Introduction
This annotated bibliography approaches innovation surrounding the ICT Industry. The goal is to highlight the latest methods and technologies that modern businesses are adopting to embrace a competitive edge in the industry alongside sustainable growth. Moreover, the impact innovation brings to society, for instance, finding solutions to the Covid-19 health crisis from the perspective of facilitating global collaboration and, on the other hand, enabling businesses to operate and develop new services that meet current consumer needs. Moreover, this study identifies some innovation tools and concepts and how it leverages business capabilities. In addition, cloud computing technology stands out as a solid ground for innovation development. Therefore, this study comprehends ten papers aiming to clarify current innovation trends for leveraging knowledge or support strategies by providing summarised information with insights and critical reflection about methods to embrace innovation closely related to technology and business strategy.
Accenture. (2020). Accenture cloud-first launches with a $3 billion investment to accelerate clients’ move to the cloud and digital transformation. (2020, Sep 17). Business Wire Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/wire-feeds/accenture-cloud-first-launches-with-3-billion/docview/2443363088/se-2?accountid=164702
The recent Covid-19 event has accelerated the global business transformation as a digital strategy to address current requirements, addressing speed and scale while enhancing quality. Then, Adopting the cloud computing approach contributes to businesses adapting to strengthen competitiveness. This article discusses why Accenture consulting is encouraged to invest in supporting clients moving to the cloud. The central finding is that cloud computing is at the heart of digital transformation, implicating mandatory adoption whether a business aims for sustainable growth in the long term. Nowadays, this technology defines new standards for business operation, how to compete and the value-proposition definition to customers and stakeholders. Moreover, the massive $3 Billion investment expects organisations to move to a cloud-first strategy, which means utter digitalisation of business model and operation. Finally, while pushing organisations to approach competition, customer services and processes differently, cloud computing enables innovation and value creation across the cloud journey.
Drechsler, K., Gregory, R., Wagner, H. T., & Tumbas, S. (2020). At the crossroads between digital innovation and digital transformation. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 47(1), 521–538. https://doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.04723
The discussion surrounds the impact of digital innovation on businesses by adopting new technologies supporting a radical new perspective for product development, focusing on enhancing customer experience. However, it challenges incumbent companies to adapt business models to thrive because it has solid support from decades of scientific refinement. This paper reports a professional development workshop performed in 2019 in Berlin. The findings are the present landscape of digital innovation & transformation and the challenges of methodologies and theories in generating contemporary materials by contrasting new and old materials. For example, past business knowledge does not necessarily meet current customer expectations because digital innovation and digital transformation’s gap comprehends changes towards businesses adopting new technologies alongside consumerisation – the presence of technology in customer’s life. Therefore, enterprises reinforce a cycle alongside innovation and strategy. As a result, companies adopt new platform logic and embrace uncertainty while observing fewer entry barriers that enable start-ups to thrive with digital mindsets.
Lee, S. M., & Trimi, S. (2021). Convergence innovation in the digital age and in the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Journal of Business Research, 123, 14–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.09.041
The discussion surrounds convergence innovation (CI) as a modern approach to innovation and how innovation and digital transformation are vital to support sustainable business growth in a post-pandemic reality. The paper presents the CI as a new concept that envisions a value chain embracing innovation from a holistic perspective. As central findings, firstly, CI magnifies innovation processes scaling outcomes by including the society, government, and other businesses. Secondly, embracing new technologies throughout a distributed network of sensors is vital to enhance results. Thirdly, collaboration to shape new products with enhanced value by sharing strategies and benefits across the network when thriving. Finally, the gap is that converging innovation proves to optimise processes while dealing with the devastating effects of the pandemic. For example, while scientists pursued vaccines, organisations streamlined operations to preserve their workforce’s health integrity. Therefore, the practical solutions to the pandemic disruption demonstrate successful global collaboration by approaching the CI concept.
Lobo, R., & Pitassi, C. (2022). Design Thinking as Meaning Creation: The Case of Descomplica. Revista de Administração Contemporânea, 26(1). https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-7849rac2022190166.en
Descomplica is a Brazilian company that introduced a disruptive digital-based learning approach in the education industry while embracing innovation. The company’s name “Descomplica” means “uncomplicates”, correlating to the current challenges of digital learning practices. The exploratory research used a qualitative approach, collected data interviewing the organisation’s employees and applied a narrative method. The primary finding is that business success results from applying design thinking techniques toward the “meaning creation’s” concept while implementing radical innovation. Secondly, design thinking proves its effectiveness in product design from a product development perspective rather than software development. Thirdly, the CEO plays a vital leadership role by embedding transformational values, like empathy. For example, users and stakeholders work as a network that acknowledges being capable of changing someone’s else lives through education. Finally, as a result, the approach sparked students’ epiphany, who spontaneously endorsed the platform, which supported sustainable business growth and established a genuine relationship with students by creating meaning through design thinking techniques.
Hinings, B., Gegenhuber, T., & Greenwood, R. (2018). Digital innovation and transformation: An institutional perspective. Information and Organization, 28(1), 52–61. https://doi.org/10.1016
The study analyses tensions between digital innovation and digital transformation while building a cycle that promotes a ground-breaking business behaviour adhering to new strategies in contrast to consolidated standards. The author explores literature surrounding digital transformation & innovation, organisational forms & infrastructures & building blocks, and transformation as meanings for change and policies. First, findings comprehend the transforming processes shaping novel corporate standards; for example, Airbnb disrupted the hospitality industry. Secondly, new services based on new technologies, like Blockchain, allows enhanced security to implement smart contracts as an example of novel Institutional infrastructure. Finally, the numerous new digital services available, like WordPress, Upwork and Square, allow professionals to operate autonomously by adopting institutional building blocks. The antagonism of institutional behaviour unveils profound change in today’s business by demonstrating success by embracing change and challenging standards, such as social media, music & movie streaming and services. Consequently, new services prove the transformation’s legitimacy alongside customers, organisations and governments.
Sipe, B. S. (2020). Embedding Design Thinking in a Culture of Innovation at Two Community Colleges. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 44(9), 657–676. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2019.1631230
Nowadays, numerous industries and businesses notice the impact of implementing innovation into their processes, aiming to set a competitive edge over the competition. It includes colleges that have improved their operation by applying design thinking alongside transformational leadership to engage students. The research employs a qualitative approach in two US colleges, conducting interviews with employees related to the implementation. The study finds the importance of design thinking in empathising with students to understand their expectations and leverage the innovation outcomes. Furthermore, both institutions embed “failure” as part of learning through the fast-prototyping process. Moreover, innovation results from embedding transformational leadership, promoting inclusion, critical thinking, and experimentation as daily practices. It contrasts the educational status quo of a mature industry, typically avoiding change. Instead, pursuing innovation outstands in both colleges by shifting towards a mindset that encourages change, empathy and multidisciplinary ideas to build solutions, understand students, and enhance services in the long term.
Alves Aranha, E., Corrêa, J. B. S., & El Mouallem, A. C. (2021). Entrepreneurship, Business Model, and Design Thinking in Small and Medium-Sized Brazilian Enterprises (SMEs). Revista Dimensión Empresarial, 19, 46–64. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.15665/dem.v19i3.2799
A Brazilian business approaches an integrated business model (BM) strategy embedding design thinking (DT) methodology towards enhancing organisational innovation. The experiment demonstrates the company benefiting from this approach by streamlining processes and increasing customer satisfaction while modernising operations. The research method is exploratory and qualitative by approaching case studies and literature. Initially, the study highlights leadership as vital to fostering a transformational culture while embracing innovation is an ongoing process. Additionally, while innovation proves critical to small businesses thriving, BM & DT together are an efficient strategy. The method clarifies vital business processes, like enhancing the value proposition towards a market section while adjusting the final cost, building a valuable network, and capturing value. The study bridges the gap from the lack of scientific material to support similar research. Additionally, it provides insight into how small businesses scale their innovation capabilities by approaching BM and DT concomitantly.
Liedtka, J., & Kaplan, S. (2019). How design thinking opens new frontiers for strategy development. Strategy and Leadership, 47(2), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1108/SL-01-2019-0007
The paper approaches the effectiveness of Design Thing embedded into the organisation’s strategy to embrace sustainable change and scale innovation capabilities while sharing what contemporary organisations shall develop to establish a competitive edge to stay ahead of the competition. Although there is no straightforward research method, the authors discuss recent literature and theorise a concept. The paper highlights strategic challenges that pave the solid ground for organisations to digitally transform—for instance, pursuing human-centred design while identifying opportunities with uncommon partners and segments and fostering creativity—additionally, embedding innovation into the core strategy and rapid prototyping methodology in product development. Furthermore, switching to storytelling in the development process brings meaning to product development, enriching the approach to innovation. In conclusion, similar to most studies in this paper, approaching design thinking as a business strategy demonstrates its effectiveness in producing innovation, which might be a game-changer for a business defining a competitive edge.
Wladawsky-Berger, I. (2015). Intervention Design: Overcoming Resistance to Disruptive Innovation. Wall Street Journal. https://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2015/10/02/intervention-design-overcoming-resistance-to-disruptive-innovation
This article investigates the common sense about the necessity of embracing design thinking technics while organisations embrace product development. The intervention design method is critical to enhancing the chances of succeeding with novel ideas, whether incremental or radical innovation. The author discusses this concept for the Dow Jones Institutional News in New York. Although a structured process addresses product development, the central finding highlights that there is no method to convince the organisation’s top management, stakeholders, and colleagues about adhering to disruptive ideas while immersed in a secure daily organisational routine. As a result, disruptive ideas struggle to thrive. The Intervention Design method fills the gap that hinders novel ideas to take off. Furthermore, the process approaches dealing with cultural issues within the business environment, stakeholders, and the marketplace to avoid rejection and scale adherence to implement new ideas. Therefore, intervention design should empathise disruptive ideas with stakeholders succeeding in their implementation by approaching design thinking.
Schneckenberg, D., Benitez, J., Klos, C., Velamuri, V. K., & Spieth, P. (2021). Value creation and appropriation of software vendors: A digital innovation model for cloud computing. Information and Management, 58(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2021.103463
Nowadays, cloud computing is one of the most influential new technologies by supporting businesses to scale capabilities and enhance profitability and flexibility while focusing on customer-centric products. Moreover, cloud computing enables significant space for innovation in the ICT industry. The study embraces interviews with 28 senior managers from 10 organisations between Germany and Austria. The research method applies a conceptual model to explore literature theory. The central finding is the proven impact of cloud computing on businesses from the perspective of processes and product design. While cloud computing reshapes businesses’ value-proposition, value-creation and value-capture approaches transform the business model strategy. Meanwhile, vendors’ portfolios offer customer-centric products with superior flexibility, profitability management and software customisation because cloud computing-enabled operation is a cutting-edge strategy for boosting digital innovation. In summarising, software vendors must understand that cloud computing is a primary technology to define a competitive edge, while innovation depends on embracing novel business practices and reshaping processes.
Conclusion
Numerous research demonstrates the relevance of innovation in organisations to remain competitive and embrace sustainable growth in the long term. Furthermore, innovation must be at the heart of business transformation, which implicates designing a digital strategy to address current business needs and the Covid-19-related issues. Meanwhile, design thinking and its different approaches are highly effective in embracing digital innovation, whereas for product development or a business model strategy – or even supporting disruptive ideas to thrive in a complex business environment. In parallel, cloud computing is the most disruptive technology because it enables organisations to modernise operations while creatively approaching other technologies, creating room for building innovative products and processes for customer-centric products, as well as solving Covid-19 issues. For example, supporting vaccine development and providing work-from-home access. Ultimately, the synchronicity of innovation, design thinking and cloud computing play a vital role in modern business flourishing because their effectiveness depends on one another.