Paper Number
ECIS2026-2736
Paper Type
CRP
Abstract
Digital transformation is often framed as a boxed and bounded project endeavour that imagines and organises for the future in light of new technologies rather than an ongoing process. This view assumes that past experiences play a minimal role in shaping present or future thinking. This study challenges that assumption by examining a decade-long case of digital transformation to answer: How do digital initiatives accumulate, persist, and become reinterpreted over time in ways that shape ongoing digital transformation? Adopting a flow-oriented perspective, the study shows that current digital practices are deeply shaped by historical experiences and, in turn, shape future projections. Rather than a series of discrete events, digital transformation emerges as a historically layered and interpretively fluid process in which past trajectories condition present actions and future imaginaries. The study advances digital transformation research by demonstrating that digital initiatives linger, sediment, and are continually reinterpreted. It also suggests that organisations may benefit from purposeful forgetting to release unhelpful residues and support more generative engagement with digital futures.
Recommended Citation
Carlsson, Linnea and Elbanna, Amany, "The Weight Of What Remains: Temporal Layering and The Reinterpretation Of Digital Transformation" (2026). ECIS 2026 Proceedings. 15.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2026/digitrans/digitrans/15
The Weight Of What Remains: Temporal Layering and The Reinterpretation Of Digital Transformation
Digital transformation is often framed as a boxed and bounded project endeavour that imagines and organises for the future in light of new technologies rather than an ongoing process. This view assumes that past experiences play a minimal role in shaping present or future thinking. This study challenges that assumption by examining a decade-long case of digital transformation to answer: How do digital initiatives accumulate, persist, and become reinterpreted over time in ways that shape ongoing digital transformation? Adopting a flow-oriented perspective, the study shows that current digital practices are deeply shaped by historical experiences and, in turn, shape future projections. Rather than a series of discrete events, digital transformation emerges as a historically layered and interpretively fluid process in which past trajectories condition present actions and future imaginaries. The study advances digital transformation research by demonstrating that digital initiatives linger, sediment, and are continually reinterpreted. It also suggests that organisations may benefit from purposeful forgetting to release unhelpful residues and support more generative engagement with digital futures.
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