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Transformation: but how and where to?
This is the answer provided by the Transformation Compass 2021!
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Many organizations are currently facing profound and accelerated changes. What are the reasons for transformation and how do they deal with them? What are the factors of success or failure in the eyes of the stakeholders involved? The aim of the Transformation Compass 2021 study was to use an online survey to ascertain the understanding of transformation among stakeholders who are currently involved in a far-reaching change process in their organization or have been involved in the last three years. The study is part of a research project conducted by Wiesbaden Business School (Prof. Dr. Klaus North) in collaboration with the organizational consultancy p4d GmbH, the organizational consultant Oliver Haas and in cooperation with SYNERGIE VD GmbH with the aim of better understanding, enabling and shaping transformation processes.
Some core results of the study can be summarized as follows:
- The dominant cause of transformation is not crisis, but future viability. 35% of respondents agreed with the statement “Our business model will no longer work in the long term. We want to reinvent ourselves to become fit for the future.” Another 32% want to seize opportunities with the transformation: “Market environment and technological developments offer new opportunities. We want to seize these opportunities before others do” Acute or latent crisis was the reason for transformation for only 9% of respondents.
- …but there is only a weak (52%) or rather no (26%) common understanding of why the organization needs to undergo profound change. Top priority is given to profound change by only 13% of respondents.
- 90% of respondents said they do not have a compelling vision for the future that gives direction & energy to the current transformation.
- Transformation pressure remains high in the medium term: 54% of respondents are under pressure to “reinvent” their business every 2 to 6 years to remain competitive. For a further almost 30%, this is every 6-10 years.
- The focus of transformation is dominated by how companies deliver their services to become more agile and digital (internal processes, organizational structures, interaction with customers). New or profoundly changed business models were the focus of transformation in 23% of cases, and profoundly changed products and services in 20%.
Transformation goals were largely achieved: 67% of the companies achieved their content-related goals to some extent and 11% completely. Cost & revenue targets and time targets were not met in about 40% of transformation initiatives. - Effectiveness and ineffectiveness in the initiation & conception of far-reaching change initiatives balance each other out with 50% of the answers, the same applies to the implementation.
The results are incorporated into the book “Transformation – Understanding, Enabling and Shaping Profound Change” by the authors Oliver Haas, Prof. Klaus North and Claus-Bernhard Pakleppa and will be published by Vahlen Verlag in the fall of 2021.