ecime 2012 cork - ireland

Jan Devos - 13/09/2012Faculty of Engineering and Architecture – Campus West

Using Bricolage to Facilitate Emergent Collectives in SMEs

Dr. ir Jan Devos

ECIME 2012 Conference Cork IE.

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Outline of the presentation- Emergent Collectives- Bricolage- Research Question- Research Methodology - Findings- Conclusion


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Emergent CollectivesPetrie (2010) introduced the concept of “Emergent Collectives” - A network of information/function nodes that has minimal

central control, and that’s largely controlled by a protocol specification and not by a central entity.

- In which it’s easy for people to add nodes to the network- And where there are social incentives that motivate people

to act collectively.

www.emergent-collectives.be


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Emergent Collectives (examples)

• FLOSS (OpenERP, Magento, Pentaho)• Twitter• Cloud Computing• On-line repositories (Wiki’s)• Social media?

• Drop Shipping Eco System


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Bricolage - French anthropologist Lévi-Strauss, ‘La pensée sauvage’ (1962)

“doing things with whatever is at hand”

Bricolage relates with (Duymedjian & Rüling, 2010)organizational resilienceimprovisationsense makingentrepreneurship utilization of technical systems and artefacts

the bricoleur versus the engineer


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Bricoleur Engineer

Everything matters A priori hierarchical order

Complex, interconnected system Reduction/decomposition

Closed universe Openness, transcending boundaries

Cyclical time Linear time

Intimate knowledge, familiarity Distant knowledge, representation

Knowledge about relationships implying a low functional fixedness bias

Knowledge about structural characteristic entities

Versatility implying resilience Specialization

Collection through unplanned encounters Search for the adequate, project-oriented means

Unclear outcomes Projects and designs

Dialogue with elements in stock (resources) Respect of prior specifications

Assemblage, substitution, …’it’s working’ Evaluation through expected level of performance and quality

Creation and use cannot be dissociated Separation of creation and use

Outcomes look unlike anything else Outcomes respond to field norms

Literature on Bricolage- Seminal work in anthropology (Strauss-Levi 1962)- Entrepreneurship (Baker et al. 2003; Garud et al. 2003; Phillips

et al. 2007)- Innovation research (Banerjee et al. 2009; Essen 2009;

Fuglsang et al. 2011)- Organization theory (Duymedjian et al. 2010; Weick 1998)- Information Technology (Ciborra 2002; DesAutels 2011;

Ferneley et al. 2006; Johri 2011)


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Is Bricolage a theory? • Levi-Strauss 1962

Bricolage is an analogy to shed light on the processes underlying mythical thinking

• Constructs of Bricolage (Duymedjian & Rüling 2010) Repertoire (stock)= material and immaterial resources that are collected independently of any particular project or utilization. Dialogue= the activity of assembling objectsOutcome= refers both to the process and its results (circular dynamic)


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Is Bricolage a theory? Seven oxymoron’s as propositions (Ciborra, 2002)

• Value bricolage strategically (VBS)• Design tinkering (DT)• Establish systematic serendipity (ESS)• Thrive on gradual breakthroughs (TGB)• Unskilled Learning (UL) • Strive for failure (SFF)• Achieve collaborative inimitability (ACI)


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Research Question

How can the use of Bricolage facilitatethe adoption of Emergent Collectives inan Entrepreneurial Setting?


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Research Methodology

- Action Research (Design Science)- Case Endoxa (drop shipping)- Interpretive epistemology (Walsham, 2004)


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Action Research (Design Science)(Baskerville 1999, Baskerville et al 2004) - Two cycles of five phases (baseline, implementation) (Street

et al. 2004)- Axial coding (Corbin et al 2008)- Pattern mapping (Yin, 2004)


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Client-System InfrastructureCase Endoxa

E-business / Drop shipping / E-Supply chainMinimal organization (Weick, 1993)

1) direct supervision, 2) strategy planned at the top, 3) little formalized behavior, 4) organic structure and 5) CEO tending to formulate plans intuitively (plans are an direct extensions of his own personality)

Research team (PWO-project)


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WebshopsSell the goods

EndoxaPlans and arranges the

shipment

ShippersDeliver the goods

EDI

Findings• Bricolage repertoire does exist

•OpenERP, Magento, Pentaho•Remark: no limits on repertoire (emergent collectives)

• Dialogue: action research / design science• Outcome: serving customers (making money)


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Findings• Value bricolage strategically (VBS)

CEO sees drop shipping as an E-Supply Ecosystemmission statement of Endoxa

-“Alignment clicks with bricks & mortar”-“Network Orchestrator of the complete cross e-supply chain”

• Establish systematic serendipity (ESS)•IceCat•Magento !!!•e-Air Waybill (e-AWB) •Keep on Tweeting !!!


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Findings• Thrive on gradual breakthroughs (TGB)

Magento, Pentaho• Unskilled Learning (UL)

Training modules with Lynda.com• Strive for failure (SFF)• Achieve collaborative inimitability (ACI)

The process of bricolage leads to an inimitable outcome, although the model is open

Drop shipping ecosystem Jan Devos - 13/09/2012Faculty of Engineering and Architecture – Campus West

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Conclusions- RQ

-OpenERP & Magento is bricolage-Twitter ‘faster than e-mail’-Cloud Computing: no real impact-Wiki’s: repertoire is not limited

- Bricolage as a theory is more developed - The ‘alternative’ way of thinking of IS in

organizations iso control thinking is gaining more validity


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Questions?

ecime 2012 cork - ireland

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