Paper Number
ICIS2025-2399
Paper Type
Short
Abstract
This multiple case study investigates the stabilizing process of variable uses of flexible IT systems by analyzing two manufacturers implementing the same Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) system: one succeeded while the other failed. While the flexible systems literature emphasizes emergent, bottom-up change processes and acknowledges the necessity of stable use for organizational impacts, it has not explained how these variable uses stabilize over time. We use a rules perspective to theorize an implementation process model that combines bottom-up learning with joint regulation (i.e., bottom-up and top-down rule formation). Our findings reveal that experimenting with practices and technology, developing rules, and enforcing those rules, are key mechanisms for stabilizing new uses. This process explains why one case succeeded in achieving organizational changes through sustained use while the other failed. The insights from this study offer a promising way forward for studying implementation of IIoT systems and other emerging flexible technologies.
Recommended Citation
Eley, TC IV and Lyytinen, Kalle, "Stabilizing Variable Uses of Flexible Systems: A Rules-Based Perspective" (2025). ICIS 2025 Proceedings. 10.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2025/impl_adopt/impl_adopt/10
Stabilizing Variable Uses of Flexible Systems: A Rules-Based Perspective
This multiple case study investigates the stabilizing process of variable uses of flexible IT systems by analyzing two manufacturers implementing the same Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) system: one succeeded while the other failed. While the flexible systems literature emphasizes emergent, bottom-up change processes and acknowledges the necessity of stable use for organizational impacts, it has not explained how these variable uses stabilize over time. We use a rules perspective to theorize an implementation process model that combines bottom-up learning with joint regulation (i.e., bottom-up and top-down rule formation). Our findings reveal that experimenting with practices and technology, developing rules, and enforcing those rules, are key mechanisms for stabilizing new uses. This process explains why one case succeeded in achieving organizational changes through sustained use while the other failed. The insights from this study offer a promising way forward for studying implementation of IIoT systems and other emerging flexible technologies.
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Comments
14-Implementation