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Author

Ola Henfridsson

Other affiliations: University of Oslo, Viktoria Institute, Miami University  ...read more
Bio: Ola Henfridsson is an academic researcher from University of Miami. The author has contributed to research in topics: Information system & Product design. The author has an hindex of 32, co-authored 97 publications receiving 7040 citations. Previous affiliations of Ola Henfridsson include University of Oslo & Viktoria Institute.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A conceptual framework to describe the emerging organizing logic of digital innovation is developed and an information systems research agenda for digital strategy and the creation and management of corporate information technology infrastructures is developed.
Abstract: In this essay, we argue that pervasive digitization gives birth to a new type of product architecture: the layered modular architecture. The layered modular architecture extends the modular architecture of physical products by incorporating four loosely coupled layers of devices, networks, services, and contents created by digital technology. We posit that this new architecture instigates profound changes in the ways that firms organize for innovation in the future. We develop (1) a conceptual framework to describe the emerging organizing logic of digital innovation and (2) an information systems research agenda for digital strategy and the creation and management of corporate information technology infrastructures.

1,803 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Action design research (ADR) reflects the premise that IT artifacts are ensembles shaped by the organizational context during development and use and conceptualizes the research process as containing the inseparable and inherently interwoven activities of building the IT artifact, intervening in the organization, and evaluating it concurrently.
Abstract: Design research (DR) positions information technology artifacts at the core of the Information Systems discipline. However, dominant DR thinking takes a technological view of the IT artifact, paying scant attention to its shaping by the organizational context. Consequently, existing DR methods focus on building the artifact and relegate evaluation to a subsequent and separate phase. They value technological rigor at the cost of organizational relevance, and fail to recognize that the artifact emerges from interaction with the organizational context even when its initial design is guided by the researchers' intent. We propose action design research (ADR) as a new DR method to address this problem. ADR reflects the premise that IT artifacts are ensembles shaped by the organizational context during development and use. The method conceptualizes the research process as containing the inseparable and inherently interwoven activities of building the IT artifact, intervening in the organization, and evaluating it concurrently. The essay describes the stages of ADR and associated principles that encapsulate its underlying beliefs and values. We illustrate ADR through a case of competence management at Volvo IT.

1,538 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A theoretical model that centres on two drivers behind boundary resources design and use – resourcing and securing – and how these drivers interact in third‐party development is proposed and applied to a detailed case study of Apple's iPhone platform.
Abstract: Prior research documents the significance of using platform boundary resources e.g. application programming interfaces for cultivating platform ecosystems through third-party development. However, there are few, if any, theoretical accounts of this relationship. To this end, this paper proposes a theoretical model that centres on two drivers behind boundary resources design and use - resourcing and securing - and how these drivers interact in third-party development. We apply the model to a detailed case study of Apple's iPhone platform. Our application of the model not only serves as an illustration of its plausibility but also generates insights about the conflicting goals of third-party development: the maintenance of platform control and the transfer of design capability to third-party developers. We generate four specialised constructs for understanding the actions taken by stakeholders in third-party development: self-resourcing, regulation-based securing, diversity resourcing and sovereignty securing. Our research extends and complements existing platform literature and contributes new knowledge about an alternative form of system development.

646 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The paper identifies three generative mechanisms of digital infrastructure and how they contingently lead to evolution outcomes and uses these mechanisms as a basis for developing a configurational perspective that advances current knowledge about why some digital infrastructures evolve successfully while others do not.
Abstract: The current literature on digital infrastructure offers powerful lenses for conceptualizing the increasingly interconnected information system collectives found in contemporary organizations. However, little attention has been paid to the generative mechanisms of digital infrastructure, that is, the causal powers that explain how and why such infrastructure evolves over time. This is unfortunate, since more knowledge about what drives digital infrastructures would be highly valuable for managers and IT professionals confronted by the complexity of managing them. To this end, this paper adopts a critical realist view for developing a configurational perspective of infrastructure evolution. Our theorizing draws on a multimethod research design comprising an in-depth case study and a case survey. The in-depth case study, conducted at a Scandinavian airline, distinguishes three key mechanisms of digital infrastructure evolution: adoption, innovation, and scaling. The case survey research of 41 cases of digital infrastructure then identifies and analyzes causal paths through which configurations of these mechanisms lead to successful evolution outcomes. The study reported in this paper contributes to the infrastructure literature in two ways. First, we identify three generative mechanisms of digital infrastructure and how they contingently lead to evolution outcomes. Second, we use these mechanisms as a basis for developing a configurational perspective that advances current knowledge about why some digital infrastructures evolve successfully while others do not. In addition, the paper demonstrates and discusses the efficacy of critical realism as a philosophical tradition for developing substantive contributions in the field of information systems.

556 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This editorial reviews key insights from the literature on digital infrastructures and platforms, present emerging research themes, highlight the contributions developed from each of the six articles in this special issue, and conclude with suggestions for further research.
Abstract: In the last few years, leading-edge research from information systems, strategic management, and economics have separately informed our understanding of platforms and infrastructures in the digital age. Our motivation for undertaking this special issue rests in the conviction that it is significant to discuss platforms and infrastructures concomitantly, while enabling knowledge from diverse disciplines to cross-pollinate to address critical, pressing policy challenges and inform strategic thinking across both social and business spheres. In this editorial, we review key insights from the literature on digital infrastructures and platforms, present emerging research themes, highlight the contributions developed from each of the six articles in this special issue, and conclude with suggestions for further research.

442 citations


Cited by
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Book
01 Jan 2003
TL;DR: In this paper, Sherry Turkle uses Internet MUDs (multi-user domains, or in older gaming parlance multi-user dungeons) as a launching pad for explorations of software design, user interfaces, simulation, artificial intelligence, artificial life, agents, virtual reality, and the on-line way of life.
Abstract: From the Publisher: A Question of Identity Life on the Screen is a fascinating and wide-ranging investigation of the impact of computers and networking on society, peoples' perceptions of themselves, and the individual's relationship to machines. Sherry Turkle, a Professor of the Sociology of Science at MIT and a licensed psychologist, uses Internet MUDs (multi-user domains, or in older gaming parlance multi-user dungeons) as a launching pad for explorations of software design, user interfaces, simulation, artificial intelligence, artificial life, agents, "bots," virtual reality, and "the on-line way of life." Turkle's discussion of postmodernism is particularly enlightening. She shows how postmodern concepts in art, architecture, and ethics are related to concrete topics much closer to home, for example AI research (Minsky's "Society of Mind") and even MUDs (exemplified by students with X-window terminals who are doing homework in one window and simultaneously playing out several different roles in the same MUD in other windows). Those of you who have (like me) been turned off by the shallow, pretentious, meaningless paintings and sculptures that litter our museums of modern art may have a different perspective after hearing what Turkle has to say. This is a psychoanalytical book, not a technical one. However, software developers and engineers will find it highly accessible because of the depth of the author's technical understanding and credibility. Unlike most other authors in this genre, Turkle does not constantly jar the technically-literate reader with blatant errors or bogus assertions about how things work. Although I personally don't have time or patience for MUDs,view most of AI as snake-oil, and abhor postmodern architecture, I thought the time spent reading this book was an extremely good investment.

4,965 citations

01 Jan 2012

3,692 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The fields of application for IoT technologies are as numerous as they are diverse, as IoT solutions are increasingly extending to virtually all areas of everyday.
Abstract: It has been next to impossible in the past months not to come across the term ‘‘Internet of Things’’ (IoT) one way or another. Especially the past year has seen a tremendous surge of interest in the Internet of Things. Consortia have been formed to define frameworks and standards for the IoT. Companies have started to introduce numerous IoTbased products and services. And a number of IoT-related acquisitions have been making the headlines, including, e.g., the prominent takeover of Nest by Google for $3.2 billion and the subsequent acquisitions of Dropcam by Nest and of SmartThings by Samsung. Politicians as well as practitioners increasingly acknowledge the Internet of Things as a real business opportunity, and estimates currently suggest that the IoT could grow into a market worth $7.1 trillion by 2020 (IDC 2014). While the term Internet of Things is now more and more broadly used, there is no common definition or understanding today of what the IoT actually encompasses. The origins of the term date back more than 15 years and have been attributed to the work of the Auto-ID Labs at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on networked radio-frequency identification (RFID) infrastructures (Atzori et al. 2010; Mattern and Floerkemeier 2010). Since then, visions for the Internet of Things have been further developed and extended beyond the scope of RFID technologies. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for instance now defines the Internet of Things as ‘‘a global infrastructure for the Information Society, enabling advanced services by interconnecting (physical and virtual) things based on, existing and evolving, interoperable information and communication technologies’’ (ITU 2012). At the same time, a multitude of alternative definitions has been proposed. Some of these definitions exhibit an emphasis on the things which become connected in the IoT. Other definitions focus on Internet-related aspects of the IoT, such as Internet protocols and network technology. And a third type centers on semantic challenges in the IoT relating to, e.g., the storage, search and organization of large volumes of information (Atzori et al. 2010). The fields of application for IoT technologies are as numerous as they are diverse, as IoT solutions are increasingly extending to virtually all areas of everyday. The most prominent areas of application include, e.g., the smart industry, where the development of intelligent production systems and connected production sites is often discussed under the heading of Industry 4.0. In the smart home or building area, intelligent thermostats and security systems are receiving a lot of attention, while smart energy applications focus on smart electricity, gas and water meters. Smart transport solutions include, e.g., vehicle fleet tracking and mobile ticketing, while in the smart health area, topics such as patients’ surveillance and chronic disease management are being addressed. And in the context of Accepted after one revision by Prof. Dr. Sinz.

3,499 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This essay aims to help researchers appreciate the levels of artifact abstractions that may be DSR contributions, identify appropriate ways of consuming and producing knowledge when they are preparing journal articles or other scholarly works, and understand and position the knowledge contributions of their research projects.
Abstract: Design science research (DSR) has staked its rightful ground as an important and legitimate Information Systems (IS) research paradigm We contend that DSR has yet to attain its full potential impact on the development and use of information systems due to gaps in the understanding and application of DSR concepts and methods This essay aims to help researchers (1) appreciate the levels of artifact abstractions that may be DSR contributions, (2) identify appropriate ways of consuming and producing knowledge when they are preparing journal articles or other scholarly works, (3) understand and position the knowledge contributions of their research projects, and (4) structure a DSR article so that it emphasizes significant contributions to the knowledge base Our focal contribution is the DSR knowledge contribution framework with two dimensions based on the existing state of knowledge in both the problem and solution domains for the research opportunity under study In addition, we propose a DSR communication schema with similarities to more conventional publication patterns, but which substitutes the description of the DSR artifact in place of a traditional results section We evaluate the DSR contribution framework and the DSR communication schema via examinations of DSR exemplar publications

2,221 citations