TY - CHAP

T1 - Narrative approach to futures

T2 - European Conference on Information Systems - ECIS 2024

AU - Zimmer, Markus Philipp

AU - Minkkinen, Matti

N1 - Conference code: 32

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - Responsible digital transformation (RDT) involves future-oriented strategizing. The key notion: organizations use digital technology to transform and create responsible futures. Scholars emphasized the importance of future-oriented research to theorize how we can create a better world. Nevertheless, we see little empirical work that takes a future-oriented perspective on digital transformation (DT) or specifically RDT. Since organizational actors often tell imagined futures in narrative form, we develop and illustrate narrative approach to futures as an empirical approach for studying future-orientation in DT. Thus, we synthesize existing work to develop narrative approach to futures and illustrate this approach in a single case study of Greenpeace’s RDT. We contribute twofold. First, we contribute narrative approach to futures as an analytical approach as well as three archetypal futures narratives and concepts that provide for theorizing how futures produce present transformative action. Second, we contribute outlining implications of such approach to studying DT, specifically RDT.

AB - Responsible digital transformation (RDT) involves future-oriented strategizing. The key notion: organizations use digital technology to transform and create responsible futures. Scholars emphasized the importance of future-oriented research to theorize how we can create a better world. Nevertheless, we see little empirical work that takes a future-oriented perspective on digital transformation (DT) or specifically RDT. Since organizational actors often tell imagined futures in narrative form, we develop and illustrate narrative approach to futures as an empirical approach for studying future-orientation in DT. Thus, we synthesize existing work to develop narrative approach to futures and illustrate this approach in a single case study of Greenpeace’s RDT. We contribute twofold. First, we contribute narrative approach to futures as an analytical approach as well as three archetypal futures narratives and concepts that provide for theorizing how futures produce present transformative action. Second, we contribute outlining implications of such approach to studying DT, specifically RDT.

KW - Business informatics

KW - Narrative approach

KW - future-oriented research

KW - digital transformation

KW - Digital responsibility

KW - Management studies

KW - Narrative approach

KW - Digital responsibility

M3 - Article in conference proceedings

BT - ECIS 2024 Proceedings

PB - AIS eLibrary

CY - Atlanta

Y2 - 13 June 2024 through 19 June 2024

ER -