Paper Number
ECIS2026-1587
Paper Type
CRP
Abstract
Scholarly debates on the theoretical foundations have divided sociomateriality research into two camps: strong and weak sociomateriality. Critics point to empirical challenges associated with strong sociomateriality, particularly with respect to the strong inseparability. The theoretical foundation, agential realism, posits the entanglement of sociomaterial components and the researchers within the phenomenon under study. To accommodate empirical work, agential realism proposes the diffractive method to account for the onto-epistemological understanding. Diffraction is, however, rarely used, despite being the theoretically sound choice. This article reviews how strong sociomateriality research is conducted instead. Through a diffractive reading of the empirical work and theory, we explore untapped methodological opportunities and contribute to scholarship by proposing how diffraction and non-diffraction research can mutually inform and learn from each other.
Recommended Citation
Rieskamp, Jonas, "A Method Review Of Sociomateriality Research" (2026). ECIS 2026 Proceedings. 4.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2026/litrev/litrev/4
A Method Review Of Sociomateriality Research
Scholarly debates on the theoretical foundations have divided sociomateriality research into two camps: strong and weak sociomateriality. Critics point to empirical challenges associated with strong sociomateriality, particularly with respect to the strong inseparability. The theoretical foundation, agential realism, posits the entanglement of sociomaterial components and the researchers within the phenomenon under study. To accommodate empirical work, agential realism proposes the diffractive method to account for the onto-epistemological understanding. Diffraction is, however, rarely used, despite being the theoretically sound choice. This article reviews how strong sociomateriality research is conducted instead. Through a diffractive reading of the empirical work and theory, we explore untapped methodological opportunities and contribute to scholarship by proposing how diffraction and non-diffraction research can mutually inform and learn from each other.