Year: 2021
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This master thesis presents an exploratory analysis of how incumbent organizations in the education sector respond to the technological changes of the fourth industrial revolution.Drawing on the theory of managerial dynamic capabilities, I consider incumbents to be active entities instead of being condemned by technological changes, as in the way that management and organization studies scholars have largely framed innovation in their research.I theoretically conceive organizational responses as activities in the realm of capability reconfiguration mechanisms.This theoretical framework is complemented by activities related to identity work and an identity-based innovation categorization.Intending to draw a more holistic picture of incumbents in the face of the digital shift, I explore two schools as cases of incumbents in the education sector, which actively integrate technology in their organization.I found that schools actively respond to the digital shift with a variety of interrelated and intertwined activities to reconfigure their capabilities and to engage in identity work.The case studies indicate that identity work is a codetermining factor for capabilities reconfiguration and is related to the age of staff.Furthermore, I propose to extend the understanding of the categorization of identity-based innovations: identity work is not connected to a clear categorization but evolves around a plurality of organizational identities and ongoing negotiations of 'what the organization is' and 'what the organization does'.Finally, this master thesis suggests that incumbents play an active role in the ongoing digital shift, and this topic deserves further investigation as part of an integrated and comprehensive understanding of the digital transformation of our society.
Author: Steiner, Elisa
Institution: Universität Innsbruck
Language: English
Subfield: Strategy and Management
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7055700223