The emancipatory potential of digital entrepreneurship: A study of financial technology-driven inclusive growth

Digital entrepreneurship possesses immense societal implications beyond its commercial significance. Yet our knowledge of the emancipatory potential of digital entrepreneurship remains limited because few studies have gone beyond the conventional emphasis on profits and wealth creation. Drawing on the emancipatory perspective that views entrepreneurship as change creation through the removal of constraints, this article examines how emancipation can occur through the actions of digital entrepreneurs. Using an empirical investigation of entrepreneurial endeavours set against disadvantaged communities in Indonesia, we uncover constraints facing a developing economy and the role of digital technologies in ameliorating them. Through extensive fieldwork and in-depth case study analyses, we identify constraining societal norms and restrictive practices, as well as the three forms of digital enablement - to emulate services, aggregate capital and equalise opportunities – necessary for the enactment of digitally enabled emancipation. We present a framework to illustrate the enactment of emancipatory digital entrepreneurship for the inclusive development of businesses and communities.     

Effectual tactics in digital intrapreneurship: A process model

Uncertainty and the pursuit of new ventures are intricately linked. Digital technologies open up new ways for uncertainty handling in the pursuit of novelty. In this paper, we develop a process model that traces the dynamics among uncertainty, digitally enabled tactics, and organizational novelty. The model points to the potential of technologies that are evocative, disposable, and responsive for venturing in complex, uncertainty-ridden contexts. Our research builds on extant conceptualizations of complexity in innovation journeys, in conjunction with perspectives on effectual entrepreneurial tactics. Empirically, we investigate uncertainty handling through a longitudinal case study on an in-house venture for the introduction of novel electronic services for patients in a major university hospital. Our research provides insight into the processes through which intrapreneurs handle uncertainty by leveraging the potential of digital technologies. The paper offers theoretical implications for the digital intrapreneurship literature.     

Generating innovation potential: How digital entrepreneurs conceal,sequence, anchor,and propagate new technology

Organizations that fail to innovate become disrupted by those that do. Digital technology makes corporate entrepreneurship increasingly potent and prolific but simultaneously blurs the link between entrepreneurial processes and innovation outcomes. Our understanding of how corporate entrepreneurship with digital technology unfolds in organizations is thus limited. We develop a framework that captures four tactics that digital entrepreneurs may use to generate innovation potential. Specifically, we report how these tactics helped employees at a Norwegian hospital to develop and scale an application for time planning and resource analytics. Our study shows that managing digital entrepreneurship strategically requires organizations to harness the multiplicity in information systems (IS) use that increasingly malleable digital technology affords.     

Envisioning entrepreneurship and digital innovation through a design science research lens: A matrix approach

Design Science Research (DSR) in the information systems (IS) field is, at its essence, about Digital Innovation (DI). Innovative sociotechnical design artifacts involve digital information technologies (IT) being used in ways that result in profound disruptions to traditional ways of doing business and to widespread societal changes. The pervasiveness of DI means that the individuals involved in bringing it about have diverse backgrounds, including application specialists, software engineers, data scientists, business managers, economists, venture capitalists, various user groups, and entrepreneurial leaders. This range of backgrounds means that DI, much more than traditional innovation, leads to varied perspectives on the methods and tools to be used in the development of effective and evolvable complex systems incorporating digital innovations. In this paper we present a new matrix approach to DI based on DSR, entrepreneurship, and innovation theories. Clear strategic guidance allows these multiple stakeholders to make sense of the diverse landscape and to understand when and how different entrepreneurial strategies for innovation can best be applied. We define the combined DSR and DI matrix approach in terms of four strategies: invention; advancement; exaptation; and exploitation and their associated DI practices. The research contribution is a novel DSR-DI matrix process model. This model extends entrepreneurship theory as it enriches effectuation thinking with more detailed process guidance for ambidextrous entrepreneurship and it enriches DSR models for DI by showing more explicitly the different pathways corresponding to different quadrants in the knowledge-innovation matrix.     

Digital transformation in entrepreneurial firms through information exchange with operating environment

Changing digital technologies and innovation threaten established business models. Increasing uncertainty in the operating environment often drives the need to transform the core business model of firms through a process of digital business transformation (DBT). In this study, we conduct a longitudinal study of two digital startups in the crowdfunding domain and identify the core attributes driving such transformation in digital ventures. We build a framework that examines how DBT takes place in entrepreneurial firms through information exchange with the environment. This research will help entrepreneurs and managers of such firms design and develop reactive business models for market success.     

Mitigating information asymmetry to acquire venture capital financing for digital startups in China: The role of weak and strong signals

This paper addresses how weak and strong signals affect venture capital funding acquired by digital startups at their early stage in various industries of China. We also articulate the interaction mechanism of these strong and weak signals by demonstrating their complementary or substitutive effects in alleviating information asymmetry on startup quality, which can help digital startups secure venture capital financing. Drawing on signalling theory and institutional legitimacy theory, we introduce application (app) downloads as a novel strong signal that can reduce market legitimacy concerns, and previous-round venture capitalist reputation as a traditional strong signal that mitigates regulatory legitimacy concerns. We treat founders' startup and IT experience as weak signals, as they provide rhetorical and indirect information indicating a startup's potential to establish regulatory and market legitimacy. The study empirically investigates our hypotheses using data of 163 digital startups in various industries of China. Results confirm the positive relationships between strong signals and venture capital funding secured by a digital startup. Furthermore, signals of similar strength are found to complement each other's effects in certain situations, while strong signals can reduce the effects of weak signals on a digital startup's financing performance under specific conditions that create these mixed effects. Implications for digital startup research and practice as well as limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Understanding digital transformation: A review and a research agenda

Extant literature has increased our understanding of specific aspects of digital transformation, however we lack a comprehensive portrait of its nature and implications. Through a review of 282 works, we inductively build a framework of digital transformation articulated across eight building blocks. Our framework foregrounds digital transformation as a process where digital technologies create disruptions triggering strategic responses from organizations that seek to alter their value creation paths while managing the structural changes and organizational barriers that affect the positive and negative outcomes of this process. Building on this framework, we elaborate a research agenda that proposes [1] examining the role of dynamic capabilities, and [2] accounting for ethical issues as important avenues for future strategic IS research on digital transformation.     

The effect of business ties and government ties on new IT venture growth: an empirical examination in China

The advancement of information technology in the past three decades is tremendous, and much of the advancement can be attributed to numerous new IT ventures that invent and commercialize a variety of information technologies. But new IT venture growth has not been sufficiently addressed by IS/IT researchers. In this research, we synthesized the literature on entrepreneurship, strategy, and management to develop a model linking business ties and government ties to new IT venture growth, while considering the effect of two contextual factors, firm size and legitimacy. We then collected empirical data from new IT ventures in China (N = 457). Regression analyses showed that both business ties and government ties positively affect new IT venture growth, and their effect is moderated by firm size and legitimacy. These insights contribute to both the literature and practices.     

Within bounds and between domains: Reflecting on Making Tea within the context of design elicitation methods

Making Tea (MT) is a design elicitation method developed in eScience specifically to deal with situations in which (1) the designers do not share domain or artifact knowledge with design-domain experts, (2) the processes in the space are semi-structured and (3) the processes to be modeled can last for periods exceeding the availability of most ethnographers. We have used the method in two distinct eScience contexts, and may offer an effective, low cost way to deal with bridging between software design teams and scientists to develop useful and usable eScience artifacts. To that end, we propose a set of criteria in order to understand why MT works. Through these criteria we also reflect upon the relation of MT to other design elicitation methods in order to propose a kind of method framework from which other designers may be assisted in choosing elicitation methods and in developing new methods both for eScience contexts and beyond.     

The Human–Artifact Model: An Activity Theoretical Approach to Artifact Ecologies

Although devices of all shapes and sizes currently dominate the technological landscape, human–computer interaction (HCI) as a field is not yet theoretically equipped to match this reality. In this article we develop the human–artifact model, which has its roots in activity theoretical HCI. By reinterpreting the activity theoretical foundation, we present a framework that helps addressing the analysis of individual interactive artifacts while embracing that they are part of a larger ecology of artifacts. We show how the human–artifact model helps structuring the understanding of an artifact's action-possibilities in relation to the artifact ecology surrounding it. Essential to the model is that it provides four interconnected levels of analysis and addresses the possibilities and problems at these four levels.

Artifacts and their use are constantly developing, and we address development in, and of, use. The framework needs to support such development through concepts and methods. This leads to a methodological approach that focuses on new artifacts to supplement and substitute existing artifacts. Through a design case, we develop the methodological approach and illustrate how the human–artifact model can be applied to analyze present artifacts and to design future ones. The model is used to structure such analysis and to reason about findings while providing leverage from activity theoretical insights on mediation, dialectics, and levels of activity.     

Overlay Design Methodology for virtual environment design within digital games

Virtual landscapes in digital games have become more expressive and impressive. However, design methodologies that can efficiently implement them have rarely been developed. In real-world landscape architecture, a design methodology called Overlay Design Methodology has been commonly utilized that allows efficient spatial design by computing the hierarchy and the placement of the environmental resources. In this paper, we investigate how to apply Overlay Design Methodology for the creation of virtual environments within digital gaming contexts. Along with the establishment of the design methodology, we measure the effectiveness of the methodology with protocol analysis and survey to 30 game developers. As we observed, the Overlay Design Methodology doubled the collaboration among team members and reduced unnecessary time in the design process by over 98%.     

Digital innovation: Review and novel perspective

While research has produced valuable insights about digital innovation, we lack a comprehensive understanding about its core nature, and research across disciplinary boundaries lacks integration. To address these issues, we review 227 articles on digital innovation across eight disciplines. Based on our findings, we (1) inductively develop a new definition and propose a new framing of current conceptualizations of digital innovation, (2) organize central concepts of the literature on digital phenomena and show how they intersect with our conceptualization, and (3) develop a framework to organize digital innovation research according to five key themes. We conclude by identifying two particularly promising areas of future research.     

Linking information systems and entrepreneurship: A review and agenda for IT‐associated and digital entrepreneurship research

More than 50 years ago, information technology (IT) began to change society, the economy, and industries worldwide. This change has included waves of technological disruption that have been exploited by entrepreneurial actors who seize the associated new opportunities. Research on related phenomena is spread across different disciplines. Recently, there have been calls for further research on the marriage of information systems (IS) and entrepreneurship. We review 292 articles in the IS, entrepreneurship, and general and strategic management literature to create an overview of the IT‐associated entrepreneurship research landscape. On the basis of that review, we elaborate on the different roles that IT can assume to support entrepreneurial operations and value creation in these settings. Our findings suggest that IT plays four major roles in entrepreneurial operations: as a facilitator, making the operations of start‐ups easier; as a mediator for new ventures' operations; as an outcome of entrepreneurial operations; and as a ubiquity, becoming the business model itself. Leveraging these roles of IT, we develop a set of definitions to clear up definition uncertainties surrounding IT‐associated new ventures such as digital start‐ups and digital business models. We also outline a research agenda for IT‐associated entrepreneurship research based on identified roles, types, and gaps.     

Designing for Appropriation: A Theoretical Account

In this article, we propose a theoretical account of software appropriation as a basis for considering how to design software for appropriation. The analysis we develop is based on a holistic perspective including artifact mediation (how software acts as a mediator of users’ activities and how users develop instruments), ecologies of artifacts (taking into consideration that users use multiple artifacts), collective and work practice aspects, and technical and software engineering aspects (different forms of and approaches to software adaptation by users). It leads to an understanding that software appropriation is related to how users consider software as a mediator of their activity and turn it into an instrument for themselves based on the functional values they attribute to it. Building on this analysis, We outline a general perspective on designing for appropriation as empowering users to continue software design in use, review some principles and means, and introduce research questions for future work.     

Individuals’ Innovation Response Behaviour: A Framework of Antecedents and Opportunities for Future Research

Innovation response behaviour is defined as individuals’ novelty‐supporting or novelty‐impeding action when navigating innovation initiatives through the organization. A typology of innovation response behaviour is developed, distinguishing between active and passive modes of conduct for novelty‐supporting and novelty‐impeding behaviour, respectively. The antecedents of innovation response behaviour are delineated based on West and Farr's five‐factor model of individual innovation. Moreover, we argue that within organizational contexts, individuals often fail to implement their ideas due to innovation barriers, perceived as factors that are beyond their control. Based on the theory of planned behaviour, we reveal how these barriers influence individuals’ intentional and exhibited innovation response behaviour. Propositions about proximal and distal antecedents of individuals’ innovation response behaviour are derived. Proposing a research framework to study the organizational process of innovation from an actor‐based perspective, this paper intends to link existing research on individual innovation with the process of innovation at the organizational level, explicitly accounting for the socio‐political dynamics and arising managerial problems associated with successful innovation implementation within organizational realities. Implications for research in innovation management are discussed and avenues for future research outlined.     

X射线工业CT成像过程复杂伪影抑制方法综述

X射线工业计算机断层(Computerized tomography, CT)技术是一种先进的非接触式无损三维检测技术,能在无损伤情况下以灰度图像的形式对物体内部结构进行全面、详细地分析,在航空航天、工业生产、安检等领域发挥着重要的作用.针对工业CT伪影严重降低图像质量问题,对工业CT成像过程复杂伪影形成机理进行分析,对不同类型伪影抑制方法进行归纳总结.阐述了基于射线衰减、探测器及高密度差异、采样数据及重建等不同过程伪影成因及伪影消除相关算法的最新技术进展,并对近年来人工智能深度学习背景下新兴的基于深度学习及神经网络的工业CT无损检测研究与发展方向进行了总结和展望.     

The inner and the outer model in explanatory design theory: the case of designing electronic feedback systems

Both Information Technology (IT) artifacts and design theories are important elements for knowledge capture in design science research in information systems. Building on a rich tradition of constructing and evaluating artifacts, recent design science research has made significant advances toward better understanding the explanatory aspect of design theory. Researchers have stressed the importance of mid-range theories that relate IT artifact features (causes) with measures and goals (effects). Against this background, design theorizing reveals certain commonalities with theorizing in the behavioral science field. In this paper, we explore differences and similarities between theorizing in these areas. We develop a framework that allows for a better understanding of the relationships between manifest design decisions, kernel theory constructs and their evaluation metrics. We identify common issues that arise from conceptual distances between these ideas and show their potential impact on both the design and evaluation of artifacts. The field of electronic feedback systems is used as an illustrative example.     

Physical and Digital Artifact-Mediated Coordination in Building Design

We conducted an ethnographic field study examining how a building design team used representational artifacts to coordinate the design of building systems, structure, and architecture. The goals of this study were to characterize the different interactions meeting participants had with design artifacts, to identify bottlenecks in the design coordination process, and to develop design considerations for CSCW technology that will support in-person design coordination meetings of building design teams. We found that gesturing, navigation, annotation, and viewing were the four primary interactions meeting participants had with design artifacts. The form of the design information (2D vs. 3D, digital vs. physical) had minimal impact on gesture interactions, although navigation varied significantly with different representations of design information. Bottlenecks in the design process were observed when meeting participants attempted to navigate digital information, interact with wall displays, and access information individually and as a group. Based on our observations, we present some possible directions for future CSCW technologies, including new mechanisms for digital bookmarking, interacting with 2D and 3D design artifacts simultaneously, and enriched pointing techniques and pen functionality.     

Digital art: when artistic and cultural muse merges with computer technology.

Digital artifacts or "artistic applications" as they are usually called, aim at displaying information content by materializing concepts in a digital format. In this article the author explains about the concepts and definitions behind digital art and the technological issues related to artistic and cultural heritage applications. Artistic creation begins with a concept or an abstract idea, which is gradually modeled into a form of tangible or intangible digital content that can be both the means and the end product. Digital artists consider computer technology as a way to enhance creativity and as a final artifact. The dual manifestation of artistic and cultural heritage applications results in workflow that differs for each application class. Application constraints identification is one of the most important but often undervalued issues in digital art creation. Displacement is an interactive installation applying augmented reality technology.     

Developing and maintaining clients’ trust through institutional mechanisms in online service markets for digital entrepreneurs: A process model

Crowdsourcing intermediaries, such as Upwork and ZBJ, are powering a new force of digital entrepreneurs by creating online service markets where service providers seek contracts from clients all over the world. An important reason for this flourishing digital entrepreneurship is that the intermediaries establish institutional mechanisms (IMs) that develop clients’ trust in digital entrepreneurs. However, insights into how intermediaries achieve it remain limited. Although the e-Commerce literature has generated rich findings on intermediary-based trust development, its findings are based on online product markets and thus may not be readily applicable to online service markets. More specifically, these findings are mainly focused on various IMs that facilitate initial trust formation based on variance models. However, a successful service transaction requires not only the initial trust but further development and maintenance of that trust, because it is a cooperative process between clients and vendors. By conducting an in-depth case study of ZBJ, the largest crowdsourcing intermediary in China, this study develops a three-phase process model, whereby the intermediary deploys different sets of IMs that initiate, augment, and maintain clients’ trust in vendors. Our findings make important theoretical contributions to the literature on digital entrepreneurship, crowdsourcing, and e-Commerce trust development.