Key CDO functions for successful digital transformation: Insights from a Delphi study

Given that the Chief Digital Office (CDO) is a new business position, it is not yet clear what the key functions they must develop to successfully undertake the company digital transformation process. Although previous literature has tentatively covered this issue, there are still gaps in knowledge about which functions are truly relevant. The aim of this paper is to fill this gap by (1) clarifying the key CDO functions through a Delphi study, validated by a digital dynamic capabilities (DDC) framework (Warner and Wager 2019), and (2) presenting a measurement instrument useful for assessing the degree of the key CDO functions performance. The findings highlight that key CDO functions are those mainly related to the ability to scan the external environment for unexpected digital trends. In contrast, there is an interesting agreement not to consider CDO responsible for maintaining and advancing the current IT infrastructure and architecture. Our study contributes to understanding the role of a new emergent Csuite position that strategically integrates business and technological knowledge in successfully managing the digital transformation process.