Konsultens perspektiv på digital mognad : En kvalitativ intervjustudie om innebörden av digital mognad och dess betydelse för konsultens arbete

Sammanfattning: Background: Adapting to digital environments and utilizing the benefits that digitalization brings is becoming increasingly important and crucial for the survival of firms in a market that is constantly changing and characterized by digitalization. Firms need to undergo necessary changes in order to successfully adapt their firm to a digital environment and therefore increase their digital maturity. At the same time, it is becoming more common for consultants to be employed by firms to drive their digital transformation.   Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how consultants within the IT industry work define digital maturity and what consultants experience is important to work with within digital maturity to drive digital transformation. The study intends to answer the following research questions; ●      What does digital maturity signify for a consultant within the IT industry? ●      What aspects of digital maturity does a consultant within the IT industry experience are the most important to work with within a firm?   Methodology: To answer the purpose of the study and the related research questions, a qualitative interview study with an abductive approach was conducted. A reference model has been used which forms the basis for the study's theoretical frame of reference, interview guide and thematic analysis. The empirical data has been obtained through semi-structured interviews and has been analyzed using a thematic method. The respondents are senior consultants who work at different consulting firms in the IT industry and who have at least 10 years of experience in projects regarding digital transformation and/or digital maturity and at least five years of experience in the consulting profession. This study has adopted an interpretivist philosophy in order to understand contextual factors within the studied subject.   Conclusion: The most important aspects of digital maturity from a consultant’s perspective are; capacity for change, external analysis, digital strategy, leadership and governance, and organizational culture. The aspects that have been identified as less important are; digital competence and IT use. This study has therefore contributed to how consultants can work with digital maturity and digital transformation and has also created a classification of the phenomenon that can help both firms and consultants to understand which aspects of digital maturity are more important to prioritize in a digital transformation than others.   Keywords: digital maturity, digital transformation, digitalization, digital strategy, leadership, organizational culture, digital competence