Social-Technical Issues in Organizational Information Technologies Minitrack
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This minitrack focuses on information systems research areas impacting the intersection of humans and technology in an organizational context. Social issues related to organizational information technologies (IT) represents one of the most often discussed underpinnings in information systems research throughout the tenure of the IS field. Social issues are those research topics most aligned with the human factor in terms of information systems planning, development, implementation, and utilization.
This minitrack includes all aspects of social issues that are impacted by information technologies affecting organizations and inter-organizational structures. This would include the conceptualization of specific social issues and their associated constructs, empirical validation of social models, and case studies illustrating socialization success and failures.
Authors are invited to submit papers that address social issues and IT in organizations, but not necessarily limited to the following:
- Organizational Culture and identity issues
- Politics
- Developing trust
- Power asymmetry
- Social barriers
- Social environments
- Cultural values and norms
- Social capital
- Acculturation
- Organizational identity and major changes (ex. Outsourcing, Mergers and Acquisitions)
- Relationship issues
- Development partnerships
- Group cohesiveness
- Collaboration
- Group facilitation
- Networking
- Buyer-supplier linkages
- Human Interaction issues
- Recruitment and retention
- Assessment and evaluation
- Motivation
- Social presence
- Asynchronous learning networks
- Leadership
- Organizational champions
- Diversity in the IT Workforce
- Diversity in virtual IT teams
- Educational initiatives for increased diversity in the IT workforce
- Gender and IT
- Ethnicity and IT
- Age and IT
- Diverse perspectives in the IT workforce
- The Digital Divide
- The Role of Community Technology Centers and Churches in Our Communities
- Information Technology as a Means for Increasing Social Capital
- Beyond Gender: Race, Sexual Orientation, Age, Education, and Socio-Economic
- Differences in organizations
- Community Informatics
- Cultural Customs Meet IT Research: Thinking In a New Box
The types of studies that would be welcomed by this minitrack would include, but would not be limited to research papers (conceptual, theoretical, and empirical) as well as case studies, research-in-progress, and best practices/lessons learned.
Minitrack Co-Chairs:
Michael Knight (Primary Contact)
Texas A&M - Kingsville
Email: michael.knight@tamuk.edu
Dawn Medlin
Appalachian State University
Email: Medlinbd@appstate.edu
Dragos Vieru
University of Quebec
Email: dragos.vieru@teluq.ca
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Recent Submissions
1 - 7 of 7
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ItemThe Interorganizational Relationships Process: An Asset Orchestration Mechanisms Perspective in an SME Context( 2017-01-04)This exploratory study analyzes the collaborative efforts between two small and medium enterprises (SMEs) engaged in an interorganizational relationship (IOR) aimed at developing co-specialized and complementary assets through coordinating mechanisms. Despite the richness of the literature on IOR, less is known about the mechanisms that trigger and affect collaborative efforts during an IOR process. We adopt a qualitative and processual approach and draw on the concepts of assets orchestration mechanisms, surface structures and deep structures to propose a conceptual framework. We conjecture that the connection between surface structures and deep structures of the IOR process is facilitated by three specific mechanisms: allocating resources, structuring resources and coordinating resources. Our single case data analysis suggests that IOR efforts work well across organizational boundaries between business partners thanks to the assets orchestration mechanisms and when shared vision and artefacts are translated into shared processes and practices. \
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ItemThe Effect of Virtual Team Membership Change on Social Identity Development: A Case from Higher Education in Norway( 2017-01-04)This research attempts to address the question, what factors may influence the perceptions and development of a group social identity on a new virtual team? Of particular interest are prior experiences with virtual team environments, experience with virtual team technology, and other organizational and contextual factors that may be relevant. This research makes use of a natural field experiment and qualitative study on two university colleges that make use of virtual teams and communication. One university college had previously undergone a merger while the other had not. The findings indicate that the previous merger for the one university college still plays a part in how much the employees feel like one unit and perceive their performance and conflict. There is a need to focus on training of virtual team members to ensure appropriate utilization of the technology to enable social identity development.
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ItemStrengthening Social Ties via ICT in the Organization( 2017-01-04)Knowledge work increasingly relies on the \ utilization of information and communication \ technology (ICT). However, communication and \ knowledge sharing via ICT may be challenging due \ the lack of physical face-to-face interaction. The \ strength of social ties is critical to the success of an \ organization, since it determines how deeply \ individuals interact with each other. Prior research \ has paid only limited attention to the role of ICT in \ the strengthening of social ties within an \ organization. To address this research gap, we have \ conducted a qualitative study outlining different tie \ strengthening characteristics of ICT. The results of \ this study suggest that especially asynchronous and \ synchronous text based interaction and \ communication history forms an effective mechanism \ for an organization to facilitate social ties. As a \ theoretical contribution, we develop a new \ theoretical model representing the intra- \ organizational characteristics of ICT in relation to \ media synchronicity and tie strength. This theoretical \ model also includes new tie-strength components for \ ICT-mediated interaction.
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ItemIt’s Not Just About Attention to Details: Redefining the Talents Autistic Software Developers Bring to Software Development( 2017-01-04)Technology giants SAP, Google and Microsoft have recently begun hiring initiatives targeting individuals with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) for software development roles. In order to fully engage and include individuals with ASC, a deeper understanding of the cognitive style and talents of individuals with ASC is needed. In this paper we present an analysis of current cognitive theories of autism, and promote the theory of hyper-systemizing as one that best explains the talents and challenges that surface in ASC. We compare the talents of individuals with ASC to skills required of software developers and identify synergies between the developer skills and strengths of individuals with ASC, such as systemizing, information processing, and specialization of interests. Our analysis concludes with a synthesis of the strategies necessary to create inclusive workplaces that promote the professional development of individuals with ASC.
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ItemAn Exploration of Anchoring Female Millennial Students to an IS/IT Career Path: The CLASS Model( 2017-01-04)There has been much research conducted on the under-representation of women in Science, Technology, and Engineering & Math (STEM). Looking specifically at the area of Information Systems and Information Technology (IS/IT), women are largely under-represented in degree programs and the workforce. With the growth in the IS/IT workforce and the future demands of IS/IT career growth, the importance of understanding the perceptions and influences on the female IS/IT students grows. While there is research investigating the demographics of the IS/IT workforce, the relationship between female students and millennial influences has not been investigated. \ \ This research contends that addressing the demographic influences on the large generation entering the workforce will provide advantages to research and practice. Following an analysis of qualitative data, collected in a Midwestern university using surveys, this research explains the perceptions of female millennial students interacting with the IS/IT educational experience and career pursuits. The CLASS (Competencies, Life System, Accomplishments, Service & Security) model which illustrates how female students motivations affect the pursuit of an IS/IT education and career is introduced and discussed. Contributions to research and practice are presented.
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ItemA Typology for Organizational ICT Practice( 2017-01-04)This paper sets out a typology for organizational ICT practice in order to derive a more holistic perspective of sociomateriality and its constituent elements (i.e. humans, objects, and practice). Seminal literature by Parsons and Bourdieu is combined with sociomateriality literature in order to offer insights into the factors that need to be investigated when conducting research into organizational ICT practice. The outlined typology is evaluated through an empirical case study of a connected health ICT project to show how the dimensions of the typology come together and contribute to a better understanding.
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