In today’s technology driven world, digital transformation has become a prerequisite for organizations striving to maintain relevance and competitiveness. Digital transformation, a process (re)defining organizations, is characterized by persistent challenges, particularly in multi- organizational contexts where diverse stakeholders must agree on a joint path forward. In this dissertation Ashna explores roadmapping within the context of digital transformation, aiming to address how and to what extent roadmapping practices can serve as strategic tools and guidance for multi-organizational ventures embarking on digital transformation initiatives. Roadmapping is a method that involves exploration and the application of a temporal strategic perspective. Roadmapping enables interaction across disciplines, which can be crucial for guiding a path to a digital transformation involving multiple organizations. At the core of this dissertation is the central research question: What roadmapping practices can support a multiorganizational venture to digitally transform environmental assessments? Ashna situates its investigation within environmental assessments, a legally mandated process for systematically evaluating the environmental impacts of potential developmental projects. These projects may encompass various sectors, including energy supply, transportation, and infrastructure development. Recognizing the importance of thorough engagement with the research setting, this dissertation adopts engaged scholarship as its research design. This approach enables the integration of theoretical concepts with practical considerations, facilitated through multi-leveled engagement with the researched context. This multi-leveled engagement facilitates an exploration of the research question from various angles. While qualitative, this engagement involved various research methods, including a case study to explore goal alignment complexities in multi-organizational ventures, grounded theory for new theory development related to roadmapping in digital trans- formation, a literature review to synthesize roadmapping and digital transformation fields, and a action design study for practical insights into roadmapping practices’ real-world application. In answering this research question, Ashna provides a roadmapping framework, with three core activities: Backcasting, Exploring, and Re-orientating, tailored for practitioners and three roadmapping practices essential for navigating multi-organizational ventures engaged in digital transformation. These practices include (1) inductive experience gathering, which is instrumental to the deliberation of goals and processes in a digital transformation, (2) deliberative shifting, which helps reconcile competing perspectives in a digital transformation, and (3) articulating capabilities for realizing benefits, which helps reorient the temporal framing of a digital transformation.

These identified roadmapping practices accentuate the significance of a deliberative practice, emphasizing the importance of thorough exploration to understand objectives and the subtle yet essential recognition of diverse stakeholders.

All interested parties are welcome. After the defense the department will be hosting a small reception in cluster 5.