The path biography methodology: Analyzing self-reinforcing mechanisms on technical and organizational levels
Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Article in conference proceedings › Research
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Proceedings of the 36th International Conference on Information Systems. Association for Information Systems, 2015.
Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Article in conference proceedings › Research
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TY - CHAP
T1 - The path biography methodology
T2 - Analyzing self-reinforcing mechanisms on technical and organizational levels
AU - Wenzel, Matthias
AU - Schmidt, Thomas
AU - Fuerstenau, Daiel
PY - 2015/12/13
Y1 - 2015/12/13
N2 - While studies on self-reinforcing mechanisms in information systems (IS) research rely on methodologies that focus on the technical level without fully accounting for such effects on the organizational level, management research relies on methodologies that concentrate researchers’ efforts on the organizational level. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Path Biography Methodology, a qualitative approach that helps researchers capture and analyze self-reinforcing mechanisms on and between technical and organizational levels. By synthesizing insights from IS and management research, we develop four principles that researchers should consider when applying the Path Biography Methodology. Using a path biography study of a university and its information system, we illustrate how researchers may apply this methodology to analyze self-reinforcing mechanisms. Overall, this paper lays the groundwork for a research methodology that enables researchers to capture and analyze self-reinforcing mechanisms on and between technical and organizational levels.
AB - While studies on self-reinforcing mechanisms in information systems (IS) research rely on methodologies that focus on the technical level without fully accounting for such effects on the organizational level, management research relies on methodologies that concentrate researchers’ efforts on the organizational level. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Path Biography Methodology, a qualitative approach that helps researchers capture and analyze self-reinforcing mechanisms on and between technical and organizational levels. By synthesizing insights from IS and management research, we develop four principles that researchers should consider when applying the Path Biography Methodology. Using a path biography study of a university and its information system, we illustrate how researchers may apply this methodology to analyze self-reinforcing mechanisms. Overall, this paper lays the groundwork for a research methodology that enables researchers to capture and analyze self-reinforcing mechanisms on and between technical and organizational levels.
KW - Management studies
KW - Qualitative research
KW - path biographie
KW - self-reinforcing mechanisms
KW - Path dependence
M3 - Article in conference proceedings
BT - Proceedings of the 36th International Conference on Information Systems
PB - Association for Information Systems
ER -