Leadership matters
Digital commerce is no longer just about technology it’s also about capabilities that are not necessarily technology-based. However, it is still seen as a solely technology function for many businesses. We asked about digital commerce leadership and we found there was a massive diversity of who leads.
Yet there is a clear favoring of those in IT positions. More than one-third of respondents reported that their digital commerce is led by chief technology officer (CTO), chief information officer (CIO), or the chief digital officer (CDO). However, with the rise of customer-centric capabilities, like personalization, digital commerce now requires leadership that understands customers best.
Chief revenue officers (CROs) or chief sales officers (CSOs) that lead the digital commerce function perform better than other leaders. While digital commerce requires the technical vision of CIOs and CTOs, our analysis shows that companies have better performance outcomes when they have a CRO or CSO leading digital commerce (Figure 4). Controlling for outside factors, we estimate this practice correlates with a 6% higher relative performance on business outcomes than companies with only the CTO leading digital commerce.
However, there is no clear consensus on the ideal leader. Technology is the key enabler of the digital experiences that a company implements. The CTO’s role can’t be downplayed in a digital commerce organization. However, technology performs better when complimented by the vision of those who focus on understanding customers, chief marketing officers (CMOs), CSOs, and CROs.
Given the evolution of horizons and capabilities like personalization, companies need to approach digital commerce as a suite of products that requires constant improvement and iteration, rather than a one-shot initiative. According to Gartner®, "Organizations fail to recognize that digital commerce is a team sport that requires cross-organizational efforts to deliver business outcomes”.10 Infosys’s Digital Radar 2023 also found that companies organized around products or value streams are 50% more likely to be among the fastest to market with new innovations.11
Figure 4: Share of companies by digital commerce leadership
Source: Infosys Knowledge Institute
However, most companies are not organized to do this (Figure 5). Nearly half (47%) of those surveyed reported using utilizing a centralized model where a single designated functional team manages digital commerce initiatives. Digital commerce is a team sport where each organizational function plays a role. While technology is vital, it is not sufficient on its own. To get the full value of personalization, companies need marketers and salespeople who understand personalization and can profile customers based on data provided by IT.
We found that 41% of the companies have a hybrid model with centralized leadership and specialized digital commerce roles integrated across other business functions. This increases the visibility and impact of digital commerce initiatives within the organization. However, only 7% of companies have a truly decentralized model where digital commerce roles are deeply integrated across business functions. These few organizations operate with the belief that digital commerce is a part of their DNA — an end goal for businesses that are not truly digital natives.
We have entered an era where business strategy is just as important as technology strategy. However, this does not diminish the critical role technology still plays in powering exciting and evolving digital commerce capabilities. Digital commerce requires participation and partnership between technology leaders and business leaders.
Figure 5: Most companies centralize digital commerce leadership and responsibility
The customer-facing sales and marketing teams are responsible for brand and experience. They must know the difference between how customers are expected to feel and how they actually feel. Successful commerce programs require a strong collaboration between sales and marketing, and IT functions, with a higher ownership of the former in some better optimized scenarios.
