The ambivalent ontology of digital artifacts

doi:10.25300/MISQ/2013/37.2.02

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The ambivalent ontology of digital artifacts

Journal Article•DOI•

The ambivalent ontology of digital artifacts

Jannis Kallinikos¹, Aleksi Aaltonen², Attila Marton³•Institutions (3)

London School of Economics and Political Science¹, Hanken School of Economics², Copenhagen Business School³

01 Jun 2013-Management Information Systems Quarterly (M.I.S Research Center)-Vol. 37, Iss: 2, pp 357-370

TL;DR: It is concluded that the steady change and transfiguration of digital artifacts signal a shift of epochal dimensions that calls for rethinking some of the inherited wisdom in IS research and practice.

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Abstract: Digital artifacts are embedded in wider and constantly shifting ecosystems such that they become increasingly editable, interactive, reprogrammable, and distributable. This state of flux and constant transfiguration renders the value and utility of these artifacts contingent on shifting webs of functional relations with other artifacts across specific contexts and organizations. By the same token, it apportions control over the development and use of these artifacts over a range of dispersed stakeholders and makes their management a complex technical and social undertaking. These ideas are illustrated with reference to (1) provenance and authenticity of digital documents within the overall context of archiving and social memory and (2) the content dynamics occasioned by the findability of content mediated by Internet search engines. We conclude that the steady change and transfiguration of digital artifacts signal a shift of epochal dimensions that calls for rethinking some of the inherited wisdom in IS research and practice.

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Journal Article•DOI•

Digital innovation management: reinventing innovation management research in a digital world

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Satish Nambisan¹, Kalle Lyytinen², Ann Majchrzak³, Michael Song•Institutions (3)

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee¹, Case Western Reserve University², University of Southern California³

01 Mar 2017-Management Information Systems Quarterly

TL;DR: In a recent special issue on digital innovation management as mentioned in this paper, the authors proposed four new theorizing logics, or elements, that are likely to be valuable in constructing more accurate explanations of innovation processes and outcomes in an increasingly digital world.

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Abstract: Rapid and pervasive digitization of innovation processes and outcomes has upended extant theories on innovation management by calling into question fundamental assumptions about the definitional boundaries for innovation, agency for innovation, and the relationship between innovation processes and outcomes. There is a critical need for novel theorizing on digital innovation management that does not rely on such assumptions and draws on the rich and rapidly emerging research on digital technologies. We offer suggestions for such theorizing in the form of four new theorizing logics, or elements, that are likely to be valuable in constructing more accurate explanations of innovation processes and outcomes in an increasingly digital world. These logics can open new avenues for researchers to contribute to this important area. Our suggestions in this paper, coupled with the six research notes included in the special issue on digital innovation management, seek to offer a broader foundation for reinventing innovation management research in a digital world.

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1,274 citations

Cites background from "The ambivalent ontology of digital ..."

...2010; Zittrain 2008)— dress them with “ambivalent ontologies” (Kallinikos et al. 2013)....
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...Unique characteristics of digital artifacts—they are malleable, editable, open, transferable, etc. (Yoo et al. 2010; Zittrain 2008)— dress them with “ambivalent ontologies” (Kallinikos et al. 2013)....
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...They have especially highlighted the paradoxes and dilemmas that digitization creates for organizations developing, deploying, and managing digital innovation (e.g., Breshnahan and Greenstein 2014; Kallinikos et al. 2013; Lyytinen et al. 2016; Nambisan 2013; Tilson et al. 2010; Tiwana et al. 2010; Yoo et al. 2010)....
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...…highlighted the paradoxes and dilemmas that digitization creates for organizations developing, deploying, and managing digital innovation (e.g., Breshnahan and Greenstein 2014; Kallinikos et al. 2013; Lyytinen et al. 2016; Nambisan 2013; Tilson et al. 2010; Tiwana et al. 2010; Yoo et al. 2010)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Digital Entrepreneurship: Toward a Digital Technology Perspective of Entrepreneurship

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Satish Nambisan

01 Nov 2017-Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice

TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider two broad implications of digital technologies: less bounded entrepreneurial processes and outcomes, and less predefined locus of entrepreneurial agency, and advance a research agenda that calls for the explicit theorizing of concepts related to digital technologies.

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Abstract: New digital technologies have transformed the nature of uncertainty inherent in entrepreneurial processes and outcomes as well as the ways of dealing with such uncertainty. This has raised important questions at the intersection of digital technologies and entrepreneurship—on digital entrepreneurship. We consider two broad implications—less bounded entrepreneurial processes and outcomes and less predefined locus of entrepreneurial agency—and advance a research agenda that calls for the explicit theorizing of concepts related to digital technologies. In articulating the promise and value of such a digital technology perspective, we consider how it would build on and enrich existing entrepreneurship theories.

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1,086 citations

Cites background from "The ambivalent ontology of digital ..."

...Unique characteristics of digital artifacts or components—they are reprogrammable, recombinable, and open (Yoo et al., 2010; Zittrain, 2008)—dress them with “ambivalent ontologies” (Kallinikos et al., 2013)....
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...Reprogrammability relates to the ability to be “accessible and modifiable by (an object) other than the one governing their own behavior” (Kallinikos et al., 2013, p. 359)....
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...…(Foerderer et al., 2014; Um et al., 2013) Characteristics of digital artifacts such as reprogrammability, recombinability, and expansibility (Kallinikos et al., 2013; Yoo et al., 2010) Sociomateriality perspective (Orlikowski, 2007; Orlikowski & Scott, 2008) and the role of sociomaterial…...
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...As noted previously, digital artifacts are editable (can be modified or updated continuously and systematically), open, and distributed (not contained within a single source or institution) (Ekbia, 2009; Kallinikos et al., 2013)....
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..., 2010; Zittrain, 2008)—dress them with “ambivalent ontologies” (Kallinikos et al., 2013)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

The digital platform: a research agenda

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Mark de Reuver¹, Carsten Sørensen², Rahul C. Basole³•Institutions (3)

Delft University of Technology¹, London School of Economics and Political Science², Georgia Institute of Technology³

01 Jun 2018-Journal of Information Technology

TL;DR: A research agenda for digital platforms research in IS is developed and six questions for further research are suggested: Are platforms here to stay, how should platforms be designed, how do digital platforms transform industries, how can data-driven approaches inform digital platformsResearch, and how should researchers develop theory fordigital platforms.

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Abstract: As digital platforms are transforming almost every industry today, they are slowly finding their way into the mainstream information systems (ISs) literature. Digital platforms are a challenging research object because of their distributed nature and intertwinement with institutions, markets and technologies. New research challenges arise as a result of the exponentially growing scale of platform innovation, the increasing complexity of platform architectures and the spread of digital platforms to many different industries. This paper develops a research agenda for digital platforms research in IS. We recommend researchers seek to (1) advance conceptual clarity by providing clear definitions that specify the unit of analysis, degree of digitality and the sociotechnical nature of digital platforms; (2) define the proper scoping of digital platform concepts by studying platforms on different architectural levels and in different industry settings; and (3) advance methodological rigour by employing embedded case studies, longitudinal studies, design research, data-driven modelling and visualisation techniques. Considering current developments in the business domain, we suggest six questions for further research: (1) Are platforms here to stay? (2) How should platforms be designed? (3) How do digital platforms transform industries? (4) How can data-driven approaches inform digital platforms research? (5) How should researchers develop theory for digital platforms? and (6) How do digital platforms affect everyday life?

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907 citations

Cites background from "The ambivalent ontology of digital ..."

...Digital technologies imply homogenisation of data, editability, reprogrammability, distributedness and self-referentiality (Yoo et al., 2010; Kallinikos et al., 2013)....
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...But one may similarly argue that digitality affords further decentralisation (Tilson et al., 2010; Kallinikos et al., 2013)....
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...Such digital innovation arrangements will be both bounded by and leverage: (1) digital artefacts (Tilson et al., 2010; Leonardi et al., 2012; Kallinikos et al., 2013); (2) the exponential growth in computational power, faster networks, cheap storage and the development of increasingly capable…...
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Journal Article•DOI•

The digital transformation of innovation and entrepreneurship: Progress, challenges and key themes

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Satish Nambisan¹, Mike Wright², Maryann P. Feldman³•Institutions (3)

Case Western Reserve University¹, Imperial College London², University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill³

01 Oct 2019-Research Policy

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify three key themes related to digitization (Openness, affordances, and generativity) and outline broad research issues relating to each, and suggest that such themes that are innate to digital technologies could serve as a common conceptual platform that allows for connections between issues at different levels as well as the integration of ideas from different disciplines/areas.

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767 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Service innovation in the digital age: key contributions and future directions

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Michael Barrett¹, Elizabeth J. Davidson, Jaideep Prabhu¹, Stephen L. Vargo•Institutions (1)

University of Cambridge¹

01 Mar 2015-Management Information Systems Quarterly

TL;DR: In this article, the authors bring together some of the latest scholarship from the marketing and information systems disciplines to advance theoretical developments on service innovation in a digital age, which challenges us to question conventional approaches that construe service as a distinctive form of socioeconomic exchange and to reconsider what service means and thus how service innovation may develop.

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Abstract: Over the last decade, there has been an increasing focus on service across socioeconomic sectors coupled with transformational developments in information and communication technologies (ICTs). Together these developments are engendering dramatic new opportunities for service innovation, the study of which is both timely and important. Fully understanding these opportunities challenges us to question conventional approaches that construe service as a distinctive form of socioeconomic exchange (i.e., as services) and to reconsider what service means and thus how service innovation may develop. The aim of this special issue, therefore, is to bring together some of the latest scholarship from the Marketing and Information Systems disciplines to advance theoretical developments on service innovation in a digital age.

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765 citations

Cites background from "The ambivalent ontology of digital ..."

...Digital artifacts have been described as having an ambivalent ontology (Kallinikos et al. 2013), being intentionally incomplete and perpetually in the making (Garud et al. 2008; Zittrain 2008) and having a number of attributes depicted in the literature in similar yet distinctive ways (Faulkner and…...
[...]
...…ontology (Kallinikos et al. 2013), being intentionally incomplete and perpetually in the making (Garud et al. 2008; Zittrain 2008) and having a number of attributes depicted in the literature in similar yet distinctive ways (Faulkner and Runde 2009; Kallinikos et al. 2013; Yoo et al. 2010)....
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...This hybrid architecture adds a layered component to recognize the degree to which, on a continuum, generativity is added to the modular architecture (Kallinikos et al. 2013; Yoo et al. 2010), in which generativity refers to the “overall capacity of a technology to produce unprompted change driven by large, varied, and uncoordinated audiences” (Zittrain 2006, p....
[...]
...2008; Zittrain 2008) and having a number of attributes depicted in the literature in similar yet distinctive ways (Faulkner and Runde 2009; Kallinikos et al. 2013; Yoo et al. 2010)....
[...]
...…hybrid architecture adds a layered component to recognize the degree to which, on a continuum, generativity is added to the modular architecture (Kallinikos et al. 2013; Yoo et al. 2010), in which generativity refers to the “overall capacity of a technology to produce unprompted change driven…...
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References

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Open Access

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The Sciences of the Artificial

[...]

Herbert A. Simon¹•Institutions (1)

Carnegie Mellon University¹

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TL;DR: A new edition of Simon's classic work on artificial intelligence as mentioned in this paper adds a chapter that sorts out the current themes and tools for analyzing complexity and complex systems, taking into account important advances in cognitive psychology and the science of design while confirming and extending Simon's basic thesis that a physical symbol system has the necessary and sufficient means for intelligent action.

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Abstract: Continuing his exploration of the organization of complexity and the science of design, this new edition of Herbert Simon's classic work on artificial intelligence adds a chapter that sorts out the current themes and tools -- chaos, adaptive systems, genetic algorithms -- for analyzing complexity and complex systems. There are updates throughout the book as well. These take into account important advances in cognitive psychology and the science of design while confirming and extending the book's basic thesis: that a physical symbol system has the necessary and sufficient means for intelligent action. The chapter "Economic Reality" has also been revised to reflect a change in emphasis in Simon's thinking about the respective roles of organizations and markets in economic systems.

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11,845 citations

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Maryam Alavi¹, Dorothy E. Leidner²•Institutions (2)

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01 Mar 2001-Management Information Systems Quarterly

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Abstract: Knowledge is a broad and abstract notion that has defined epistemological debate in western philosophy since the classical Greek era. In the past few years, however, there has been a growing interest in treating knowledge as a significant organizational resource. Consistent with the interest in organizational knowledge and knowledge management (KM), IS researchers have begun promoting a class of information systems, referred to as knowledge management systems (KMS). The objective of KMS is to support creation, transfer, and application of knowledge in organizations. Knowledge and knowledge management are complex and multi-faceted concepts. Thus, effective development and implementation of KMS requires a foundation in several rich literatures.

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James G. March, Johan P. Olsen

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TL;DR: The state has lost its position of centrality in contemporary political theory and an emphasis on bargaining among conflicting interest have usurped ideas that embedded morality in institutions, such as the legal system and the corporation, as foundations for political identity as discussed by the authors.

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Abstract: The state has lost its position of centrality in contemporary political theory ideas of moral individualism and an emphasis on bargaining among conflicting interest have usurped ideas that embedded morality in institutions, such as the legal system and the corporation, as foundations for political identity. The authors propose a new theory of political behavior that re-invigorates the role of institutions - from laws and bureaucracy to rituals, symbols and ceremonies - as essential to understanding the modern political and economic systems that guide contemporary life.

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What's your strategy for managing knowledge?

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Morten T. Hansen¹, Nitin Nohria, Thomas J. Tierney•Institutions (1)

Harvard University¹

01 Mar 1999-Harvard Business Review

TL;DR: The authors warn that knowledge management should not be isolated in a functional department like HR or IT, and emphasize that the benefits are greatest when a CEO and other general managers actively choose one of the approaches as a primary strategy.

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Abstract: The rise of the computer and the increasing importance of intellectual assets have compelled executives to examine the knowledge underlying their businesses and how it is used. Because knowledge management as a conscious practice is so young, however, executives have lacked models to use as guides. To help fill that gap, the authors recently studied knowledge management practices at management consulting firms, health care providers, and computer manufacturers. They found two very different knowledge management strategies in place. In companies that sell relatively standardized products that fill common needs, knowledge is carefully codified and stored in databases, where it can be accessed and used--over and over again--by anyone in the organization. The authors call this the codification strategy. In companies that provide highly customized solutions to unique problems, knowledge is shared mainly through person-to-person contacts; the chief purpose of computers is to help people communicate. They call this the personalization strategy. A company's choice of knowledge management strategy is not arbitrary--it must be driven by the company's competitive strategy. Emphasizing the wrong approach or trying to pursue both can quickly undermine a business. The authors warn that knowledge management should not be isolated in a functional department like HR or IT. They emphasize that the benefits are greatest--to both the company and its customers--when a CEO and other general managers actively choose one of the approaches as a primary strategy.

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Sorting Things Out: Classification and Its Consequences

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Geoffrey C. Bowker, Susan Leigh Star

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Abstract: What do a seventeenth-century mortality table (whose causes of death include "fainted in a bath," "frighted," and "itch"); the identification of South Africans during apartheid as European, Asian, colored, or black; and the separation of machine- from hand-washables have in common? All are examples of classification -- the scaffolding of information infrastructures. In Sorting Things Out, Geoffrey C. Bowker and Susan Leigh Star explore the role of categories and standards in shaping the modern world. In a clear and lively style, they investigate a variety of classification systems, including the International Classification of Diseases, the Nursing Interventions Classification, race classification under apartheid in South Africa, and the classification of viruses and of tuberculosis. The authors emphasize the role of invisibility in the process by which classification orders human interaction. They examine how categories are made and kept invisible, and how people can change this invisibility when necessary. They also explore systems of classification as part of the built information environment. Much as an urban historian would review highway permits and zoning decisions to tell a city's story, the authors review archives of classification design to understand how decisions have been made. Sorting Things Out has a moral agenda, for each standard and category valorizes some point of view and silences another. Standards and classifications produce advantage or suffering. Jobs are made and lost; some regions benefit at the expense of others. How these choices are made and how we think about that process are at the moral and political core of this work. The book is an important empirical source for understanding the building of information infrastructures.

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4,480 citations