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On the Relationship between the IT Artifact and Design Theory: The Case of Virtual Social Facilitation

  • Conference paper
Design Science Research in Information Systems. Advances in Theory and Practice (DESRIST 2012)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 7286))

Abstract

Both the IT artifact and design theory are fundamental elements of a design science project. While literature provides an extensive discussion on why IT artifacts and design theory can be regarded as two sides of the same coin, an operational detailed model on how to actually decode and translate the one into the other is not yet to be found. In this paper, we address this important issue taking the example of social facilitation, a theory perspective that informs us about how the integration of social media features in IT-based routine work can increase task performance. With the help of this example we are able to demonstrate how a lack of discussion regarding the relationship between the actual implementation (IT artifact perspective) and corresponding variables (design theory perspective) can create significant issues of scientific rigor. In order to overcome this gap, we develop a design theorizing framework that differentiates between the structural model (inner model), the measurement model, and the design model (both outer model components). Based on our findings, the paper concludes with discussing potentially fruitful avenues for future research and theory development in design science.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. European Research Center for Information Systems (ERCIS), University of Muenster, Germany

    Björn Niehaves, Kevin Ortbach & Asin Tavakoli

Authors
  1. Björn Niehaves
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  2. Kevin Ortbach
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  3. Asin Tavakoli
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Information Systems, University of Nevada, 4505 S. Maryland Pkwy, 89514, Las Vegas, NV, USA

    Ken Peffers  & Marcus Rothenberger  & 

  2. Information Systems /026, University of Nevada, 1664 N. Virginia Street, 89557-0208, Reno, Nevada, USA

    Bill Kuechler

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Niehaves, B., Ortbach, K., Tavakoli, A. (2012). On the Relationship between the IT Artifact and Design Theory: The Case of Virtual Social Facilitation. In: Peffers, K., Rothenberger, M., Kuechler, B. (eds) Design Science Research in Information Systems. Advances in Theory and Practice. DESRIST 2012. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7286. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29863-9_26

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29863-9_26

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-29862-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-29863-9

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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