HEC Paris experts publish White Paper to guide effective Digital Transformation in industry

Investing in new technologies is not enough to ensure an organisation’s survival in an increasingly competitive global business landscape, say the authors of a new White Paper produced by HEC Paris business school.

Instead, business leaders must also invest in adapting their company cultures to both embrace, and think beyond technological solutions.

The School has combined the expertise of its Executive Education faculty to produce a White Paper, designed to advise senior business leaders on how to establish an effective, progressive digital culture within their organisations, beyond high-tech investments.

“Learning from the Experts: When Digital Culture Transforms Business” has been compiled in response to the impact that rapidly advancing new technologies at play in the world’s industries has had on the ways business leaders must operate, and the skillsets they must develop.

The authors argue that an organisation’s digital tools and strategies can all too easily be replicated, and improved. Instead, true competitive advantage will rely upon human initiative and, crucially, a business leader’s ability to cultivate a mind-set for embracing and adopting new ideas amongst employees.

The White Paper aims to define the key principles of developing a successful digital culture by cutting through technical jargon and combining relevant industry examples with research and analysis from faculty specialising in Information Systems Management, Digital Marketing, Innovation and Leadership.

Jean-Rémi Gratadour, Executive Director of HEC Paris’ Digital Centre and co-author of the White Paper says;

“In a fast-paced, fast-changing world, it’s crucial for companies to rethink how they work in order to optimise their processes and become truly innovative. Digital transformation is not only about adopting new technologies or economic opportunities. It’s highly cultural. Gone are the days of all-powerful managers controlling events from their ivory towers. Leaders need to become doers who are not afraid of challenging ideas and being challenged by their teams.”

The Paper covers the complete journey of digital transition, with chapters built around;

• Encouraging a culture for lifelong learning
• Agile management
• Customer-centric data analytics
• The importance of a “human-driven” digital transformation

At the heart of the White Paper is the overriding message that digital transformation can be embraced by all, regardless of their skill level or function, if business leaders can encourage each member of their teams to share their ideas and knowledge, and work together.

For senior-level professionals who wish to enhance their own digital capabilities, HEC Paris provides a range of Executive Education programmes with digital transformation at their core. The School’s Executive MBA offers an Executive Certificate in Leading Digital Transformation, its Executive Masters portfolio includes programmes dedicated to Strategic Information Systems Management, and the School’s custom-built executive programmes also cater to building effective digital cultures and capabilities within companies.

The White Paper can be downloaded, for free, from the HEC Paris Executive Education website.

About HEC Paris: Specializing in management education and research, HEC Paris offers a complete and unique range of educational programs for the leaders of tomorrow: Masters programs, Summer School, MBA, PhD, Executive MBA, TRIUM Global Executive MBA, open-enrolment and custom executive education programs.

Founded in 1881 by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, HEC Paris is a founding member of the Université Paris-Saclay. It boasts a faculty of 138 full-time professors, more than 4,400 students and over 8,000 managers and executives in training each year.