Digital transformation (DT) has emerged as one of the most critical strategic imperatives for pre-digital firms. It is defined as a fundamental reconfiguration of business processes, models, and operations through the adoption of digital technologies under effective digital leadership (Iden & Bygstad, 2024; Westerman et al., 2014). DT challenges long-established organizational structures and demands holistic change. Pre-digital firms, incumbents across different industries, born with traditional business models and legacy IT systems, face particularly complex transitions, as transformation requires not only new technologies but also rethinking the role and configuration of the Information Technology (IT) function. Central to this challenge lies the IT Operating Model (ITOM), conceptualized in this dissertation as an interdependent system of social and technical components—ranging from people, governance, and culture to processes, data, and technology—that collectively execute IT/digital strategy and deliver value (Ross et al., 2020).
Despite its growing recognition in practitioner-oriented literature, academic research on ITOM organization and renewal remains fragmented and underdeveloped. Specifically, limited knowledge exists about how ITOM is conceptualized, how it unfold in practice, what differentiates successful from unsuccessful renewal efforts, and how leadership influences outcomes. This dissertation seeks to address these gaps through the overarching research question: How do firms organize and renew their IT operating model for digital transformation?
The dissertation comprises four complementary published articles: (i) a systematic literature review that synthesizes fragmented conceptualizations of ITOM across academic and practitioner domains; (ii) a single-case study of ITOM building in a pre-digital firm; (iii) a multiple-case study examining renewal challenges and organizational learning; and (iv) an in-depth study of the role of digital leadership in shaping ITOM renewal trajectories. Collectively, these studies adopt a qualitative, deductive-inductive research design. Data were collected primarily through semi-structured interviews in five firms across the oil & gas and chemical industries and analyzed using thematic coding.
The findings reveal several key insights. First, ITOM is organized around thirteen interdependent components grouped into five domains, whose interactions define how IT function is governed, aligned with business priorities, and positioned to enable DT. Organization involves moving from siloed, function-oriented arrangements toward product-, customer-, and value-centric models that are tightly integrated with business strategy. Enterprise architecture and cloud-enabled modularity provide the backbone for orchestrating change, while governance shifts from rigid hierarchies toward capability-centric models that emphasize cross-functional roles and collaboration.
