INOVAÇÃO E TRANSFORMAÇÃO DIGITAL: O PROCESSO DE INSTITUCIONALIZAÇÃO DO PROTOCOLO DIGITAL EM UMA INSTITUIÇÃO DE ENSINO SUPERIOR PÚBLICA

Abstract

This research is based on the COVID-19 pandemic, which in turn accelerated the digital transformation process in institutions, including UNICENTRO. The University had to suspend its in-person activities in the first quarter of 2020 and then resumed these activities remotely with the help of TIC’s. During this period, the Digital Protocol was created. The latter was implemented as a tool to maintain the flow of administrative processes that were previously carried out in person. This innovation was accelerated due to the need brought about by the Pandemic and became a fundamental solution for the continuity of activities at the University. The study aims to analyze the opinion of UNICENTRO employees on the process of institutionalizing the Digital Protocol in their activities based on the model proposed by Tolbert and Zucker. Regarding the methodology, this is a descriptive and quantitative study, using a questionnaire applied to University employees. This research involved the participation of 72 collaborators, both agents and professors. The results were analyzed based on three stages: habitualization, objectification and sedimentation. The first stage, habitualization, refers to the creation of new habits and processes. In this stage, the research demonstrated that the respondents recognized the importance of the innovation resulting from the Digital Protocol, which brought with it greater efficiency in activities. The objectification stage, which deals with legitimacy, as well as social consensus, presented the lowest overall average in the stages analyzed. Therefore, this suggests that, although the Digital Protocol has broad acceptance, there is still room to expand the dissemination of the tool and achieve greater consensus on its value among the various sectors of the university. And, for the sedimentation stage, which refers to the complete institutionalization of the process, there was the highest overall average. Therefore, according to most of the respondents, the Digital Protocol is already well-established in the University. In conclusion, the Digital Protocol was a successful innovation, as the University reorganized its strategy by implementing the Digital Protocol, bringing with it greater agility and efficiency in the processing of processes. However, there are still challenges to be overcome in the objectification phase, such as strengthening the consensus on how important the tool is.