanks to digitalization is Netflix. Originally, Netflix was an online digital video disk (DVD)-by-mail sales and rental store. However, consequent to the boost in data connection speed and its lower costs, as well as improvements in

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video-on-demand service effectiveness and efficiency, Netflix digitally trans- formed its competitive strategy by offering a worldwide video streaming ser- vice, exploiting data on movie consumption to understand major trends in the entertainment business, and eventually becoming an original content producer.As these two examples show, the pervasive use of digital technologies and the ability to collect consumption and utilization data enable companies to rewire their traditional business model into a digital business modelthat can lead to increasing their competitive advantage.

However, digital transformation is not always straightforward. Indeed, due to the disruption in activities, processes, and capabilities, digital transformation processes often fail.Despite the appropriateness of adopting a digital transforma- tion strategy, the outcomes may be far from those expected. For instance, as in the GE case, Nike failed to reap the benefits of digital transformation with its Nike+personal fitness products.Nike+products incorporated sensors that collected data on customer activities, and synchronized these through a web platform. In this way, customers could receive feedback and suggestions to improve their physical performance, along with the possibility to access a virtual community of friends, athletes, and coaches.In turn, Nike could collect data on customers (including their activities and preferences) to fine-tune its marketing activities. However, while the digital transformation project was promising, Nike discontin- ued its Nike+productsand only recently attempted to apply digital technologies to achieve a different objective.

There are many reasons why digital transformation projects fail, includ- ing the failure to consider important aspects of change management in relation to employees and customers who are required to change their way of working and interacting with the brand. Developing a proper strategy for effectively leveraging digital technologies is crucial for the success of digital transforma- tion projects.Defining a digital transformation strategy corresponds to devel- oping a plan of action to achieve a specific goalthrough the strategic renewal of the firm.However, despite formulating an appropriate digital transforma- tion strategy, companies often fail in implementing the strategy because imple- mentation is particularly risky and uncertain when companies have to deal with a disruptive change to their business following the introduction of new digital technologies.

In order to effectively support the actual implementation, firms need to rely on business models that reflect each, individual firm's strategy.In fact, busi- ness models are a conceptual tool used to depict how firms generate and appropriate value, adapting the previously defined strategy to the contingencies that actually take place.Hence, they represent a logical structure for the linkage between the formulated strategy and its contingent implementation.Business models describe the elements and the relationships leveraged by firms to genarate and appropriate value.They are made of four main components: the firm's value proposition and market segments; the structure of the value chain; the mecha- nisms used by the firm to appropriate the value provided; and the relationships

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among these elements.They provide a complete description of a firm's strategyand can be helpful when companies need to thoroughly revise their strategies due to disruptive changes.

A digital transformation may require a substantial change in the business model to reap the maximum advantages and to reduce the cost burden.In a digital transformation strategy, the role of the business model is essential in adapting the architecture of a firm's value proposition, market segments, value chain, and value appropriation to emerging contingencies.The introduction of digital technologies calls into question the traditional way of doing busi- ness,and companies must thus reconsider which elements to leverage to establish and sustain their competitive advantage.Identifying the core aspects behind a digital strategy and its implementation allows companies to apply the digital lens to their current business, ascertain new modes of value creation, evaluate new ways of value appropriation,and consequently renew their strategies.For instance, while data streams are paramount for firms adopting digital technologies,traditional business model framwork do not assign them the central role they have in supporting the digital transformation.

Research Design and Methodology

For our research, we adopted a case study methodologyalong with the principles of engaged scholarship.One of the authors is a Microsoft manager who directly followed several digital transformation projects on behalf of her company. Notably, Microsoft has, in recent years, increasingly partnered with companies wishing to transform their businesses by leveraging data and tech- nologies, thus becoming an influential player in the digital transformation eco- system. Acknowledging the difficulties that enterprises may face in embarking on digital transformation processes, Microsoft has positioned itself as a partner aiming to accompany firms along this journey by becoming a "digital compan- ion" for organizations embracing a digital transformation strategy. Satya Nadella, Microsoft's CEO, explained this strategic vision, noting,

Companies are focused on ensuring that they stay relevant and competitive by embracing this [digital] transformation. And we want Microsoft to be their part- ner. To do so, there are four initiatives every company must make a priority. The first is engaging their customer base by leveraging data to improve the customer experience. Second, they must empower their own employees by enabling greater and more mobile productivity and collaboration in the new digital world of work. Third, they must optimize operations, automating and simplifying business pro- cesses across sales, operations, and finance. Fourth, they must transform their products, services, and business models.

Given the vision and commitment to partnering with firms to help them digitally transform their businesses, the three companies that Microsoft accom- panied provide an opportunity to observe how digital transformation strategies are implemented with the assistance of an expert companion. Indeed, Microsoft's

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experience was fundamental to identifying the specific building blocks that con- stitute the framework we constructed from our analysis.

For our sampling strategy, we selected digital transformation projects that had involved Microsoft and can be considered exemplars for the imple- mentation of a digital transformation strategy.59The author who is a Microsoft manager critically revised the portfolio of projects she has participated in dur- ing the last five years with the idea to build a polar-type sample, which included both successful and unsuccessful cases of digital strategy implementation. The idea was to compare implementation projects that delivered positive results with those that were unsuccessful to spot differences and unearth factors linked with successful digital strategy implementation more easily. Unfortunately, due to privacy and confidentiality reasons, it was not possible to have access to the data required to carefully study the unsuccessful cases. Therefore, we decided to focus on cases that were illustrative examples of a successful alignment between strategy formulation and implementation in different contexts (in particular, manufacturing and service companies) to allow for potential differ- ences among cases. Following these criteria, the case selection brought to our attention three organizations that successfully implemented a digital transfor- mation strategy (ABB, CNH Industrial, and Vodafone), allowing us to highlight the critical elements to take into account to effectively implement a digital transformation strategy. Thanks to the direct involvement in the realization of these projects by one of the authors, we have had privileged access to data and information that were especially useful to inductively build a model of digital strategy implementation.

Data from the cases were collected using primary and secondary sources. In particular, our Microsoft-affiliated author was directly involved in the digital transformation implementation in the three cases, working on the execution of these projects for an average period of 12 months each, consistent with the engaged scholarship methodology.She had the opportunity to take part in the projects and access primary sources of information, such as aggregated data, inter- nal archival records and reports, and interviews with those involved in the digital transformation processes. In particular, the interviews were based on a structured list of questions designed to provide a clear understanding of the digital transfor- mation processes and the business model renewal. Moreover, interviewees were encouraged to share further insights that could support the research team to get a clearer picture of the processes. Furthermore, secondary sources, including corpo- rate websites and business magazine articles, provided a clear picture of the pro- cesses. The data were gathered in 2018 and refer to the period 2016-2018. Table 1 reports some general information on the cases.

The researchers then analyzed the data collected following an inductive approach. The authors independently reviewed the cases to identify the building blocks supporting the implementation of a digital transformation strategy. In the first phase, each author coded and labeled the transcripts of the interviews and other primary and secondary sources documents in order to highlight features

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TABLE 1. Overview of the Three Case Studies. ABB CNH Industrial Vodafone Business Electrical equipment Agricultural equipment Telecommunications Size 1 47,000 employees 63,000 employees 1 1 1,000 employees (2018) (2017) (2018) Headquarters Zurich Amsterdam London (Switzerland) (The Netherlands) (United Kingdom) Founded 1988 2012 1991 Main objective Develop smart Develop autonomous Improve customer of the digital products that unmanned agricultural care services using transformation allow providing machines endowed conversational project value-added with Al autonomous services to interfaces based customers on Al operating through a number of channels (web, apps, social networks, etc.) Start of digital 2016-year of 2017 2017 transformation ABB Ability TM project under which ABB consolidated its digital solutions Number of Undisclosed 30 employees including 23 employees employees Commercial Vehicles working in involved and Industry-specific Commercial Vehicles Unit Managers Operations Unit and IT, Operations, and five employees and Executive Business working in IT Stakeholders Note: Al = artificial intelligence; IT = information technology.FIGURE I. The digital strategy implementation framework. Processes and Procedures People Transformed Customers Activities, Task and Services Internal Data Information Core Existing Data Artificial and sanproud put pue Scope Procedures Platform Intelligence Knowledge External Data Complementary New Partners Processes and Procedures