Balancing Identity and Transformation: The Digital and IT-Enabled Organizational Transformation of Hidden Champions

Publikation: Beitrag in Buch/Konferenzbericht/Sammelband/Gutachten › Beitrag in Konferenzband › Beigetragen › Begutachtung

Abstract

Hidden champions (HCs) are highly specialized niche leaders whose competitive advantage is rooted in enduring identity anchors such as product excellence, craftsmanship, technological leadership, and customer intimacy. This makes HCs a theoretically salient context for studying digital transformation, as they must integrate digital technologies without undermining the identity foundations of their success. Drawing on a multiple mini-case study of 14 HCs, this study examines how digital and IT-enabled organizational transformation affect organizational identity. Building on and refining the distinction between digital transformation and IT-enabled organizational transformation, we show that transformation in HCs often unfolds as anchored digital transformation: digital initiatives may be strategically significant and organizationally far-reaching, yet remain tied to established product, service, or know-how logics. We contribute by introducing an identity-outcome typology comprising identity reinforcement, extension, and redefinition, explaining how HCs preserve identity continuity while integrating digital technologies.

Details

OriginalspracheEnglisch
TitelInternational Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) 2026
PublikationsstatusVeröffentlicht - 1 Dez. 2026
Peer-Review-StatusJa

Konferenz

TitelInternational Conference on Information Systems 2026
UntertitelDigital Collaboration and Coexistence
KurztitelICIS 2026
Dauer13 - 16 Dezember 2026
Webseite
BekanntheitsgradInternationale Veranstaltung
OrtLisbon Congress Centre
StadtLisbon
LandPortugal