Design-logic alignment in digital transformation: A qualitative meta-analysis of Kodak

Abstract

Why does an incumbent like Kodak, despite investing early in digital technology, still fail to create and capture value? We argue that Kodak’s fate exemplifies a canonical paradox of digital transformation (DT) because its organisational identity, strategy, and technology imperatives were not aligned. While research in information systems, strategy, and organisation theory has long emphasised these three imperatives independently, we lack a DT-specific synthesis that explains how they become aligned or drift into misalignment. To address this gap, we reframe DT as a Design-Logic Alignment (DLA) problem. Based on a comprehensive review of DT research, we first develop a DLA framework that conceptualises DT as an ongoing process of aligning technology, strategy, and identity. We then identify a set of causal mechanisms that account for when and how such alignment or misalignment occurs and consolidate them in a summary table as a mid-range theoretical lens on DT. Finally, we apply the DLA framework in a qualitative meta-analysis of the extensive literature on Kodak, tracing distinct transformation modes, entry points across the three imperatives, and how the mechanisms manifest across episodes of its trajectory. Together, these contributions offer an integrated, multi-imperative process analysis and a more actionable diagnostic for understanding and managing DT success or failure.