Browsing by Author "Rajala, Risto, Assoc. Prof., Aalto University, Finland"

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    Digital Transformation in Asset-Intensive Industries: Systemic Constraints and Synchronized Change
    (Aalto University, 2020) Gao, Shan; Rajala, Risto, Assoc. Prof., Aalto University, Finland; Hakanen, Esko, Dr., Aalto University, Finland; Tuotantotalouden laitos; Department of Industrial Engineering and Management; Perustieteiden korkeakoulu; School of Science; Holmström, Jan, Prof., Aalto University, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Finland
    Digital transformation induces fundamental changes to a wide range of business operations. Prior research is abundant in cases from industries where digital transformation has emerged rapidly. This has led to the establishment of a shared notion of the promising future and impact of digital transformation. However, the slow progress of digital transformation in asset-intensive industries indicates that there are context-specific development patterns, and that the related challenges, opportunities, and capability requirements warrant a more comprehensive study. To fill this knowledge gap, this doctoral research included empirical inquiry in the metals and mining industry. The four original research articles included in the dissertation adopt a qualitative case study approach with a focus on understanding the common new requirements, challenges, and development patterns of the organizational capabilities. Both inductive and abductive methods are utilized to derive findings from 53 interviews which were conducted during 2015-2018 - the global respondents represented 35 firms that either operate within or supply technologies to the metals and mining industry. The critical realist perspective is adopted in the study. The findings show that firms operating in a stable business environment setting demonstrate limitations on their dynamic capabilities, and they consequently encounter market-specific digital transformation constraints. The outcome suggests the industrial firms shall develop and acquire new types of capabilities that organically connect the technological and social aspects of the transformation. For an individual firm, inter-organizational ambidexterity, which can be achieved by combining internal and network capabilities, is critical for unlocking the full potential of digital transformation. On the industry ecosystem level, this requires the connected firms to address the systemic constraints and to drive changes in a synchronized manner. Therefore, capability evolvement calls for a balance between developing internal capabilities and exploring for complementary capabilities through networks. This study adds understanding to the existing body of digital transformation and information system research, and contributes to the theoretical disciplines of dynamic capabilities and organizational ambidexterity. The study highlights the critical need for a synchronized transformation among the connected organizations, which in turn requires renewal of organizational capabilities. By introducing a novel terminology "boundary spanning dynamic capabilities", and by explicating organizational ambidexterity with network capabilities, this study attempts to shift the existing dynamic capabilities discussion towards a network perspective. The strong practical implications of this study reveal possibilities on how firms in the asset-intensive industries could overcome the recognized constraints and drive the digital transformation process.
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    Role of individuals and groups in organizational cultural changes
    (Aalto University, 2022) Granroth, Lasse; Rajala, Risto, Assoc. Prof., Aalto University, Finland; Tuotantotalouden laitos; Department of Industrial Engineering and Management; Perustieteiden korkeakoulu; School of Science; Biniari, Marina, Asst. Prof., Aalto University, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Finland
    Contemporary organizations face the need for an increasingly rapid pace of change in the changing environment. Need to transform, adapt and adopt is high, but established practices and beliefs among organizational members may conflict with the drivers of change. Organizational culture has a significant impact on organizational life; both in terms of the well-being of its members and the performance of the organization.Prior research of cultural change in organizations has devoted much attention to illuminating the process of cultural change in recent decades. The perspective of cultural change has changed, and contemporary studies see cultural change as an outcome of interaction among multiple parties or internal groups of an organization. This changed perspective highlights a need to understand the role of power and agency in the cultural change process. This thesis investigates cultural change from the perspective of micro-level change activity within organizations; how in- and inter-group change work transforms cultural features. In particular, this perspective focus on the interaction between organizational members that seeks to change and changes the cultural features of the organization. Hence, this perspective is delimited to outcomes and agendas related to cultural change within organizations. The thesis adopts an inductive research approach. The observed phenomena and their interrelationships are illuminated by selecting theoretical lenses based on their fit with the phenomena at hand. The thesis includes three substudies, each of which investigates the change activity using a chosen theoretical frame; the selected frames are negotiation, normbreaking and resistance. Through these substudies, the thesis enlightens the underlying social mechanisms of cultural change. The main findings include observations of the processes through which individual members within organizations handle issues that conflict the dominant cultural order in an organization, as well as the outcomes of the processes that change groups' cultural features. This includes the finding that micro-level change activity resembles social movements activity; members generate resources to mobilize in-group and out-group members for the change activity. The study contributes to the discourse of cultural change in organizations by shedding new light on the role of organization members in cultural change and continuity. This thesis is also unpacking specific mechanisms through which members may impacts the cultural features of organizations. Finally, the thesis urges both scholars and change management practitioners to consider the latent activity that underpins change in the organizational culture, but it is hard to detect.