CAPABILITIES AND COMPETENCES FOR STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING IN DIGITAL WORLD

Abstract

Technological and digital developments go fast and are interrelated causing the environment of organizations to change rapidly. Furthermore, consumer needs evolve and disruptive business models of new (unexpected) competitors take market share of incumbents. This makes it difficult to determine what the relevant contextual factors are that organizations need to take into account when formulating their strategy. At the same time, the digital possibilities for organizations to add value for their customers, is increasing in an unpredictable way. These substantial uncertainties for organizations, combined with the existential need for organizations to add value in a more effective and efficient way than their competitors, put them at great risk. In this perspective, it is also difficult for organizations to determine what capabilities and competences in the strategic decision unit are required to constitute a good strategy to adopt to digital developments. This paper describes a PhD research project with the objective to find a way for organizations to determine what capabilities and competences in the strategic decission unit are needed to formulate a future-proof strategy in a changing, complex and ambiguous context.