Learning digitalization with customers – a multiple case study in Finnish manufacturing companies
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School of Business |
Master's thesis
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Authors
Date
2017
Department
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Mcode
Degree programme
Strategy
Language
en
Pages
70
Series
Abstract
The objective of the research was to understand the factors that affect the presence of customers in digitalization-related organizational learning of manufacturing companies. Three large Finnish manufacturing companies and their digitalization efforts constituted the research context for the comparative case study. The research followed abductive qualitative methodology, combining inductive qualitative analysis of the interview data with the findings from academic literature. The theoretical framework was a combination of organizational learning theory and lead user innovation theory. My findings suggest that the presence of customers in digitalization-related organizational learning of manufacturing companies is affected by the manufacturers’ learning orientation towards digitalization and by the criticality of their equipment in customer operations. On one side, learning orientation supports organizational learning through shared vision on the role of digitalization in the company strategy, commitment to learning about digitalization, open-mindedness to challenge their traditional ways of doing things to enable digitalization, and intra-organizational knowledge sharing needed for digitalization projects that are cross-functional by nature. Learning orientation in the context of digitalization supports customer orientation of the company through ensuring that 1) customer value drives digitalization-related development projects in the company, 2) customers are involved into the development projects, 3) customer equipment data can be accessed. On the other side, the criticality of the manufacturer’ equipment in the customer’s operations define customer’s eagerness to be involved into digitalization efforts of the company. “Process-critical” customers, as the lead users who are more likely to benefit from digitally enhanced solutions and who are more eager to provide access to their equipment data and collaborate in solution development, are a valuable source of knowledge for manufacturing companies and facilitate their learning and competence development. While manufacturing companies are able to take actions to enhance their learning orientation, the differences in the criticality of their equipment in customer operations can unequally position them to go through organizational learning and develop digital competences. In this way, manufacturing companies can be unequally positioned to create the essential foundation for innovating and grasping the potential benefits of digitalization.Description
Thesis advisor
Schildt, HenriKeywords
digitalization, organizational learning, learning orientation, lead user innovation