Emmanuelle Vaast
Associate Professor of MIS
Long Island University
February 7, 2011
Speakman Hall 200, 1000am – 1130am
Abstract
This paper examines how work practices change with the use of social media in a network of practice (NoP), that is, among people who share work practices without working with one another or even working for the same organization. Based on the indepth qualitative case study of the use of social media among non-profit professionals, the paper develops a grounded theorization of changes in practice that underscores the at first exogenous then endogenous sources of changes in practices and the trend toward changes in gradually more central practices in the NoP with social media. The grounded theorization acknowledges the importance of the changes in the social media applications and their popularity and recognizes the organizational-level implications of these changes in practices. This grounded theorization holds implications for IS research on IT implementation and use as well as for the understanding of dynamics taking place in NoPs in organizations. This paper contributes the understanding and conceptualization of exciting new dynamics of practices as social media and other web-based applications will continue to become more prevalent in work environments.
For a copy of the paper, click here.