Managing two-speed innovation for digital transformation

Abstract

In this study, we propose that the concept of two-speed innovation is a fruitful approach to understand and manage digital innovation and transformation. The main argument is that two-speed innovation leverages the new organisational forms of the digital age, such as infrastructures and platform ecosystems. Our research questions are, (i) how does two-speed innovation support digital transformation, and (ii) how can managers leverage two-speed configurations?

We developed an analytical framework to understand the managerial options of two-speed innovation. To assess it we investigated the digital transformation of four large organisations. We identified four two-speed configurations, describe how the two-speed dynamics unfold and discuss managerial options for managing them.