Abstract
In this paper, we investigate the arising of organizational unlearning dynamics during transformations enabled by digital technologies, and their im- plications for organizational change effectiveness. First, we carry out a desk anal- ysis to explore the radical changes enabled by digital technologies that impact organizations multidimensionally. Afterwards, we investigate how this scenario creates the need for organizational unlearning dynamics, to overcome the inter- play between path dependencies and organizational deep structure. Thus, we an- alyse four cases from the literature, with the aim of highlighting the impacts of digital advance over organizational culture, structure, strategy, control systems, and power distribution arrangements.
This study brings the following main findings. First, changes related to digital transformation impact organizational deep structure. Second, organizational un- learning dynamics arose from these changes, creating the need to overcome path dependency mechanisms that could inhibit the organization from embracing in- novative arrangements. Altogether, this study contributes to making awareness of the critical role played by organizational unlearning practices within organi- zational change related to advances in the deployment of digital technologies, also suggesting a first set of insights relevant from both the theoretical and man- agerial perspective.
Recommended Citation
Maccioni, Samuele and Ghiringhelli, Cristiano, "Organizational Unlearning Dynamics Emerging During Digital Transformation: Implications for Organizational Change" (2022). ITAIS 2022 Proceedings. 13.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/itais2022/13