As a cure for the poor results of business innovation in which IT plays an important role, this article presents IBAFrame. IBAFrame stands for the IT Benefits Accelerator Framework. IBAFrame ensures, if applied properly, that innovations in which IT plays an important role, will have better results and an improved use of the IT possibilities. IBAFrame combines knowledge and insights from the professional fields project management, change management and IT auditing.

1. Business Innovation with
Information Technology
Corporate Change Power as driver for organisational
change
Leon Dohmen
June 2011
From prey to hunter
As a cure for the poor results of business innovation in which IT plays an important role, this
article presents IBAFrame. IBAFrame stands for the IT Benefits Accelerator Framework.
IBAFrame ensures, if applied properly, that innovations in which IT plays an important role,
will have better results and an improved use of the IT possibilities. IBAFrame combines
knowledge and insights from the professional fields project management, change
management and IT auditing.

2. Business Innovation and Transformation with IT
Introduction
Extended research of Jagdish Sheth and Rajendra Sisodia, 1 illustrates that the success of
companies is purely a matter of luck. Most companies are occasionally at the right moment,
with the right product in the right market. It is like winning the lottery and then stating it was
planned this way. As soon as the environment of the company changes, many companies fail
in their transformation.
Today’s business environment is changing so fast that companies are being forced as never
before to rethink their core marketing strategies. One of the important current mainsprings of
business innovation is information technology. According to Carlota Perez information
technology (IT) is called the fifth technological revolution. Moreover, according to Tom
Forrester (1989): ‘Our high-tech society is the most definitive account available of the
technology revolution that is transforming society and dramatically changing the way we live
and work and maybe even think’. 2 Previously we have faced the following technological
revolutions started from 1770:
- The industrial revolution;
- The era of steam machines and rail ways;
- The era of steel, electricity and machine construction;
- The era of motorcar and mass production.
Business Innovation, information technology and organisational change (business
transformation) are travelling hand in hand in the fifth technology revolution. Successful
organisational change where IT plays an important role is a necessity to survive. Successful
transformation is, however no tip or trick. Choosing the correct steering is only possible if the
context and consistency of technology, organisation and people (figure 1) is understood in
their relation to the fast changing environment. The correct merge of technological
possibilities, flexibility in processes and structure within organisations and the proper attitude,
knowledge and skills of involved management and employees will lead to corporate change
power that gives direction and helps to choose the proper approach for a successful
implementation of organisational change where IT plays an important role.
Technology
• Applications
• Middleware
• Infrastructure
People Organisation
• Attitude • Processes
• Knowledge • Structure
• Skills • Location
Figure 1: Context and consistency of technology, organisation and people
1
Sheth, J. (2009). Chair of Marketing Strategy in the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. Rajendra
S. Sisodia is professor of marketing and founding director of the Center for Marketing Technology at Bentley
College.
2
Forester, T. (1989). The Story of the Information Technology Revolution, MIT Press.
2

3. Business Innovation and Transformation with IT
Many organisations struggle with IT related innovation, meaning innovations due to IT, in
which an organisation feels like a victim. This article introduces organisational change by
means of IT. According to the dictionary the words by means of refers to as ‘based on’. This
implies that not IT, but the organisation itself is steering and selects the IT solutions which are
important for the corporate objectives. Organisational change by means of IT involves:
- changes of the IT solution itself; this could be a change of the existing IT solution or the
implementation of a new IT solution (IT project);
- changes in the work domain of users of IT solutions (user organisation or demand side of
IT);
- changes in the work domain of IT support (IT organisation or supply side of IT).
Organisational change by means of IT refers to changes in all three subsections and their
mutual influencing and dependency therein. Continuous alignment and connection are
required to have the subsections mutually join each other perfectly well, in order to ensure
that innovation in which IT plays an important role becomes successful. IBAFrame (IT
Benefits Accelerator Framework) is the indispensable link between the three subsections of
changes by means of IT (figure 2).
Figure 2: Alignment and connection between the subsections involving changes by means of IT
The corporate power to change is one of the most important pillars of the organisation’s
success in the current fifth technology revolution.3 The power to change determines the
change result of organisational change - and thus business innovation - in which IT plays an
important role. IBAFrame helps to detect and improve the weak spots of the corporate power
to change within the own organisation. IBAFrame can also compare the own corporate power
to change with other organisations within or outside the industry (figure 3). This article
outlines the main terms related to IBAFrame. These terms are:
- power to change;
3
Perez, C. (2009). Technological revolutions and techno-economic paradigms, TOC/TUT working paper no. 20.
3

4. Business Innovation and Transformation with IT
- change result;
- change instruments;
- work forms.
Food for thought: The total is more than...
Perhaps you as a reader, might think: I have heard this before: ‘The total is more than the sum
of the parts. But then, make it measurable’. To make this clear, we use an example from
athletics from the Dutch relay team on the 4×100 metres sprint. On July 1, 2007 the Dutch
record for the one hundred metres was held by Churandy Martina with 10.10 seconds.
Churandy Martina is one of Antilles best known sportsman. He won the gold medal in the 100
m during the Pan American Games (Rio de Janeiro, 2007) He also ranked 5th in the 100
metres and 200 meters sprint world championships (Osaka 2007, Japan). In the theoretical
case Churandy Martina runs 4 times, simple math illustrates that as such the fastest possible
time to reach for the 4×100 metres could be 40.40 seconds. However, until first of June 2009,
the fastest time of a Dutch relay team on the 4×100 metres is 38.63 seconds. This is what is
meant with the total is more than the sum of the parts.
Corporate power to change and change result
The corporate power to change is the organisation’s competence level to handle several
change instruments. IBAFrame works with the following instruments:
- roadmap;
- change approach;
- programme and project management;
- knowledge management;
- personal effectiveness.
Figure 3: IBAFrame for measuring, benchmarking and developing the corporate power to change
4

5. Business Innovation and Transformation with IT
The change instruments used by IBAFrame are on the one hand focused on solving the in
table 1 referred to causes of poor results of the organisational changes due to IT. On the other
hand the IBAFrame instruments consist of knowledge, experience and insights from different
professional fields which have proven themselves in the everyday practice. Involved
professional fields are project management, management of change and IT-auditing. Table 1
illustrates which change instrument is primarily focused on solving which cause of the poor
results of the organisational change due to IT.
Cause Change instruments to use
Lacking mutual sense of direction and Roadmap and personal effectiveness
commitment (lack of leadership)
Incorrect change approach (incorrect Roadmap and change approach
assessment of the complexity, conflicting
project management style in relation to the
development and building method)
No or a lack of steering of the learning Change approach and knowledge
process management
Too little attention for changes in the users’ Roadmap and programme and
and IT support work domains project management
Inadequate objectives (specifications) Roadmap and programme and
project management
No instrument for measuring and IBAFrame in its entirety
developing the corporate power to change
Table 1:Causes and change instruments to use
IBAFrame distinguishes five levels of corporate power to change (A up to and including E).
Score A means the organisation has no knowledge and experience in using IBAFrame change
instruments. Score E is the highest score. This score indicates that change is a second nature
to the organisation. Management and employees have expert knowledge in handling change
instruments. The change result is expressed on a scale of 1 to 10 and measures amongst others
whether the change:
- is an improvement;
- fits the objective;
- coincides with the expectation;
- is properly absorped.
The stronger the power to change, the better the change results. This is translated from low
benefits to high benefits and from high failure costs to low failure costs, via the two lines
representing the change results as expressed in figure 3.
Change instruments
Business innovation with IT and thus organisational change is a dynamic process and involves
a certain degree of unpredictability. The IBAFrame change instruments are instruments which
provide a guideline to handle the dynamics and unpredictability, and as such to exert a
positive influence on the changes in which IT plays an important role. The change instruments
are focusing on the use on different levels of organisation, group and individual. The change
instruments ensure alignment and connection between the changes in the IT solution and the
changes in the work domains of users and IT support employees. It links ‘hard’ and ‘soft’
objectives for the changes. The change instruments assist to determine the ‘hard’ corporate
5

6. Business Innovation and Transformation with IT
objectives and link derived (measurable) group and individual objectives to this. This ‘hard’
management side is amongst other things focused on measuring, handling instruments and
applying structure. This is how IBAFrame helps to build the management infrastructure.
Change instruments also involve determining the ‘soft’ objectives. This refers to creating a
mutual sense of direction, encouraging commitment, cooperation, learning processes and give
meaning. According to several literature this ‘soft’ side is closely related to leadership. At this
‘soft’ side creativity, participation and taking away resistance are involved amongst others.
This stimulates building a social infrastructure. These IBAFrame change instruments bring
the disciplines management and leadership together. Table 2 is a listing and brief description
of the change instruments.
Applying the five instruments according table 2 is not such as a tip or trick. Applying these
five instruments is supported by a sixth change instrument: the transformational competency
model. Corporate change power is embedded in the competences of involved management
and employees. Steering organisational change by means of IT is realised within an
economical, social and political environment. Managers must be able to adjust to a turbulent
environment and be able to function in a complex and changing organisational structure. 4
They must use ever increasingly advanced information systems. Next, they are confronted
with different and changing standards, values and expectations. The central question is: What
is a successful manager now (and what will he be like in the future)? The modern manager
has the following characteristics: 5
- knowledge and information on a basic level; this refers to basic facts, relevant professional
experience and constantly being open to evolving events.
- specific skills and characteristics; this includes analytical, problem solving, and social
skills, emotional resilience and proactive indication.
- meta qualities; such as creativity, mental skills and a balanced learning style.
Change IBAFrame ‘hard’ Management IBAFrame ‘soft’ Objective and work form
instrument objectives Leadership objectives focussed on
Roadmap •Determine the point of departure, • Creation of common view Organisation/Group
destination (corporate objective) and and sense of direction
the change route
•Linking the change in the IT
solution and the change in the work
domains of IT support and users of
the IT solution
•Obtain insight into the complexity of
changes by means of IT
Change approach •Tune the change approach to the • Ensuring the proper Organisation/Group
complexity level atmosphere during
•Translate the change approach to organisational changes by
fitting work forms means of IT: increase the
speed if required or
possible, offers exploration
space and a learning
environment if necessary
4
Collins, D. (1998). Organizational Change: Sociological perspectives.
5
Broek, C. van den (2002). Learning competences for the facilitation of management.
6

7. Business Innovation and Transformation with IT
Programme and •Translate the corporate objective to •Encourage commitment Group/Individual
project derived objectives and make it and cooperation
management SMART •Ensure the dialogue
•Provide the change route with
change characteristics (specifications)
and a (time) path
•Set the proper priorities (which
programmes and projects have to be
executed first)
•Ensure a controlled (fitting)
execution
Knowledge • Increase the speed of and improve •Creating an optimal Group/Individual
management the adoption of the new IT solution learning environment
•Stimulating the (collective)
learning process
Personal •Tune the personal objective to the • Give meaning and offering Individual
effectiveness corporate objective (through the space within the collective
programme and project objective) boundaries which have been
•Improve the personal (individual) put in place with the other
productivity change instruments
Table 2: Listing and brief description of the change instruments
Food for thought: Appearances of a group
Appearances of a group can be either a team or network. Teams focus on unity where as
networks require diversity. Some characteristics that express the differences between teams
and networks are: 6
– Teams require coherence, networks autonomy;
– Teams desire privacy and seclusion, networks openness;
– Teams need a clear focus, networks need interaction;
– Teams search for similarity, networks choose expertise for different aspects;
– Teams require coordination, networks need connection.
Work forms
Business innovation and organisational change is set in motion by making use of change
instruments. This motion is created when people meet one another (virtually) and work
together in work forms. Work forms involve interaction and communication between people.
Some change instruments mainly focus on (large) groups. Other change instruments focus
more on the individuals and ensure a true embedding of the organisational (corporate)
objectives in the employees by actively involving employees and allowing them to learn
(embedded change). Work forms serve a certain interaction objective. This objective could
have a passive interaction objective with the intention to allow people to see and to allow
them to listen. With an active work form the emphasis is on participation, for example by
holding discussions or organising a workshop. Examples of work forms for use in a larger
group or team:
- presentation (passive);
- demonstration (passive);
- workshop (active);
- large scale intervention (active);
- meeting (active);
- brainstorm (active);
- test session (active).
Work forms focused on the use in smaller groups or on individual basis are:
6
Herbert, M. (2009). Working the Network, white paper, Logica.
7

8. Business Innovation and Transformation with IT
- discussion (active);
- work group (active);
- coaching (active);
- reading an article (passive);
- dialogue (active);
- teacher/pupil construction (active);
- learning by doing (active);
- review (active).
The meaning of some of these work forms appears to be self-explanatory. For the
unambiguous understanding a definition related to all work forms is listed below, part of
which have been copied from the dictionary website van Dale (table 3).
Term (work form) Definition
Presentation A type of show (performance)
Demonstration Illustrating the possibilities
Workshop An event in which persons are collectively acting in
a creative manner
Large scale A large target group who in one or several sessions
intervention discuss, share insights into and arrive at a mutual
view
Meeting An organised meeting in order to discuss, debate or
consultation
Brainstorm Offer spontaneous ideas or suggestions in order to
solve one or several problems
Test session Testing, putting it to test
Discussion Discussion in which participants try to find a
solution of the problem by argumentation
Work group Group of persons who collectively execute a task
Coaching To give guidance to
Reading an article Examining the content of the written item
Dialogue Discussion between two persons
Teacher/pupil Work construction in which one (teacher) teaches
construction the other (pupil)
Learning by doing Familiarise oneself with the topic by means of
acting (practical)
Review Provide commentary on an elaborated piece (of a
document)
Table 3: Work forms and their definition
A work form must fit the objective. For example, a workshop often serves as a work form to
retrieve information on the bottlenecks related to the functioning of a department. The
management and employees of the corresponding department both participate in the same
workshop. The risk is high that not all persons will be actively involved or dare to speak
freely, which is why the workshop will only retrieve information on half the existing
bottlenecks. The final solution is now only half a solution. It is better to gather information on
the bottlenecks during dialogues, and to present this information anonymously.
By outsourcing the development, maintenance and support of IT solutions to low-wage
countries, cooperating over long distances in different time zones is increasingly becoming
more common. Often, it is not feasible to meet in physical work forms, moreover it is
8

9. Business Innovation and Transformation with IT
extremely inefficient. However, work forms supported by Internet applications enable virtual
meetings. Web conferencing is an example of such a work form. Solutions such as MSN also
make it possible to meet and cooperate virtually. It is expected that the use of virtual work
forms will strongly intensify in the coming years. Books and literature concerning this subject,
provide an interesting view on this different (less physical) manner of working. Apart from
the virtual aspect, the intercultural aspects play an important role in international cooperation 7
as well. Cooperation will then – among other things – depend on knowing and being able to
handle the differences in habits and working styles.
Food for thought: Failed IT projects
The failure of IT projects is often determined on the basis of exceeding the delivery date
and/or the available IT project budget. However, if budget and time exceeds 10% and the
result contributes to more efficient working business processes, higher turnover or higher
margins, will we then refer to the project as a failed project? This classic approach on whether
or not a project was successful leads to a high level of narrow-mindedness in which the
projects appear to be the objective on itself instead of the means to contribute to the corporate
objective. IBAFrame uses a different approach. The term change result is the exponent with
which the result of the change by means of IT is expressed, instead of the budget and time.
Summary
This articles concerns a view on business innovation and organisational change where
information technology plays an important role. Analyses and research from different
professional fields lead to insights that offers opportunities to improve implementation and
results of organisational changes where IT plays an important role. This article is one of the
chapters of ‘Changing IT in six’.8 The principles of this article and the book have been
followed-up by a new study. The results of this study are available via:
http://www.slideshare.net/ldohmen/iba-frame-study-results-20100416
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leon Dohmen is principal management consultant at Logica. Also he
teaches Management of Technology at the Rotterdam Business School for
Master- en MBA-programmes. He is (co-)writer of the books ‘Regie
voeren over organisatieverandering met ICT’ (2008 – Sdu), ‘Changing IT
in six’ (2010 – Koninklijke van Gorcum) and ‘Kampioen
organisatieverandering’ (2011 - Unibook).
- http://www.linkedin.com/pub/leon-dohmen/0/b24/92 -
http://www.vangorcum.nl/EN_toonBoek.asp?PublID=4552
7
Journal of International Management, Volume 11, Issue 1, March 2005, Pages 111-113.
8
Broek, C. v.d., L. Dohmen & B. van der Hooft (2011). Changing IT in six, Koninlijke van Gorcum publishers
9