Seminar: Stefan Haefliger
The premise of a relational view of technology opens the debate about who and how we take responsibility for the new forms of work we encounter. I argue that resilience in organizations is an ongoing process of relating and creating resources in use.
How Emerging Technologies Can Enable Open Resilience
Abstract
The premise of a relational view of technology opens the debate about who and how we take responsibility for the new forms of work we encounter. I argue that resilience in organizations is an ongoing process of relating and creating resources in use. The argument connects recent work on IT-based regulation, digital resilience, and insights from hybrid work and collaborative spaces. Prevalent characteristics of digital technologies suggest a new construct: open resilience. The idea extends beyond digital resilience to encompass three interconnected dimensions: (1) an inversion of the traditional firm logic, whereby value creation is oriented outward to swiftly engage multiple stakeholders, (2) the preemptive adoption of emergent technologies allows for experimentation, and (3) open networks help validate knowledge and restore disrupted relations. Together, these dimensions enable organizations to sustain operations amid constantly changing resource needs—a defining challenge of our volatile era marked by pandemics, climate shocks, geopolitical instability, and technological disruption.
Brief Biography
Stefan Haefliger is a professor of Digital Innovation and Strategy. In his research and teaching, he focuses on innovation and how emerging technologies change the workplace as well as regulation and organizational design in innovation processes. His current research on human-machine interaction focuses on automated feedback and the learning of professionals about how to work with and give autonomy to machines, in some cases allowing new ways of using information technology to redefine professional standards and practice. His research in technology strategy helps define optimal levels of modularity in product development and the role that machines and machine learning play in innovation management. Stefan’s research agenda spans the intersection of strategy and information systems, from the making and breaking of rules to the digital infrastructure underpinning platforms and organizing.