Strategies for leading IT-enabled change: lessons from a global transformation case

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of this article is to provide strategic insights of how multinational organizations lead IT-enabled change on a global scale. The article summarizes the findings from a three-year case study of the international telecom company Ericsson. This company managed to successfully transform their finance and accounting (F & A) unit from a highly decentralized structure into a so-called shared service center (SSC) structure and the whole change was enabled by enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Design/methodology/approach – The case study data consists of in-depth interviews, archival data, and observations collected during three years. Findings – The article provides rich description of how the transformation was executed together with three key strategic lessons. Originality/value – The article offers unique and novel insights of how strategist drives IT-enabled change on a global scale.