Abstract

The early stages of a digital innovation process, often characterized by rampant hype and rapid development of the related digital materials, are understudied in IS literature. In this paper, we focus on early innovation of future cross-organizational systems involving emerging technologies. We draw on the recent IS research stream on futures to study how teams of practitioners engage with emerging technology, in this case digital technology inspired by blockchain. In more detail, we ask: How do innovation teams engage with emerging technology for future systems? We are specifically interested in two separate but linked arenas where there is ambiguity: 1) the material space and 2) the purpose space. We focus on team engagement in these spaces separately and the integration of the two spaces. We believe this reveals interesting dynamics that are relevant for theorizing on early-stage innovation related to emerging technology. The paper contributes by clarifying the role of emerging technology in early innovation and integrates literature on futures to understand the dynamics when innovation teams engage with and integrate material and purpose spaces.

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