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Outsourcing work relies on the supplier’s interpretation of the work delegated by the client. Existing streams of outsourcing literature tend to assume that the supplier should use the same convention as the client to make sense of the work package. In this research, we use a semiotic lens to challenge this assumption by viewing such sensemaking as a process of decoding symbolic representations. This complementary view involves innovative use of digital technology for re-representing the outsourced work through new conventions. We studied a Chinese business process outsourcing supplier in-depth to learn how such re-representation is achieved through the creation of special-purpose languages. Our research contributes to the Information Systems outsourcing literature by providing a semiotic view on the design of outsourcing work supported by digital technologies. Three re-representation practices (i.e., dissociating the signifiers, signifying through new conventions, and embedding new conventions in the digital infrastructure) constitute the core of this view. The results are highly significant for outsourcing theory and practice, not least since they suggest that the use of semiotics and visuals for re-representation may enable suppliers to reformulate outsourcing work and the expertise needed to deliver services.

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.

This chapter introduces digital innovation as an emerging area of information systems research. We present and discuss unique characteristics of digital technology and their implications for innovation. We define digital innovation as the co-creation of novel offerings through recombination of digital and/or physical components. Viewing digital innovation as an iterative, open-ended organizational activity, we revisit conventional assumptions of innovation such as the producer-consumer divide, process-product distinction, and value creation. Finally, we highlight the promise of an integrative digital innovation perspective for information systems research.

Governance provides the authoritative framework for coordinating activities in open source development. Prior studies of open source governance have largely focused on its changing nature over time. In this work, we argue that the nature of governance varies across open source communities, and, in its evolution, multiple traces of authority may co-exist. We propose that such multiplicity can be understood by close examination of the authoritative structures embedded in coordination processes. We collected eight years of data on the coordination related to version control of the Linux kernel. Drawing on in-depth qualitative analysis, we investigate how coordination processes with different authoritative structures come together in the governance of open source software. We trace four coordination processes (autocratic clearing, oligarchic recursion, federated self-governance, and meritocratic idea-testing), each grounded in different authoritative structures (autocracy, oligarchy, federation, meritocracy) with their own form of legitimation. We offer a two-fold contribution in this paper. First, we enhance the open source governance literature by advancing a new theoretical perspective in which governance is seen as a configuration of coordination processes. Configurations give complementary support and are a source of tension and renewal. Second, we articulate a view on the conceptual relationship between governance and coordination where these concepts are understood as a duality, both working together to give rise to efficient and dynamic organizing in open source. Recognition and understanding of how authoritative structures are embedded within coordination processesEstablishing four distinct coordination processes at play in LinuxClarifying conceptually how governance is a manifestation of multiple authoritative structures in open sourceTheorizing the configurations of these four coordination processes and their shifts over timeEstablishing a theoretical relationship between coordination and governance in open source as a duality

Examines IS strategizing in the sustainability area.Develops a process model.Draws on an interpretive case study at an automaker.Traces sub-communities' production of strategy contents. The realized strategy contents of information systems (IS) strategizing are a result of both deliberate and emergent patterns of action. In this paper, we focus on emergent patterns of action by studying the formation of strategies that build on local technology-mediated practices. This is done through case study research of the emergence of a sustainability strategy at a European automaker. Studying the practices of four organizational sub-communities, we develop a process perspective of sub-communities' activity-based production of strategy contents. The process model explains the contextual conditions that make sub-communities initiate SI strategy contents production, the activity-based process of strategy contents production, and the IS strategy outcome. The process model, which draws on Jarzabkowski's strategy-as-practice lens and Mintzberg's strategy typology, contributes to the growing IS strategizing literature that examines local practices in IS efforts of strategic importance.

Prior research on digital ecosystems focuses on the focal firm (e.g., a platform owner) and its ecosystem governance. However, there is a dearth of literature examining the non-focal actor, that is, an ecosystem participant who is at the periphery of a digital ecosystem. This paper proposes a theoretical perspective of the non-focal firm's participation across digital ecosystems for cultivating its innovation habitat through capability search and redeem. Capability search involves the location of external capability deemed valuable for extending the firm's innovation habitat. Capability redeem refers to the firm's use of external capability to develop, distribute, and/or monetize its products and services. We generate and sensitize the proposed perspective in the context of Sony Ericsson's innovation habitat by interpreting the mobile device manufacturer's participation across four digital ecosystems (Visual Basic, Java, Digital Music, and Android). Our findings suggest that the non-focal actor cannot rely on a single ecosystem for addressing all relevant layers of innovation. It benefits from pursuing a pluralistic strategy, operating across digital ecosystems to avoid investing all efforts in the same ecosystem. The model of ecosystem capability search and redeem, which is a result of ideographic research explanation, extends current perspectives on digital ecosystems and contributes to the emerging literature in the digital age.

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.

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.

The capability to establish boundary-spanning practices within and across organizations has for long been recognized as a key strategic resource. As organizations are becoming distributed and dynamic, they will be increasingly populated by multiple functional, geographical, hierarchical and professional boundaries. The inherent complexity of such settings makes it difficult for organizations to leverage their boundary-spanning practices. Information technology (IT) systems have been hailed as a critical enabler of boundary spanning. However, there is little knowledge on how organizations are affected by the introduction of different types of IT systems. Building on an interpretive case study of Swedish transport organizations, this paper explores consequences of sensor technology for boundary spanning. The paper contributes with an understanding of what coexisting use contexts mean for boundary-spanning practices. A theoretical implication is that such multi-contextuality requires an integrative view on boundary spanning that combines insights from the organizational innovation and work practice literatures.

This paper examines the front-end process of inter-organizational IT innovation. In particular, it focuses on the nature and role of architectural knowledge. Such knowledge is important for development of architectures capable of serving the goals of heterogeneous actors and technologies. Yet, surprisingly little research has been done on how architectural knowledge may be developed through collective achievements. This paper presents a theoretical model of architectural knowledge development in inter-organizational IT innovation. Applying this model throughout an action research project within the Swedish transport industry, the paper identifies four dimensions of architectural knowledge that proved important for facilitating an industry-wide ubiquitous computing environment. The four dimensions are technology capability awareness, use context sensitivity, business model understanding, and boundary-spanning competence. We conclude the paper by outlining the theoretical and strategy implications of the model and the four dimensions of architectural knowledge.

This paper offers a paradigmatic analysis of digital application marketplaces for advancing information systems research on digital platforms and ecosystems. We refer to the notion of digital application marketplace, colloquially called ‘appstores,’ as a platform component that offers a venue for exchanging applications between developers and end users belonging to a single or multiple ecosystems. Such marketplaces exhibit diversity in features and assumptions, and we propose that examining this diversity, and its ideal types, will help us to further understand the relationship between application marketplaces, platforms, and platform ecosystems. To this end, we generate a typology that distinguishes four kinds of digital application marketplaces: closed, censored, focused, and open marketplaces. The paper also offers implications for actors wishing to make informed decisions about their relationship to a particular digital application marketplace.

Many computer game developers have adopted network technologies for value-adding purposes at several stages of the corporate value chain. In this paper, we suggest that this adoption extends the current notion of developing e-commerce by including ongoing interaction with the consumers concerning what is being produced. On the basis of an interpretive case study, this paper outlines the process by which a Swedish computer game developer involved its customers in producing, testing, distributing, and marketing its online computer game Clusterball. Using Orlikowski's (1999) notion of "internetworked organizations", the paper explores how this customer involvement was supported by the use of network technologies at every stage of the value chain, and it illustrates how this involvement can be understood as an important feature of future development of e-commerce in organizations.

This paper examines barriers to adopting competence systems in knowledge work practice. On the basis of a technology review and a user site investigation, the paper relates the technical features of the investigated competence systems to the adoption barriers identified in six user organizations. The multiple-case study shows that the competence systems can be described as merely traditional personnel administration systems complemented by features that passively archive formalized descriptions of competencies. Building on this observation, the general objective of the paper is to provide design suggestions that facilitate successful integration of competence systems in organizations. The main conclusion of this paper is that competence systems need to have features conveying a technology spirit more in line with the knowledge work practice found in organizations. By researching competence systems and their features specifically, this paper contributes technology-specific knowledge within the area of knowledge management systems.

Inspired by Herbert Simon's notion of nearly decomposable systems, researchers have examined modularity as a powerful approach to manage technological change in product innovation. We articulate this approach as the hierarchy-of-parts architecture and explain how it emphasizes decomposition of a design into loosely coupled parts and subsequent aggregation of these into an industrial product. To realize the scale benefits of modularity, firms successively freeze design specifications before production and therefore only allow limited windows of functionality design and redesign. This makes it difficult to take advantage of the increased speed by which digitized products can be developed and modified. To address this problem, we draw on Christopher Alexander's notion of design patterns to introduce a complementary approach to manage technological change that is resilient to digital technology. We articulate this approach as the network-of-patterns architecture and explain how it emphasizes generalization of ideas into patterns and subsequent specialization of patterns for different design purposes. In response to the increased digitization of industrial products, we demonstrate the value of complementing hierarchy-of-parts thinking with network-of-patterns thinking through a case study of infotainment architecture at an automaker. As a result, we contribute to the literature on managing products in the digital age: we highlight the properties of digital technology that increase the speed by which digitized products can be redesigned; we offer the notion of architectural frames and propose hierarchy-of-parts and network-of-patterns as frames to support innovation of digitized products; and, we outline an agenda for future research that reconsiders the work of Simon and Alexander as well as their followers to address key challenges in innovating digitized products.

This paper explores how people make sense of the ambiguity caused by newly introduced information technology (IT) in organizations. A better understanding of these sense-making processes might provide some basis for improving the way in which information technology is adapted in organizations. On the basis of an interpretive case study, the paper identifies how certain attention structures facilitated and restricted the meaningful construction of IT in a particular organizational context – social work. In this context, the previous coincidence of IT introductions with increasing administrative workload had considerable implications for the way in which a communications technology (First Class) was adapted. On a general level, it is concluded that making sense of ambiguity is an important ingredient in successful IT adaptation.

On the basis of an interpretive case study, the authors explore the learning implications of introducing First Class in a social services department. The investigated case illustrates how learning ...

Increasingly, digital ventures generate new value through repurposing existing digital capabilities once encountering new business contexts. However, we know little about such encounters and the process by which a digital innovation is repurposed across multiple business contexts. To this end, we develop a new perspective for understanding repurposing as process of making a product-agnostic digital innovation valuable within and across business contexts. We draw on an in-depth case study of a firm offering a digital platform, which was repurposed across different business contexts with multiple value encounters. In studying these value encounters, we identified three recurring practices for making a product-agnostic digital innovation valuable: platform-inspired envisioning; reconditioning digital capabilities; formulating value narratives. Our new theoretical perspective contributes to the literatures on digital innovation and value creation. First, we contribute to prior technology and innovation studies by capturing and theorizing a new form of recombination, which we label repurposing. The notion of repurposing offers a new way of understanding how digital capabilities can be recombined to offer values across product and market boundaries. Second, we contribute to the digital innovation literature by developing a process model that articulates the dynamics by which digital technology can be repurposed to generate value in innovation across multiple contexts.

The pervasive integration of digital technology in traditionally physical products such as cars, heat pumps, and washing machines calls for revisiting the received innovation literature. To this end, this paper presents a competing logic framework for understanding digital technology in product innovation management. In doing this, we derive two idealized innovation regimes by distinguishing and assessing two broad streams of innovation research across the dimensions of organizing logic, market dynamics, and architectural design. Recognizing and elaborating inherent tensions between product innovation and IT innovation, the framework identifies a range of new challenges with implications for digital innovation management research and practice.

Information systems (IS) research on user involvement has primarily theorized relationships between developers, managers and users in systems development. However, so far, marginal attention has been paid to differences in user involvement practices between information systems. This paper explores user involvement in developing mobile and temporarily interconnected systems (MTIS). We refer to MTIS as heterogeneous systems that rely on network technologies for increasing the ubiquity of information services for users on the move. Such systems are becoming increasingly important in leveraging, e.g. car infotainment, supply chain management and wireless e-commerce. With particular emphasis on the nature of MTIS and its implications for user involvement, the paper analyses the systems development process of an action research project. The findings suggest that user involvement practices need to be adapted to accommodate features of this class of systems. Being an early attempt to trace the implications of technology features such as use context switches and temporary system relationships, the paper contributes to the development of an updated theory of the user role in an era of increased system complexity and stakeholder ambiguity.

This paper explores the challenges and opportunities involved in building digital customer relations in online entertainment. In doing this, the paper presents an interpretive case study of the release of the Swedish computer game developer Daydream’s new on-line game Clusterball. In releasing this game, Daydream intended to bypass three stages—publicists, distributors and retailers—in the computer gaming value chain. With little prior experience of consumers, this bypass required that the company established a platform for learning about and from its entertainment consumers. Our particular interest in this paper is with digital customer relations and how a computer game and its related virtual community can provide opportunities to build such relations for learning about the online customer.

Even though the literature on competence in organizations recognizes the need to align organization level core competence with individual level job competence, it does not consider the role of information technology in managing competence across the macro and micro levels. To address this shortcoming, we embarked on an action research study that develops and tests design principles for competence management systems. This research develops an integrative model of competence that not only outlines the interaction between organizational and individual level competence and the role of technology in this process, but also incorporates a typology of competence (competence-in-stock, competence-in-use, and competence-in-the-making). Six Swedish organizations participated in our research project, which took 30 months and consisted of two action research cycles involving numerous data collection strategies and interventions such as prototypes. In addition to developing a set of design principles and considering their implications for both research and practice, this article includes a self-assessment of the study by evaluating it according to the criteria for canonical action research.

Part 5: Section 4: The Future of Information Technology and Work-Related Practices in Health Care; International audience; Information and communication technology (ICT) has been extensively proposed in the last decade as a means to reform, modernize, and reshape national health systems around the globe. In so doing, it inevitably changes work practices, and may have longer term consequences for health care professions. This paper considers how ICT may shape the professional future of community pharmacists by drawing on ongoing research into a national project in England to establish the electronic transmission of prescriptions between doctors and pharmacies. The project illustrates how technology opens up various possibilities that may influence pharmacists’ professional standing in the future by shaping their work practices, jurisdictions, roles, values, power, and boundaries. Our aim is not to evaluate these subtle and contra dictory changes but to develop an appropriate analytical frame work, and to contribute to the debate concerning the role of technology in shaping professional futures.

Part 3: Section 2: Critical View of the Future; International audience; This paper provides an overview of emerging information and communication technologies (ICTs) that can be expected to become socially relevant in the next 10 to 15 years. It describes the results of a dual discourse analysis of publiccations on emerging ICTs. Sources were, on the one hand, government/policy publications and, on the other, publications by research institutions. This discourse analysis led to the identification of 11 emerging ICTs. For each of these ICTs, defining features were collected. In order to gain a larger scale understanding, the defining features were then regrouped to assess which likely effect they might have on the relationship between humans and their environment. These features are then interpreted and investigated with regard to what they betray about the implied assumptions about individuals, society and technology. The paper ends by critically reflecting the chosen approach and asking how this research can help us develop technology in desirable ways.

Part 6: Section 5: The Future of Industrial-Institutional Practices and Outcomes through Information Technology; International audience; In this paper, we review research on voluntary organizations to identify key features of and problems in volunteer work and organizations. We then use the example of free/libre open source software (FLOSS) development teams to examine how those features and problems apply in this situation and how they might be affected by the use of information and communications technologies (ICT). We suggest that understanding volunteer organizations can illuminate the changing nature of all knowledge work, paid as well as unpaid.

Part 7: Section 6: The Future of Critical Realism in IS Research; International audience; Information systems (IS) are complex phenomena. For instance, the diffusion of IS in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) depends on various levels of networked, localized, and changing determinants, such as the ones related to the adopter organizations, decision makers, technologies, complementary innovations, business partners, professional groups, universities, and government policies. This complex view of IS implies the use of different disciplines and methodologies to study the diffusion process. The objective of this empirical research is to demon strate how the systems of innovation approach (SIA), for addressing the institutional and evolutionary determinants of diffusion, and the philosophical stance of critical realism (CR), for guiding the research process, are compatible and meet the multidisciplinarity and methodological pluralism required to move on the field of complex IS and recommend meaningful actions to practice. To exemplify our arguments, we focus the study on one relevant determinant that affects the diffusion of IS in SMEs, namely government programs.

Part 6: Section 5: The Future of Industrial-Institutional Practices and Outcomes through Information Technology; International audience; This research presents and analyzes an empirically grounded account of a new trend, open innovation, in the IT industry. The case depicts another new trend, innovation through customization of standard software as a business model, and we investigate the open innovation activities of an interorganiza tional network which consists of a small customizing company, a large global software producer, and other companies involved in the innovation process. We contribute to the development of a theory of open IT innovation with a theoretical framework that integrates formally separate aspects of open innovation and interorganizational networks. We extend the literature on open innovation by broadening the view from one focal firm to the relations in a network of companies that mutually contribute to innovation which occur in the different companies. Our research underlines the importance of balanced formal and informal relations, and coopetive and opportunistic behavior for the open innovation process.