Exploring Functional Affordances and Sensemaking in Human Resource Analytics

Interest and investment in Business Analytics (BA) have grown substantially the last decade and applying BA in the domain of Human Resource Management (HRM) has received much attention from practitioners. An increased understanding of what potential HR Analytics has and how this potential is recognized and used is of practical and academic importance. Using the lenses of Functional Affordances and Sensemaking from Information Systems (IS) literature, an explorative case survey is performed. Cases from conferences and publications are qualitatively analyzed. Twelve Functional Affordances of HR Analytics were identified along with exemplary Sensemaking Frames and Sensemaking Patterns. This explorative study provides insights into the Functional Affordances and Sensemaking mechanisms of HR Analytics on an organizational level. It contributes to prior IS research in terms of the potential use of HR Analytics and the Sensemaking mechanisms used to identify and develop these affordances

AI Affordances Perception for the Transformation of Mobility Ecosystems

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can transform organisations, industries, and ecosystems. However, how different organisations in a given ecosystem perceive the action potentials of AI (i.e., AI affordances) has not been researched. To advance the AI affordances research and develop a nomological net of organisational and ecosystem factors that influence the AI affordances perception, this paper contributes a conceptual framework with the context of the mobility ecosystem transformation. The framework draws from two theories: the affordances theory and the social cognitive theory. The paper presents an in-depth interpretation of these theories for the perception of AI affordances and develops propositions to explain two distinct types of affordances perceptions: vicarious and autonomous. Our conceptual work offers a foundation for developing models for prediction and opens new avenues of investigating AI affordances perception. Future research could further test and validate the framework

Critical Review of Organization-Technology Sensemaking: Towards Technology Materiality, Discovery and Action

More than two decades of sensemaking research has brought thorough knowledge of how people understand organisational phenomena and attach meaning to them. This stream of research explores varied social and cognitive aspects of the process in the context of organisations and information technology (IT). However, such a large body of literature exhibits some significant shortcomings: there is a lack of IT materiality; a neglect of the discovery aspect of perception; and a lack of action orientation. So, there is limited understanding of the role that the material artefact plays in shaping users’ sensemaking of new IT, as well as how users’ actions affect their sensemaking. Moreover, while the literature mostly focuses on sensemaking as the creation of new meanings to rationalise user experiences, it neglects the discovery aspect of sensemaking that refers to perception of the meaning already available. To address these issues, this article provides a thorough review of the literature on organisation-technology sensemaking and synthesises our current understanding of the phenomenon. It then analyses the major shortcomings in our knowledge and highlights the need to address those shortcomings. It subsequently discusses an ecological approach consistent with the tenets of critical realism that can address some of the existing shortcomings

USING ALGORITHMIC NUDGES TO SAVE ENERGY AND WATER: A PROPOSAL FOR A LONGITUDINAL FIELD EXPERIMENT

Energy and water consumption are significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions. While facilitating conservation behaviors in private households can help to mitigate these emissions, the effects of such mitigations are often indirect and delayed. Presenting meaningful feedback about consumption can help to make clear the positive effects of conservation behaviors to those who undertake them. We propose a large-scale field experiment to increase energy and water conservation through algorithmic econudges. We use smart metering data to provide transparency, social references, and information about the environmental effects of conservation behavior. The proposed research is planned in a longitudinal design for 8 weeks in the winter of 2022/23 in Germany. The findings are expected to contribute to scholarly research on nudging and practice as well as to housing providers and policymakers who are interested in green nudging

Visualizing the Beer Game: The Value of Interactions During Dynamic Decision Making

Humans have several exceptional abilities, one of which is the perceptual tasks of the visual sense. Humans have unique abilities to perceive data and identify patterns, trends, and outliers. This research investigates the design of interactive visualizations to identify the value and benefits of dynamic decision-making situations. Results from the Beer Distribution Game are analyzed to determine the value of visualizations (V = T + I + E + C). More precisely, how users obtain insight by using a visualization tool and how those insights inform decisions. The results provide evidence of the value and benefits of interactive visualization for dynamic decision-making situations

STRATEGY AS PRACTICE: SEEING THE PRACTICE OF MATERIAL DEPLOYMENT THROUGH AFFORDANCE LENSES

The objective of this research was to investigate sociomaterial aspects of affordances regarding the practices in the strategy work. The materials have been studied on and off for a while and traditionally this research has had its roots in resource-based views. The strategy-as-practice stream has benefited the management research by giving importance on what strategists and practitioners do in practice. The findings of the empirical research showed evidence for abundant contemporary methods in the application of the technologies and programs before and after the meeting. The paper managed to include two distinctive datasets for the analysis. The meeting practices showed how the contemporarily strategic meetings are conducted both virtually and face-to-face. The data analysis finds evidence that the practitioners are tolerant to the certain program and material related inefficiencies and side-effects although their task as a strategist and practitioner relate to finding the solution to these issues. The industrial design directors (the Cluster 1) discussed how they convert intangibles to tangible outcomes through creativity, use of methods and tools, and especially communicate with visual means. The middle-management informants (the Cluster 2) were involved to follow the strategic agenda, the policies related to the use of selected technologies and take action related to a distinctive set of social practices in a global company. The findings show how one large organization utilize telecommunication as an important enabler in the praxis. As a managerial implication, the paper proposes discussions on the key technological instruments in the praxis to better justify current routines: the constraints limit the efficient practice. The phenomena of postponing the chance could be explained by dwelling until the strategy emerges

Sustaining effectiveness in global teams: The co-evolution of knowledge management activities and technology affordances

Despite the dynamic nature of knowledge-related activities and the availability of a variety of communication technologies, many global teams habitually use technology in the same way across activities. However, as teams move through cycles of accumulating, integrating, and implementing knowledge, the purposes for communication technologies change. Current theorizing and empirical work on team knowledge management has yet to develop a dynamic theory that incorporates these changes. By conducting a multiwave, mixed method analysis of 48 global teams, we develop a theory of how global teams sustain effectiveness through technology affordance processes. We found that effective teams are those that recognize cues indicating change is necessary and coevolve a symbiosis between new activities, new purposes for interaction, and new uses of communication technologies. This coevolution of purpose with technology use forms new affordances, which enable the team to move on to new knowledge management activities and sustain effectiveness. Our theory more realistically models the dynamics of staying connected while sharing, combining, and implementing knowledge across the globe

Exploring the Role of Big Data Analytics in Driving Financial Innovation: An Affordance Actualisation Perspectivec

While Big Data Analytics (BDA) is attracting business investment, the investment may not translate into business value. While prior studies indicate that BDA capability leads to performance gains, there seem to be an implied understanding that firms must follow a prescribed approach in BDA implementation without insight into why and how BDA can create value for a specific business. As BDA is an evolutionary technology, its role and benefits are not comparable to every industry context. To expand knowledge on the role of BDA in particular industries, this study explores the role of BDA in driving financial innovation in the banking industry and its successful implementation through the Affordance Actualisation lens. Preliminary results show that the various actualising activities that change the way actors work in the bank are necessary to realise the value of BDA. It also indicates the necessary changes in structure and the need to engage external sources in collaboration to mitigate the constraints in BDA value realisation within this industry

Theory borrowing in IT-rich contexts : lessons from IS strategy research

While indigenous theorizing in information systems has clear merits, theory borrowing will not, and should not, be eschewed given its appeal and usefulness. In this article, we aim at increasing our understanding of modifying of borrowed theories in IT-rich contexts. We present a framework in which we discuss how two recontextualization approaches of specification and distinction help with increasing the IT-richness of borrowed constructs and relationships. In doing so, we use several illustrative examples from information systems strategy. The framework can be used by researchers as a tool to explore the multitude of ways in which a theory from another discipline can yield the understanding of IT phenomena