Purpose The purpose of this paper is to capture the collective understanding of digital transformation (DT) across Swiss businesses and establish a reference framework based on the strategic action field (SAF) theory. Design/methodology/approach A number of Swiss associations provided their databases for an online survey. The large sample includes 2,590 participants from 1,854 organisations and delivered over 4,200 descriptions of DT, categorised into seven SAFs. A cross tabulation of SAF combinations by firm size identified 127 possible SAF combinations which constitute the common understanding of DT. Findings The data set allowed the identification of SAFs and the conceptualisation of DT based on a shared understanding. Drivers of digital transformation are: process engineering, new technologies and digital business development, supported by digital leadership and culture, the cloud and data, customer centricity and digital marketing. Research limitations/implications For practitioners, the study provides the SAFs that should be considered for DT strategies. For academic scholars, a unique data set has allowed the study of DT by analysing action field combinations, revealing a nuanced constellation of SAFs. Limitations are the focus on Swiss organisations and a convenience sample for collecting the analysed data. Originality/value For the first time, the shared understanding of DT in Swiss businesses – based on SAFs – has allowed a conceptualisation of DT in order to provide guidance to businesses managers and employees.

As part of the debate about globalization and regionalization, this paper adds a perspective that has so far remained underexposed, that of (formerly state-owned) firms in (previously) regulated industries, in order to better understand the (changing) role of the home country/region in internationalization processes in the context of regional market liberalization. This paper explores the global/regional orientations of the seven major EU electric utilities from five different home countries, which are active in both fossil-fuel and renewable energy generation. Using a multiple case study design, we collected internationalization/regionalization data from firms' annual reports for the years 2000, 2005 and 2010, supplemented with an analysis of secondary sources. Firms show a clear pattern of increasing internationalization away from the home-country market, coupled with a home-region orientation for traditional generation activities, which differs from the more international, wider and often multiple regional presences in the newer renewables business for some firms. Institutional factors are argued to play an important role in both processes. Findings suggest distinct regionalization patterns for business units and different FSAs, with strategic opportunities related to asset positions. Home-country effects may be linked to a heterogeneous firm-specific home-region liability of foreignness, resulting in incomplete home-region internationalization in most cases.

PurposeThe study explores the alignment of Swiss small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) managers' understanding of digital transformation, with evidence of digital tool adoption in managerial and operative work. This reveals opportunities for more fully realizing the potential of digital transformation for SMEs.Design/methodology/approachThis multiple-case study, with four theoretically sampled cases, analyzes data from the qualitative answers of 1,593 respondents to a survey of Swiss SMEs about digital transformation. The study draws on a convenience sample of Swiss SME managers.FindingsThe analysis shows little understanding of digital transformation as related to managerial work. However, there are two clear digital tool adoption patterns for managerial work: (1) workflow and workforce management and (2) work-flow and team management. Understandings of digital transformation and operative work focus on the (1) organization of operational work or (2) a combination of organization and changing the way people work. The digital tool adoption in operational work additionally focuses on the digital skills of operational employees.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is only able to identify patters of understanding of digital transformation and digital tool adoption in managerial and operative work. More research is needed to understand why these patterns are observed.Practical implicationsSME managers need to think far more carefully about aligning their vision for digital transformation and the digital tools they adopt in both managerial and operational work, but especially in managerial work.Originality/valueThis is the first empirical study of the digital transformation of Swiss SMEs and their digital tool adoption. Significant potential for alignment is revealed, suggesting potential performance gains are possible.

Bachelor thesis supervision involves a supporting goal and an assessment goal, requiring more guidance versus more autonomy and freedom for students, respectively. This paper tests the hypotheses that the final grade of undergraduate bachelor thesis is positively related to a supervisor's (a) guidance given to and (b) affiliation with the bachelor thesis student/project. To assess these hypotheses, undergraduate students at the FHNW School of Business have been surveyed for three years about their perception and satisfaction with bachelor thesis supervision. This data (n = 189) was combined with student grades before the thesis and their final thesis grades. Our results show supervision to have a measurable impact on the bachelor thesis outcome and most effective when focused on guidance related to goal definition and methodological support. In other areas supervision can, to a certain degree, follow a more laissez-faire supervision style.

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