B3 Non-refereed article in a conference publication
Innovation users’ profiles in implementing a digital innovation in maintenance
Authors: Ikävalko Heini, Saarelma Elviira, Martinsuo Miia
Editors: Acosta Llano Eduardo, Bitran Iain, Bitetti Leandro, Conn Steffen
Conference name: ISPIM Connects
Publisher: ISPIM Oy
Publication year: 2023
Book title : ISPIM Connects Salzburg: The Sound of Innovation
eISBN: 978-952-65069-4-4
Web address : https://www.ispim-connects.com/
Digital innovation implementation and exploitation arise at the interface of people and digital innovation initiatives. They highlight individual actions and enactment processes through which the digital innovations are adopted and integrated in organizational practice. In this study, we seek to understand human agency in digital innovation, by asking, how do individuals manifest their agency in implementing a digital innovation. Our qualitative study explored individuals’ experiences of digital innovations in two industrial companies implementing a digital system in their maintenance operations. The analysis of 29 interviews reveals how individuals’ agency is shaped by their attitude towards digital innovations, digital competence, and their own activity related to digital innovations. Variance in these three dimensions yields eight agency profiles, named for example as Drivers, Strugglers and Avoiders. The variety of users’ agency profiles requires organizations to develop diverse support mechanisms for implementing digital innovations.