Are there common strategies for disruption?
What are the implications of Digital Technologies (DT)?
The year 2020, for many businesses, is disruptive in a variety of ways. Throughout history, societies have evolved strategies for coping with disruption ranging from basic, agrarian-supported, to modern, digital-supported, strategies.
Face masks, for example, represent an integration of agrarian and modern strategies. Stitching and sewing is an old technology, which has been used to block the interpersonal transmission of air-borne viruses.
The historical trend in the adoption of disruption strategies displays some common and fluidal features.
Agility implies the ability to respond to situations that are constantly changing. Unpredictability is high at the initial stages of disruption. Agile individuals and organizations can thrive in an environment characteristic of a high level of unpredictability.
The agile networks develop new organizations. Eventually, once planning is activated, a logical framework develops to help deliver the desired outcomes. The nodes of a logical framework comprise of individuals or groups of people delivering products or services.
These are the new methods/ technologies developed to deliver the desired outcomes. Innovations compete in the market place and represent solutions based on skills, knowledge, and technologies. Modern market places offer incentives for innovators such as self-preservation, profit, and recognition.
Disruption may bring a new-normal requiring a shift from the old. The ability to adapt provides a better foundation for a new takeoff.
The Role and Inevitability of Digital Technologies
Accelerated global market shifts and the digital economy have, with digital technologies, become a reality.
The digital economy is growing and evolving fast and has made much easier access to global capital, talent, and other resources.
Emerging markets companies have become global competitors for established firms from developed countries.
Digital transformation has come to represent a multilevel technology-based change that includes the exploitation of digital technologies to improve existing processes and their efficiency, and the exploration of digital innovation, which can potentially transform the business model.
Digital technologies have changed customers and the markets both of whom are the central targets of any business.
To succeed in digital transformation business organizational structures have to be reorganized from hierarchical, decision-making, toward a network, team-based, flexible agile structure (Stonehouse G.H. and Konina N.Y., 2019).
The changes in customers are bringing a radical transformation in business. Consumers have changed their lifestyles and improved their information about products and market situations.
Markets have also radically changed. The current process of value creation in many industries is changing and becoming more and more connected with key IT technologies—mobility, cloud computing, business intelligence, and social media.
There are deep changes in the business environment connected with technology and globalization. Technology changes have permitted lower transaction costs, transformed customers, and markets.
Many sectors of the economy including technology, telecommunications, and finances are in process of digital transformation. Twin forces of information technology and globalization influence business models.
Many firms have met the new competitive challenge of aggressive technology firms from emerging countries, especially from China.
The market has become fast, convenient, and simple – which is what customers want. Mobile phone transactions have become a popular trend because of convenience.
With new digital technologies, transaction speed can be enhanced dramatically, reaching more people with radically reduced costs and faster turnaround.
Technology is becoming now a driver of revenue and enabler of new business models. For example, if the Smartphone revolution had not happened, numerous aspects of culture, politics, and the economy would look wildly different than they do today.
The emergence of new cloud-based businesses is connected with the use of mobile phones to reach new clients; many fast-growing companies grew on basis of geolocation.
Famous new digital transnational corporations such as Uber and Airbnb are, no wonder, based on digital platforms.
Stonehouse, G. H., and Konina N. Y.; Management Challenges in the Age of Digital Disruption; Atlantis Press SARL, 2020.