A Typology of Affordances: Untangling Sociomaterial Interactions through Video Analysis

In this study we untangle the sociomaterial interactions between developers, users, and artifacts by analyzing what types of affordances occur in the interactions between actors and artifacts in the context of group generativity. Hereto, we conducted an in-depth ethnographic and interaction analysis of video data of the interactions of groups of people with each other and with a set of self-developed applications for supporting generative activities. On the basis of our findings, we propose a typology of affordances. Given that affordances are by definition sociomaterial, studying affordances helps us to provide empirical insights into sociomateriality. Furthermore, this typology of affordances enables us to empirically analyze the role of materiality as well as to theoretically explain how materiality affects the way people act and interact with each other and artifacts. Finally, important theoretical and methodological implications for the literature on sociomateriality are discussed

GENERATIVE COLLECTIVES

Analyzing generative group activities against the backdrop of an increasingly connected world, this theory development paper introduces the concept of generative collectives as a new framework for classifying internet-based collectives and a novel theoretical lens for explaining why some internet-based groups are more generative than others. Generative collectives are groups of people with shared interests or goals who mutually engage in rejuvenating, reconfiguring, reframing and revolutionizing acts. We submit that any type of collective has the capacity to be generative; however, some collectives are more generative than others. We explore two core structural dimensions of generative collectives and provide a framework for classifying these collectives and their respective levels of entropy as a proxy for their collective generative capacity. Subsequently, we derive and illustrate four archetypes of generative collectives, which can help account for the varying levels of generativity in different groups. Finally, implications for future research and practice are discussed

Idea Work: A Pragmatic Perspective on Action-Based Creativity and Innovation in Everyday Work

Idea work is the process of engaging with ideas in everyday work within task-driven contexts. Anyone who creates, modifies, and uses ideas in the context of everyday work is engaged with idea work. In this paper, we aim to draw attention to how idea work can be used as a fundamental lens to understanding creativity and innovation in organizations. We propose shifting focus from knowledge work to idea work, building on the observation that idea work 1) is distributed across people, artifacts, and environment; 2) is enacted through discursive practices; 3) entails a practical and meaningful engagement with the world; and 4) draws upon and results in embodied artifacts. Backed by a set of action-oriented illustrations of idea work in organizational context, these underpinnings provide insights concerning how creativity and innovation emerge from social interactions between situated people who are collaboratively engaged with embodied artifacts and information systems in the context of everyday work

Boundary Spanning through Enterprise Social Software: An External Stakeholder Perspective

Recent boundary spanning literature has recommended a shift toward assessing the role of virtual tools—such as social media. Simultaneously the proliferation of Enterprise Social Software (ESS) points to the need to theorize and investigate the supra-individual usage of these tools. This exploratory study responds to both mandates through a longitudinal, multi-method investigation of ESS’ effects on boundary spanning by virtual research teams within a worldwide provider of workplace solutions. Combining survey, ESS log, and content data, this study complements the dominant internal focus of the boundary spanning literature with an external stakeholder perspective to analyze the types of boundary spanning activities enacted through ESS, the perceptions of these activities by external parties, as well as the effect of ESS hereon. Disentangling ESS’ effects on boundary spanning not only extends our current understanding of the potential role of social media, but can further inform the design of supportive tools

Collective Generativity: The Emergence of IT-Induced Mass Innovation

Analyzing how collective action leading to mass innovation emerges against the backdrop of an increasingly connected world, we introduce the concept of collective generativity as a new theoretical lens for understanding the ability of distributed communities to engage collectively in bottom-up processes of creation and innovation. Applying this lens allows us to understand how collective generativity emerges and evolves and how to design systems and spaces that evoke and enhance this communal generative capacity. In this paper, we explore the underpinnings of collective generativity: connectivity, distributed cognition, collective action and mass innovation. Jointly, these theoretical insights are used to derive a set of design principles for the development of co-generative systems, which are conducive to mass collective action and innovation. Finally, we demonstrate our thesis with an illustrative vignette of collective generativity and conclude with several implications for future research

Distributed Cognition in Online Generative Collectives: Enabling Collective Generative Capacity through Reflections, Interactions and Representations

Analyzing online group activities against the backdrop of an increasingly connected world, this empirical paper extends the concept of “distributed cognition as a theoretical lens for explaining why some Internet-based collectives are more generative than others. These so-called Internet-based generative collectives—groups of people with shared interests or goals who mutually engage in generative acts—evolve around three processes of distributed cognition, namely reflection, interaction, and representation. Using Q-methodology, the relations between these three dimensions of distributed cognition and the generative capacity of Internet-based collectives is explored. The findings of a Q-factor analysis reveal that processes of distributed cognition lie at the heart of generative collectives. Furthermore, depending on how enabling the underlying structure and available technology of a collective is, an environment emerges in which the processes of interaction, reflection, and representation can flourish, thereby maximizing the collective’s generative capacity. Finally, implications for practice and future research are discussed

Data Matters: An Analysis of Data Practices in IS Research

Based on content analyses of 653 articles published between 2004 and 2008 in five key journals in the IS field, we demonstrate that the IS discipline exhibits data poverty characteristics as evident by the prevailing data sharing and reuse practices. As a result, the scope and scale of IS research is inhibited and the likelihood of generating far-reaching salient results is low. Finally, we discuss the implications to the IS discipline and draw recommendations for shifting the related practices from a vicious circle of data poverty to a virtuous circle of data richness

From Green IT to Sustainable Innovation

Sustainable innovation is about creating social, environmental, and economic value for all stakeholders involved. In this paper we propose the sustainable innovation lens as an extension of the prevailing discourses on Green IT/IS. The sustainable innovation lens goes beyond the environmental facet of sustainability—which is the main focus of Green IT/IS—and offers a three-fold approach that encompasses social, environmental and economic dimensions of sustainability. Moreover, sustainable innovation provides a potent proactive approach to IT/IS development and management by focusing on creating positive solutions to environmental and social challenges rather than on reducing and managing IT footprint. Building on a longitudinal study of Hewlett-Packard, we demonstrate how a company can widen its perspective from Green IT to sustainable innovation, and then illustrate how the latter has a greater potential for change and innovation

The Duality of Social Media: Structuration and Socialization through Organizational Communication

Drawing on Habermas’ theory of communicative action, this conceptual paper proposes the Organizational Social Media Lifeworld (OSML) as a useful model for disentangling the complex use of social media in organizations and its enabling role for organizational communication. Based on the OSML model, we show how social media are intrinsic to each of these four elements—actors, action, entity and culture—and how it enables the two overarching organizational processes of structuration and socialization. Herefrom we delineate a set of communication archetypes for making sense of the plethora of social media activities in organizational contexts, which can further guide research and practice. In order to illustrate the OSML model, we provide seven illustrative vignettes of the use of Facebook Pages for organizational communication pertaining to the various foundational actions and processes within an organization that are supported through four functional material properties. Finally, we provide implications for future research

The Impact of Consumer Compliments versus Complaints: A Functional Neuro-Imaging Exploration of the Effects of Electronic Word of Mouth

Social media represent one of the fastest growing marketing channels in the world. Consequently, both researchers and practitioners are increasingly interested in the effects of social media marketing efforts on the likelihood of consumers to engage with and subsequently purchase from a brand. However, hitherto, little research has explored how social media users process the information they encounter on social media and how this information affects the nature and level of brain activity that occurs. In the proposed study, we will use functional neuroimaging (fMRI) tools to complement psychometric measures to specifically explore the neural activity that occurs in response to comments or electronic word-of-mouth; i.e., consumers’ responses to posts from brands on social media. The selection of comments focuses on two dimensions of theoretical interest, namely the nature of the comment—compliment versus complaint—as well as the nature of the brand the comment is targeting—low versus high involvement. The theoretical and practical significance of this study are discussed