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User interactions in enterprise systems : the role of virtual co-presence on collective activity
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Subramaniam, Niran (2012) User interactions in enterprise systems : the role of virtual co-presence on collective activity. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.
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Official URL: http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b2680584~S1
Abstract
This research stems from the premise that Enterprise Systems (ES) are perceived to be
challenging to use as these systems impose rigid processes and practices on ES users.
Scholars argue that the mismatch between the embedded business processes of ES and the
work practices of people in organisations places constraints on how tasks are coordinated and
completed in practice. They propose that in order to be responsive, ES not only need to
integrate data and processes, but also need to resolve the interdependencies of tasks of
different divisions. Recent academic research argues that social technologies provide a more
flexible, ‘people-centric’ platform that offers better alignment between processes and the way
people actually work. Social technologies are acknowledged for their capabilities in
connecting people with one another in getting work done collectively in the contemporary
organisational contexts. ES that are enhanced with capabilities for user interactions in
contemporary organisational contexts have become a digital medium for efficient user
interaction and collective activity across the divisions of an organisation.
This thesis explores user interactions in ES and investigates the impact of social technologies
in the completion of tasks in Enterprise Systems (ES). The research is focused on an
exploratory field study and an in-depth field study of ES use contexts. The exploratory field
study sought to explore the ‘sense of presence’ of users in their interactions in the use
contexts of ES at a western Canadian University. Subsequently, the in-depth field study
investigated how co-present, dispersed user interactions afforded collective activity in the
completion of tasks at a large telecommunication organisation in Europe. The users
interviewed, integrated various social technologies in their use contexts of ES and
collectively executed tasks from three different countries at this organisation. Findings
demonstrate that a ‘sense of co-presence’ of users in the digitally mediated network of ES
enabled focused interactions, and affected collective completion of tasks. Through successive
focused interactions, virtual co-present users changed roles depending on their privileges for
specific tasks, forming an interaction order. The thesis argues that different interaction orders
form based on the intensity of virtual co-presence of users and the regularity of their focused
interactions, that the interaction orders sediment to serve as memory traces for successive
interactions and, that these recursive interactions structure collective action to facilitate the
emergence of digital platforms for collective activity. Drawing on the insights gained on the
effect of virtual co-presence on ES users’ interaction, the thesis outlines some implications
for the theory and practice of collective activity in ES for the contemporary organisations.
Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) | ||||
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Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA76 Electronic computers. Computer science. Computer software |
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Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Management information systems, Human-computer interaction | ||||
Official Date: | November 2012 | ||||
Dates: |
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Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
Theses Department: | Warwick Business School | ||||
Thesis Type: | PhD | ||||
Publication Status: | Unpublished | ||||
Supervisor(s)/Advisor: | Nandhakumar, Joe | ||||
Extent: | 232 leaves : charts. | ||||
Language: | eng |
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