Strategic Digital Transformation BookOur book Strategic Digital Transformation – A Results Driven approach was released early 2020. It is about realising the value and benefits of digital technologies effectively to achieve the ultimate goal of becoming a fully data-driven and people-focused organisation. Since the COVID-19 global pandemic, organisations have rushed to digitally transform. Although the book was written pre-lockdown, we are also documenting some of these more recent changes on this website.

The book itself presents an accessible text for students – as the next generation of business leaders – and the leaders of smaller organisations on restricted budgets who realise that they are operating in a competitive and increasingly global and digital business environment. 

A key emphasis of the argument presented throughout the book is defining the differences between traditional and digitally-enabled organisations by using the 4Vs of big data and in doing so also recognising that many of the well known tools of business management can still be applicable. The objective of the book therefore is to detail the patterns of success that realise digital transformation at an organisational level and is supported by examples from a wide range of organisations that have already undertaken significant and successful change.

You can purchase the book from Routledge here and use code SMA05 for 20% off.

About the authors

The book has conceived, authored and edited by Dr. Alex Fenton, Dr. Gordon Fletcher and Dr. Marie Griffiths of Salford Business School. It comes from decades of experience of working on digital transformation projects both in academia and industry. These three authors also assembled a diverse range of industry and academic experts in their fields as chapter and co-authors, these are as follows:

  • Tim Griggs – Associate Director, Digital Transformation at Arup
  • Katrina Gallagher – Managing Director of Digitangle
  • Richard Dron – Lecturer at Salford Business School
  • Yun Chen – Lecturer at Salford Business School
  • Suzanne Kane – Lecturer at Salford Business School
  • Richard George – Managing Partner at Wavemaker
  • Naomi Timperley – CoFounder atTech North Advocates
  • Tina Judic – Managing Director of Found
  • Aleksej Heinze – Associate Professor at KEDGE business school
  • Jonathan Lord  – Senior Lecturer in HR at Salford Business School
  • Alex Connock – Fellow at Oxford University and founder of Missile Digital Studios
  • Wasim Ahmed – Lecturer in Digital Business at Newcastle University
  • Mick Hides – Digital transformation consultant
  • Rosy Boardman – Lecturer in Fashion at University of Manchester

In addition, there are many more people to thank that contributed in some way to the book including the excellent support of Emmie Shand and the team at Taylor and Francis.

Chapter Synopsis

PART I: Understanding the digital in business

  • Why do strategic digital transformation?
  • How to critically understand the digital landscape
  • What is Digital Business Maturity
  • Who are my competitors and what is my relationship to them?
  • Managing the digital transformation of an organisation
  • How to become digitally-aware and be a visionary leader

PART II : Digitally transforming the organisation

  • The External Drivers for Change
  • Horizon scanning – what are the digital disruptors and who are the human accelerators
  • The challenge of new, ever-changing technology and how to keep up
  • Conducting a competitor analysis in the digital age
  • Understanding how others see your organisation
  • Internal Motivations: Wanting to change the organisation
  • Doing a forensic internal audit of your business – skills, resources, culture, resistance
  • How to create transparency, sharing, customisation, boldness and openness in the business
  • Overcoming the legacy of processes, systems and people
  • Planning to Change: Becoming a data-driven organisation
  • Tactics to build your digital strategy
  • What to plan and when to make decisions with data
  • How to create responsive business models

PART III: Making your plans happen: Acting and Engaging

  • Visible change and inspiration others: Making events that challenge innovation
  • Managing your human resources: sequential-tasking and maker time
  • Transforming organisational culture: Co-create, co-produce and co-consume to build trust
  • Service innovation and transformation

PART IV: Assessing your success

  • Permanently embed innovation into your organisation: always interconnected
  • Measuring the digital transformation in an organisation: audit to discover what value was added
  • Read Me First: the importance of continuous change

You can use code SOC20 to get 20% off the book here.