Affordances and Agential Realism : A Relational Ontology for a Relational Theory
Niemimaa, M. (2018). Affordances and Agential Realism : A Relational Ontology for a Relational Theory. In ECIS 2018 : Proceedings of the 26th European Conference on Information Systems, Portsmouth, UK, 23-28 June (Article 107). European Conference on Information Systems. https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2018_rp/107
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2018Copyright
© The Author, 2018.
Relational view of affordance theory has emerged as a viable theory in Information Systems (IS) research to explain variation in IS use. According to this theory, what a specific person can achieve with
a technology is neither inherent in the person himself nor on the technology but emerges from their
interaction. Despite that such relational view implies relational ontology, the ontological foundations
have been insufficiently theorized which limits both its practical and theoretical applicability and explanatory power. In this paper, I suggest that Karen Barad’s relational ontology, known as agential
realism, provides coherent and solid foundations for affordances that are especially suitable to explain IS use in contemporary workplace that is characterized by distributed yet tightly interconnected
technological infrastructures rather than dyadic interactions with simple objects. Empirical illustrations drawn from ethnographic field work of technicians working with smart infrastructure show how
affordances building on agential realism may enhance understanding of IS use.
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European Conference on Information SystemsParent publication ISBN
978-1-86137-667-1Conference
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ECIS 2018 : Proceedings of the 26th European Conference on Information Systems, Portsmouth, UK, 23-28 June
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https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2018_rp/107Publication in research information system
https://converis.jyu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/28749187
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