1718: Design Choices: Examining the Interplay of Organizational Structure and Digital Technologies (13125)

Monday, August 12, 2024

08:00 – 09:30 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

Location: Fairmont: Diplomat Room

Session Number: 1718
Symposium (panel)
Orientation: Practice,Theme,Research
Shareable link: https://cdmcd.co/5nWwaz

Organizer(s)

AB

Adrienne Paige Baer

Stanford U., United States
AP

Amanda Pratt

Stanford U., United States
PM

Pedro Monteiro

Copenhagen Business School, Denmark

Panelist(s)

GD

Gerald F. Davis

U. of Michigan, United States
MV

Melissa Valentine

Stanford U., United States
IS

Ileana Stigliani

Imperial College Business School, United Kingdom
EG

Elizabeth Gerber

Northwestern U., United States

This panel symposium aims to revisit our assumptions about organizational structure in light of the ever-increasing digitalization of the world of work and the ways in which design choices underpinning digital technologies inform organizing. Although scholars have continuously updated theories of organizational structure, which first emerged in the context of manufacturing technologies, technological advances have made ordinary what was once exceptional. Digital work technologies enable more fluid, dynamic, or scalable structures; in some work settings, these technologies are synonymous with the organization itself. Thus, it is imperative to examine whether and how interface design heuristics and decisions—imbued with specific values, beliefs, and ideologies—affect organizational structure. Given that the examination of design principles—and actual design—of digital technologies is largely the purview of neighboring fields, the symposium brings together experts in Organization Theory, Technology, and Work with scholars in Design Thinking and Human-Computer Interaction to build connections and generate insights into the impact of digital technologies on the structure of work and organizing.