Tracing Digital Transformation Through Failure Mi-cro-Foundations in High-Reliability Organizations
DOI: https://doi.org/10.65967/cpbo.v2i1.49
high-reliability organizations, digital transformation, organizational identity, human dynamics, self-protective behavioral strategies
Abstract
For over thirty years, scholars have examined the operational complexity and resilience of high-reliability organizations (HROs). In recent years, however, these organizations have encountered mounting market pressures that demand digital transformation (DT), reshaping both their organizational identity and value creation approaches, while still upholding stringent standards of reliability and safety. This research presents a longitudinal, qualitative single-case study of a leading European utility provider to explore how HRO identity interacts with digital transformation. The study highlights the inherent tensions between the pursuit of innovation and change, and the ongoing necessity of stable, dependable operations. Findings reveal that clashes between established HRO identity and the core demands of DT generate perceived threats within the IT workforce, prompting defensive behaviors that risk undermining the transformation journey. From this, we propose a process model that illustrates how identity misalignment emerges and influences outcomes during large-scale DT initiatives in HROs. By focusing on these dynamics, the study contributes to DT literature by emphasizing the role of bottom-up organizational processes in shaping success or failure, particularly through the IT function’s interpretation of identity.
References
Ananyin, V.I., Zimin, K.V., Lugachev, M.I., Gimranov, R.D., Skripkin, K.G., 2018. Digital Organization: Transformation into the new reality. Business Informatics. 2 (44), 45–54.
Bailey, J.S., Burch, M.R., 2018. Research Methods in Applied Behavior Analysis. Routlege, Taylor & Francis Group, New York, NY, US.
Baiyere, A., Salmela, H., Tapanainen, T., 2020. Digital transformation and the new logics of business process management. Eur. J. Inf. Syst. 29 (3), 238–259. https:// doi.org/10.1080/0960085X.2020.1718007.
Besson, P., Rowe, F., 2012. Strategizing information systems-enabled organizational transformation: a transdisciplinary review and new directions. J. Strateg. Inf. Syst. 21 (2), 103–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsis.2012.05.001.
Bierly, P., Gallagher, S., Spender, J.C., 2014. Innovation decision making in high-risk organizations: a comparison of the US and Soviet attack submarine programs. Ind. Corp. Chang. 23 (3), 759–795.
Bollard, A., Larrea, E., Singla, A., Sood, R. (2017) The next-generation operating model for the digital world. Digital McKinsey & Company. Available at: https://www. mckin-sey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/the-next-generation-operating-model-for-the-digital-world (Accessed March 17, 2017).
Bourrier, M., 2011. The legacy of the high reliability organization project. J. Conting. Crisis Manage. 19 (1), 9–13. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5973.2010.00628. x.
Brown, A., Starkey, K., 2000. Organizational identity and learning: A psychodynamic perspective. Acad Manage Rev. 25 (1), 102–120. https://doi.org/10.2307/ 259265.
Busby, J., Iszatt-White, M., 2014. The relational aspect to high reliability organization. J. Conting. Crisis Manag. 22 (2), 69–80. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468- 5973.12045.
Butler, B.S., Gray, P.H., 2006. Reliability, mindfulness, and information systems. MIS Q. 30 (2), 211–224 https://www.jstor.org/stable/25148728.
Carlo, J.L., Lyytinen, K., Boland Jr, R.J., 2012. Dialectics of collective minding: Contradictory appropriations of information technology in a high-risk project. MIS Q. 1081–1108.
Chanias, S., Myers, M.D., Hess, T., 2019. Digital transformation strategy making in pre-digital organizations: the case of a financial services provider. J. Strateg. Inf. Syst. 28 (1), 17–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsis.2018.11.003.
Chau, D.C., Ngai, E.W., Gerow, J.E., Thatcher, J.B., 2020. The effects of business-IT strategic alignment and IT governance on firm performance: a moderated polynomial regression analysis. MIS Q. 44 (4) https://doi.org/10.25300/MISQ/2020/12165.
Christianson, M.K., Farkas, M.T., Sutcliffe, K.M., Weick, K.E., 2019. Learning through rare events: Significant interruptions at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum. Organ. Sci. 20 (5), 846–860. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1080.0389.
Corbin, J., Strauss, A., 2015. Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, US.
Demirkan, H., Spohrer, J.C., Welser, J.J., 2016. Digital innovation and strategic transformation. IT Pro IEEE Computer Society 2016, 14–18.
Dibbern, J., Hirschheim, R., 2020. Introduction: Riding the Waves of Outsourcing Change in the Era of Digital Transformation. In: Hirschheim, R., Heinzl, A., Dibbern, J. (Eds.), Information Systems Outsourcing. Progress in IS. Springer, Cham doi:
Eden, R., Jones, A.B., Casey, V., Draheim, M., 2019. Digital transformation requires workforce transformation. MIS Q. Exec. 18 (1), 4 https://aisel.aisnet.org/misqe/ vol18/iss1/4.
Egan, M.J., 2011. The normative dimensions of institutional stewardship: high reliability, institutional constancy, public trust and confidence. J. Conting. Crisis Manag. 19 (1), 51–58. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5973.2010.00632.x.
El Sawy, O.A., Kræmmergaard, P., Amsinck, H., Vinther, A.L., 2016. How LEGO built the foundations and enterprise capabilities for digital leadership. MIS Q. Exec. 15 (2).
Ericksen, J., Dyer, L., 2005. Towards a strategic human resource management model of high reliability organization performance. Int. J. Hum. Resour. Manag. 16 (6), 907–928. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585190500120731.
Ess´en, A., V¨ arlander, S.W., 2019. How technology-afforded practices at the micro-level can generate change at the field level: theorizing the recursive mechanism actualized in Swedish rheumatology 2000–2014. MIS Q. 43 (4), 1155–1176. https://doi.org/10.25300/MISQ/2019/12164.
Farjoun, M., 2010. Beyond dualism: Stability and change as a duality. Acad. Manag. Rev. 35 (2), 202–225.
Foss, N.J., Saebi, T., 2017. Fifteen years of research on business model innovation: how far have we come, and where should we go? J. Manage. 43 (1), 200–227. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206316675927.
Frankiewicz, B., Chamorro-Premuzic, T., 2020. Digital transformation is about talent, not technology. Harv. Bus. Rev. 6 (3).
Gartner, 2016. Security and Risk Leadership Vison for 2017. Gartner Research. Available at: https://www.gartner.com/en/documents (Accessed March 21, 2017).
Garud, R., Karunakaran, A., 2018. Process-based ideology of participative experimentation to foster identity-challenging innova-tions: the case of Gmail and AdSense. Strateg. Organ. 16 (3), 273–303.
Gersick, C.J., 1991. Revolutionary change theories: a multilevel exploration of the punctuated equilibrium paradigm. Acad. Manag. Rev. 16 (1), 10–36.
Gioia, D.A., Corley, K.G., Hamilton, A.L., 2012. Seeking qualitative rigor in inductive research: notes on the Gioia methodology. Organ. Res. Methods 16 (1), 15–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428112452151.
Grebe, M., Doschl, ¨ S., Schmid, C. N., Koopmans, J., 2016. Simplifying IT to Accelerate Digital Transformation. BCG Perspectives, April 18, 2016 (https://www.bcg. com/publications/2016/simplifying-it-to-accelerate-digital-transformation).
Gregory, R.W., Keil, M., Muntermann, J., Mahring, ¨ M., 2015. Paradoxes and the nature of ambidexterity in IT transformation programs. Inf. Syst. Res. 26 (1), 57–80. https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2014.0554.
Guillemette, M.G., Par´e, G., 2012. Toward a new theory of the contribution of the IT function in organizations. MIS Quarterly 36(2), 529–551. doi: https://www-jstororg.vu-nl.idm.oclc.org/stable/41703466.
Haffke, I., Kalgovas, B., Benlian, A., 2017. Options for Transforming the IT Function Using Bimodal IT. MIS Q. Exec. 16 (2).
Hanelt, A., Bohnsack, R., Marz, D., Antunes Marante, C., 2021. A systematic review of the literature on digital transformation: insights and implications for strategy and organizational change. J. Manage. Stud. 58 (5), 1159–1197.
Hannan, M.T., Freeman, J., 1977. The population ecology of organizations. Am. J. Sociol. 82 (5), 929–964.
Hargadon, B., Douglas, Y., 2001. When innovations meet institutions: edison and the electric light. Adm. Sci. Q. 46 (3), 476–501. Hainaut, J.-L., Cleve, A., Henrard, J., Hick, J.-M., 2008. Migration of legacy information systems. In Software evolution. Springer. 105-138. doi: https://doi-org.vu-nl. idm.oclc.org/10.1007/978-3-540-76440-3_6.
Hess, T., Matt, C., Benlian, A., Wiesbock, ¨ F., 2016. Options for formulating a digital transformation strategy. MIS Q. Exec. 15 (2).
Jabłonski, ´ A., Jabłonski, ´ M., 2022. Digital Safety in Railway Transport—Aspects of Management and Technology. Springer Series in Reliability Engineering. Kane, G.C., 2016. “One Weird Trick” to Digital Transformation. MITSloan Management Re-view. Available at: http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/one-weird-trick-todigital-transformation/ (Accessed March 21, 2017.
Kane, G.C., Palmer, D., Phillips, A.N., Kiron, D., 2017. Winning the Digital War for Talent. MITSloan Management Review. Available at: http://sloanreview.mit.edu/ article/winning-the-digital-war-for-talent/ (Accessed 21 March 2017).
Kirton, G., Robertson, M., 2018. Sustaining and advancing IT careers: Women’s experiences in a UK-based IT company. J. Strateg. Inf. Syst. 27 (2), 157–169. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.jsis.2018.01.001.
Kogut, B., Zander, U., 1996. What Firms Do? Coordination, identity, and learning. Organ. Sci. 7 (5), 502–518. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2635287. Kohli, R., Johnson, S., 2011. Digital transformation in latecomer industries: CIO and CEO leadership lessons from Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. MIS Q. Exec. 10 (4).
La Porte, T.R., 1996. High reliability organizations: Unlikely, demanding and at risk. J. Conting. Crisis Manag. 4 (2), 60–71.
Lanamaki, ¨ A., V¨ ayrynen, K., Laari-Salmela, S., Kinnula, M., 2020. Examining relational digital transformation through the unfolding of local practices of the Finnish taxi industry. J. Strateg. Inf. Syst. 29 (3), 101622 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsis.2020.101622.
Li, L., Su, F., Zhang, W., Mao, J.Y., 2018. Digital transformation by SME entrepreneurs: a capability perspective. Inf. Syst. J. 28 (6), 1129–1157.
Liang, H., Wang, N., Xue, Y., Ge, S., 2017. Unraveling the alignment paradox: how does business—IT alignment shape organiza-tional agility? Inf. Syst. Res. 28 (4), 863–879. https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2017.0711.
Lowry, P.B., Wilson, D., 2016. Creating agile organizations through IT: the influence of internal IT service perceptions on IT service quality and IT agility. J. Strateg. Inf. Syst. 25 (3), 211–226.
Maedche, A., 2016. Interview with michael nilles on ‘‘what makes leaders successful in the age of the digital transformation? Business Inform. Syst. Eng. 58 (4), 287–289. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-016-0437-1.
Mann, G., Karanasios, S., Breidbach, C.F., 2022. Orchestrating the digital transformation of a business ecosystem. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems 31 (3), 101733.
McInerney, C., McCrorie, C., Benn, J., Habli, I., Lawton, T., Mebrahtu, T.F., Johnson, O., 2022. Evaluating the safety and patient impacts of an artificial intelligence command centre in acute hospital care: a mixed-methods protocol. BMJ Open 12 (3), e054090.
Navajas, J., Silla, I., Salabarnada, E., Munoz, ˜ V., Badia, E., 2013. The limits of the photographic art as a metaphor for the assessment of organizational culture. an ethnographic study of high reliability organization. Saf. Sci. 59, 116–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2013.05.007.
O’Dwyer, E., Pan, I., Charlesworth, R., Butler, S., Shah, N., 2020. Integration of an energy management tool and digital twin for coordination and control of multivector smart energy systems. Sustain. Cities Soc. 62, 102412.
Orlikowski, W.J., Barley, S.R., 2001. Technology and institutions: What can research on information technology and research on organizations learn from each other? MIS Q. 25 (2), 145–165. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3250927.
Parviainen, P., Tihinen, M., K¨ a¨ ariainen, ¨ J., Teppola, S., 2017. Tackling the digitalization challenge: how to benefit from digi-talization practice. Int. J. Inform. Syst. Project Manage. 5 (1), 63–77. https://doi.org/10.12821/ijispm050104.
Peppard, J., 2018. Rethinking the concept of the IS organization. Inf. Syst. J. 28 (1), 76–103.
Piccinini, E., Hanelt, A., Gregory, R., & Kolbe, L., 2015. Transforming industrial business: the impact of digital transformation on automotive organizations. ICIS 2015 Proceedings¸5.
Rezazade Mehrizi, M.H., van den Hooff, B., Yang, C., 2021. Breaking or keeping the habits: exploring the role of legacy habits in the process of discontinuing organisational information systems. Inf. Syst. J. 1–30 https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12341.
Rochlin, G.I., 1996. Reliable organisations: Present research and future directions. J. Conting. Crisis Manag. 4, 55–59.
Saldanha, T.J., Sahaym, A., Mithas, S., Andrade-Rojas, M.G., Kathuria, A., Lee, H.-H., 2020. Turning liabilities of global operations into assets: IT-enabled social integration capacity and exploratory innovation. Inf. Syst. Res. 31 (2), 361–382.
Salovaara, A., Lyytinen, K., Penttinen, E., 2019. High reliability in digital organizing: mindlessness, the frame problem, and digital operations. MIS Q. 43 (2), 555–578. https://doi.org/10.25300/MISQ/2019/14577.
Salvi, A., Spagnoletti, P., Noori, N.S., 2022. Cyber-resilience of critical cyber infrastructures: integrating digital twins in the electric power ecosystem. Comput. Secur. 112, 102507.
S´ anchez, M.A., Zuntini, J.I., 2018. Organizational readiness for the digital transformation: a case study research. Revista Gest˜ ao & Tecnologica. 18 (2), 70–99.
Schmidt, C., Buxmann, P., 2011. Outcomes and success factors of enterprise IT architecture management: empirical insight from the international financial services industry. Eur. J. Inf. Syst. 20 (2), 168–185.
Shahat, E., Hyun, C.T., Yeom, C., 2020. Conceptualizing smart disaster governance: An integrative conceptual framework. Sus-tainability 12 (22), 9536.
Silva, L., Hirschheim, R., 2007. Fighting against windmills: strategic information systems and organizational deep structures. MIS Q. 31 (2), 327–354.
Singh, A., Hess, T., 2017. How chief digital officers promote the digital transformation of their companies. MIS Q. Exec. 16 (1), 1–17.
Teubner, R.A., Stockhinger, J., 2020. Literature review: Understanding information systems strategy in the digital age. J. Strateg. Inf. Syst. 101642 https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.jsis.2020.101642.
Tumbas, S., Berente, N., Brocke, J.V., 2018. Digital innovation and institutional entrepreneurship: Chief Digital Officer perspectives of their emerging role. J. Inf. Technol. 33 (3), 188–202. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41265-018-0055-0.
Van Oosterhout, M., Waarts, E., van Hillegersberg, J., 2006. Change factors requiring agility and implications for IT. Eur. J. Inf. Syst. 15 (2), 132–145.
Vial, G., 2019. Understanding digital transformation: a review and a research agenda. J. Strateg. Inf. Syst. 28, 118–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsis.2019.01.003.
Venkatesh, V., Windeler, J.B., Bartol, K.M., Williamson, I.O., 2017. Person-organization and person-job fit perceptions of new IT employees: work outcomes and gender differences. MIS Q. 41 (2), 525–558.
Vogus, T.J., Rerup, C., 2018. Sweating the “small stuff”: High-reliability organizing for sustained superior performance. Strateg. Organ. 16 (2), 227–238. https://doi. org/10.1177/1476127017739535.
vom Brocke, J., Schmid, A.M., Simons, A., Safrudin, N., 2020. IT-enabled organizational transformation: a structured literature review. Bus. Process. Manag. J. 27 (1), 204–229.
Weick, K.E., 1987. Organizational culture as a source of high reliability. Calif. Manage. Rev. 29 (2), 112–127.
Weick, K.E., 1993. The collapse of sensemaking in organizations: the mann gulch disaster. Adm. Sci. Q. 38, 628–652.
Weick, K.E., Suncliffe, K.M., 2005. Organizing and the process of Sensemaking. Organ. Sci. 16 (4), 409–421. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1050.0133.
Weick, K.E., Suncliffe, K.M., Obstfeld, D., 2008. Organizing for high reliability: processes of collective mindfulness. Crisis Manage. Sage Library Business Manage.. 3, 31–66.
Wessel, L., Baiyere, A., Ologeanu-Taddei, R., Cha, J., Blegind-Jensen, T., 2021. Unpacking the difference between digital transfor-mation and IT-enabled organizational transformation. J. Assoc. Inf. Syst. 22 (1), 102–129. https://doi.org/10.17705/1jais.00655.
Wimelius, H., Mathiassen, L., Holmstrom, ¨ J., Keil, M., 2021. A paradoxical perspective on technology renewal in digital trans-formation. Inf. Syst. J. 31 (1), 198–225.
Yin, R., 1994. Case study research: Design and methods. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, US.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 M. Elfan Kaukab
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
