UNIVERSITY STRATEGY AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS. A DOCUMENTARY ANALYSIS.

Over the past few years Higher Education has felt the influence of different technological and social trends towards digitalization which have led to many teaching innovation projects based on digital technologies. These innovations, far from being isolated and static phenomena, ought to be seen as instances of a genuine digital transformation process of Higher Education. Yet it hasn’t just been Higher Education; many other sectors such as the press, banking, television or the music industry have also been affected by digital transformation processes which in many cases have been disruptive. The main argument of this article is that a study of e-innovation in University teaching should be approached within a complete analysis of the digital transformation taking place at Higher Education Institutions, which are highly complex organizations. It is only through adopting this organizational perspective that one can gain a complete vision and overview of the changes and challenges universities are facing. These days digital transformation is a strategic priority for many business organizations. Is this also the case for universities? In order to try and answer this question the article will take a qualitative approach based on documentary analysis. It will look at the results from the analysis of the case of a Spanish university and shows evidence supporting the argument that universities have a conception of digital technologies that is not strategic enough, merely as tools.