Theoretical lenses for analysing digital technologies in organisations

1. Course specifications

Professor

Dr. Emanuele Gabriel Margherita, Assistant Professor in Business Organisation & Information Systems at Link Campus University, Rome

Language

English

Course outline

Hours: 30hrs (70% lessons and 30% student presentations + Exam) Lesson modality: in-person and in one week

Suited for PhD Students from organisational studies, strategic management, information systems, innovation and operations management.

Programme:

The PhD course lies in the intersection of disciplines of management of information systems and organisational studies. The core of the course is to highlight theories on how to analyse digital technologies in organisations that go beyond the traditional vision of technological determinism. PhD students will learn how to use theories and apply them in qualitative, quantitative and multi-criteria decision-making studies.
The course is composed of five sessions provided in five days (6hrs per day) for an audience of around 15 PhD students. The lessons are devoted to the presentation of the various theories on how to analyse digital technologies in organisations and a consequent discussion of empirical papers using such theories with PhD students.

Exam: Written exam (open questions + multiple choice questions) (10/20 points) and a short essay to prepare in group (10/20 points).

Session 1 – Digital Technologies (DAY 1)
In this session, I showcase the core digital technologies of the courses: information systems and Industry 4.0 technologies (including big data and artificial intelligence). I reflect upon their key features and how they are used as a basis or in conjunction with traditional managerial theories. The lesson ends with a discussion of various empirical articles.

Session 2 – IT Value (DAY 2)
In this session, I present the key theories in the information systems domain, focusing on IT value and sustainable value creation. I then connect these theories to the framework of critical success factors.The lesson ends with a discussion of various empirical articles.

Session 3 – Socio-technical change (DAY 3)
In this session, I introduce organisational change as a macro-theory to examine the adoption of digital technologies and the associated barriers. I also present diffusion theory, along with socio-technical theory, and the foundational concepts of adaptive structuration theory. The lesson ends with a discussion of various empirical articles using these theories.

Session 4 – Decision-making of digital technologies (DAY 4)
In this session, I underscore theories about the decision-making process applied to technology adoption, i.e. the dialectical inquiry and the paradox theory. I further discuss technology-organisation-environment (TOE) and the institutional theory that also includes the organisational environment. The lesson ends with a discussion of various empirical articles using these theories.

Session 5 – Final Exam and PhD Lab (DAY 5)
PhD students take the course exam, which is worth 10/20 points. The exam is composed of open questions and a multiple-choice question about the theories explored during the course. Afterwards, each PhD student presents their research, providing ideas to incorporate the theories studied in the course. A discussion with the rest of the classroom follows these presentations.
At the end of the lesson, students are divided into groups of 2-3 members. Each group selects a digital technology to analyse (e.g., digital platforms, big data, generative artificial intelligence, smart city technologies). They conduct a literature review on the chosen technology in relation to at least two theories presented during the course. Based on this, each group writes a short essay of up to 3,000 words (excluding references), covering the key features of the technology, the theories applied, the value of the studies reviewed, and suggestions for further exploration of the digital technology. This work is worth 10/20 of their final grade.

Exemplary References:

• Bostrom, R. P., Gupta, S., & Thomas, D. (2009). A Meta-Theory for Understanding Information Systems Within Sociotechnical Systems. Journal of Management Information Systems, 26(1), 17–48. https://doi.org/10.2753/mis0742-1222260102
• Bostrom, R. P., & Heinen, S. J. (1977). MIS Problems and Failures: A Socio-Technical Perspective. Part I: The Causes. MIS Quarterly, 1(3).
• DePietro, R., Wiarda, E., & Fleischer, M. (1990). The context of change: Organisation, technology, and environment. In L. G. Tornatzky & M. Fleischer (Eds.), The process of technological innovation.
• DeSanctis, G., & Poole, M. S. (1994). Capturing the Complexity in Advanced Technology Use: Adaptive Structuration Theory. Organization Science, 5(2), 121–147.
• Dieste, M., Sauer, P. C., & Orzes, G. (2022). Organisational tensions in industry 4.0 implementation: A paradox theory approach. International Journal of Production Economics, 251(October 2021), 108532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2022.108532
• DiMaggio, P., & Powell, W. W. (1983). The Iron Cage Revisited: Institutional Isomorphism and Collective Rationality in Organisational Fields. American Sociological Review, 48(2), 147–160. https://doi.org/10.17323/1726-3247-2010-1-34-56
• Margherita, E. G., & Braccini, A. M. (2023). Industry 4.0 Technologies in Flexible Manufacturing for Sustainable Organizational Value: Reflections from a Multiple Case Study of Italian Manufacturers. Information Systems Frontiers, 25(3), 995–1016. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-020-10047-y
• Margherita, E. G., & Braccini, A. M. (2024). Exploring tensions of Industry 4.0 adoption in lean production systems from a dialectical perspective. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 44(6), 1127–1157. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOPM-05-2023-0354
• Rogers, E. M., Singhal, A., & Quinlan, M. M. (2019). Diffusion of Innovations. An Integrated Approach to Communication Theory and Research, Third Edition, 415–433.
• Smith, W. K., & Lewis, M. W. (2011). Toward a theory of paradox: a dynamic equilibrium model of organising. Academy of Management Review, 36(2), 381–403.
• Strong, D. M., Johnson, S. a, Tulu, B., Trudel, J., Group, R. M., Volkoff, O., Pelletier, L. R., Bar-on, I., & Garber, L. (2014). A Theory of Organization-EHR Affordance Actualization. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 15(2), 53–85.
• van de Ven, A. H., & Poole, M. S. (1995). Explaining Development and Change in Organisations. Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 510–54

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