Start Date
11-12-2016 12:00 AM
Description
This paper develops a theoretical model to examine how IT is appropriated during the co-production of business services. By distinguishing between the service level, information level, and artifact level, the model reveals the dual affordances of IT in the context of business services. The mediating affordances are expressed through heterogeneous portfolios of IT artifacts and the tensions between their intended and actual usage. In contrast, the mediated affordances are expressed through diverse signs and the tensions between intended and perceived meanings. The detailed workings of this model are illustrated by a field study of a remote diagnostics service for machinery within the mining industry. We suggest that the model facilitates a deeper understanding of how IT is appropriated during co-production of business services. At the same time, we add to the emerging literature on materiality by revealing the unique characteristics that IT confers on social action.
Recommended Citation
Jonsson, Katrin; Mathiassen, Lars; and Holmström, Jonny, "The Architecture and Materiality of IT-enabled Services: An Investigation into Appropriation of Remote Diagnostics Technology" (2016). ICIS 2016 Proceedings. 2.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2016/ISOrganizations/Presentations/2
The Architecture and Materiality of IT-enabled Services: An Investigation into Appropriation of Remote Diagnostics Technology
This paper develops a theoretical model to examine how IT is appropriated during the co-production of business services. By distinguishing between the service level, information level, and artifact level, the model reveals the dual affordances of IT in the context of business services. The mediating affordances are expressed through heterogeneous portfolios of IT artifacts and the tensions between their intended and actual usage. In contrast, the mediated affordances are expressed through diverse signs and the tensions between intended and perceived meanings. The detailed workings of this model are illustrated by a field study of a remote diagnostics service for machinery within the mining industry. We suggest that the model facilitates a deeper understanding of how IT is appropriated during co-production of business services. At the same time, we add to the emerging literature on materiality by revealing the unique characteristics that IT confers on social action.