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HOW SOON IS NOW? THEORIZING TEMPORALITY IN IS RESEARCH
Niamh O Riordan, Kieran Conboy and Thomas Acton
National University of Ireland Galway, Ireland
ie.linkedin.com/in/niamhoriordan/
International Conference on Information Systems, MILAN 2013
This research is supported by the Irish Social Sciences Platform (ISSP), funded under the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions, administered by the HEA and co- funded under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and also supported in part by Science Foundation Ireland grant 10/CE/I1855 to Lero
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International Conference on Information Systems MILAN 2013
Agenda
• Motivations• Shortcomings • Research approach • Theoretical framework • Future directions and recommendations
This research is supported by the Irish Social Sciences Platform (ISSP), funded under the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions, administered by the HEA and co- funded under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and also supported in part by Science Foundation Ireland grant 10/CE/I1855 to Lero
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Motivations• Time is a fundamental business performance indicator • Firms operate in a high velocity business environment • Organizations frequently overlook the hidden costs associated
with increased speed, e.g. time pressure– impairs decision-making (Marsden et al., 2002; Failla and Bagnara, 1992)– alters risk evaluation (Kahneman, 2011; Das and Teng, 2001), – causes stress (Maule and Svenson, 1993)– inhibits creativity and motivation (Amabile et al., 2002)– reduces software quality (Austin, 2001)– negatively affects business negotiations (De Dreu, 2003)
• There is a need to better understand how Information Systems can be used to develop richer visualizations of time and time-use in firms that go beyond the simplistic notion of linear time
International Conference on Information Systems MILAN 2013
This research is supported by the Irish Social Sciences Platform (ISSP), funded under the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions, administered by the HEA and co- funded under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and also supported in part by Science Foundation Ireland grant 10/CE/I1855 to Lero
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Shortcomings• Limited understanding of organizational temporality (Orlikowski and Yates,
2002; Saunders, 2007)
• Lack of cumulative tradition in organizational temporality research (Nandhakumar, 2002)
• Myopic measures of time resulting in failure to fully evaluate the temporal effects of new technologies in organizations (Lee and Liebenau, 2000)
• Lack of research on the temporal dynamics of associations between constructs and decisions about when and how frequently to measure variables are left to chance (Mitchell and James, 2001)
International Conference on Information Systems MILAN 2013
This research is supported by the Irish Social Sciences Platform (ISSP), funded under the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions, administered by the HEA and co- funded under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and also supported in part by Science Foundation Ireland grant 10/CE/I1855 to Lero
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Approach• Approach to literature review
– Systematic literature review (cf. Fink, 2010)– Webster and Watson (2002)– bXTM Usage-Based Services
• Approach to theory building– Dubin (1978)
1.Identify temporal attributes, variables or dimensions already used 2.Systematically classify and arrange each concept 3.Ideational trial and error
International Conference on Information Systems MILAN 2013
This research is supported by the Irish Social Sciences Platform (ISSP), funded under the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions, administered by the HEA and co- funded under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and also supported in part by Science Foundation Ireland grant 10/CE/I1855 to Lero
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Conceptual FrameworkInternational Conference on Information Systems MILAN 2013
This research is supported by the Irish Social Sciences Platform (ISSP), funded under the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions, administered by the HEA and co- funded under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and also supported in part by Science Foundation Ireland grant 10/CE/I1855 to Lero
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§1 Planning Time• Planning Time concerns those activities within the firm that
pertain to the allocation of the firm’s resources
– Planning style affects the degree of temporal freedom available in the firm, the amount of forethought that precedes events, the temporal distance between planning and execution and the generosity of time allocations
– Temporal coordination concerns the extent to which events are synchronized in a firm. On the one hand, it is necessary to consider the flexibility or adaptability of temporal planning. On the other hand, it is necessary to consider the precision or exactitude of planning time
International Conference on Information Systems MILAN 2013
This research is supported by the Irish Social Sciences Platform (ISSP), funded under the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions, administered by the HEA and co- funded under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and also supported in part by Science Foundation Ireland grant 10/CE/I1855 to Lero
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§2 Using Time• Using time refers to the manner in which time is enacted or
performed within the organization
– Time-use style affects the manner in which time is ‘consumed’ in firms. Improvisatory, monochronic, and polychronic styles of time use have been identified in the literature. It is also important to examine pace.
– Temporal position describes the location of a particular event in time. This has traditionally been done rather narrowly but broader conceptualizations are possible. We distinguish between absolute and relative temporal positioning
International Conference on Information Systems MILAN 2013
This research is supported by the Irish Social Sciences Platform (ISSP), funded under the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions, administered by the HEA and co- funded under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and also supported in part by Science Foundation Ireland grant 10/CE/I1855 to Lero
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§3 Relating to Time• Relating to Time refer to individuals’ understanding and
experience of time and deadlines
– Planning schemata refer to the conceptualizations of time that are held by individuals in terms of planning time (e.g. linear versus iterative conceptualizations of time)
– Time use schemata refer to the conceptualizations of time that are held by individuals in terms of using time (e.g. temporal signification, temporal awareness, temporal preference)
International Conference on Information Systems MILAN 2013
This research is supported by the Irish Social Sciences Platform (ISSP), funded under the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions, administered by the HEA and co- funded under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and also supported in part by Science Foundation Ireland grant 10/CE/I1855 to Lero
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Future directions & recommendations
International Conference on Information Systems MILAN 2013
This research is supported by the Irish Social Sciences Platform (ISSP), funded under the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions, administered by the HEA and co- funded under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and also supported in part by Science Foundation Ireland grant 10/CE/I1855 to Lero
• Model refinement and validation
• Development of suitable measures
• Additional theory building on OT
• Opportunities to investigate– The impact of IS/IT on OT– Opportunities to enhance time performance in firms using IS/IT– Investigate the relationship between OT and other organizational variables
International Conference on Information Systems MILAN 2013
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Full paper available at http://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2013/proceedings/BreakthroughIdeas/7/ or from
Niamh O RiordanNational University of Ireland Galway
[email protected] ie.linkedin.com/in/niamhoriordan/
Thank You
This research is supported by the Irish Social Sciences Platform (ISSP), funded under the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions, administered by the HEA and co- funded under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and also supported in part by Science Foundation Ireland grant 10/CE/I1855 to Lero
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