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Q: What is The Center for Leadership of the Digital Enterprise? |
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A: The Center is to be the premier source of research and insights for firms to achieve significant value through their transformation into a digital enterprise. Led by a team of faculty experts from the Eli Broad College of Business and industry partners, the Center is focused on exploring how executives can create and lead an effective “digital enterprise.”
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Q: What is a “digital enterprise”? |
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A: A digital enterprise describes contemporary firms that creatively combine information technologies with their business processes, knowledge, and extended partnership networks to generate superior performance and competitive advantage.
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Q: How is the center different than other IT focused research centers? |
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A: The Center has focused strengths in research areas including (1) Agility and Competitive Strategy, (2) Digitized Supply Chains, (3) Digitized Governance, Control and Coordination, and (4) IT Management. A firm’s organizational strategies, business processes, management structures and relationships with its external partners must be examined to fully understand the value and risks associated with implementing the digital enterprises information technology.
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Q: Why will the Center be successful? |
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A: The Center provides a mechanism to bring together the practical knowledge and experience of external stakeholders and leverage this knowledge into a platform for conducting world-class research. Center leadership of academic experts and industry executives recognize the critical role of information technology in enhancing effective organizations. Projects are lead by senior researchers who are recognized throughout their respective academic communities. These research efforts are validated by Industry Partners who prioritize key strategic research programs for the digital enterprise.
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Q: What are the benefits for industry partners? |
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A: Industry Partnerships are key to the Center’s success. There are many benefits of partnering with the Center including: (1) Seat on Advisory Board (2) Shape research priorities of the Center (3) Network amongst Founding Members (4) Access to students for internships and/or recruiting (5) Attendance at Center’s Annual Conference, MSU Symposiums and Special Events (6) Receive first-access to emerging Center research.
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Q: Who is involved? |
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A: The Center’s strategic direction is guided by a Corporate Partnership Board and a complementary Corporate Research Sponsors Board, consisting of members from premier companies. The new executive director of the Center is Vallabh Sambamurthy, the Eli Broad Professor of Information Technology, Accounting and Information Systems Department. The center will be directed by Frederick Rodammer, Supply Chain Management Professor of Practice.
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Q: How do you plan to work closely with industry? |
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A: Information Technology's role in a company's success has recently taken on new urgency. During the past five to eight years, there has been convincing evidence that information technologies contribute to consumer welfare and firm productivity. However, in many firms, there is significant anxiety about how to sustain business innovation through IT. The corporate partnership board will work closely with the senior researchers at MSU in shaping and prioritizing research topics that aim to address these issues.
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Q: How are research topics chosen? |
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A: The Center focuses on several critical research tracks. Some examples of these areas are:
1. Agility and Competitive Strategy
2. Digitized Supply Chains
3. Digitized Governance, Control and Coordination
4. Information Technology Management
The Partnership Board will set research priorities to assure the focus meets the strategic needs of the industry.
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Q: Why is financial support required in addition to the initial university support? |
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A: While the university investment provides seed money to develop initial projects, it is important to create a sustainable research entity that has the expertise and agility to support multiple initiatives over long time horizons. Additional financial investment will support center expenses and research projects over the long term.
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Q: What are your year one goals? |
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A: 1. Secure Research Grants & Funds
2. Form Corporate Partnership Board with Key Executives
3. Secure Journal Editorship & Top Publications
4. Assure Education & Technology Transfer through Executive Education
5. Promote Center Awareness via Marketing and Communication
6. Update Long Range Strategic Plan for the Center
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"In this digital age, is it possible to have too much information? Perhaps increased volumes of information promotes increased management, micro management. There is a level of information, and management, that supports an efficient business operation."