Digital “X”: In Need of New Theories or Do Prior Theories Suffice?

In recent years, we have seen a growing trend in which the term digital is affixed to other management concepts, implying that there is something different with “digital.” These concepts include “digital innovation,” “digital transformation,” and “digital business strategy,” among a variety of other concepts (Yoo et al 2010; Bharadwaj et al 2013; Tumbas et al 2018; Hinings et al 2018). But is this digital trend truly something different, or is it just a trendy moniker for timeless phenomena? In other words, does the digital age require us to think about management, strategy, organizational innovation, and information technology in new ways, or do the conventional ways of thinking still apply? The goal of this symposium is to discuss this issue. Is there something so different about digital that it requires that we rethink what we know about management – or do established management theories cover these new phenomena as well?