My Top 4 Articles for 2013

Given that the year 2014 is coming to an end, I asked myself the other day which recent papers have influenced my thinking and writing this year. First on the list is the MISQ special issue by Bharadwaj et al. (2013). In the paper, the authors attempt to bring together the strategy and information systems literature and emphasize the strategic role of information technology in organizations. Next, there’s the ISR special issue by Aral et al. (2013) on social media and business transformation, which sheds light on the transformative power of social media technologies as a specific class of information technologies. Third on the list is Treem & Leonardi’s (2013) book chapter on social media affordances, explaining how social media technologies differ from previous forms of computer-mediated communication and what kind of actions they facilitate. Ultimately, there’s Wang et al.’s (2013) OS paper, which highlights the competitive nature of online groups as they compete for members’ attention and time.

References:

Aral, S., Dellarocas, C., & Godes, D. 2013. Introduction to the Special Issue—Social Media and Business Transformation: A Framework for Research. Information Systems Research, 24(1): 3–13.

Bharadwaj, A., El Sawy, O. A., Pavlou, P. A., & Venkatraman, N. 2013. Digital Business Strategy: Toward a Next Generation of Insights. MIS Quarterly, 37(2): 471–482.

Treem, J. W., & Leonardi, P. M. 2013. Social Media Use in Organizations: Exploring the Affordances of Visibility, Editability, Persistence, and Association. In C. T. Salmon (Ed.), Communication Yearbook: 143–189. New York, NY: Routledge.

Wang, X., Butler, B. S., & Ren, Y. 2013. The Impact of Membership Overlap on Growth: An Ecological Competition View of Online Groups. Organization Science, 24(2): 414–431.