The Paradoxical Effects of Blockchain Technology on Social Networking Practices

Blockchain technology is a promising, yet not well understood, enabler of large-scale societal and economic change. For instance, blockchain makes it possible for users to securely and profitably share content on social media platforms. In this study, w

Revealing the Vicious Circle of Disengaged User Acceptance: A SaaS Provider's Perspective

User acceptance tests (UAT) are an integral part of many different software engineering methodologies. In this paper, we examine the influence of UATs on the relationship between users and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications, which are continuously delivered rather than rolled out during a one-off signoff process. Based on an exploratory qualitative field study at a multinational SaaS provider in Denmark, we show that UATs often address the wrong problem in that positive user acceptance may actually indicate a negative user experience. Hence, SaaS providers should be careful not to rest on what we term disengaged user acceptance. Instead, we outline an approach that purposefully queries users for ambivalent emotions that evoke constructive criticism, in order to facilitate a discourse that favors the continuous innovation of a SaaS system. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of our approach for the study of user engagement in testing SaaS applications

Six Inversion Strategies for Avoiding Rejection in Academic Publishing: Lessons from the IS Discipline

The publication process in many academic disciplines, including in Information Systems (IS), can seem arduous and unpredictable, particularly for early career researchers. While the literature offers plentiful guidance on how to pursue a paper acceptance, this paper offers a crisp summary of common mistakes that lead to rejection and how to avoid them. We provide six actionable inversion strategies for avoiding common mistakes that often lead to paper rejection. Namely, when preparing a paper, we recommend you (1) abstain from methodological promiscuity and (2) never overclaim (but try not to underclaim either); When submitting a paper, it is a good idea to (3) steer clear of bootlicking and (3) avoid sloppiness; And, after receiving the reviews, you should (5) forego belligerence, and (6) stop flogging a dead horse. These inversion strategies can help early career researchers better navigate the review process, increasing the chances of their papers maturing, and helping to avoid mistakes that lower the chance of publishing in high quality IS journals

Dialectical Inquiry in Information Systems Research: A Synthesis of Principles

Although dialectical inquiry has been sporadically and selectively applied in the Information Systems (IS) discipline, and premier IS journals increasingly welcome dialectical inquiries, we lack methodological guidance on its application and evaluation, hindering its adoption as an important and valid IS research method. In response, we present a critical analysis of general dialectics literature and 63 extant IS dialectical inquiry publications in 18 journals spanning three decades, revealing that there is a growing and sizeable community of IS researchers using dialectical inquiry explicitly or implicitly to examine how sociotechnical phenomena change. Based on this analysis, we synthesize six principles for dialectical inquiry that are firmly rooted in dialectical philosophy, evidenced in IS publications, clearly distinct from each other, and together comprehensive. As such, our contribution can help IS researchers, reviewers, and editors to extend and solidify their methodological repertoire

When Prototyping Meets Storytelling. Practices and Malpractices in Innovating Software Firms

Storytelling is an important but often underestimated practice in software engineering. Whereas existing research widely regards storytelling as creating a common understanding between developers and users, we argue that storytelling and prototyping are intertwined practices for innovators to persuade decision makers. Based on a two-year qualitative case study in two innovating software firms, we identify and dialectically examine practices of storytelling and prototyping. Our study implies that storytelling and prototyping should be integrated together into software engineering methods

From Process to Practice: Towards a Practice-Based Model of Digital Innovation

The ongoing digitalization of many corporate functions, including the innovation process, brings about fundamental changes that urge us to rethink established theories. Facilitating digital innovation requires a deep understanding of the actual practices that are carried out by innovating people with the help of artifacts. In this paper, we study the use of artifacts and illustrate their different roles in the underlying innovation practices to provide rich insights into digital innovation from a practice perspective. Grounded in a nearly three year-long, qualitative case study at two Swiss software companies and an extensive set of empirical data, this paper conceptualizes four interrelated digital innovation practices, namely making sense of an idea, aligning mental models, negotiating solution paths, and crafting an idea. We suggest a practice-based model of digital innovation, specify a set of practices for enabling digital innovation in organizations, and clarify the role of artifacts in digital innovation practices

Tuning Into Blockchain: Challenges and Opportunities of Blockchain-Based Music Platforms

Blockchain technology is an intensely discussed enabler of large-scale societal and economic change, but the circumstances under which different industries succeed or fail in implementing blockchain are not yet sufficiently understood. One example is the music industry, in which the promise of blockchain is not yet fulfilled, despite a growing number of ambitious blockchain pro-viders. This paper explores the challenges and opportunities of blockchain-based music platforms. Grounded in an exploratory qualitative case study within the music industry at seven organiza-tions and related literature, we identify three main challenges for digital music business, namely: 1) Inconsistent and incomplete music metadata, 2) Historically grown complex licensing struc-tures, and 3) Inefficient and non-transparent royalty payouts. We provide insight into how block-chain may address these challenges by means of a decentralized global song database that allows for automatic royalty payouts. Our results inform researchers and practitioners how the music in-dustry may create value from blockchain-based music platforms. We offer a nuanced and bal-anced view on value creation with blockchain and outline a path for further research and devel-opment on blockchain-based solutions for the music industry

What is paradox in Information Systems research? Towards a narratology

Paradoxes are intriguing narrative devices, enabling information systems (IS) researchers to develop captivating stories that encapsulate the richness of the emergent socio-technical phenomena they study. However, existing paradox research in IS has been fragmented by incoherency around the meaning of the term ‘paradox’. To help provide greater consistency and clarity, this paper works towards a narratology of paradox in IS. We review the existing IS paradox literature as captured in a sample of 139 publications in IS and related journals. In the first round of analysis, we identify six archetypes of how authors engage with paradoxes: complication, resolution, adaptation, problematisation, explanation, and exaptation. In the second round of analysis, we inductively code the different patterns in which narratives about paradoxes unfold in the existing IS paradox literature. Our framework, when completed, can help aspiring authors of IS paradox papers more clearly articulate their contribution