Paper ID

1969

Paper Type

short

Description

Digital transformation success remains elusive and therefore a domain worthy of developing better evidence. Advancing understanding of generative mechanisms – the underlying causal powers that explain digital transformation – would be extremely valuable insight for practice. Substantial opportunity continues to exist to explore how exactly a transformation process unfolds and how organizational structural objects that inscribe social and technological agency, intertwine with each other and with the action of actors to cause transformation. Focusing on generative mechanisms, this research used grounded theory to study a hospital laboratory unit involved in transformation efforts. Using critical realism ontology, preliminary analysis uncovered five plausible key generative mechanisms: Framing of need; Forming the need; Materializing critical thinking; Validating; and Actualizing affordances. Follow-up data and analysis will formalize a generative mechanism model of transformation. The article concludes with expected contributions and suggested future work of this study.

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Generative Mechanisms of Technology Enabled Transformation: A Critical Realist Evaluation of a Hospital Laboratory Unit Transformation

Digital transformation success remains elusive and therefore a domain worthy of developing better evidence. Advancing understanding of generative mechanisms – the underlying causal powers that explain digital transformation – would be extremely valuable insight for practice. Substantial opportunity continues to exist to explore how exactly a transformation process unfolds and how organizational structural objects that inscribe social and technological agency, intertwine with each other and with the action of actors to cause transformation. Focusing on generative mechanisms, this research used grounded theory to study a hospital laboratory unit involved in transformation efforts. Using critical realism ontology, preliminary analysis uncovered five plausible key generative mechanisms: Framing of need; Forming the need; Materializing critical thinking; Validating; and Actualizing affordances. Follow-up data and analysis will formalize a generative mechanism model of transformation. The article concludes with expected contributions and suggested future work of this study.