Governance of Digital Transformation

João Ricardo Durão Ferreira de Brito Catarino

Key information

Authors:

João Ricardo Durão Ferreira de Brito Catarino (João Ricardo Durão Ferreira de Brito Catarino)

Supervisors:

Miguel Leitão Bignolas Mira da Silva (Miguel Mira da Silva); Paulo Vasconcelos Dias Correia (Paulo Vasconcelos Dias Correia)

Published in

11/07/2018

Abstract

Technology is the biggest story in business today. With progress in all things digital, constraints are being removed and new possibilities created, affecting everyone’s lives. This means a new digital revolution, denominated as digital transformation, which is now, more than ever, a reality. It is, therefore, necessary to understand this new wave, the meaning of digital transformation and how to govern it. Although this issue is not specific to the public sector, i.e., within entities, organizations and public companies, it is of particular relevance in this context since it can involve hefty investments and the production of cross-cutting services that result from activities and linkages between institutions. An awakening to this issue is taking place in the public sphere, with a majority of countries including in their agenda public administration digitalization goals, but in too few cases is there a clear view of how to lead the transformation. The purpose of this study is to identify a framework to implement mechanisms concerning governance of digital transformation that enable a holistic and integrated coordination in the public sector. To correctly build the framework, it is necessary to give attention to a new generation of C-class executives for the digital transformation, among which the chief digital officer. The ambiguity and contention that surrounds this role and the controversy between itself and the chief information officer, leads to internal difficulties in organizations. In this study, we analyze the differences between these roles and draw a new vision of the responsibilities associated with them.