Short Abstract:
Call for Papers: The performative character of studying digitalization in organizations
EASST-4S 2024
Amsterdam, July 16-19, 2024
This panel explores how social scientists and interdisciplinary research teams studying digitalization in organizations shape the field’s understanding through empirical and epistemic work, interaction with organizational members and the usage of specific notions, methods or technologies.
Long Abstract:
How do we as social scientists or interdisciplinary research teams (e.g. STS scholars, artists, designers or technologists) studying digitalization in organizations shape the understanding of digitalization in the field through our own empirical and epistemic work and interaction with organizational members? What are the consequences or effects if we deliver certain notions of digitalization while debunking others? How do our participatory, co-creating or collaborative research methods (e.g. workshops, experimental or research-led development and implementation of digital methods and tools) create (un)wanted or (un)intentional effects? We conceive ‘digitalization’ or ‘digital transformation’ as an umbrella term for numerous forms of socio-technical transformations taking place in organizations.
With this panel we refer to a long and established discourse in STS, because it is a common practice to reflect on our roles as researchers within a field. Now, we want to focus on those effects on digital transformation within organizations. We consider organizations to be specific social contexts that must be taken seriously if we want to understand (or shape) durable transformations affected by our very own research practices.
We want to elaborate the numerous dimensions and facets of effecting digital transformation in organizations while doing research on it. So, we want to engage participants to reflect on dimensions like e.g. :
- The setting of research
- The role of scientists
- The spectrum of (un)intended consequences
- The spectrum of (un)wanted consequences
- The kind of effect
We especially encourage interdisciplinary research teams from arts, design and technology, who use participatory methods and/or digital technologies within their work to contribute.
Possible formats are:
- traditional paper presentations
- insights to academic reflections (e.g. essays)
- experimental graphical or multimedia engagements(e.g. reflective and discussion-stimulating visual or audiovisual contributions)
- workshops on methods, criteria and approaches for ordering and evaluating (possible) effects and consequences
- participatory experiments with guided and moderated dialogues or discussions