Abstract

     Given that the Chief Digital Office (CDO) is a new business position, it is not yet clear what the key functions they must develop to successfully undertake the company digital transformation process. Although previous literature has tentatively covered this issue, there are still gaps in knowledge about which functions are truly relevant. The aim of this paper is to fill this gap by (1) clarifying the key CDO functions through a Delphi study, validated by a digital dynamic capabilities (DDC) framework (Warner and Wäger 2019), and (2) presenting a measurement instrument useful for assessing the degree of the key CDO functions performance. The findings highlight that key CDO functions are those mainly related to the ability to scan the external environment for unexpected digital trends. In contrast, there is an interesting agreement not to consider CDO responsible for maintaining and advancing the current IT infrastructure and architecture. Our study contributes to understanding the role of a new emergent Csuite position that strategically integrates business and technological knowledge in successfully managing the digital transformation process.

Introduction

     Digital technologies are disrupting a wide range of industries, transforming current ways of doing things and business models (North et al., 2019) through a process known as digital transformation (DT). DT goes beyond a mere digitalization of resources, as it involves the transformation of operations, products and processes, culminating in revised or entirely new business models (Hess et al., 2016; Singh et al., 2020). Following Vial (2019: 12), DT can be defined as “a process that aims to improve an entity by triggering significant changes to its properties through combinations of information, computing, communication, and connectivity technologies”. Warner and Wäger (2019: 344) conceive DT as an ongoing process of strategic renewal that uses advances in digital technologies to build capabilities that refresh or replace an organization’s business model, collaborative approach, and culture.

Conclusions, limitations and further research

     The aim of this paper is to delineate the key functions of the newly emerging CDO position. To do so, Warner and Wäger’s (2019) DDC framework was considered theoretical support to properly integrate the functions detected in previous literature. The Delphi study methodology was chosen to summarize and unify the criteria to finally obtain a measurement instrument.

     Linking CDO functions to a proposed theoretical framework has revealed that this new position influences all three main DDCs relevant in the DT process, especially through digital sensing capability.

     The prevalence of sensing could be caused by the organization’s early stages in DT processes, requiring special attention to detect digital opportunities and threats and less focus on implementing or consolidating new ways of doing things. Regarding digital seizing and transforming, even though CDO functions reached a high score in Delphi consensus of agreement, there seem to be slight resistance in incorporating these functions into a new independent position, perhaps because there is still a tendency to prioritize technical aspects, which have usually been assumed by traditional positions such as CIO and CTO.