Collective Identity Formation on Instagram – Investigating the Social Movement Fridays for Future

In recent years, social media changed the way individuals participate in social movements. While activists demonstrate on the street to fight for a public goal, members of specific movements can also act collective online. Thus, different aspects might influence the formation of collective identity and therefore drive collective action on social media. This study combines the perspectives of social identity- and identity theory in order to examine how members of an opinion-based group contribute to the collective group/social identity formation and therefore, to collective action. To this end, we applied automated text classification techniques to Instagram communication related to the social movement Fridays for Future. Analysing 1,137 comments showed that individuals mainly express Group Cohesion and Emotional Attachment rather than Solidarity by commenting on Instagram. This study further presents a proposed model of collective group/social identity of collective action. Succeeding research aims at enhancing the classification and testing the mode

Home (Office) is where your Heart is

Working conditions of knowledge workers have been subject to rapid change recently. Digital nomadism is no longer a phenomenon that relates only to entrepreneurs, freelancers, and gig workers. Corporate employees, too, have begun to uncouple their work from stationary (home) offices and 9-to-5 schedules. However, pursuing a permanent job in a corporate environment is still subject to fundamentally different values than postulated by the original notion of digital nomadism. Therefore, this paper explores the work identity of what is referred to as ‘corporate nomads’. By drawing on identity theory and the results of semi-structured interviews, the paper proposes a conceptualization of the corporate nomad archetype and presents nine salient identity issues of corporate nomads (e.g., holding multiple contradictory identities, the flexibility paradox, or collaboration constraints). By introducing the ‘corporate nomad’ archetype to the Information Systems literature, this article helps to rethink established conceptions of “home office” and socio-spatial configurations of knowledge work

The Role of Social Media during Social Movements – Observations from the #metoo Debate on Twitter

In recent years, the development of information communication technologies (ICT) such as social media changed the way people communicate and engage in social movements. While conventional movements were fought in the streets, social media enabled movements to take place online. In this paper, we aim to investigate the role of social media during social movements which evolve online. Specifically, we examined Twitter communication during the #metoo debate. To this end, we applied methods from social network analysis to identify influential users participating during the debate. Conducting a manual content analysis, we classified 200 power users into roles. Likewise, a manual classification of 1,271 tweets found distinct communication categories. The results overall point to different motives: First, the communication was deeply concerned with the issue of sexual harassment, calling for attention and action. Second, we found reason to believe that self-serving and branding intentions drove participation

The Impact of Signaling Commitment to Ethical AI on Organizational Attractiveness

As organizations drive the development and deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based technologies, their commitment to ethical and humanistic values is critical to minimizing potential risks. Here, we investigate talent attraction as an economic incentive for organizations to commit to ethical AI. Based on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) literature and signaling theory, we present a mixed-methods research design to investigate the effect of ethical AI commitment on organizational attractiveness. Specifically, we i) identify signals of ethical AI commitment based on a review of corporate websites and expert interviews and ii) examine the effect of selected signals on organizational attractiveness in an online experiment. This short paper presents first results on ethical AI signals and details the next steps. Our research will contribute to the theoretical conceptualization of ethical AI as a part of CSR and support managers of digital transformation processes when weighing investments in ethical AI initiatives

Design Requirements for AI-based Services Enriching Legacy Information Systems in Enterprises: A Managerial Perspective

Information systems (IS) have been introduced in enterprises for decades to generate business value. Historically systems that are deeply integrated into business processes and not replaced remain vital assets, and thus become legacy IS (LISs). To secure the future success, enterprises invest in innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence-based services (AIBSs), enriching LISs and assisting employees in the execution of work-related tasks. This study develops design requirements from a managerial perspective by following a mixed-method approach. First, we conducted ten interviews to formulate requirements to design AIBSs. Second, we evaluated their business value using an online survey (N = 101). The results indicate that executives consider design requirements as relevant that create strategic advancements in the short term. With the help of our findings, researchers can better understand where further in-depth studies are needed to refine the requirements. Practitioners can learn how AIBSs generate business value when enriching LISs

Oiling the ‘Tireless Selling-Machine’ – Exploring Requirements for the Deployment of Social Bots in Social Commerce

Social media have become major platforms of commerce and changed the way we communicate and consume. Phenomena such as social bots add new dynamics to discussions and the spreading of information with the possible aim to influence or shape opinions and decisions. This study examines the requirements under which organizations would use social bots for commercial purposes. Interviews with 12 experts yielded a collection of requirements, including limitations, ethical considerations, and potentials for possible uses in marketing, social commerce, and customer service. It can be concluded that using social bots can be beneficial for commercial organizations, but that there is still a need for clarification of legalities

‘Conspiracy Machines’ - The Role of Social Bots during the COVID-19 ‘Infodemic’

The omnipresent COVID-19 pandemic gave rise to a parallel spreading of misinformation, also referred to as an ‘Infodemic’. Consequently, social media have become targets for the application of social bots, that is, algorithms that mimic human behaviour. Their ability to exert influence on social media can be exploited by amplifying misinformation, rumours, or conspiracy theories which might be harmful to society and the mastery of the pandemic. By applying social bot detection and content analysis techniques, this study aims to determine the extent to which social bots interfere with COVID19 discussions on Twitter. A total of 78 presumptive bots were detected within a sample of 542,345 users. The analysis revealed that bot-like users who disseminate misinformation, at the same time, intersperse news from renowned sources. The findings of this research provide implications for improved bot detection and managing potential threats through social bots during ongoing and future crises

‘We’re all in this toGather’ – A Virtual World for Improving Knowledge Exchange and Social Interaction for Digital Work

One drastic change that has been established in many organizations is the possibility of location-independent work. However, working remotely also creates distinct challenges that organizations must face. Thus, remote work could lead to a decrease in social interactions and therefore less implicit knowledge exchange in teams. However, informal conversations are crucial for building and maintaining team cohesion as well as experience transfer among employees. To address this problem, we apply a design science research approach to examine how a virtual world as a work environment could help to overcome those challenges within our research group. We designed a prototype of a virtual world that is based on knowledge gained from three design thinking workshops and tested it over four weeks in a real-world work case. Furthermore, we conducted 16 interviews with employees and present our initial findings of the effects on group awareness, social identity, IT identity, trust, and acceptance