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Abstract

N owadays many business models rely heavily upon adequate IT management practices. Quite often in developed economies, the role of IT has organically evolved over decades from a mere business support function to an efficiency driver and enabler, and finally (at least in some cases) to a driver of business innovation and digital transformation. Unlike developed countries, little is known about the role of IT in companies of countries with transitional economies, such as Russia. Historical, political, and geographical reasons have in many areas of life led to Кeywords: information systems management; transition economies; role of IT; digital business transformation; case study research a "Russian way of doing things". Does this also hold true for IT management? By way of case study research, this contribution investigates the features of the IT-role and use in large Russian companies that are aware of the need for digital business transformation. The obtained results allow one to not only gain a better understanding of the situation in Russian companies through the prism of IT management practices but also to identify possible trends and challenges that appear relevant for organizations in other countries in economic transition or even in developed economies as well.
2018 Vol. 12 No 3 FORESIGHT AND STI GOVERNANCE 53
Professor, Department of Service Information Systems, volker.nissen@tu-ilmenau.de
Volker Nissen
Abstract
Nowadays many business models rely heavily upon
adequate IT management practices. Quite oen in
developed economies, the role of IT has organically
evolved over decades from a mere business support
function to an eciency driver and enabler, and nally (at
least in some cases) to a driver of business innovation and
digital transformation. Unlike developed countries, little is
known about the role of IT in companies of countries with
transitional economies, such as Russia. Historical, political,
and geographical reasons have in many areas of life led to
Кeywords:
information systems management; transition
economies; role of IT; digital business transformation;
case study research
a “Russian way of doing things”. Does this also hold true
for IT management? By way of case study research, this
contribution investigates the features of the IT-role and use
in large Russian companies that are aware of the need for
digital business transformation. e obtained results allow
one to not only gain a better understanding of the situation
in Russian companies through the prism of IT management
practices but also to identify possible trends and challenges
that appear relevant for organizations in other countries in
economic transition or even in developed economies as well.
Ilmenau University of Technology, Max-Planck-Ring 14, 98693 Ilmenau, Germany
Citation: Nissen V., Lezina T., Saltan A. (2018) e Role of
IT-Management in the Digital Transformation of Russian
Companies. Foresight and STI Governance,
vol. 12, no 3, pp. 5361. DOI: 10.17323/2500-
2597.2018.3.53.61
Head, Chair of Information Systems in Economics, t.lezina@spbu.ru
Tatiana Lezina
St. Petersburg State University, 7/9 Universitetskaya nab., 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia
Assistant, Chair of Information Systems in Economics, a.saltan@spbu.ru
Andrey Saltan
e Role of IT-Management in the Digital
Transformation of Russian Companies
Innovation in Companies
54 FORESIGHT AND STI GOVERNANCE Vol. 12 No 3 2018
In a rapidly changing business world, information technology (IT) plays an essential role in the
achievement of business objectives. Historically, IT management has focused on providing regular
IT services as well as being involved in business processes eciency improvement. Later, with
further IT development and consolidation, it began to play a more signicant role in new product
development, the creation of new business models, and the discovery of new revenue sources
[Hanschke, 2010]. At the same time, companies expect IT to contribute more measurable, direct, and
exible business processes [Johannsen, Goeken, 2006]. Increasingly, this requires IT to no longer be
merely an “enabler” of business processes, but also to contribute to innovation in the technical side of
the business. IT can, under certain conditions, act as a “strategic weapon” in the respective company’s
arsenal, that is, a source of competitive advantage [Byrd, Turner, 2001].
e importance of IT as a “strategic weapon” is especially relevant in the context of the transition
to a digital economy, which is currently actively discussed by the Russian scientic and business
communities. e digital economy, by implementing digital transformations, implies the transition
of companies to a new technological environment. Still, until now there has been a lack of consensus
among researchers and practitioners about what digital transformation means and which aspects of
a company’s management should oversee. Accordingly, there are multiple approaches ranging from a
focus on technology, to digital customer engagement, to new digital business models, and so on.
e lack of clarity oen results in piecemeal initiatives, missed opportunities, and false starts in
business digitalization. From the organizations’ point of view, digital transformation aects all aspects
related to the company’s architecture including business goals, business models, business processes, etc.
[Bharadwa et al., 2013; Bhattacharya, Seddon, 2009]. e prime goal of digital transformation is to gain
the benets of information technologies and information systems, such as productivity improvements,
and cost reductions. Nevertheless, to obtain these results, overall organizational commitment is
required. However, this advantage is only possible if organizations have good business-IT-alignment
(BITA). BITA can be dened as “the degree to which the IT mission, objectives, and plans support and
are supported by the business mission, objectives, and plans” [Reich, Benbasat, 1996]. To obtain this
alignment a company needs to have implemented an eective IT governance, which is “an actively
designed set of IT governance mechanisms” that supports an “organization’s mission, strategy, values,
norms, and culture” [Weill, Ross, 2004]. On the other hand, “an important driving force to achieve
business value through investments in IT” is a business-IT alignment dened as the t and integration
among business and IT strategies as well as business and IT structures [de Haes, van Grembergen, 2009].
e rst area covered by this study concerns the strategic benets brought by business-IT alignment and
the second concerns the fact that IT managers consider business-IT alignment a vital issue [Leonard,
Seddon, 2012]. In brief, this requires intense contacts and mutual interest and understanding on all
management levels between business and IT departments. With the combination of technological
know-how and a profound understanding of the business side of its company, the IT department
can be critical in creating new and improved products and services, business processes, or business
models. is crucial strategic issue has promoted the transition of IT from a mere support function to
becoming a driver for business innovation [Kießling et al., 2010], which is required for the successful
business digitalization.
While in the past a CIO was rarely part of the managing board, nowadays CIOs have frequently
been promoted to the executive management [Holtschke et al., 2009]. While the continuous upward
development of IT in western countries can be witnessed, the question arises, what the role, tasks, and
perspectives of IT are in transition economies, such as Russia. A quick answer to this question, such as
“Russia lags behind in this process by about 30 years”, would ignore the particularities of the Russian
political and economic past, as well as the enormous size of the country. Russian people oen argue
that they have a unique way of development that is dierent from international practice but can lead
to great success [Prokhorov, 2002; Zhdanov, 2014].
Moreover, the Russian economy is still in transition as opposed to developed countries like Germany
or the United States. e transitive state of the economy very oen leads to signicant heterogeneity,
both from practices and principles of governance as well as the level of technological development.
Some large companies are internationally competitive; however, many companies in Russia work in
niche markets without much competition for historical, political, or geographical reasons. ey oen
do not apply international standards in business and IT-management, but still operate successfully on
their markets and may to join the global trend for digital transformation. Considering this particular
situation, our research aims to achieve a better understanding of the particularities with respect to
the role, tasks, and perspectives of IT at Russian companies facing digital business transformation.
Unfortunately, today little is known about both the role of IT at companies in countries in transition
and processes of their transformation. is research aims to help to close the existing research gap
and analyze to what extent IT management practices in Russia dier from the world, what the key
features and challenges are, and how consistent these practices are with the goal of digital business
transformation.
2018 Vol. 12 No 3 FORESIGHT AND STI GOVERNANCE 55
Nissen V., Lezina T., Saltan A., pp. 53–61
Related Work
Nowadays the topic of digital business transformation is widely discussed both in academic and business
communities. is transformation can be dened as a change at dierent levels of business organizations
that incorporates both the extensive usage of digital technologies to improve existing business processes
and practices and the exploration of digital innovation to transform the overall business model. e
observed discussion on the priority of the technological and business aspects of digital transformation
attests to the necessity of an alignment between IT and business, specically in the integration of IT-
strategy and business strategy to achieve dened goals [Bharadwa et al., 2013; Kane et al., 2015; Urbach et
al., 2017]. is discussion also reviews the basic understanding of the importance of this trend, but there
is still need for clarication of the respective challenges and eects [Bley et al., 2016].
From an academic point of view, the role of IT at organizations has changed over time from “IT as
a support function” to “IT as a driver for business innovation” [Kießling et al., 2010]. It represent the
growing importance of IT for organizations and their ability to face more strategy-oriented challenges.
Accordingly, the position of the IT-manager or CIO has changed fundamentally in developed countries
over the last few years. Moreover, a company’s ability to change increasingly depends upon its ability to
change its IT or so-called “IT agility” [Nissen, von Rennenkampf, 2015]. High IT agility can contribute to
increased business agility and thus create a competitive advantage.
Within this research, the focus is on companies’ current attitude concerning the role of IT as well as
the alignment of IT practices with the business model and objectives. e research is overall in line
with existing studies for developed countries in the literature. In the United States, a series of studies
[Luman et al., 1999; Luman, Derksen, 2012] longitudinally explored the role and tasks of IT as well as
characteristics of the CIO. Following a similar approach, the study [Nissen, Termer, 2014] investigated the
status quo in Germany. e results show a certain similarity, as could be expected with both, Germany
and the US as fully developed countries.
Contrary to this, the existing studies on Russian experience and practice with IT management focus
mostly on narrow aspects, such as the ability to withstand and quickly recover from disruptive incidents
involving unplanned downtime and potential data losses [Ivanova, Lezina, 2014]. In summary, there is not
much data on how the changing role and spheres of responsibility of IT are discussed in the literature for
developed countries are accepted and implemented by IT management in Russia. One of the rst broader
attempts to assess the role and functions of IT departments in Russian companies was undertaken in
[Lezina et al., 2016]. e authors conclude that today the role of IT at many Russian companies is at best
an enabler, oen just an instrument to increase eciency, and in a sizeable number of cases, it still only
is a support function. In particular, there is a marked lack of viewing IT as a driver of innovation. e
current contribution builds and expands upon these initial results.
Research Methodology
e conducted research addresses the use of information systems and technologies in implementing
digital business transformation. Following the recommendations on examining complex and
interdisciplinary phenomena linked to managerial perception, roles, and complex interaction patterns of
IT management, case study research is one of the widely acknowledged qualitative research methods and
seemed appropriate for the purpose of our study [Paré, 2004].
To develop a better understanding of IT-management practices at Russian companies and their role in
digital business transformation, research questions were posed:
RQ1: What is the role of IT management in implementing digital business transformation and how do
existing practices correspond with international ones?
RQ2: What are the major factors constraining digital business transformation practices, objectives, and
strategies?
e research questions call for an exploratory research approach, considering the lack of prior
investigations into these areas. us, a positivistic, exploratory multiple case study wasconducted. e
case sampling strategy was guided by a diverse case approach. However, all companies are protable and
consider digital transformation an essential step in their immediate further development. We deliberately
did not include companies directly related to the IT sector, since we were more interested in cases of
companies for which IT is not a core business, but could be a valuable “strategic weapon. Companies
were selected for analysis based upon dierences in size, maturity level, and industry. A general overview
of the selected organizations is presented in Table 1.
For the study, a series of semi-structured interviews with CIO, IT managers, and executives (at least two
persons per company) from four companies were carried out. During the interviews, the following topics
were addressed: general information about the company (name, industry, the number of employees,
hierarchal structure, market share, etc.), vision towards digitalization (digitalization trends in their
industry, strategic goals for their company, etc.), IT management practices, and their role in digital
transformation (CIO role, IT department structure, IT strategy, policies).
Innovation in Companies
56 FORESIGHT AND STI GOVERNANCE Vol. 12 No 3 2018
Case Study Analysis
Each case is analyzed on an individual basis initially based on information gathered during the interviews
as is useful for exploratory case research.
Case A
is company is one of the largest Russian oil and gas companies operating in 150 countries. It is part of a
holding, but it has a signicant level of autonomy in its management. e parent company involves itself
only at the level of strategy development and annual monitoring of its implementation.
e company management has a high level of understanding of the importance of IT. However, while
digital transformation as the future of their core business is undisputed, the exact goals of such a
transformation remain to be claried. Entering the digital world is not seen as an issue of competition,
but a chance to nd new business opportunities, new markets, and new business models. e company
has enough resources to implement this transformation, but still, the ultimate goal is not entirely clear.
In the corporate hierarchy, the IT department is subordinated to the CFO. is reects the importance
of the nancial performance of IT. In general, IT operates according to a traditional decision-making
scheme that requires a large number of approvals, especially when it comes to projects related to
performing changes in the accounting system, automation of production, and support of business
processes. However, recently the department of business analysis was allocated to a separate structural
unit, and this unit has more exibility in decision-making and project implementation. Strategically, the
digital business transformation is assigned to this unit, and the unit is in charge of making propositions
regarding required changes in methodology, practices, and IT-systems. Currently, the company is
implementing a BI-system.
e company is the leader in its industry in successfully implementing internal projects related to digital
business transformation. While transformation management does understand that data science and
advanced analytics procedures should not be performed purely by IT sta, but that all business units
should have access to “raw” data and be able to analyze it. Company management believes that IT should
become even more decentralized, and all business units should have “mini IT” departments.
Case B
Company B specializes in the production and sale of casual clothes and sportswear as well as tness
equipment. e company’s subdivisions are located in Russia, CIS countries, and China. Strategic KPIs
include operational eciency, market share, geographical presence, and prot margin. e company
operates in a highly competitive environment: its main competitors are both local ventures and global
enterprises with internationally known brands. e executive management of the company considers the
purpose and essence of digital business transformation the only way to preserve and increase its market
share in a highly competitive environment.
e IT department has a centralized structure with the CIO reporting to the CEO. Company management
declares that IT has a strategic role in the company with IT managers actively involved in business analysis
and development. Business protability and performance, as well as innovative business development,
are named as the principal objectives of IT. e company has a long-term IT development strategy
created by the IT department in conjunction with other stakeholders and approved by the Board of
Directors. However, quite oen, additional IT-related projects are initiated by the company’s executive
management, and IT is involved only at the stage of discussing issues of implementation. e evaluation
of IT performance and IT-related projects is performed in joint meetings with key internal stakeholders
and based on non-formalized opinions of dierent business units.
e company has a portfolio of successful IT projects related to production and logistics. e company
already considers itself unique regarding the level of IT use among companies in the same industry
in Russia. Management believes they can replicate the success of Amazon on a smaller scale on local
Russian markets.
Таble 1. Characteristics of Organizations in the Case Study
Case A B C D E
Industry Oil and Gas Clothing Bakery Banking Machinery
Number of employees >70,000 >15,000 >2,500 >15,000 >3,000
Geographical presence Global Russia, China, CIS
countries Russia (3 regions) Russia Russia
Interview partners IT manager, Head
of Business Analysis
Department
Vice CIO, Head of
Business Analysis
Department
Senior IT manager,
Head of Business
Analysis Department Senior IT manager Senior Project
Manager
Source: compiled by the authors.
2018 Vol. 12 No 3 FORESIGHT AND STI GOVERNANCE 57
Following the trends in the competitive environment and facing certain challenges related to personnel
qualication, the company increasingly sees the potential of IT as a cure-all and tries to increase business
eciency by minimizing the human factor in decision-making processes (for example, in stock planning).
e company is more willing to invest not in the development of digital competencies of employees, but
in IT. However, practice shows that this strategy has many side eects: ignoring professional expertise in
making management decisions can inict signicant damage to the company in future.
Case C
Company C belongs to the food industry, having its oces across Russia including Moscow, St. Petersburg,
and the Volga region. Management KPIs include market share, revenue, and amount of goods sold. e
company operates in a highly competitive environment. e management considers brand awareness,
customer focus and technological innovations as their prime competitive advantages. At present, the
company considers digitally transforming parts logistics and production.
e IT department reports to the CFO and is divided into two units: a technical unit that maintains
functional operation of the equipment and a soware development unit. e principal role of IT in
the company is to support current business processes and promote business innovations. e primary
objective is to facilitate ecient production cycles, promote sales, and support other business processes.
ere is no IT strategy at the company. e decision-making process for the implementation and purchase
of new IT solutions is most oen based on the needs of the business or for a planned replacement of
existing IT solutions. e core characteristic that determines the choice of particular IT solutions is their
reliability. e company automated part of the production and also uses IT-functionality associated with
logistics. As consumer behavior changes, the company aims to improve their IT solution, particularly
in logistics to meet changing market requirements. Company C considers itself as an industry leader
regarding IT practices.
Company C plans to implement smart contracts based on Blockchain technology. At the same time, the
principal motivation for the project is reducing the price for the consumer. e company overemphasizes
the technological superiority of the project and does not consider the possibility that the new technology
may not be accepted by consumers, especially on the B2B market.
Case D
Company D is one of the leading Russian banks. Being a joint stock company, it is traded on Russian
and foreign stock exchanges, the state is the controlling shareholder of the bank. Recently, the process
of merging with several regional banks was completed and the principal diculty was the unication
of heterogeneous information systems into the group’s independent banking system. Now the bank
is actively involved in the process of digital transformation, following the government’s policy of the
digitalization of the economy.
Despite the wave of mergers and acquisitions over the past few years and the increasing share of banks
with signicant state ownership, the banking sector remains highly competitive, especially in the B2C
segment. All critical innovations in the banking sector are associated with new technologies and overall
digitalization. Fully understanding these trends, Company D’s top managers state that they have a clear
vision of IT and information systems both as a strategic weapons and instruments of tactical eciency
improvement. e company has enough resources to implement digital transformation but tends to
overestimate the potential of advanced technologies.
Moreover, for the sake of implementing new and innovative digital projects, senior managers do not
appreciate the feedback from middle managers, which can drastically reduce the eectiveness of these
projects.
Case E
Company E is a manufacturing company that produces high-tech devices and equipment for various
industries.
e IT department is separated and not involved in the process of managerial decision-making. At the
same time, the IT department has a sucient budget to purchase and develop new IT and IS solutions.
Company E has an understanding of the need and the desire to update production capacities and maybe
even implement the overall digital transformation of its business, however, most initiatives in this
direction cannot be implemented due to the moral backlog of the regulatory framework governing the
activities of companies fullling government orders and operating in the military-industrial complex.
e key driver for digital transformation is the opportunity to increase eciency and accelerate
business processes related to the design, development, and the launch of commercial production of new
technological products.
Company E lacks explicit and formalized criteria for evaluating the activities of the IT department
and the eciency of IT projects. Most oen, decisions about new projects are made as a result of the
negotiation process between the company’s top-managers and the IT department. e initiators of the
Nissen V., Lezina T., Saltan A., pp. 53–61
Innovation in Companies
58 FORESIGHT AND STI GOVERNANCE Vol. 12 No 3 2018
projects are middle-level managers from various departments. In general, IT operates according to a
traditional decision-making process that requires a large number of approvals.
e consolidation of the analysis of individual cases along with a cross-case analysis facilitates a
deeper understanding of the cases and accentuates the dierences between them. To illustrate specic
characteristics of the dierent IT roles and management practices, Table 2 provides a comparison of these
ve cases.
Discussion
Our ndings allowed us to answer our questions regarding role of IT in the implementation digital
business transformation at Russian companies.
RQ1: What is the role of IT management in implementing digital business transformation and how do
existing practices correspond with international ones?
All interviewees claimed that, at their companies, IT is considered a critical driver for the development of
their companies in the age of the digital economy. However, as the example of Company C demonstrates,
the reality is slightly dierent. It might be dicult to assess the extent to which this attitude of top-
managers and board members in developing and transition countries, including Russia, is founded
upon a real understanding of the requirements and challenges of a truly digital business transformation.
Alternatively, managers are perhaps just following the “fashionable” approach extensively discussed these
days by the global business community. Moreover, Russia is characterized by a predisposition to follow
the fashion for new technologies and practices. is oen leads to the fact that companies are not critical
enough about the choice of IT solutions regarding their eectiveness and appropriateness. e companies’
Таble 2. Results of Cross-Case Analysis
CaseA B C D E
Role of IT •Business innovator •Enabler •Support function •Business
innovator
•Support
function
Organizational
integration of
IT in corporate
structure and IT’s
role in strategic
decision-making
•Decentralized
•Subordinated to the CFO
•IT department’s
perspective is taken into
account when discussing
ways to implement
strategic objectives
•IT can initiate projects
themselves; however, the
reconciliation process is
highly bureaucratized
•Centralized
•Subordinated to the
CEO
•IT is actively
involved in business
development and
decision-making on
IT-related project
implementation
•Centralized
•Subordinated to
the CFO
•Level of
involvement in
strategic decision-
making is low
•IT has sucient
exibility only in
implementation of
projects
•Centralized
•IT department’s
perspective
is taken into
account while
discussing ways
to implement
strategic
objectives
•Centralized
Objectives
of IT-related
projects aimed at
digital business
transformation
•Market share retention
in a situation of market
saturation
•New business
opportunities
•Business process
improvement
•Quality and transparency
of management decisions
•Labor cost reduction
•Market share retention
in a situation of market
saturation
•e desire to follow the
digital business leaders
•Business diversication
and development
•Market share
retention in a
situation of market
saturation
•Improving nancial
performance
•Operational cost
reduction
•Market share
retention in
a situation of
market saturation
•e desire to
follow the digital
business leaders
•Following
political policy
on digital
business
transformation
•Market share
retention in
a situation
of market
saturation
•e desire
to follow
the digital
business
leaders
Key performance
indicators of
IT eectiveness
and associated
assessment of IT
practices
•KPIs and assessment
procedures are not
formalized, informal
assessment is based on
nancial performance
•KPIs and assessment
procedures are not
formalized, informal
assessment is based on
nancial performance
•KPIs and
assessment
procedures are
not formalized,
informal
assessment usually
based on technical
indicators (number
of incidents,
number of failures,
etc.)
•KPIs and
assessment
procedures are
formalized
•KPIs and
assessment
procedures
are not
formalized,
informal
assessment
is based on
nancial
performance
Key challenges
facing the
implementation of
IT-related projects
and the continued
improvement of
IT management
practices
•Lack of qualied
personnel
•Personnel non-
acceptance
•Lack of qualied
personnel
•Inecient business
processes at the
company
•Large number of
heterogeneous,
oen non-integrated
information systems
•Lack of qualied
personnel
•High cost of IT
solutions
•Short planning
horizon
•Lack of qualied
personnel
•Large number
of hetero-
geneous, oen
non-integrated
information
systems
•Lack of
regulation
•Lack of
qualied
personnel
Source: compiled by the authors.
2018 Vol. 12 No 3 FORESIGHT AND STI GOVERNANCE 59
top managers believe that the very fact of digitization creates a positive image and enhances the market
value and importance of the company.
In the 2000s, the role of the IT department at the majority of Russian companies was limited simply to
providing IT support. e owners and top managers did not see any reason to invest in IT even when
without proper IT infrastructure and support, the customer base grew by 10-15% per month and with
revenue and sales up by 20%. e CIO / IT director was not involved in the decision-making process, and
he or she was rarely a member of the board of directors. Certainly, specic IT projects were implemented,
but this was done without a systematic analysis of the importance and proper economic justication.
Nowadays the situation has changed. e interviews showed that companies and organizations in Russia,
especially those who have ambitious goals and the necessary resources, want to nd a leap-frog solution
to jump forward and overcome current problems. Nowadays, especially in Russia, digitalization and
IT are considered contributors to such solutions and processes. At the same time, many companies
believe that digital transformation can be implemented through the implementation of new IT without
the sucient transformation of business processes, business models, and data management practices.
At these companies, despite the oen large budgets for developing, purchasing, and implementing new
information systems and technologies, IT remains a supporting business function rather than a driver of
company development (cases C and E). However, an alternative vision also exists, and some companies
are exploring successful practices of digital transformation at domestic and foreign companies and follow
the recommendations of leading analytical agencies and consulting companies (cases A and D). As a
rule, these are the companies that do not have any restrictions in nancing their projects and they are
companies that have experience with international cooperation.
In Russia, the process of integrating the function of IT and business is lengthy. As a result, managers do
not have a deep understanding of digital transformation, they only perceive it from a technological point
of view and set tasks for IT managers without giving them the opportunity to inuence the management
processes in general.
RQ2: What are the major factors constraining digital business transformation practices, objectives,
and strategies?
e rst essential factor that can be considered a potential risk is the lack of rationality in conducting
a cost-benet analysis and assessment of various IT-related projects. Top-down pressure provokes
an overestimation of results and an underestimation of costs. Companies in Russia, like many other
transition economies, have a short planning horizon. ey are not much concerned about the long-term
consequences of current projects, especially if they promise signicant short-term achievements. During
the interviews, we gured out that none of the companies do, in fact, have metrics for assessing the
eectiveness and eciency of IT as well as any formalized assessment procedures. As a result, given the
necessary resources, IT-related projects and changes in practices are quickly initiated and terminated in
more or less an ad-hoc manner when new, more “advanced” technologies, practices or approaches seem
to appear.
Even though all companies for research were selected from among those who position themselves as
active participants in the process of digital transformation, even among them, there is a severe gap in
the nancial opportunities for implementing projects. ere are leading companies, oen with a large
state participation, which has unlimited development budgets. ese companies want to overcome the
backlog of Western partners and competitors due to large-scale digital transformation. is approach,
oen called the “Russian way” by the companies themselves, does allow for achieving certain outcomes,
but the economic feasibility may remain questionable. e rest of the companies are lagging behind, they
do not fully understand the concept of digital transformation and do not have the necessary budgets.
Leading companies have the opportunity to work by “trial and error, but for companies with smaller
budgets and capabilities, veried practices are needed.
e third limitation of the observed status quo is a too technology-minded attitude concerning IT-
related projects and changes. Most of the companies participating in our case study wish to follow the
international leaders from Europe and North America. Consequently, they try to apply the best available
technologies supplemented with successful business practices. However, quite oen the business units,
production facilities, and organizational processes have a poor performance record and are not ready for
the expected technological breakthrough. Moreover, all respondents mentioned a lack of specialists with
the necessary qualications. Business informatics education in Russia signicantly lags behind Germany
and until now, the universities are unable to meet the market demand for qualied IT specialists. is
situation occurs partly because business informatics programs intended to address this shortage were
rst launched only in 2003 [Ivanova et al., 2015].
Among the industries, the most signicant achievements in the area of digital transformation are observed
at companies from the service industries. In many respects, this can be explained by the smaller scale of
production processes, greater customer orientation, and fewer necessary investments.
Finally, the top-down approach oen results in IT-implementations or transformation practices where
there is almost no focus on usability and user’s acceptance. However, when the relevant stakeholders
Nissen V., Lezina T., Saltan A., pp. 53–61
Innovation in Companies
60 FORESIGHT AND STI GOVERNANCE Vol. 12 No 3 2018
do not accept business processes, they will tend to circumvent them or not even trigger these processes
(or not use the associated IT-systems) at all [Lezina et al., 2016]. In addition to the factors mentioned
above, this creates an increased risk to the success of IT-related projects. In summary, the current status
of IT management practices in Russia provides companies with the opportunity to achieve a signicant
breakthrough in the short term; however, the sustainability of the results, in the long run, may be called
into question especially in case of resource scarcity.
Conclusions and Limitations
Russia is an extremely heterogeneous country, with its historical and political particularities that are
further exponentiated by the enormous size of its territory. In many respects, through the example of
Russia, we see the development of management practices within companies that takes place in other
countries with developing and transitioning economies. When we speak about the option of a “Russian
way”, it is necessary to account for the resource-rich structure of the economy and the heterogeneity
of economic development regarding economic complexity and coherence. In particular, the idea
of a Russian way of economic development and special management models is oen found in the
introduction of innovations, the transition to a knowledge economy, and knowledge society [Kulikov,
2016; Michailova, 2000; Ponomarev, Dezhina, 2016]. In general, the Russian way is oen associated with
eectiveness through ineciency, and this research has proven that this logic is present when it comes
to IT management. is IT and business management model on the basis of hierarchy and a focus on
operations as well as the signicant impact of the human factor can deliver noticeable results regarding
digital business transformation in the short-term; however, the sustainability of the achieved results may
be questionable.
is study may have certain limitations worth mentioning here. First, the responses from the ve
companies in the form of in-depth interviews could not be considered a signicant amount of
information for analysis, and this qualitative study provides perspectives on the role of IT in digital
business transformation and IT-management practices. Second, the research possesses an exploratory
nature and does not provide evident managerial insights. In order to enhance the validity of this case
study’s ndings and improve the applicability and practical contributions of the study, future studies
could include a broader case sample that would allow one to obtain more reliable insights. is could be
supplemented with a design-based approach to support the evalucation of IT management practices to
support digital business transformation.
We would like to express our gratitude to the DAAD (German Academic exchange service) for nancial support in the
framework of the project «Partnership with Eastern Universities».
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