RICK journal section and workshops

Scholars are increasingly challenged to demonstrate wide impact of academic research through multidisciplinary diffusion of knowledge and implications for practice and for society.

To promote development and publication of scholarly papers dedicated to this mission, Information and Organization has introduced a special section focused on research impact and contributions to knowledge (RICK).

Professor Michael Barrett, Section Editor at Information and Organization, leads the RICK Section which encourages submission for a range of articles including conceptual articles, reviews, translational research articles, digital futures, and articles on global challenges.

RICK workshop 2021

In collaboration with OCIS a Division of the Academy of Management.

Responding to crisis through digital innovation

We live in a technologically advanced era with a recent and marked dependence on digital technologies while also facing increasingly frequent extreme and global crises. Crises, like the COVID-19 pandemic, are significantly impacting our societies, organisations and individuals and dramatically shifting the use of, and dependence on, digital technology. The way digital technology is used to cope with crises is novel and not well understood theoretically.

The aim of the workshop was to (a) showcase research published in the recent Information and Organization RICK special issue, which brings together some of the latest scholarship of organisational studies and information systems; and (b) to initiate constructive and critical debate on the varied and innovative uses of digital technologies in times of crisis and beyond.

The workshop kicked-off with short presentations of the papers of the special issue, followed by an interactive workshop chaired by the organisers and and authors of SI papers.

  • Crisis as opportunity, disruption and exposure: Exploring emergent responses to crisis through digital technology. Manos Gkeredakis, Hila Lifshitz-Assaf NYU, Michael Barrett.
  • Institutional Logics and Technology Affordances in Times of Crisis: Telemedicine as Digital ‘PPE’. Eivor Oborn, Nirit Pilosof, Bob Hinings, Eyal Kimlichman.
  • Liminal innovation in practice: Understanding the reconfiguration of digital work in crisis. Wanda J. Orlikowski, Susan V. Scott.
  • Experimenting during the shift to virtual team work: Learnings from how teams adapted their activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ashley Whillans, Leslie Perlow, Aurora Turek.
  • On the making of crystal balls: Five lessons about simulation modelling and the organization of work. Paul M. Leonardi, DaJung Woo, William C. Barley.
  • Unto the breach: What the COVID-19 pandemic exposes about digitalisation. Samer Faraj, Wadih Renno, Anand Bhardwaj.
  • Inequality of what? An intersectional approach to digital inequality under Covid-19. Yingqin Zheng, Geoff Walsham.

​The interactive part of the workshop focused on breakout room discussions on the following topics:

  • Parallel Session 1: Theorising Digital Innovation as a Consequence of Crisis
  • Parallel Session 2: Methodological Issues in Studying Digital Innovation
  • Parallel Session 3: Widening our Contributions on Digital Innovation

RICK workshop 2019

In collaboration with School of Economics House of Innovation.

Service innovation in the digital age continues to deliver significant success for both organisations and customers. Digital entrepreneurs have pushed the boundaries of business models to deliver services to customers in ways not envisaged as little as a decade ago. Incumbents have had to react to these innovations both strategically and operationally as they attempt to adapt to the changing landscape of a digital age and the resultant increase in competition. The paradox of simple service delivery and increased ecosystem complexity mean that understanding how digital service innovation is designed, delivered and sustained is increasingly necessary to survive today. In this RICK 2019 workshop we aim to explore these and related topics, helping to conceptualise, understand, and support digital service innovation. A focus is to provide the foundation for furthering research while supporting impact in practice and policy.

RICK workshop 2018

Hear from the academic researchers who attended the RICK workshop in 2018.

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