Strategic Responses to Digitised Products: a Case Study of an Automotive Firm

Firms are faced with the pace and complexity of digital transformation, which leads to changes in organisational structures, processes, culture and products. This study examines how an automotive firm attempts to align its strategy to an increasingly digitised and software-based product. The key observations show how digitised products disrupt intra-organisational and inter-organisational ways of working, and old-fashioned mass production. To combat these challenges, essential strategic responses including the implementation of new processes and the establishment of own software firms take place. In addition, since manufactured digitised vehicles are not sold as completed products and require frequent software updates during their lifecycle, organisations need to develop dynamic alignment competencies to continuously update their business strategy, thrive in a digital world and sustain their competitive advantage