IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
IS action research:
State of the art and future
directions
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Ola Henfridsson
Viktoria Institute & Halmstad University
IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
Action Research
Dual goal: “The action researcher is concerned to create
organizational change and simultaneously study the process”
(Baskerville and Myers 2004, p. 329-330)
Common motivations:
 Epistemology: pragmatism
 Relevance to practice
Promising methodology, but many different models of action
research
Action research characteristics (Baskerville and Wood-Harper
1998):
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Process model (Iterative, reflective, linear)
Structure (rigid, fluid)
Researcher involvement (collaborative, facilitative, experiment)
Primary goals (organizational development, systems design, scientific
knowledge, training)
IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
Types of IS action research
(Baskerville & Wood-Harper 1998)
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IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
IS action research
Two observations:
1. Few examples of empirical AR studies (with the objective
of making a domain-specific (substantive) contribution to,
e.g., KM or ERP)
 Relatively many examples of AR theorizing (new models of, or
perspectives on, AR)
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2. The IT-artifact has a marginal role in IS action research
 IT-artifact = “bundles of material and cultural properties
packaged in some socially recognized form such as hardware
and/or software” (Orlikowski and Iacono 2001)
IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
Observation #1: Few examples of
empirical AR studies (with the
objective of making a domain-specific
(substantive) contribution)
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IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
Dominance of AR methodology
contributions
Two lately published special issues:
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IT & People (2001: Editors: Kock and Lau): 6 articles
MIS Quarterly (2004: Editors: Baskerville and Myers): 6 articles
Domain-specific (substantive) contributions
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Davison (2001)
Iverson et al. (2004)
Kohli and Kettinger (2004)
Lindgren, Henfridsson, and Schultze (2004)
Street and Meister (2004)
Yoong and Gallupe (2001)
AR methodology contributions
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Avison, Baskerville, and Myers (2001)
Braa, Monteiro, and Sahay (2004)
Chiasson and Dexter (2001)
Mårtensson and Lee (2004)
McKay & Marshall (2001)
Mumford (2001)
IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
Reflections on the current state
Methodological development important
However, the value of AR must be evaluated in light of
alternative methodologies
 in terms of its capacity to facilitate substantive research
contributions
 in terms of its promised relevance to practice
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MISQ special issue important to legitimize AR
However, action researchers have still things to prove
IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
Observation #2: The IT-artifact has a
marginal role in IS action research
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IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
Background: the role of the ITartifact in AR
IT-artifact:
 “bundles of material and
cultural properties packaged in
some socially recognized form
such as hardware and/or
software” (Orlikowski and
Iacono 2001)
 Less inclusive than Hevner et
al (2004): (constructs,
instantiations, methods, and
models)
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Role:
 Part in the researchers’ action
 Part in developing the
research contribution
IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
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IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
Reflections on the current state
The IT-artifact is part of the researchers’ action in some
IS action research (3 out of the 6/12)
The IT-artifact is basically never a significant part of the
contribution (developing the contribution)
This is a problem in IS action research
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IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
Two recent AR projects
Design principles for Competence Management Systems
[1999-2001]
 Lindgren, R., Henfridsson, O., and Schultze, U. "Design Principles for
Competence Management Systems: A Synthesis of an Action Research Study,"
MIS Quarterly (28:3) 2004, pp 435-472.
Multi-Contextuality in Ubiquitous Computing [2002-2004]
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 Henfridsson, O., and Lindgren, R. "Multi-Contextuality in Ubiquitous Computing:
Investigating the Car Case through Action Research," Information and
Organization (15:2) 2005, pp 95-124.
IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
AR Methodology in Use at Viktoria
Canonical action research (Davison et al. 2004; Susman
& Evered 1978)
Prototype-based action
Delivering “design principles” for a specific system type
grounded in socio-technical theory
IT-artifact in focus: without leaving social issues behind?
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IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
Background
Modern automobile – success
for ubiquitous computing
technologies
 Whole set of computer
systems
 Weaved into the fabric of our
everyday life
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However, the vehicle has been
traditionally a closed system
Telematics is slowly changing
this
The connected car
Implications for product
development, insurance, car
maintenance, transportation,
IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
What is telematics?
The integrated use of telecommunications, positioning technologies,
and IT
Specifically, the use of such systems within road vehicles
GM’s OnStar
 All GM brands (and a few other) sold in the US
 Subscription model: different service packages
Fleet management, infotainment, remote diagnostics, vehicle
management, and many more
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IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
Personal telematics
Integrated use of mobile devices and embedded computing
platforms for providing in-car user services
Provides temporary and synchronized networks between vehicles
and mobile devices for leveraging the convenience and safety such
services
Lifecycle differences
Competition from aftermarket solution providers
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IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
Multi-contextuality in ubiquitous
computing
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Mobile services are multicontextual
Used over different spatiotemporal contexts by people on
the move
Combining mass-scale with
situated support: design challenge
Different use requirements in
boundary-spanning mobility
Minimal assumptions about use
contexts for maximizing mobility
and personalization (Lyytinen and
Yoo 2002)
Multi-contextuality: the coexistence of different use contexts
IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
Multi-Contextuality in the Car
Setting
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The Car Setting
 Supports spatial/physical mobility
 Mobile devices used for handling the temporality of social activity
(cf. Kakihara and Sørensen 2002)
 Provides advanced computing and connectivity capabilities
What are the socio-technical design implications related to the coexistence of different use contexts in the car?
Grounded action research study (Baskerville & Pries-Heje 1999)
 Saab Automobile, Mecel, and Vodafone
Objectives
 Develop and evaluate design principles for handling multicontextuality surrounding mobile device use in cars
 Explore socio-technical implications in an authentic setting
IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
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IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
Mobile phone use in cars:
categories, concepts, and data
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IS ActionMOBILE
Research
viktoria institute
DEVICE MANIPULATION
TELEMATICS GROUP
(PHYSICAL) CONTEXT CHANGE
ATTENTION-SHIFTING
PRE-PARING
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(WIRED) WORK-AROUNDS
IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
Design principles
The principle of context switching support:
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Support switches between different physical and social contexts.
The principle of contextually adapted manipulation:
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Provide the user with device or service controls adapted to the spatiotemporal conditions in question.
The principle of context-sensitive service
synchronization:
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Make selective services associated with the mobile device available (deemed
plausible for the car setting) to users.
IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
The SeamlessTalk prototype
Facilitates driver (or passenger) control of Bluetooth-equipped mobile
phones brought into the car
Embeds the design principles developed
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IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
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IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
Evaluation overview
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IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
UbiComp challenges
Synchronizing fluid use patterns
 Differences in individual use patterns make it hard to deliver
mass-scale services
 The openness of mobile devices triggers an abundance of such
use patterns
 Increased number of services provided by multi-purpose devices
Scaling service manipulation
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 A UbiComp environment cannot always be assumed to meet the
specific requirements of the services hosted
 Different interaction models, e.g., differences in temporal
assumptions
Signaling context-switches through awareness support
 Context-switching can be a source of uncertainty
 Signaling context-switches can be an appropriate way to place
computing in the background, e.g., audio, motion, and visual
feedback
IS Action Research
viktoria institute
TELEMATICS GROUP
Many thanks for your attention!
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