Hybrid project management for sociotechnical digital transformation context

Abstract

Goal: The path to implement Digital Transformation (DT) in modern industries is far from clear, particularly in Brazil. From the point of view of operations management, authors developed a Conceptual Framework (CF) to support DT implementation in Discrete Manufacturing Industries (DMI). The CF applies knowledge management, hybrid project management (HPM) and Sociotechnical values to implement DT, using New Product Development (NPD) as a ground. The work aims to depict the HPM approach of this CF.
 Design / Methodology / Approach: this is a qualitative research based on a systematic literature review carried out over a period of five years. It was performed in the Web of Science database, applying PRISMA flowchart, to evaluate which project management models, addressed in the literature, are more suitable for DT implementation projects in light of sociotechnical and innovation-shared-values approach.
 Results: A Hybrid “Stage-Gate – Agile - Design Thinking” project management model to support DT implementation in DMI. This is a preliminary proposal that can be explored in future empirical research.
 Limitations of the investigation: Some quality papers may have been left out due to the research methodology.
 Practical implications: The CF can be applied by professionals to support Digital Transformation while incorporating sociotechnical values and reducing the excessive technological bias in NPD projects.
 Originality/Value: The authors propose a new Digital Transformation (DT) approach, named Sociotechnical Digital Transformation (SDT) and an HPM to support DT in light of a Sociotechnical approach.

Digital transformation: A meta-review and guidelines for future research

“…This phenomenon is probably explained by the maturity of the topic, making it possible to analyze the existing literature with some relevance. In particular, we can see that published studies have mainly focused on business model strategies [ 45 – 49 ], digital business [ 48 , 50 , 51 ], the use of disruptive technologies [ 47 , [52] , [53] , [54] ], sustainability [ 55 , 56 ], human resources [ 57 – 59 ], and smart cities [ 45 ]. In turn, Fig.…”

“…The first dimension addresses (but not limited to) topics, such as ( Table A1 ): (1) business process innovation, which is improving the competitive position of organizations [ 45 , 54 ] and bringing disruptive DT to the global industrial value chain [ 53 , 60 , 62 ]; (2) digital business strategy that enhances productivity [ 46 , 63 , 64 ] and creates new value for customers [ 65 ].…”

The Relation of Social Identity and Transformational Leadership in Project Teams: An Examination in the IT Industry in Germany.

“…Schoper & Ingason, 2019;Thiry & Deguire, 2007;Turner & Miterev, 2019). This finding is also valid for the IT industry in Germany (Adriane Monteiro Cavalieri & Manoel Carlos Pego, 2019;Asbjørn & Agnar, 2021;Ekstedt, 2019;Neugebauer et al, 2016;Schoper et al, 2017;Umer et al, 2020;Vlad & Daniel, 2020). Furthermore, it is clear that, project management is an established practice (Ahlemann et al, 2009;Project Management Institute, 2017b).…”

“…The following key findings have implications for the present study: Firstly, project management is an established practice with common international standards (Ahlemann et al, 2009;Project Management Institute, 2017b) and project management has relevance for companies today (Adriane Monteiro Cavalieri & Manoel Carlos Pego, 2019;Asbjørn & Agnar, 2021;Ekstedt, 2019;Neugebauer et al, 2016;Thiry & Deguire, 2007;Umer et al, 2020;Vlad & Daniel, 2020). This finding is also valid for Germany's IT Industry (Schoper et al, 2017).…”

“…In the future, project-based business will remain relevant to enable companies in all sectors of the digital age, and the IT Industry will become more relevant to enable business in other industries. (Adriane Monteiro Cavalieri & Manoel Carlos Pego, 2019;Asbjørn & Agnar, 2021;Ekstedt, 2019;Neugebauer et al, 2016;Umer et al, 2020;Vlad & Daniel, 2020). Information and Communication Technologies are key factors for "Industry 4.0" capabilities for instance (Neugebauer et al, 2016).…”