Track:  Organizational Systems and Technology Track

Mini-track:  Paradoxes and tensions in innovation and implementation of complex systems

Within the 46th Hawaiian International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), we organise a minitrack on Paradoxes and tensions in innovation and implementation of complex systems. The 46th HICSS, one of the most prominent Conferences on Information Systems and Sciences worldwide, will be held on January 7-10, 2013, in Maui,Hawaii (http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu).

 

Paradoxes and tensions are ubiquitous to innovation and change in sociotechnical systems in a wide ranging contexts including but not limited to open innovation, e-health, mobile platforms, integrated supply chains.  Conflicting demands, contradictory practices, and competing views create fiction that can energize or inhibit the performance of a complex socio-technical system.  There is a growing literature on paradoxes, tensions, and duality and recently paradox theory has been proposed as an alternative meta-theoretical approach to problems that have previously been addressed by contingency theory or structural theories. The paradox theory reconceptualizes opposing poles of paradoxes, not as a tradeoff but as a duality where the opposing poles of the paradox are leveraged simultaneously and considered to be mutually dependent and mutually enabling. The track focuses on papers that theoretically or empirically advance our understanding of how tensions and paradoxes can be leveraged, enhanced, and honed to create new and frame-breaking opportunities, enhance their implementation, and acceptance, and ensure successful co-evolution of complex systems in dynamic environments.

We will solicit excellent papers that will develop and expand this area. The papers can use any acceptable methodology and theory including innovation and implementation of complex systems, tensions, paradoxes, complexity theory, institutional theory, innovation theories, control theory, ambidexterity theory, trust asymmetry theory, etc.

Possible topics:

How does paradox perspective change or alter our view of technology related dynamics in socio-technical systems?

How does duality contribute to better management of socio-technical innovation?

How do institutional logics shape development and implementation of complex systems?

               How can technologies be designed to better leverage opposing poles of paradoxes?

               What is the role of technology in nesting and interweaving tensions/paradoxes?

 

MINITRACK CHAIRS

Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin, USA(primary

contact), Sirkka.jarvenpaa@mccombs.utexas.edu

 

Holly Lanham, Department of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, USA, lanham@uthscsa.edu

IMPORTANT DATES

 

June 15                 Submission full manuscripts

 

Aug 15                  Acceptance Notifications

 

Sept 15                 Submission camera-ready paper

 

Oct 1                      Early Registration fee deadline

 

More info: http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu and http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/hicss_46/apahome46.htm