Mobile technology in mobile work: contradictions and congruencies in activity systems

Implementing Artificial Intelligence in Traditional B2B Marketing Practices: An Activity Theory Perspective

Anecdotal evidence suggests that artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are highly effective in digital marketing and rapidly growing in popularity in the context of business-to-business (B2B) marketing. Yet empirical research on AI-powered B2B marketing, and particularly on the socio-technical aspects of its use, is sparse. This study uses Activity Theory (AT) as a theoretical lens to examine AI-powered B2B marketing as a collective activity system, and to illuminate the contradictions that emerge when adopting and implementing AI into traditional B2B marketing practices. AT is appropriate in the context of this study, as it shows how contradictions act as a motor for change and lead to transformational changes, rather than viewing tensions as a threat to prematurely abandon the adoption and implementation of AI in B2B marketing. Based on eighteen interviews with industry and academic experts, the study identifies contradictions with which marketing researchers and practitioners must contend. We show that these contradictions can be culturally or politically challenging to confront, and even when resolved, can have both intended and unintended consequences.

An Activity Theory-Based Approach for Context Analysis, Design and Evolution

This paper presents a new interdisciplinary approach to support context modeling in context-awareness software developments. The premise of this approach relies on the idea that understanding a complex socio-technical ecology, while adapting the software to its behavior and evolution, is a primary challenge to address. Thus, the paper proposes an activity theory-based approach to aid in the conception, design, development, and evolution of emerging context-aware socio-technical ecologies. The concepts and notations used by the proposed approach are illustrated through a proof of concept that demonstrates the essential ideas and their use in real scenarios. Also, the feasibility of this approach is measured empirically through an experiment. Preliminary results show how, for a context-aware software design and development team, the proposal provides a better understanding of context than alternatives and helps to outline context models by establishing relationships and interactions between socio-technical components and by anticipating potential conflicts among them. The key ideas of the proposed approach result in the ability to analyze and model social and technological contexts around perpetually evolving system ecologies as useful representations for understanding operating environments closely tied to human actions, with software as a mediator component.

Contradictions and Interventions in Health IS

The study analyzes data collected in two case studies in the healthcare industry, which is characterized by a variety of social and technical elements forming an activity system where all elements interact with each other. The findings indicate that many problems emerging during the implementation of a health information system can be traced back to contradictions between elements of the activity systems that are created or amplified by the new IS. The authors find that some contradictions are latent and become salient when introducing a new IS, while other contradictions are (unintentionally) newly created. Also, the study shows that contradictions are more complex than hitherto assumed and often concern more than two elements of a healthcare activity system. In a similar vein, effective interventions geared toward countering these contradictions are found to account for additional complexity while not always achieving their goal. Drawing on activity theory, the authors develop a framework to coherently synthesize the findings. The study can help increase the understanding of the IS’s role within an activity system and help guide IS implementation projects aimed at avoiding unintended consequences.

The Negative Effects of Institutional Logic Multiplicity on Service Platforms in Intermodal Mobility Ecosystems

Digitalization is changing the mobility sector. Companies have developed entirely new mobility services, and mobility services with pre-digital roots, such as ride-sharing and public transport, have leveraged digitalization to become more convenient to use. Nevertheless, private car use remains the dominant mode of transport in most developed countries, leading to problems such as delays due to traffic congestion, insufficient parking spaces, as well as noise and air pollution. Emerging intermodal mobility ecosystems take advantage of digital advances in mobility services by providing individual, dynamic and context-aware combinations of different mobility services to simplify door-to-door mobility and contribute to the reduction of private car use. However, the service platforms are limited in terms of functional range, for example they may lack integrated ticketing and rely on static data, which makes intermodal mobility inconvenient. This article adopts the service-dominant logic perspective to analyze service ecosystems for intermodal mobility and their service provision. Drawing on traditional institutional literature, the authors question the assumption that service logic is dominant for all actors of a service ecosystem. By applying activity theory, the article illustrates how an institutional logic multiplicity among actors can negatively affect the functional range of service platforms. The results of a qualitative study in Germany show that, in particular, the state logic of some actors, which is characterized by the obligation to provide mobility, impairs the quality of service platforms in supporting citizens in intermodal mobility.

Identifying Motives for Implementing eHealth by using Activity Theory

eHealth interventions are utilized as a solution to address the current demographic challenges in society, as the number of old people increases. Thus, working life, work practice, and professional requirements needed for providing healthcare services will be transformed. The aim of this paper is to explore contradictive motives regarding the professionals’ work practice when introducing innovative eHealth technologies in Scandinavian healthcare services at a municipal level. The study is based on two qualitative group interviews where nurses, assistant nurses, occupational and physiotherapists, as well as project managers participated. Two persons from an IT department were also interviewed. The interviews were analyzed by thematic analysis. The activity theory is used to explore the individuals’ different contradictive motives in this work practice. The work practice consists of a collaborative activity, where expansive learning is important in this transformation of work to obtain a sustainable society. The motives identified in this study are to 1) improve quality of life for the patients, 2) create attractive and interesting work for the employees, 3) save money for the municipality, 4) learn about new technology, and 5) use the municipality’s resources effectively.

Breaking the flow: a study of contradictions in information systems development (ISD)

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine contradictions (specifically tertiary and quaternary contradictions) that can disrupt the flow of work in contemporary systems development methods.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses Activity theory (AT) as a theoretical lens to: examine ISD flow as an interrelated activity system; and identify contradictions. AT is pertinent in the context of this study as rather than view contradictions as a threat to prematurely abandon the use of flow tools and metrics, it shows how contradictions can act as a motor for change and continuity. This study adopts a longitudinal single case study approach including face-to-face interviews with management and software development project teams, as well as direct observations and document analysis.

Findings

This study identifies tertiary and quaternary contradictions, and highlights the influence of contradictions on flow-based systems development.

Social implications

This study provides a set of contradictions for researchers and practitioners. It shows that contradictions can be culturally or politically challenging to confront, and even when resolved, can have intended or unintended consequences.

Originality/value

This paper fulfils an identified need to study ISD flow from the perspective of interrelated activity systems and beyond its initial implementation phase.

Contradictions in information technology mediated work in long-term care: An activity theoretic ethnographic study

BACKGROUND

The growing demand for aged care services coupled with a global shortage of skilled nursing staff has hindered long-term care facilities' ability to provide necessary services to their residents. Healthcare information technology is expected to mitigate this challenge by streamlining nursing work, while also improving quality of care and productivity.

OBJECTIVES

This study set out to examine how nurses and care workers work, the role of information technology (IT) in their work and what contradictions they face in their IT mediated work.

DESIGN

Ethnographic study informed by six components of activity theory: subject, object, tool, rule, community and division of labor.

SETTING

Eight care units in two long-term care facilities in Australia.

PARTICIPANTS

Eleven staff from two long-term care facilities including registered nurses (n = 2), endorsed enrolled nurses (n = 5) and personal care workers (n = 4) participated in this study.

METHODS

Participants were shadowed during morning shifts (6:30 am to 3:00 pm). A total of 24 morning shifts were observed over four months. Field notes were created based on observational data and informal interviews, in addition to document review.

RESULTS

Through the lens of activity theory, the work activity system of nurses and care workers in the long-term care facilities consisted of the subject (nurses and care workers), their object (resident care), tools used for work including IT, rules of work, community, and division of labor. These components interacted through work processes; therefore, a "process" component was added in the activity system. Special attention was given to the role of IT as the conduit of information in the work processes. Although IT helped track medication rounds, automated documentation and communication among the staff, it introduced contradictions. Seven contradictions involving IT were identified, including contradictions within the IT tool, between the IT tool and the object of work, between the subjects and documentation rules, between the work activity system using paper records and the system using IT, and between the activity system within the long-term care facility and the pharmacists' work activity system outside the facility.

CONCLUSIONS

Activity theory provided a theoretic framework to model the work activity system of nurses and care workers. Information technology played an important role in supporting information flow in this system, however it also caused contradictions.