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NONPROFITS' DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: UNDERSTANDING ORGANISATIONAL IDENTITY DYNAMICS
AI Processed

How does digital transformation affect a nonprofit's identity, and how are resulting internal conflicts resolved?

Maria Julia Torres, Lea Pchel, Markus P. Zimmer, Tobias Brandt
NONPROFITS' DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: UNDERSTANDING ORGANISATIONAL IDENTITY DYNAMICS
ECIS 2026 · 2026
Key findings
  • Digital transformation in nonprofits is a cyclical, five-period recursive process (comprising internal alignment, strategy production, democratization, implementation, and resistance/re-anchoring) rather than a linear transition (Supported by qualitative case analysis).
  • Unlike for-profit firms where digital transformation fundamentally redefines identity, a nonprofit's core values-based identity remains stable, whereas only the methods of how they work are challenged and reconfigured (Supported by qualitative case analysis).
  • Transitioning from foundation-setting to a proactive digital role triggers organizational resistance and identity dissonance, as new digital structures and departments challenge existing activist culture and localized power dynamics (Supported by qualitative case analysis).
  • Momentum in a nonprofit's digital transformation is re-established not by resolving technical deficits, but by re-anchoring the digital strategy within a moral narrative against a common value-based antagonist (Supported by qualitative case analysis).
  • The study's generalizability may be limited due to its focus on a single, large-scale, globally federated nonprofit, and the patterns of resistance might vary in smaller or less decentralized organizations (Acknowledged study limitation).
What it means for you
  • CIO / IT Executive: Meet with your internal communications lead on Monday morning to rewrite the launch narrative of your current digital initiative; frame the IT upgrades not as a 'system migration for efficiency,' but as a vital strategic weapon designed to help your activists defeat the organization's primary external adversary.
  • IT Manager: Identify the regional office or department most resistant to the new software rollout and schedule a 30-minute call with their team leader on Monday morning to ask how the system can be configured to protect their local autonomy, rather than forcing a standardized corporate workflow.
  • Business Strategist: Review your draft digital strategy document first thing Monday morning and audit its vocabulary; strip out commercial, for-profit terminology like 'customer acquisition,' 'user monetization,' and 'ROI,' replacing them with values-driven terms like 'supporter mobilization' and 'mission impact.'
  • Researcher: On Monday morning, draft a outreach email to directors of three small, community-based local charities to pitch a comparative study, testing if the five-period recursive digital transformation model identified at Greenpeace holds true in non-federated, resource-constrained nonprofit settings.
  • Policymaker: On Monday morning, update your organization's digital funding policy and grant application templates to remove mandatory 'commercial viability' metrics, instead requiring applicants to demonstrate how the requested digital grant will reinforce and scale their core mission-based values.
Digital Transformation, Organisational Identity, Nonprofits, Case Study, Greenpeace International
UNPACKING THE ROLE OF INDIVIDUALS IN PROCESS MINING: A LITERATURE REVIEW AND RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
AI Processed

How do individual user behaviors and attitudes impact the business value generated from process mining?

Julian Dyong, Sandro Franzoi, Jan vom Brocke
UNPACKING THE ROLE OF INDIVIDUALS IN PROCESS MINING: A LITERATURE REVIEW AND RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
ECIS 2026 · 2026
Key findings
  • The review identifies and establishes user behavior, usage patterns, and affect (such as uncertainty and trust) as the three core elements constituting the individual level of process mining, supported by the synthesized literature.
  • The analysis reveals that technical, individual, and organizational contingency factors systematically influence user behavior and affect; for example, data inaccuracies undermine user trust, while formal training and methodological guidance support correct execution.
  • Individual behaviors and affective states are shown to directly impact value outcomes, with structured behaviors like hypothesis testing decreasing analysis duration and increasing the quality of insights.
  • Key limitations of the study include its reliance on a limited sample of 23 reviewed papers, a static framework that does not capture sequential or temporal dynamics, and a lack of true inter-coder reliability during the qualitative coding process.
What it means for you
  • CIO / IT Executive: Initiate a data audit of the source pipelines feeding your enterprise process mining tools to eliminate data discrepancies, directly addressing the research finding that data inaccuracies severely undermine user trust and derail tool adoption.
  • IT Manager: Add a mandatory 'Hypothesis-First' template to your team's process mining workflow on Monday morning, requiring analysts to document their specific diagnostic hypothesis before running queries to enforce structured behavior and reduce analysis duration.
  • Business Strategist: Redesign the process mining ROI dashboard to measure actual business value outcomes (e.g., cost savings from process changes) rather than user log-in frequency, linking individual analytical insights directly to operational KPIs.
  • Researcher: Draft a research design for a longitudinal study tracking 20 process mining analysts over six months to capture the sequential and temporal dynamics of user affect and trust, directly addressing the static limitations of current literature.
  • Policymaker: Establish an internal organizational standard mandating that no department may deploy process mining software without integrating a formal training and methodological guidance program, ensuring compliant and high-quality data execution.
Process Mining, Individual Level, Literature Review, Research Framework, Value Creation, User Behavior
Corporate Nomads: Working at the Boundary Between Corporate Work and Digital Nomadism
AI Processed Human Approved

How can companies and employees successfully negotiate a nomadic lifestyle alongside permanent corporate employment?

Julian Marx, Milad Mirbabaie, Stefan Stieglitz
Corporate Nomads: Working at the Boundary Between Corporate Work and Digital Nomadism
Journal of the Association for Information Systems · 2025
Key findings
  • The study develops a three-phase process model (splintering, calibrating, and harmonizing) that explains how corporate nomads and their organizations successfully negotiate this new work arrangement.
  • The integration of corporate nomads is not a one-sided decision but a mutual process of 'boundary work' requiring engagement, negotiation, and trade-offs from both the employee and the company.
  • Corporate nomads operate as individual outliers who change their personal work boundaries (e.g., location and time) without transforming the entire organization's structure.
  • Information Technology (IT) is crucial in managing the inherent tensions of this lifestyle, helping to balance organizational control with employee autonomy and enabling integration from a distance.
Corporate Nomads, Digital Nomads, Boundary Work, Digital Work, Information Systems
Capturing the “Social” in Social Networks: The Conceptualization and Empirical Application of Relational Quality
AI Processed

How do activity levels and connection counts shape the quality of employee interactions on corporate social networks?

Christian Meske, Iris Junglas, Matthias Trier, Johannes Schneider, Roope Jaakonmäki, Jan vom Brocke
Capturing the “Social” in Social Networks: The Conceptualization and Empirical Application of Relational Quality
Journal of the Association for Information Systems · 2025
Key findings
  • Relational quality is a distinct and relevant dimension that complements traditional structural social network analysis (SNA), which typically only focuses on network structure.
  • The study identifies and measures four key facets of relational quality: being personal, being curious, being polite, and sharing.
  • Different types of users exhibit distinct patterns of relational quality; for instance, 'connectors' (users with many connections but low activity) are the most personal, while 'broadcasters' (users with high activity but few connections) share the most resources.
  • As a user's activity (e.g., number of posts) increases, their interactions tend to become less personal, curious, and polite, while their sharing of resources increases.
  • In contrast, as a user's number of connections grows, their interactions become more personal and curious, but they tend to share fewer resources.
Enterprise Social Network, Social Capital, Relational Quality, Social Network Analysis, Linguistic Analysis, Computational Research
How SME Watkins Steel Transformed from Traditional Steel Fabrication to Digital Service Provision
AI Processed

How can traditional small and medium-sized businesses successfully transform into digital service providers?

Friedrich Chasin, Marek Kowalkiewicz, Torsten Gollhardt
How SME Watkins Steel Transformed from Traditional Steel Fabrication to Digital Service Provision
MIS Quarterly Executive · 2022
Key findings
  • Watkins Steel successfully transitioned by augmenting its core steel fabrication business with new, high-value digital services like 3D scanning, modeling, and data reporting.
  • The study proposes a transformation framework for SMEs based on two concepts: 'digital augmentation' (adding new services) and 'digital adjacency' (leveraging existing assets like customers, data, and skills for these new services).
  • Key success factors included contagious leadership from the CEO, embracing business constraints as innovation opportunities, and a customer-centric approach to solving their clients' problems.
  • Instead of hiring new talent, Watkins Steel successfully cultivated its own digital experts by empowering existing employees with domain knowledge to learn new skills, fostering a culture of experimentation.
  • The transformation allowed the company to move up the value chain, from being a materials provider to coordinating and managing construction processes, creating a more defensible market position.
digital transformation, SME, business model innovation, case study, digital service provision, digital augmentation, digital adjacency
Designing and Implementing Digital Twins in the Energy Grid Sector
AI Processed Human Approved

How can energy grid companies successfully design and implement digital twins?

Christian Meske, Karen S. Osmundsen, Iris Junglas
Designing and Implementing Digital Twins in the Energy Grid Sector
MIS Quarterly Executive · 2021
Key findings
  • The digital twin provides real-time and historical insights into the grid's status, enabling proactive maintenance, prediction of component failures, and more efficient management of power loads.
  • It serves as a powerful simulation tool to model future scenarios, such as the impact of increased electrification from electric ferries, allowing for better long-term planning and investment.
  • Successful implementation requires a strong focus on organizational learning, innovative co-creation with technology partners, and continuous feedback from end-users throughout the project.
  • The project highlighted the critical importance of evolving data governance, forcing the company to tackle complex issues of data security, integration, and standardization to unlock the full potential of the digital twin.
Digital Twin, Energy Sector, Grid Management, Digital Transformation, Organizational Learning, Co-creation, Data Governance
Managing IT Challenges When Scaling Digital Innovations
AI Processed

How can managers overcome IT challenges when scaling digital innovations from initial exploration to profitable growth?

Sara Schiffer, Martin Mocker, Alexander Teubner
Managing IT Challenges When Scaling Digital Innovations
MIS Quarterly Executive · 2023
Key findings
  • Prepare for a significant cultural shift: Management must explicitly communicate the change in focus from creative exploration and prototyping to efficient and profitable operations to align the team and manage expectations.
  • Rearchitect IT systems for scalability: Systems built for speed and flexibility in the exploration phase must be redesigned or replaced with robust, efficient, and reliable platforms capable of handling a large user base.
  • Adjust team composition and skills: The transition to scaling requires different expertise, shifting from IT generalists who explore new technologies to specialists focused on process automation, data analytics, and stable operations. Companies must be prepared to bring in new talent and restructure teams accordingly.
digital innovation, scaling, IT management, organizational change, case study, insurtech, innovation lifecycle
Leveraging Information Systems for Environmental Sustainability and Business Value
AI Processed Human Approved

How can managers use information systems to achieve environmental sustainability and create business value?

Anne Ixmeier, Franziska Wagner, Johann Kranz
Leveraging Information Systems for Environmental Sustainability and Business Value
MIS Quarterly Executive · 2024
Key findings
  • Legitimize sustainability by using IS to create awareness and link environmental metrics to business value.
  • Optimize processes, products, and services by using IS to reduce environmental impact and improve eco-efficiency.
  • Internalize sustainability by integrating it into core business strategies and decision-making, informed by data from environmental management systems.
  • Standardize sustainability data by establishing robust data governance to ensure information is accessible, comparable, and transparent across the value chain.
  • Collaborate with external partners by using IS to build strategic partnerships and ecosystems that can collectively address complex sustainability challenges.
Information Systems, Environmental Sustainability, Green IS, Business Value, Corporate Strategy, Sustainability Implementation
How Audi Scales Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing
AI Processed

How can manufacturers successfully scale artificial intelligence solutions from pilot projects into full operational use?

André Sagodi, Benjamin van Giffen, Johannes Schniertshauer, Klemens Niehues, Jan vom Brocke
How Audi Scales Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing
MIS Quarterly Executive · 2024
Key findings
  • Audi successfully scaled an AI-based system to automate the detection of cracks in sheet metal parts, a crucial quality control step in its press shops.
  • The success was driven by a strategic four-stage approach: Exploring, Developing, Implementing, and Scaling, with a focus on designing for scalability from the outset.
  • Key success factors included creating a single, universal AI model for multiple deployments, leveraging data from various sources to improve the model, and integrating the solution into the broader Volkswagen Group's digital production platform to create synergies.
  • The study highlights the importance of decoupling value from cost, which Audi achieved by automating monitoring and deployment pipelines, thereby scaling operations without proportionally increasing expenses.
  • Recommendations for other businesses include making AI scaling a strategic priority, fostering collaboration between AI experts and domain specialists, and streamlining operations through automation and robust governance.
Artificial Intelligence, AI Scaling, Manufacturing, Automotive Industry, Case Study, Digital Transformation, Quality Inspection
EMERGENCE OF IT IMPLEMENTATION CONSEQUENCES IN ORGANIZATIONS: AN ASSEMBLAGE APPROACH
AI Processed Human Approved

Why does the same technology succeed in one organization but fail in another?

Abdul Sesay, Elena Karahanna, and Marie-Claude Boudreau
EMERGENCE OF IT IMPLEMENTATION CONSEQUENCES IN ORGANIZATIONS: AN ASSEMBLAGE APPROACH
MIS Quarterly · 2025
Key findings
  • The process through which technology creates new behaviors and practices is complex and non-linear, occurring in three distinct phases (individuation, composition, and actualization).
  • Successful implementation is not guaranteed; it depends on the careful alignment of the technology itself (material components) with policies, training, and user adoption (expressive components) at each stage.
  • The study found that of the three police departments, only one successfully implemented body cameras because it carefully selected high-quality equipment, developed specific policies for its use, and ensured officers were trained and held accountable.
  • The other two departments experienced failure or delays due to poor quality equipment, generic policies, and inconsistent use, which prevented new, positive practices from taking hold.
  • The model shows that outcomes emerge over time and may require continuous adjustments, demonstrating that success is an ongoing process, not a one-time event.
IT implementation, Assemblage theory, body-worn camera, organizational change, police technology, process model
REGULATING EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES: PROSPECTIVE SENSEMAKING THROUGH ABSTRACTION AND ELABORATION
AI Processed

How can governments and industry leaders create effective rules for emerging technologies without stifling innovation?

Stefan Seidel, Christoph J. Frick, Jan vom Brocke
REGULATING EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES: PROSPECTIVE SENSEMAKING THROUGH ABSTRACTION AND ELABORATION
MIS Quarterly · 2025
Key findings
  • Creating effective regulation for new technologies is a process of 'collective prospective sensemaking,' where diverse stakeholders build a shared understanding over time.
  • This process relies on two interrelated activities: 'abstraction' and 'elaboration'. Abstraction involves generalizing the essential properties of a technology to create flexible, technology-neutral rules that encourage innovation.
  • Elaboration involves specifying details and requirements to provide legal certainty and protect users.
  • Through this process, the regulatory target can evolve significantly, as seen in the case study's shift from regulating 'blockchain/cryptocurrency' to a broader, more durable law for the 'token economy' and 'trustworthy technology'.
Technology regulation, prospective sensemaking, sensemaking, institutional construction, emerging technology, blockchain, token economy
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