Abstract

The importance of information systems and information technology (IS/IT) is growing constantly, reaching top positions on agendas of CEOs, which is fueled by current discussions about digitization and digital transformation. To gain or maintain competitive advantages, many organizations have started conducting systematic IS/IT innovation management. Empirical research has shown that cur-rent initiatives are still immature and unsuccessful. An analysis of the obstacles shows that a missing or inadequate organizational structure is one of the main challenges. Nevertheless, research on this issue is still scarce. This gap motivates our research, which aims to develop a design theory for insti-tutionalizing IS/IT innovation management. To derive our results, we conducted an exploratory inter-view study, comprising ten expert interviews. We identified eight meta-requirements for a successful institutionalization. We also found that there is no “one-fits-all solution”, therefore we present six design variants and formulate propositions about the implications of each variant for the fulfillment of the meta-requirements. As a next research step, we will initiate an evaluation cycle to increase our theory’s validity and utility. Our design theory helps practitioners to find the right variant for institu-tionalizing IS/IT innovation management and contributes to the nascent body of knowledge on IS/IT innovation management.

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