The Role of Design Thinking for Achieving Leadership in the Digital Transformation of Business

The implementation of the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution is widely discussed both in the scientific community and among business leaders. New digital technologies provide a real opportunity for companies to achieve leadership by changing their business model, focusing on customer experience, using big data technologies, increasing flexibility, and changing methods of managing their assets. Such disruptive changes require an understanding of the role of the organization’s culture in the process of change and attention to it. However, technology alone cannot lead to the new business successes. People who use these technologies should be prepared to change regular business models and business processes in order to move to a new quality. Moreover, people quickly accept changes and participate in their implementation if they were involved in the process of developing these changes. One of the most sought-after qualities in the era of the digital revolution is the creativity of thinking. Design thinking has occupied an important place in the practice of teaching in leading universities and business schools in the world. Thanks to this approach, a person gets the opportunity to overcome the accumulated stereotypes and patterns. Companies of various sizes and activities actively apply design thinking in the process of transforming their business. This paper identifies areas of application of design thinking in various areas of company management in the process of digital transformation in order to achieve leadership in business.