Lucas Introna | Lancaster University (original) (raw)
Papers by Lucas Introna
Philosophy in the Contemporary World, 2001
This paper critically describes the mediation of social relations by information technology, draw... more This paper critically describes the mediation of social relations by information technology, drawing on the work of Emmanuel Levinas. In the first of three movements, I discuss ethical relations as primordial sociality based in proximity. In the second movement I discuss the how the self encounters the Other, the ethical contact. How can the self make contact with the Other without turning the Other into a theme, a concept or a category? In the third movement, I discuss the electronic mediation of the social as simulation. I argue that ...
IEEE Spectrum, Jun 1, 2000
Oxford University Press eBooks, Jan 26, 2023
A number of relatively new technologies, such as Enterprise Resource Planning systems, the Intern... more A number of relatively new technologies, such as Enterprise Resource Planning systems, the Internet and intranets, have entered the organizational landscape. These technologies have not only been enabling a wide range of social and organizational transformations, but have also been challenging much of the received wisdom that operates in academic and industrial discourses. This book attempts to capture some of these strands by discussing the social and organizational issues surrounding the implementation and use of these new ...
Management Information Systems Quarterly, Jan 15, 2021
Ongoing digital innovations are transforming almost every aspect of our contemporary societies—re... more Ongoing digital innovations are transforming almost every aspect of our contemporary societies—rendering our lives and work evermore fluid and dynamic. This paper is an invitation to likewise remake our theorizing of socio-technological transformation by shifting from actor-centric orientations towards a flow-oriented approach and vocabulary. Such a shift from actors to the flows of action allows us to offer an innovative theory of socio-technological transformation that does not rely on self-contained actors or technologies as originators of transformation. Instead, it allows us to foreground how contingent confluences among heterogenous flows of action can account for the trajectories of socio-technological (trans)formation, both upstream and downstream. To do this, we turn to the work of social anthropologist Tim Ingold to advance a theoretical vocabulary of flowing lines of action and their correspondences. We expound three modalities of correspondence, namely: timing, attentionality, and undergoing, which together explain the dynamics of creation, sensing, and actualization of (trans)formative possibilities for action along socio-technological flows. We demonstrate the application and utility of this vocabulary through an empirical illustration and show how it reveals novel insights for IS research vis-a-vis existing theoretical alternatives. Finally, we outline the implications of our approach for IS research and suggest some guiding principles for studying and theorizing IS phenomena through this orientation. We invite the IS community to engage with our approach to develop novel ways of understanding and theorizing IS phenomena along our increasingly fluid and dynamic digital world, ever overflowing.
This book is about responding to a different path; about thinking and listening differently, but ... more This book is about responding to a different path; about thinking and listening differently, but why? I will argue that the techno-functionalist paradigm (Burrell & Morgan, 1979), the current archetype for the information systems discipline, is exhausted. In applying this paradigm to everyday world problems, anomalies are being generated and are rapidly accumulating, to the point where a serious question of legitimacy now confronts the discipline. Senior executives are questioning the return on massive investments in information technology (Strassman, 1990). Critical sociologists are questioning the ethics and efficacy of the new fordism embodied in functionally inspired interventions such as business process re-engineering (Mumford, 1996). The failure of information technology projects seems to be as pervasive as ever (Duffy, 1993; Page et al., 1993). A general uneasiness seems to prevail in many areas of the discipline.
transcript Verlag eBooks, Dec 31, 2017
Werbung ist zum dominierenden Geschäftsmodell des Internets geworden. Zuckerman, einer der ersten... more Werbung ist zum dominierenden Geschäftsmodell des Internets geworden. Zuckerman, einer der ersten Pioniere auf diesem Feld, weist darauf hin, dass die Werbung nunmehr »die gesamte ökonomische Grundlage unserer Branche darstellt, da es die bequemste Variante für die Umsetzung eines Web-Startups war und die einfachste zur Vermarktung gegenüber Investoren« (Zuckerman 2014). Freilich ist der Umstand, dass die Werbung das Geschäftsmodell des Internets bildet, historisch kontingent. Weder ist und war diese Entwicklung notwendig noch ist sie die einzig mögliche. Und doch, sobald sich die Werbung als standardisiertes Geschäftsmodell einmal etabliert hat, entspringt ihm eine bestimmte Logik. Man könnte sagen, dass es diese bestimmte Logik erfordert, oder es gar unabdingbar macht, dass alle Akteure (in der Welt des Internets)-seien es nun Nutzer, Technologieentwicklerinnen, Werbetreibende, digitale Unternehmer etc.-auf eine ganz bestimmte Weise positioniert werden. Worauf es uns ankommt ist der Umstand, dass Werbung ein Publikum benötigt und zwar nicht lediglich ein Publikum im Sinne einer unbestimmten Gruppe von Leuten, sondern die richtige Person, welche zur richtigen Zeit die richtige Werbung sieht. Dies wiederum bedeutet, dass beeindruckbare Subjekte benötigt werden. Subjekte also, die sich derart beeindrucken lassen-in eine bestimmte Richtung drücken oder prägen lassen-, dass sie sich mit hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit konvertieren 2 lassen. Die Aufforderungen lauten hier: Tue etwas für das Unternehmen dessen Werbung Du siehst, registriere Dich auf der Web-1 | Im englischen Original ist vom »impressionable subject« die Rede. Die Mehrdeutigkeit von »impressionable« ist in der deutschen Übersetzung schwer einzufangen. A.d.Ü. 2 | »Konversion« (im engl. Conversion) wird hier als Fachbegriff aus dem (Online) Marketing gebraucht. Der Begriff indiziert die Umwandlung einer Zielperson von einem Interessenten in einen Kunden. A.d.Ü.
In chapter one it was argued that a particular ontological view of the manager and the manager’s ... more In chapter one it was argued that a particular ontological view of the manager and the manager’s role in the enterprise leads to a particular interpretation of the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of the management and information in the organization. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the ontological position of the involved manager.
All the thinking in the previous chapters assumes what Burrell and Morgan call the “sociology of ... more All the thinking in the previous chapters assumes what Burrell and Morgan call the “sociology of regulation” (Burrell & Morgan, 1979). This view of society assumes that there is a consensus based, stable, integrated, co-operative, well regulated social order; a regulated and well functioning co-operative whole that strives to maintain itself over time. This sociology of regulation neglects conflict and power. Power, nevertheless, seems to be very pervasive in organizations, as in society as a whole. Many practising managers will agree that organizational politics pervade everything they do. It seems to be always already present in every organizational event. Consideration of the narrative of the involved manager, management, and information in the organization would not be complete, or even adequate, without a reflection on power. This chapter is intended to provide such a reflection.
Routledge eBooks, May 15, 2017
Philosophy in the Contemporary World, 1997
Does it make sense to talk about cyberspace as an alternative social reality? Is cyberspace the n... more Does it make sense to talk about cyberspace as an alternative social reality? Is cyberspace the new frontier for the realization of the postmodern self? For philosophers Taylor and Saarinen, and the psychologist Turkle, cyberspace is the practical manifestation of a postmodern reality, or rather hyperreality (Baudrillard). In hyperreal cyberspace, they argue, identity becomes plastic,“I can change my self as easily as I change my clothes.” I will argue using Martin Heidegger that our being is being-in-the-world. To be-in-the-world means to ...
IGI Global eBooks, Jan 18, 2011
Routledge eBooks, Dec 21, 2020
European Conference on Information Systems, 1996
Philosophy in the Contemporary World, 2001
This paper critically describes the mediation of social relations by information technology, draw... more This paper critically describes the mediation of social relations by information technology, drawing on the work of Emmanuel Levinas. In the first of three movements, I discuss ethical relations as primordial sociality based in proximity. In the second movement I discuss the how the self encounters the Other, the ethical contact. How can the self make contact with the Other without turning the Other into a theme, a concept or a category? In the third movement, I discuss the electronic mediation of the social as simulation. I argue that ...
IEEE Spectrum, Jun 1, 2000
Oxford University Press eBooks, Jan 26, 2023
A number of relatively new technologies, such as Enterprise Resource Planning systems, the Intern... more A number of relatively new technologies, such as Enterprise Resource Planning systems, the Internet and intranets, have entered the organizational landscape. These technologies have not only been enabling a wide range of social and organizational transformations, but have also been challenging much of the received wisdom that operates in academic and industrial discourses. This book attempts to capture some of these strands by discussing the social and organizational issues surrounding the implementation and use of these new ...
Management Information Systems Quarterly, Jan 15, 2021
Ongoing digital innovations are transforming almost every aspect of our contemporary societies—re... more Ongoing digital innovations are transforming almost every aspect of our contemporary societies—rendering our lives and work evermore fluid and dynamic. This paper is an invitation to likewise remake our theorizing of socio-technological transformation by shifting from actor-centric orientations towards a flow-oriented approach and vocabulary. Such a shift from actors to the flows of action allows us to offer an innovative theory of socio-technological transformation that does not rely on self-contained actors or technologies as originators of transformation. Instead, it allows us to foreground how contingent confluences among heterogenous flows of action can account for the trajectories of socio-technological (trans)formation, both upstream and downstream. To do this, we turn to the work of social anthropologist Tim Ingold to advance a theoretical vocabulary of flowing lines of action and their correspondences. We expound three modalities of correspondence, namely: timing, attentionality, and undergoing, which together explain the dynamics of creation, sensing, and actualization of (trans)formative possibilities for action along socio-technological flows. We demonstrate the application and utility of this vocabulary through an empirical illustration and show how it reveals novel insights for IS research vis-a-vis existing theoretical alternatives. Finally, we outline the implications of our approach for IS research and suggest some guiding principles for studying and theorizing IS phenomena through this orientation. We invite the IS community to engage with our approach to develop novel ways of understanding and theorizing IS phenomena along our increasingly fluid and dynamic digital world, ever overflowing.
This book is about responding to a different path; about thinking and listening differently, but ... more This book is about responding to a different path; about thinking and listening differently, but why? I will argue that the techno-functionalist paradigm (Burrell & Morgan, 1979), the current archetype for the information systems discipline, is exhausted. In applying this paradigm to everyday world problems, anomalies are being generated and are rapidly accumulating, to the point where a serious question of legitimacy now confronts the discipline. Senior executives are questioning the return on massive investments in information technology (Strassman, 1990). Critical sociologists are questioning the ethics and efficacy of the new fordism embodied in functionally inspired interventions such as business process re-engineering (Mumford, 1996). The failure of information technology projects seems to be as pervasive as ever (Duffy, 1993; Page et al., 1993). A general uneasiness seems to prevail in many areas of the discipline.
transcript Verlag eBooks, Dec 31, 2017
Werbung ist zum dominierenden Geschäftsmodell des Internets geworden. Zuckerman, einer der ersten... more Werbung ist zum dominierenden Geschäftsmodell des Internets geworden. Zuckerman, einer der ersten Pioniere auf diesem Feld, weist darauf hin, dass die Werbung nunmehr »die gesamte ökonomische Grundlage unserer Branche darstellt, da es die bequemste Variante für die Umsetzung eines Web-Startups war und die einfachste zur Vermarktung gegenüber Investoren« (Zuckerman 2014). Freilich ist der Umstand, dass die Werbung das Geschäftsmodell des Internets bildet, historisch kontingent. Weder ist und war diese Entwicklung notwendig noch ist sie die einzig mögliche. Und doch, sobald sich die Werbung als standardisiertes Geschäftsmodell einmal etabliert hat, entspringt ihm eine bestimmte Logik. Man könnte sagen, dass es diese bestimmte Logik erfordert, oder es gar unabdingbar macht, dass alle Akteure (in der Welt des Internets)-seien es nun Nutzer, Technologieentwicklerinnen, Werbetreibende, digitale Unternehmer etc.-auf eine ganz bestimmte Weise positioniert werden. Worauf es uns ankommt ist der Umstand, dass Werbung ein Publikum benötigt und zwar nicht lediglich ein Publikum im Sinne einer unbestimmten Gruppe von Leuten, sondern die richtige Person, welche zur richtigen Zeit die richtige Werbung sieht. Dies wiederum bedeutet, dass beeindruckbare Subjekte benötigt werden. Subjekte also, die sich derart beeindrucken lassen-in eine bestimmte Richtung drücken oder prägen lassen-, dass sie sich mit hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit konvertieren 2 lassen. Die Aufforderungen lauten hier: Tue etwas für das Unternehmen dessen Werbung Du siehst, registriere Dich auf der Web-1 | Im englischen Original ist vom »impressionable subject« die Rede. Die Mehrdeutigkeit von »impressionable« ist in der deutschen Übersetzung schwer einzufangen. A.d.Ü. 2 | »Konversion« (im engl. Conversion) wird hier als Fachbegriff aus dem (Online) Marketing gebraucht. Der Begriff indiziert die Umwandlung einer Zielperson von einem Interessenten in einen Kunden. A.d.Ü.
In chapter one it was argued that a particular ontological view of the manager and the manager’s ... more In chapter one it was argued that a particular ontological view of the manager and the manager’s role in the enterprise leads to a particular interpretation of the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of the management and information in the organization. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the ontological position of the involved manager.
All the thinking in the previous chapters assumes what Burrell and Morgan call the “sociology of ... more All the thinking in the previous chapters assumes what Burrell and Morgan call the “sociology of regulation” (Burrell & Morgan, 1979). This view of society assumes that there is a consensus based, stable, integrated, co-operative, well regulated social order; a regulated and well functioning co-operative whole that strives to maintain itself over time. This sociology of regulation neglects conflict and power. Power, nevertheless, seems to be very pervasive in organizations, as in society as a whole. Many practising managers will agree that organizational politics pervade everything they do. It seems to be always already present in every organizational event. Consideration of the narrative of the involved manager, management, and information in the organization would not be complete, or even adequate, without a reflection on power. This chapter is intended to provide such a reflection.
Routledge eBooks, May 15, 2017
Philosophy in the Contemporary World, 1997
Does it make sense to talk about cyberspace as an alternative social reality? Is cyberspace the n... more Does it make sense to talk about cyberspace as an alternative social reality? Is cyberspace the new frontier for the realization of the postmodern self? For philosophers Taylor and Saarinen, and the psychologist Turkle, cyberspace is the practical manifestation of a postmodern reality, or rather hyperreality (Baudrillard). In hyperreal cyberspace, they argue, identity becomes plastic,“I can change my self as easily as I change my clothes.” I will argue using Martin Heidegger that our being is being-in-the-world. To be-in-the-world means to ...
IGI Global eBooks, Jan 18, 2011
Routledge eBooks, Dec 21, 2020
European Conference on Information Systems, 1996