Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-m8s7h Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-16T16:46:02.677Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 1 - Introduction

The Need for Qualitative Research in the Age of Digitalization

from Part I - Philosophical, Epistemological and Theoretical Considerations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 June 2023

By
Robert D. Galliers  and
Boyka Simeonova
Edited by
Boyka Simeonova  and
Robert D. Galliers
Boyka Simeonova
Affiliation:
University of Leicester
Robert D. Galliers
Affiliation:
Bentley University, Massachusetts and Warwick Business School
Get access

Summary

The introduction chapter outlines the need for qualitative research in the age of digitalization. The chapter outlines the opportunities and challenges which digital technologies and digitalization provide and enable. The chapter explicates the need to understand the different aspects of digitalization, the opportunities, issues, challenges and implications at different levels (individual, work, organizational, societal) and outlines the need of qualitative research to understand these phenomena. The chapter discusses the methodological opportunities and challenges for digital qualitative research enabled through digitalization.

Keywords

qualitative researchdigitalizationdigital qualitative researchtheorizationqualitative methodsdigital research agenda
Type
Chapter
Information
Cambridge Handbook of Qualitative Digital Research , pp. 3 - 14
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baptista, J., Stein, M., Klein, S., Watson-Manheim, M. and Lee, J. (2020). Digital work and organisational transformation: Emergent digital/human work configurations in modern organisations. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 29(2), Article 101627.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bersin, J. (2015). The geeks arrive in HR: People analytics is here. Forbes Magazine. www.forbes.com/.Google Scholar
Bholat, D. (2015). Big data and central banks. Big Data & Society, 2(1), 1–6.Google Scholar
Brinkhues, R., Da Silva Freitas Jr, J. C. and Maçada, A. C. G. (2015). Information management capability as competitive imperfection in the strategic factor market of big data. Americas Conference on Information Systems, Puerto Rico.Google Scholar
Chatfield, A., Reddick, C. and Al-Zubaidi, W. (2015). Capability challenges in transforming government through open and big data: Tales of two cities. International Conference on Information Systems, Fort Worth, TX.Google Scholar
Cook, S. D. N. and Brown, J. S. (1999). Bridging epistemologies: The generative dance between organizational knowledge and organizational knowing. Organization Science, 10(4), 381–400.Google Scholar
Daniel, E. M., Ward, J. M. and Franken, A. (2014). A dynamic capabilities perspective of IS project portfolio management. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 23(2), 95–111.Google Scholar
Davenport, T. H., Harris, J. H. and Morison, R. (2010). Analytics at Work: Smarter Decisions, Better Results. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.Google Scholar
Fecheyr-Lippens, B., Schaninger, B. and Tanner, K. (2015). Power to the new people analytics. McKinsey Quarterly, www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/power-to-the-new-people-analytics.Google Scholar
Finlay, L. (2002). ‘Outing’ the researcher: The provenance, process, and practice of reflexivity. Qualitative Health Research, 12(4), 531–545.Google Scholar
Forman, C., King, J. L. and Lyytinen, K. (2014). Special section introduction: Information, technology, and the changing nature of work. Information Systems Research, 25(4), 789–795.Google Scholar
Frické, M. (2015). Big data and its epistemology. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 66(4), 651–661.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galliers, R. D. (2011). Further developments in information systems strategising: Unpacking the concept. In Galliers, R. D. and Currie, W. L. (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Management Information Systems: Critical Perspectives and New Directions. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 329–345.Google Scholar
Galliers, R. D. (1995). A manifesto for information management research. British Journal of Management, 6(S1), S45–S52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galliers, R. D. and Huang, J. (2012). The teaching of qualitative research methods in Information Systems: An explorative study utilising learning theory. European Journal of Information Systems, 21(2), 119–134.Google Scholar
Galliers, R. D., Jackson, M. C. and Mingers, J. (1997). Organization theory and systems thinking: The benefits of partnership. Organization, 4(2), 268–278.Google Scholar
Galliers, R. D., Newell, S., Shanks, G. and Topi, H. (2017). Datification and its human, organizational and societal effects: The strategic opportunities and challenges of algorithmic decision-making. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 26(3), 185–190.Google Scholar
Galliers, R. D., Newell, S., Shanks, G. and Topi, H. (2015). Call for papers the Journal of Strategic Information Systems special issue: The challenges and opportunities of ‘datafication’ strategic impacts of ‘big’ (and ‘small’) and real time data – for society and for organizational decision makers. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 24(2), II–III.Google Scholar
Gartner. (2013). Gartner predicts business intelligence and analytics will remain top focus for CIOs through 2017. Gartner Newsroom. www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2637615.Google Scholar
Grant, A. M. and Parker, S. K. (2009). Redesigning work design theories: The rise of relational and proactive perspectives. Academy of Management Annals, 3(1), 317–375.Google Scholar
Greenaway, K. E., Chan, Y. E. and Robert, E. C. (2015). Company information privacy orientation: A conceptual framework. Information Systems Journal, 25(6), 579–606.Google Scholar
Grover, V. (2020). Do we need to understand the world to know it? Knowledge in a big data world. Journal of Global Information Technology Management, 23(1), 1–4.Google Scholar
Grover, V., Lindberg, A., Benbasat, I. and Lyytinen, K. (2020). The perils and promises of big data research in information systems. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 21(2), 268–291.Google Scholar
Günther, W. A., Mehrizi, M. H. R., Feldberg, F. and Huysman, M. H. (2017). Debating big data: A literature review on realizing value from big data. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 26(3), 191–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, H. K. (2015). Numerical operations, transparency illusions and the datafication of governance. European Journal of Social Theory, 18(2), 203–220.Google Scholar
Hedman, J., Srinivasan, N. and Lindgren, R. (2013). Digital traces or information systems: Sociomateriality made researchable. International Conference on Information Systems, Milan, Italy.Google Scholar
Hine, C. (2017). From virtual ethnography to the embedded, embodied, everyday internet. In Hjorth, L., Horst, H., Galloway, A. and Bell, G. (eds), The Routledge Companion to Digital Ethnography. Abingdon, UK and New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 21–28.Google Scholar
Hirschheim, R. (2021). The attack on understanding: How big data and theory have led us astray – a comment on Gary Smith’s Data Mining Fool’s Gold. Journal of Information Technology, 36(2), 176–183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huang, J., Baptista, J. and Newell, S. (2015). Communicational ambidexterity as a new capability to manage social media communication within organizations. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 24(2), 49–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jagadish, H. V., Gehrke, J., Labrinidis, A., Papakonstantinou, Y., Patel, J. M., Ramakrishnan, R. and Shahabi, C. (2014). Big data and its technical challenges. Communications of the ACM, 57(7), 86–94.Google Scholar
Jia, L., Hall, D. and Song, J. (2015). The conceptualization of data-driven decision making capability. Americas Conference on Information Systems, Puerto Rico.Google Scholar
Jones, M. (2019). What we talk about when we talk about (big) data. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 28(1), 3–16.Google Scholar
Jones, S. (2016). Roberto Busa S. J. and the Emergence of Humanities Computing: The Priest and the Punched Cards. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kim, S., Lee, G., Sakata, N. and Billinghurst, M. (2014). Improving co-presence with augmented visual communication cues for sharing experience through video conference. IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR), Munich, Germany.Google Scholar
Leong, C., Pan, S., Ractham, P. and Kaewkitipong, L. (2015). ICT-enabled community empowerment in crisis response: Social media in Thailand flooding 2011. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 16(3), 174–212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lightfoot, G. and Wisniewski, P. (2014). Information asymmetry and power in a surveillance society. Information and Organization, 24(4), 214–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loebbecke, C. and Picot, A. (2015). Reflections on societal and business model transformation arising from digitization and big data analytics: A research agenda. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 24(3), 149–157.Google Scholar
Lycett, M. (2013). ‘Datafication’: Making sense of (big) data in a complex world. European Journal of Information Systems, 22(4), 381–386.Google Scholar
Madsen, A. K. (2015). Between technical features and analytic capabilities: Charting a relational affordance space for digital social analytics. Big Data & Society, 2(1), 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mai, J.-E. (2016). Big data privacy: The datafication of personal information. Information Society: An International Journal, 32(3), 192–199.Google Scholar
Malgonde, O. and Bhattacherjee, A. (2014). Innovating using big data: A social capital perspective. Americas Conference on Information Systems, Georgia, USA.Google Scholar
Marabelli, M. and Newell, S. (2012). Knowledge risks in organizational networks: The practice perspective. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 21(1), 18–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Markus, M. L. (2015). New games, new rules, new scoreboards: The potential consequences of big data. Journal of Information Technology, 30(1), 58–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Markus, M. L. and Topi, H. (2015). Big data, big decisions for science, society, and business. NSF Project Outcomes Report. Bentley University, Waltham, MA, http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2849516.Google Scholar
McKenna, B., Myers, M. D. and Newman, M. (2017). Social media in qualitative research: Challenges and recommendations. Information and Organization, 27(2), 87–99.Google Scholar
McKnight, D. H., Lankton, N. K., Nicolaou, A. and Price, J. (2017). Distinguishing the effects of B2B information quality, system quality, and service outcome quality on trust and distrust. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 26(2), 118–141.Google Scholar
Mingers, J. (2001). Combining IS research methods: Towards a pluralist methodology. Information Systems Research, 12(3), 240–259.Google Scholar
Munford, M. (2014). Rule changes and big data revolutionise Caterham F1 chances. The Telegraph, www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/technology-topics/10654658/Rule-changes-and-big-data-revolutionise-Caterham-F1-chances.html.Google Scholar
Negash, S. (2004). Business intelligence. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 13, article 15, http://aisel.aisnet.org/cais/vol13/iss1/15.Google Scholar
Newell, S. and Marabelli, M. (2015). Strategic opportunities (and challenges) of algorithmic decision-making: A call for action on the long-term societal effects of ‘datification’. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 24(1), 3–14.Google Scholar
Peppard, J., Galliers, R. D. and Thorogood, A. (2014). Information systems strategy as practice: Micro strategy and strategizing for IS. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 23(1), 1–10.Google Scholar
Peppard, J. and Ward, J. (2004). Beyond strategic information systems: Toward an IS capability. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 13(2), 167–194.Google Scholar
Pfeffer, J. and Sutton, R. I. 2006). Evidence-based management. Harvard Business Review, 84(1), 63–74.Google Scholar
Porter, M. E. and Millar, V. E. (1985). How information technology gives you competitive advantage. Harvard Business Review, 63(2), 149–160.Google Scholar
Power, D. J. (2002). Decisions Support Systems: Concepts and Resources for Managers. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.Google Scholar
Prasad, P. (2017). Crafting Qualitative Research: Working in the Postpositivist Traditions, 2nd edition. London and Armonk, NY: Routledge and M. E. Sharpe.Google Scholar
Rouibah, K. and Ould-ali, S. (2002). Puzzle: A concept and prototype for linking business intelligence to business strategy. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 11(2), 133–152.Google Scholar
Seddon, P. B., Constantinidis, D., Tamm, T. and Dod, H. (2017). How does business analytics contribute to business value? Information Systems Journal, 27(3), 237–268.Google Scholar
Sharma, R., Mithas, S. and Kankanhalli, A. (2014). Transforming decision-making processes: A research agenda for understanding the impact of business analytics on organisations. European Journal of Information Systems, 23(4), 433–441.Google Scholar
Shollo, A. and Galliers, R. D. (2015). Towards an understanding of the role of business intelligence systems in organisational knowing. Information Systems Journal, 26(4), 339–367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sidorova, A. and Torres, R. R. (2014). Business intelligence and analytics: A capabilities dynamization view. Americas Conference on Information Systems, Georgia, USA.Google Scholar
Simeonova, B. (2018). Transactive memory systems and Web 2.0 in knowledge sharing: A conceptual model based on activity theory and critical realism. Information Systems Journal, 28(4), 592–611.Google Scholar
Simeonova, B., Galliers, R. D. and Karanasios, S. (2022). Power in organisations: The role of information systems. Information Systems Journal, 32(2), 233–241.Google Scholar
Simeonova, B., Galliers, R. D. and Karanasios, S. (2020). Strategic information systems and organisational power dynamics. In Galliers, R. D., Leidner, D. E. and Simeonova, B. (eds), Strategic Information Management: Theory and Practice, 5th edition. London and New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 221–238.Google Scholar
Starkey, K. and Madan, P. (2001). Bridging the relevance gap: Aligning stakeholders in the future of management research. British Journal of Management, 12(1), 3–26.Google Scholar
Stein, M., Newell, S., Galliers, R. D. and Wagner, E. L. (2013). Classification systems, their digitization and consequences for data-driven decision making: Understanding representational quality. International Conference on Information Systems, Milan, Italy.Google Scholar
Stein, M., Newell, S., Wagner, E. L. and Galliers, R. D. (2016). Crafting the ‘quantified professional’: Systems of accountability and job crafting. International Workshop on The Changing Nature of Work: The Impact of Digital Innovation on Work, IFIP WG 9.1, Dublin, Ireland.Google Scholar
Tambe, P. (2014). Big data investment, skills, and firm value. Management Science, 60(6), 1452–1468.Google Scholar
Tan, C., Sun, L. and Liu, K. (2015). Big data architecture for pervasive healthcare: A literature review. European Conference on Information Systems, Münster, Germany.Google Scholar
Thomsen, E. (2003). BI’s promised land. Intelligent Enterprise, 6(4), 21–25.Google Scholar
Van den Broek, T. and Van Veenstra, A. F. (2015). Modes of governance in inter-organizational data collaborations. European Conference on Information Systems, Münster, Germany.Google Scholar
Van der Vlist, F. N. (2016). Accounting for the social: Investigating commensuration and big data practices at Facebook. Big Data & Society, 3(1), 1–16.Google Scholar
Van Maanen, J. (2011). Ethnography as work: Some rules of engagement. Journal of Management Studies, 48(1), 218–234.Google Scholar
Van Maanen, J. (1979). Reclaiming qualitative methods for organizational research: A preface. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24(4), 520–526.Google Scholar
Vial, G. (2019). Understanding digital transformation: A review and a research agenda. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 28(2), 118–144.Google Scholar
Waber, B. (2013). People Analytics: How Social Sensing Technology Will Transform Business and What It Tells Us about the Future of Work. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.Google Scholar
Walsham, G. (2006). Doing interpretive research. European Journal of Information Systems, 15(3), 320–330.Google Scholar
Whittington, R. (2014). Information systems strategy and strategy-as-practice: A joint agenda. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 23(1), 87–91.Google Scholar
Woerner, S. L. and Wixom, B. H. (2015). Big data: Extending the business strategy toolbox. Journal of Information Technology, 30(1), 60–62.Google Scholar
Wu, L. and Brynjolfsson, E. (2009). The future of prediction: How Google searches foreshadow housing prices and quantities. International Conference on Information Systems, Phoenix, AZ.Google Scholar
Xu, J., Cenfetelli, R. T. and Aquino, K. (2016). Do different kinds of trust matter? An examination of the three trusting beliefs on satisfaction and purchase behavior in the buyer–seller context. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 25(1), 15–31.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×