Detailed study report by the Institute for Management and Innovation (IMI) now available online
The Institute for Management and Innovation (IMI) at Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society (HWG LU) investigated the relationship between digitalization and the service economy on behalf of the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Economic Affairs, Transport, Agriculture and Viticulture. The aim of the empirical study, which was completed at the end of 2020, was to clarify the question of how digitization processes in the economy affect trends in required skills and job profiles, the need for knowledge-intensive services to cope with the digital transformation and the development opportunities for a specialized business-related service economy.
The background to the study was the widely documented fact that many of the technological skills and methodological knowledge required for digitalization projects cannot be adequately provided by companies themselves and that there is therefore a need for external expertise in the form of services and consulting, e.g. IT security or AI experts, cloud architects, digital transformation specialists, data artists, customer experience managers, data scientists, blockchain developers or agile coaches.
In line with the objectives of the study, qualitative interviews were conducted with a number of experts from business and public institutions as well as standardized surveys with over 500 decision-makers from a) commercial enterprises from various sectors ("client companies") and b) IT service providers and consulting firms ("service providers") in Germany.
The results provide a detailed insight into the current needs and plans of client companies and service providers, as well as dynamic developments and options for action for public and private players.
The study revealed the following findings, among others:
- For two thirds of the client companies surveyed, it is a challenge to gain an overview of the service/consulting market and find suitable service providers. In their opinion, rural areas are not adequately supplied with qualified service providers.
- IT security is topic no. 1: 64% of the client companies surveyed expect "secure demand" for services in the coming years. There is also a high demand for consulting on the strategic topic of "digital business models". With regard to management and organizational topics, there is a high importance of support from external service providers for further education and training on new technologies as well as for the implementation of mobile working and working from home.
- The service providers surveyed see particularly strong demand for "digital transformation experts" and "cloud experts" in the knowledge-intensive service sector in the coming years.
- With regard to the new job profiles that are developing dynamically in the context of digitalization, service providers see various challenges: For example, the quality of an individual qualification can be difficult to assess (64% agree), people with suitable qualifications can be difficult to identify (62%) and qualifications required for a job profile may not be sufficiently clearly defined (56%).
- 50% of the service providers surveyed continue to agree with the thesis that the "know-how gap" between service providers and client companies is increasing (and that this is placing new demands on communication skills).
- Due to the effects of the coronavirus crisis, the client companies surveyed see a growing need for external expert support for the implementation of digitalization projects. Service providers, on the other hand, believe that they need to realign their offerings due to changing customer priorities (68% agreement).
- Consulting needs, especially among SMEs, increasingly require interdisciplinary, communicative and social skills from service providers. Various market requirements described in detail in the study are driving the further development of job profiles. Company requirements that have not yet been sufficiently taken into account also offer scope for new offerings and service innovations.
The study can be downloaded free of charge from the homepage of the Institute for Management and Innovation (IMI).
Specialist contact:
Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society
Institute for Management and Innovation (IMI)
Philipp Tachkov
Tel. 0621/5203-259
E-mail: philipp.tachkov@ 8< SPAM protection, please remove >8 hwg-lu.de
