Culture, Technology, and Process in “Media Theories”: Toward a shift in the understanding of media in organizational research

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

The concept of ‘media’ can provide an anchor point for developing organizational theories about information and communication technologies, materiality, communication, and organizational change. However, to date, organizational research often takes the meaning of the term media for granted. This article therefore explores various conceptions of media, outlining how such theories can be used for advancing the conception of media in organizational research. Using three ideal-typical branches of conceptions of media, we explore key concerns regarding media in existing literature outside of organizational research. First, the culture and power branch problematizes how cultural practices and power structures are inscribed through media; second, the technology and infrastructure branch emphasizes the inherent ‘eigenlogik’ of media technology; and third, the process and change branch explores how existing economic and aesthetic conventions in media persist over time. Using organizational media in general and enterprise social media in particular we discuss how each of these three ideal-typical branches offer pathways for organizational research. Specifically we argue for shifting the use of the term media beyond merely describing tools for communication as media theories offer insights for understanding the long-term consequences of materiality and ontological co-constitution within sociomaterial assemblages.
Original languageEnglish
JournalOrganization
Volume26
Issue number5
Pages (from-to)636-654
Number of pages19
ISSN1350-5084
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.09.2019

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2019.

    Research areas

  • Media and communication studies - aesthetics, change, communication, conception of media, critical theory, cultural, digitale media, German media theory, history, information and communication technology, information technology, infrastructure studies, IT, ICT, Kittler, media, organization, organizational media, power, process, remediation, social media, technology
  • Cultural studies

Documents

DOI

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. Debating accounting and sustainability: from incompatibility to rapprochement in the pursuit of corporate sustainability
  2. Tuition fees and funding - barriers for non-traditional students ?
  3. Erneuerungen in der Lehrerbildung
  4. 10 Jahre Forschungsinstitut Freie Berufe (FFB) der Universität Lüneburg
  5. ‚Places of Remembrance’: spaces for historical and political literacy
  6. Das Empire, der Nordwesten und der Rest der Welt
  7. Blinde Flecken in der Unternehmensführung
  8. Edith Meyer von Kamptz (1884-1969)
  9. The modernization of West German police
  10. Akzeptanz und Nutzung der FDS-Methoden durch die Fachkräfte
  11. Vom Dozieren zum Dialog
  12. Pierre Bourdieu: Die Kraft des Rechts
  13. Jugend und Nachhaltigkeit
  14. Phase-field modelling for fatigue crack growth under laser shock peening-induced residual stresses
  15. Objekttheater begegnet digitalen Welten
  16. Impact of green and blue-green light on the growth, pigment concentration, and fatty acid unsaturation in the microalga Monoraphidium braunii
  17. The rubber brick’s story
  18. Stefan Panhans
  19. Die Pflicht zur Information der Öffentlichkeit nach § 39 KrW-/AbfG - eine überflüssige Norm?
  20. Krisis und Invention
  21. Discursive Tropes of Aggression Against Queer-Sexuality in Nigerian Standup Comedy
  22. Action training for charismatic leadership
  23. National culture and business model change
  24. Worlds Apart: Does Perceptual Congruence Between Leaders and Older Employees Regarding Age-Friendly Organizational Climate, Management, and Work Design Matter?
  25. Editorial
  26. § 289 c Inhalt der nichtfinanziellen Erklärung
  27. Dynamics of the polycrisis
  28. Participation of Children and Young People in Alternative Care - Introduction
  29. Die Grundschul-Bibel
  30. Farmer Perceptions of the Ecosystem Services Provided by Scavengers
  31. Schadenfreude as social-functional dominance regulator
  32. Collaborative governance and personal relationships for sustainability transformation in the textile sector