Monitoring Enterprise Collaboration Platform Change and the Building of Digital Transformation Capabilities: An Information Infrastructure Perspective by Clara Sabine Nitschke Approved Dissertation thesis for the partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Doctor of Economics and Social Sciences (Dr. rer. pol.) Fachbereich 4: Informatik Universität Koblenz-Landau Chair of PhD Board: Prof. Dr. Ralf Lämmel Chair of PhD Commission: Prof. Dr. Viorica Sofronie-Stokkermans Examiner and Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Susan P. Williams Further Examiners: Prof. Dr. Petra Schubert, Prof. Dr. Catherine A. Hardy Date of the doctoral viva: 28/07/2021 Acknowledgements Many thanks to all the people who supported me on my PhD journey, a life-changing experience. This work was funded by two research grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). The related projects were designed as a joint work between two research groups at the University Koblenz-Landau. I am especially grateful to my supervisor Prof. Dr. Sue Williams who provided invaluable support throughout my whole project, particularly through her expertise, as well as her research impulses and discussions. Still, she gave me the freedom to shape my research, so many thanks! Further, I would like to thank my co-advisor Prof. Dr. Petra Schubert for very constructive feedback through the years. I am thankful for having had the unique opportunity to be part of the Center for Enterprise Information Research (CEIR) team with excellent researchers and the IndustryConnect initiative, which helped me bridge the gap between academia and ‘real world’ cases. IndustryConnect, founded by Prof. Dr. Schubert and Prof. Dr. Williams, enabled me to participate in long-term practice-oriented research with industry, a privilege that most other doctoral students cannot enjoy. Examining a range of topics around digital workplace technologies and enterprise collaboration platforms together with other researchers and practitioners was truly exceptional. Thanks to all the IndustryConnect member organisations and their collaboration experts providing me with unique insights into digital workplace designs and experiences. Here I would like to express my deep gratitude to Gerd, who made my longitudinal in-depth case possible. He was not only a key informant but also enabled me to talk to different enterprise collaboration platform users and stakeholders, and thus, collect rich empirical data with multiple perspectives and viewpoints. I very much appreciate your time and energy spent, and particularly the nice personal relationship we had, so thanks a lot! I would also like to thank Prof. Dr. Catherine Hardy, who was interested in my research and examining my final thesis. I feel honoured and am pleased that you attended my PhD defence where you triggered another process of thinking and reflection. Further, I am very grateful to Helena Vallo Hult and Fernanda Bigolin, who I met at the ECIS 2018 doctoral consortium and with whom I enjoy a close intellectual and personal friendship. We share common interests relating to sociotechnical change; however, I appreciated our mutual encouragement on our PhD journeys and exchange of views and experiences in particular. Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends. Special thanks to my parents and sisters and my long-time friends Amira Amin, Carolin Kniel, Tanja Jakowlewa, Stefanie Junga and Sören Zeitler for a sympathetic ear and happy distractions for mental vacations. Above all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my husband Patrick Nitschke and my lovely daughter Alva, towers of strength and the most important persons in my life. Patrick, only through your incredible support I was able to complete this work, thank you so much! And Alva, thank you for keeping me from work in the first year of your life, and thus, giving me important breaks full of love and affection. i ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... i List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. vii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... xi Abstract ............................................................................................................................. xiii Zusammenfassung ..................................................................................................................... xv Chapter 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Problem statement and motivation .............................................................................. 1 1.2 Research aim, objectives and questions ....................................................................... 5 1.3 Outline of this dissertation .......................................................................................... 12 Chapter 2 Theoretical Foundations ................................................................................ 15 2.1 Digital platforms ........................................................................................................... 15 2.1.1 Social media platforms ........................................................................................... 17 2.1.2 The emergence of enterprise collaboration platforms from a historical perspective ............................................................................................................................ 18 2.1.3 Distinctive characteristics of enterprise collaboration platforms ..................... 23 2.2 Information System (IS) capabilities .......................................................................... 26 2.2.1 Organisational IS capabilities ................................................................................ 26 2.2.2 Technological IS capabilities ................................................................................. 33 2.2.3 Summary and reflective account of IS capabilities ............................................. 34 Chapter 3 Research Design ............................................................................................... 37 3.1 Research philosophy ..................................................................................................... 38 3.2 Research methodology ................................................................................................. 38 3.3 Theorisation of the IT artefact: an ensemble view .................................................... 41 3.4 Underlying sociotechnical lenses and concepts ........................................................ 43 3.4.1 Information Infrastructure (II) ............................................................................. 43 3.4.1.1 II and interpretive flexibility ......................................................................... 46 3.4.1.2 II and design through use ............................................................................. 48 3.4.1.3 II and inscriptions .......................................................................................... 50 3.4.1.4 II and social worlds / working spheres ........................................................ 54 3.4.1.5 II and biography of artefacts (BoA) .............................................................. 56 3.4.2 Digital transformation capabilities ....................................................................... 58 iii 3.5 Research methods of data collection and analysis ................................................... 60 3.5.1 Interviews ................................................................................................................ 61 3.5.2 Documents/archives .............................................................................................. 65 3.5.3 Questionnaire-based surveys ................................................................................ 65 3.5.4 Literature review .................................................................................................... 67 3.5.5 Focus Group ............................................................................................................ 67 3.5.6 Qualitative content analysis ................................................................................. 69 3.5.7 Descriptive statistics and data visualisation ....................................................... 71 3.5.8 Interpretation ......................................................................................................... 72 3.6 Research context........................................................................................................... 73 3.7 Research phases and steps ........................................................................................... 75 3.8 Research quality and ethics ......................................................................................... 79 Chapter 4 Diverse Routes to Enterprise Collaboration Platform Change ........... 83 4.1 Enterprise collaboration platform outcomes/benefits and their enabling and constraining factors: A focus group activity and analysis ................................................... 84 4.1.1 Focus group outline ............................................................................................... 84 4.1.2 Focus group