Organizational Enablers for Digitalization in Norwegian Industry

Abstract

Norway has a long cultural tradition for organizing its working life. A dialogue-based and cooperation-oriented model constitutes the way work life functions locally in companies as well as at the national level. This article addresses how the basic values of this practice promote processes of industrial digitalization in Norway. The digitalization of industry and society has many faces, but the focus here is on organization, forms of collaboration and management that create the foundation for successful digital implementation in the industry. Within the framework of a working life that requires ever-increasing competence at all levels, this article shows that intra-corporate collaboration between management and employees generates common goal understanding and process commitment. This paper highlights seven organizational enablers for digitalization in a Norwegian industrial context. Our findings from a cross-case analysis of data collected through 33 case studies of successful digitalization processes at Norwegian companies in a diverse set of industries suggest that the digitalization of industry requires cross-functional and inter-organizational collaboration to develop more specialized expertise from all employees, and this serves as a key element for success within industrial digitalization.