Die Implementierung von Corporate Digital Responsibility durch den Einsatz von Operational Excellence – Eine qualitativ empirische Untersuchung möglicher digital-ethischer Effekte von Operational Excellence in der deutschen produzierenden Industrie

The increased use of digital technologies and innovations influences the business activities of German companies and defines new technological, social and economic requirements and expectations. Today, more than ever, companies must demonstrate their ability to disrupt and adapt without neglecting their corporate obligation to take responsibility for their social and digital actions.
Against this background, Corporate Digital Responsibility (CDR) is investigated and evaluated as a normative concept of voluntary commitment to corporate responsibility for digital action. Although there are already some CDR-guidelines, few initiatives deal with the implementation in the company.
This dissertation investigates whether established Operational Excellence (OpEX) methods, such as Lean Management, Agile Management, Scrum and SixSigma, can support companies in integrating digital-ethical initiatives like CDR into companies and promoting ethical-moral decision-making behaviour in dealing with digital technologies, as well as developing better corporate resilience to cope with the demands of the VUCA world.
This scientific work is located in the field of applied business ethics and combines the topics of corporate responsibility and process management. The topics of CDR, OpEX and digital transformation, which have so far been studied independently of each other, are to be brought together in a holistic context.
The aim of this work is to find out which interfaces and commonalities exist between OpEX and CDR and whether the beliefs and philosophies of OpEX can favour the digital-ethical development of companies.
An empirical study in the form of qualitative interviews with representatives from the German manufacturing industry will be conducted and evaluated using the Grounded Theory method. The dissertation follows an inductive pragmatic and interpretivist research approach in order to shed light on different reports of experience, but also to create a solution-oriented conclusion.
Based on the findings from the qualitative expert interviews, it becomes apparent that OpEX is considered a catalyst for both digital-ethical and sustainable issues. In particular, the methods of Lean Management and Agile Management are emphasised here.
Accordingly, it can be concluded that OpEX-concepts are a good basis for integrating digital-ethical action and pursuing digital-sustainable development. OpEX supports companies in dealing resiliently with possible challenges of the digital transformation.