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ACCA Strategic Professional · Strategic Business Leader · Enabling success: disruptive technologies

Halden Retail's board has approved a digital transformation. Early pilots of AI-driven pricing succeeded technically, but store managers resist, fearing loss of autonomy, and data sits in disconnected legacy systems. Using a change perspective, which action is most appropriate to improve the chance of embedding the technology?

The best action is to address the people and process factors alongside the technology: involve and communicate with managers, clarify new roles, and integrate the fragmented data. Technical success in pilots does not guarantee adoption, and coercion, delay or outsourcing would not resolve resistance or integration problems.

  1. ARoll out the system immediately by decree because the pilots proved the technology works
  2. BOutsource all store pricing decisions to the vendor and remove managers from the process
  3. CDelay until the technology is mature enough that no resistance will arise
  4. DAddress people and process factors, such as engaging managers, clarifying their roles and integrating data, alongside the technical deploymentCorrect

Explanation

Digital change fails more often through culture, skills and integration than technology; models such as Kotter or Lewin stress communicating, involving and refreezing. Forcing a rollout ignores resistance. Waiting does not remove resistance and outsourcing worsens it.

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