The 10 most-cited articles in Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 2023

Algorithmic management can create work environment tensions that are detrimental to workplace well-being and productivity. One specific type of tension originates from the fact that algorithms often exhibit limited transparency and are perceived as highly opaque, which impedes workers’ understanding of their inner workings. While algorithmic transparency can facilitate sensemaking, the algorithm’s opaqueness may aggravate sensemaking. By conducting an empirical case study in the context of the Uber platform, we explore how platform workers make sense of the algorithms managing them. Drawing on Weick’s enactment theory, we theorize a new form of sensemaking— algorithm sensemaking—and unpack its three sub-elements: (1) focused enactment, (2) selection modes, and (3) retention sources. The sophisticated, multistep process of algorithm sensemaking allows platform workers to keep up with algorithmic instructions systematically. We add to previous literature by theorizing algorithm sensemaking as a mediator linking workers’ perceptions about tensions in their work environment and their…

Digital transformation is often described as organizational change that is simultaneously triggered and enabled by digital technologies. As with other types of organizational transformation, overcoming organizational inertia lies at the heart of digital transformation. However, our understanding of the specific processes employed by incumbent firms to overcome organizational inertia in digital transformation is currently limited. In this paper, we draw on the case study of AsiaBank, a large traditional bank in Asia, to explore the microfoundations of how incumbent firms tackle different types of inertia as they embark on a digital transformation journey. We identify four key digital transformation processes—i.e., embracing the consumerization of digital technologies, diffusing and appropriating digital business practices, enabling distributed organizing, and revamping IT architecture—that combine to reduce negative psychology, sociocognitive, sociotechnical, political, and economic inertia in digital transformation. Our findings expand the extant view on the role of agency in…

Cognitive automation powered by advanced intelligent technologies is increasingly enabling organizations to automate more of their knowledge work tasks. Although this often offers higher efficiency and lower costs, cognitive automation exacerbates the erosion of human skill and expertise in automated tasks. Accepting the erosion of obsolete skills is necessary to reap the benefits of technology—however, the erosion of essential human expertise is problematic if workers remain accountable for tasks for which they lack sufficient understanding, rendering them incapable of responding if the automation fails. Though the phenomenon is widely acknowledged, the dynamics behind such undesired skill erosion are poorly understood. Thus, taking the perspective of sociotechnical systems, we conducted a case study of an accounting firm that had experienced skill erosion over a number of years due to reliance on their software’s automated functions. We synthesized our findings using causal loop modeling based on system dynamics. The resulting dynamic model explains skill erosion via an interplay…

Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the enabling technologies of Industry 4.0. Although IoT has shown great promise for organizations, its practical use in generating value alone or in combination with existing IT capabilities remains unclear. Drawing upon the literature on dynamic capabilities and innovation capability, we propose IoT-enabled innovation capability (IoT-IC), consisting of three dimensions (IoT use for sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring) to explain competitive advantage. We examine three ordinary IT capabilities (flexible IT infrastructure, IT business experience, and relationship infrastructure) as the predictors of IoT-IC. We also test the moderating effect of competitive aggressiveness in influencing the relationship between IoT-IC and competitive advantage. Analysis of survey data from 175 U.S. companies provides empirical support for our research model. The results suggest that flexible IT infrastructure, IT business experience, and relationship infrastructure are positively associated with IoT-IC. Furthermore, the effect of IoT-IC on competitive advantage is…

Online health communities (OHCs) represent a popular and valuable resource for those seeking health information, support, or advice. They have the potential to reduce dependency on traditional health information channels, increase health literacy and empower a broader range of individuals in relation to their health management decisions. Successful communities are characterized by high levels of trust in user-generated contributions, which is reflected in increased engagement and expressed through knowledge adoption and knowledge contribution. However, research shows that the majority of OHCs are composed of passive participants who do not contribute via posts, thereby threatening the sustainability of many communities and their potential for empowerment. Despite this fact, the relationship between trust and engagement, specifically the trust antecedents that influence engagement in the OHC community context has not been adequately explained in past research. In this study, we leverage social capital behavior and social exchange theory frameworks in order to provide a more granular…

This study moves beyond the conventional focus on technology access, adoption, and participation in communities, and instead presents a perspective on digital inclusion as a complex process of both empowerment and subjugation. Drawing on Foucault’s theorization on subjectivity and power, our case study of community health workers in rural India reveals that the adoption of an mHealth application simultaneously subordinated and strengthened the subjectivity of the community health workers. The study explicates the process through which the health workers oscillated between the enhancement of their individual efficacy, and their submission to institutionalized power as facilitated by the mHealth application during their everyday work practices. Thus, by shifting the focus from “who” is digitally included to “how” they become digitally included, our research provides a fresh perspective that enriches and deepens the discourse of digital inclusion. It generates both theoretical and practical implications for anyone interested in understanding digital inclusion from a more granulated and…

Digital technologies are reshaping both organizations and our lives as members of society. The resulting changes are often referred to as “digital transformation” (DT)—a concept that has proven difficult to define and explain theoretically. This is especially true because the nature and scope of DT is evolving beyond clearly defined organizational boundaries. Today, information technology (IT) is becoming increasingly accessible and relevant for many more members of society, creating the potential for previously unseen transformations beyond organizations. Accordingly, new theoretical lenses are needed to explain how a broader set of social actors instigate and are affected by transformative change induced by IT. We conceptualize DT as collective social action, a novel lens that aims to expand the focus of DT research beyond organizations as its unit of analysis, with a complementary perspective centered on social actors, their actions, and their impact. We delineate a typology of digital transformation as collective social action that considers the locus of transformation (what?),…

Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) based on machine learning (ML) hold great promise for improving medical care. Technically, such CDSSs are already feasible but physicians have been skeptical about their application. In particular, their opacity is a major concern, as it may lead physicians to overlook erroneous outputs from ML-based CDSSs, potentially causing serious consequences for patients. Research on explainable AI (XAI) offers methods with the potential to increase the explainability of black-box ML systems. This could significantly accelerate the application of MLbased CDSSs in medicine. However, XAI research to date has mainly been technically driven and largely neglects the needs of end users. To better engage the users of ML-based CDSSs, we applied a design science approach to develop a design for explainable ML-based CDSSs that incorporates insights from XAI literature while simultaneously addressing physicians’ needs. This design comprises five design principles that designers of ML-based CDSSs can apply to implement user-centered explanations, which are…

Social media has emerged as a powerful medium to organize and mobilize social movements. In particular, the connective action of social media builds associations and allows for the continuity of social movements. Yet there is a lack of research on how connective action emergent from social media messages sustains long-term social movements. Accordingly, in this study, we concentrate on Twitter messages related to Women’s March protests held in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Using an interpretive analysis followed by the topic modeling approach, we analyzed the tweets to identify the different types of messages associated with the movement. These messages were classified using a set of categories and subcategories. Furthermore, we conducted a temporal analysis of the message (sub)categories to understand how distinct messages allow movement continuity beyond a specific protest march. Results suggest that while most of the messages are used to motivate and mobilize individuals, the connective action tactics employed through messages sent before, during, and after the marches allowed Women’s…

Although the pace of digital transformation (DT) has been accelerating in more organizations, there is still much uncertainty about the ways organizations can achieve the intended outcomes from such efforts. Rather than just focusing on the transformation outcomes, our paper suggests that a more fruitful approach would be to conceptualize DT as a journey that often encounters contradictory tensions. We adopt paradox theory to explain the dynamics through which organizations can manage these tensions while driving their DT efforts. Drawing on extensive review of the DT literature and preexisting research cases of three organizations’ experiences with the DT process, we developed the concept of DT pathways. DT pathways are the varied journeys experienced by organizations as they make strategic shifts - leveraging digital technology and evolving the organization’s business model. We show how DT pathways emerge as organizations adopt different DT strategic intent, actions, and responses to a range of paradoxical tensions. We outline three potential pathways—virtuous, moderate virtuous,…