Advances in Theories, Methods and Philosophy
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Paper Number
2625
Paper Type
Completed
Description
After a period of robust activity in the 1990s and early 2000s, organizational memory has become a marginal topic in the study of information systems. To revitalize this debate, this paper looks at organizational memory from a phenomenological perspective. Traditional approaches to organizational memory have relied on knowledge-focused cognitivist assumptions. In this paper, an additional form of organizational memory is proposed that is embodied in the referential holism of equipment, environment, and socialization, which underpin being-in-the-world. This kind of organizational memory is not already obvious, but is hidden in plain sight. Three examples from the implementation of a new centralized enterprise case management system in the Canadian province of Ontario illustrate this understanding. This paper contributes both a more nuanced account of the phenomenon of organizational memory, as well as a phenomenological hermeneutic method to enable the study of this non-obvious background memory that underpins meaningful action in the world.
Recommended Citation
Vogl, Thomas, "Revitalizing Organizational Memory through Hermeneutic Phenomenology: Interpreting Information System Change in Ontario’s Child Protection Sector" (2021). ICIS 2021 Proceedings. 12.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2021/adv_in_theories/adv_in_theories/12
Revitalizing Organizational Memory through Hermeneutic Phenomenology: Interpreting Information System Change in Ontario’s Child Protection Sector
After a period of robust activity in the 1990s and early 2000s, organizational memory has become a marginal topic in the study of information systems. To revitalize this debate, this paper looks at organizational memory from a phenomenological perspective. Traditional approaches to organizational memory have relied on knowledge-focused cognitivist assumptions. In this paper, an additional form of organizational memory is proposed that is embodied in the referential holism of equipment, environment, and socialization, which underpin being-in-the-world. This kind of organizational memory is not already obvious, but is hidden in plain sight. Three examples from the implementation of a new centralized enterprise case management system in the Canadian province of Ontario illustrate this understanding. This paper contributes both a more nuanced account of the phenomenon of organizational memory, as well as a phenomenological hermeneutic method to enable the study of this non-obvious background memory that underpins meaningful action in the world.
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20-Methods