Start Date
12-13-2015
Description
Technology appears to have various intended and unintended consequences for organizations, and this is partly due to different understandings people have about the technology. Over two decades of sensemaking research examines various social and cognitive processes through which people understand organizational phenomena and attach meaning to them. However, the role of the IT artifact in shaping the user understandings and bringing the consequences has been marginally addressed. This study proposes an ecological approach to technology sensemaking that focuses on the relation between user perception of technology and the technological features to which they adapt. Moreover, it advances research and practice by providing the novel conceptual and analytical tools to examine the role of the IT artifact in technological phenomenon. To empirically illustrate the proposed approach and suggested methodology, we report the initial findings of a pilot study on students using Moodle at a North American business school.
Recommended Citation
Mesgari, Mostafa and Okoli, Chitu, "Ecological Approach to User Sensemaking of Technology" (2015). ICIS 2015 Proceedings. 22.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2015/proceedings/HumanBehaviorIS/22
Ecological Approach to User Sensemaking of Technology
Technology appears to have various intended and unintended consequences for organizations, and this is partly due to different understandings people have about the technology. Over two decades of sensemaking research examines various social and cognitive processes through which people understand organizational phenomena and attach meaning to them. However, the role of the IT artifact in shaping the user understandings and bringing the consequences has been marginally addressed. This study proposes an ecological approach to technology sensemaking that focuses on the relation between user perception of technology and the technological features to which they adapt. Moreover, it advances research and practice by providing the novel conceptual and analytical tools to examine the role of the IT artifact in technological phenomenon. To empirically illustrate the proposed approach and suggested methodology, we report the initial findings of a pilot study on students using Moodle at a North American business school.