Digital transformation in a hyper-connected world. Transforming legacy systems through blockchains, IoT and AI

Digital Transformation (DT) has become the defining trend in the contemporary business landscape, driven by rapid technological advancements and global market changes. However, amidst the excitement surrounding the DT, it is crucial to systematically define the management and organizational activities underlying the ongoing processes in organizations. A clear conceptual agreement remains elusive, as evidenced by the fact that research in this context involves diverse perspectives. DT can be defined as the complex set of innovations in cultural, technological, organizational, social, and managerial aspects that, when integrated with new digital technologies, leading to transformations in all social spheres. Each of these changes has compelled organizations to alter their ways of operating and their business models, revolutionizing society in terms of marketing, technology, procedures, and impacting people’s lives. This complexity is further compounded by the need to distinguish between the terms Digitization and Digitalization, each carrying nuanced meanings in the context of the DT. Digitization refers simply to the transition from analog to digital (e.g., transforming a paper document into a PDF), while digitalization involves the use of digital technologies, which play a fundamental role in the digital economy, that together with the big data can generate profits, improve business, transform business processes and create a new digital environment. This results in a transformation of culture and society, adopting a digital focus, an example is the shift in people’s habits over time, leading smartphones and messaging systems like WhatsApp to become the primary means of commu- nication in our era. Both these terms have been guiding lights in the journey toward DT, but there are various interpretations used as lenses to understand this seemingly “new” phenomenon. In this thesis, DT is understood by focusing primarily on the integration of the latest technological and digital tools across the vast and diverse areas of business. This integration should lead to crucial and fundamental changes in technological, cultural, and operational sectors, generating and disseminating a shared value heritage. This symbiotic integration of technology and business models should be applied to all processes, resulting in a new organizational and corporate culture. Modern technical and specific skills should be provided to human resources, serving as the primary driver towards a digital and interactive business model. For this cultural change to materialize, organizations need to transition from legacy systems, considered obsolete systems, to advanced IT architectures, often distributed and decentralized architectures that process data instantaneously and without latency, making computer flows faster and enabling devices to respond promptly and with high performance. However, DT is not solely about an organization using a specific set of new technologies; this would be limiting and not reflecting the radical change. Instead, it is associated with the ability to successfully respond to new technologies and procedures. This often involves continuous strategic adaptation, research, and experimentation in response to the ongoing discoveries in the digital world and also a reevaluation of traditional business models and processes. Central to this evolution is the role of Business Process Management (BPM). BPM is a well-established discipline and provides a structured framework for orchestrating and optimizing business processes. However, the deep structural changes brought about by the DT introduce complexities that traditional BPM approaches struggle to address. The intersection between DT and BPM is characterized by inherent tension in maintaining traditional BPM logics amid continuous change, especially in the private sector. The ability to adapt quickly becomes crucial, with BPM acting as a guide in updating business process models in the context of a continuous transformation. Similarly, organizations face numerous challenges in the absence of standardized implementation protocols for the DT. The alignment of BPM with DT mitigates resistance to change and provides a familiar framework for managing organizational transitions in addition to a structured approach. BPM’s role is pivotal in crafting reliable and robust IT systems, ensuring a seamless alignment with organizational strategies. Business processes are the core of every organization, and therefore, their management is of great importance in practice. However, changes that are happening in the global market also influence changes within organizations that have to adapt to new conditions as quickly as possible. One of the ways they can follow the global trends is to make changes to their business processes. Therefore, the role of BPM in DT should be investigated. The interplay between DT and BPM becomes particularly significant when examining three key aspects: organizational resilience, coopetitive strategies, and the shift from legacy systems to ICT supported systems. These aspects are intrinsically linked to the transformative capabilities of emerging digital technologies. In this thesis, we explore how these aspects form the three research pillars (RPs): IoT-aware processes resilient, coopetitive processes through Blockchain, and efficient public processes through AI. The goal is to outline an integrated view that not only comprehends the conceptual background of these technologies but also leverages them synergistically to address specific challenges in corporate DT and BPM, as derived from the literature review. To address these challenges, a Design Science (DS) methodology is adopted. DS emphasizes the creation and evaluation of innovative solutions to real-world problems. The iterative nature of this approach allows for the development of artifacts that bridge theoretical frameworks with practical implementation, aligning with the dynamic landscape of DT and BPM. In the following, we present the foundational RPs of this thesis, referring to the works of which they are subject. In the dynamic landscape of DT, organizational resilience emerges as a critical factor. The rapid pace of technological change requires organizations to not only adapt but also build resilience into their processes. BPM acts as a guiding force in this aspect, facilitating the development of adaptive business process models. The integration of IoT technologies enhances organizational resilience by providing real-time data insights, enabling proactive decision-making, and optimizing processes based on dynamic conditions. IoT sensors can be used to collect data about the environment in which a process is taking place, to identify potential risks and take steps to mitigate them or to predict when equipment is likely to fail. Coopetition, a strategic integration of cooperation and competition, becomes a critical determinant in the context of DT. Organizations are not only adapting internally but are also navigating complex ecosystems where cooperation and competition coexist. In this context, Blockchain can be employed to establish secure and transparent transactions among organizations, such as monitoring the movement of goods between suppliers and retailers. This can help ensure that goods are not counterfeited or stolen. BPM provides a structured framework for orchestrating coopetitive processes through Blockchain which, due to its decentralized and transparent nature, facilitates secure collaboration among various stakeholders. The transition from legacy systems to ICT supported systems is a forced path of DT and underscores the necessity for organizations to embrace advanced IT architectures. The role of BPM is slightly different from that of the previous RPs, as it involves more efficient management of public decision-making processes through AI. It explores how organizations leverage AI to promote simplification and increased standardization of such processes, as well as responsiveness in the digital era that is challenging to embrace in public administration sectors.