Open AccessDeveloping a Relational View of the Organizing Role of Objects: A study of the innovation process in computer games
Author(s) -
Harry Scarbrough,
Nikiforos S. Panourgias,
Joe Nandhakumar
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
organization studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.441
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1741-3044
pISSN - 0170-8406
DOI - 10.1177/0170840614557213
Subject(s) - process (computing) , knowledge management , autonomy , computer science , relational view , outcome (game theory) , resource (disambiguation) , action (physics) , work (physics) , human–computer interaction , engineering , mechanical engineering , computer network , physics , mathematics , mathematical economics , quantum mechanics , political science , law , operating system
Innovation processes create distinctive challenges for coordination. Objects are seen as supporting coordination in such settings by enabling the emergent action needed to deal with a dynamic and uncertain process. Thus, previous work has highlighted the role of different types of objects in coordinating the collaborative tasks undertaken by expert groups, either by motivating the creation of new knowledge or through the translation of understanding. Through an empirical study of innovation processes in the computer games sector, our paper adds to this previous work by finding that the relations between objects, and not the objects alone, help to orchestrate multiple collaborative tasks towards a final outcome within temporal and resource constraints. The relational view which emerges from this study shows how such a ‘system of objects’ is able to stabilize coordination of the process while preserving the emergence and autonomy of games developer practices needed to achieve innovation.Peer-reviewedPublisher Versio