Digital Metamorphosis Competencies as a Human-Centric Approach to Digital Transformation: An Instrumental Collective Case Research

This paper investigates the managerial competencies played at different phases of digital metamorphosis projects. We define digital metamorphosis as the socio-technical counterpart of digital transformation in organizations, where the former focuses more on people’s skills, managerial attitudes and organizational behaviours rather than on mere technology innovation. We applied an instrumental collective case research method, aimed at understanding whether managerial competencies were present and how they configured during projects ranging from consumer services to organizational digitization. We collected data of six digital projects with semi-structured interviews carried out in six companies, featuring heterogeneous sectors, size and technology adoption levels. For each project, we asked which competencies were expected in each project phase, and which of them were observed instead. We recorded relevancy ratings and contextual insights about their successful application during the projects ongoing. We report our findings and discuss them in the vein of questioning concepts like fixed managerial roles, traditional project management and design methods in organizations. We argue that all of these concepts may be challenged by the metamorphosis of practices, people skills, and projects design that the new wind of digital disruption is weaving.