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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
Jan Devos - 13/09/2012Faculty of Engineering and Architecture – Campus West
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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
Jan Devos - 13/09/2012Faculty of Engineering and Architecture – Campus West
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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
Jan Devos - 13/09/2012Faculty of Engineering and Architecture – Campus West
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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
Jan Devos - 13/09/2012Faculty of Engineering and Architecture – Campus West
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Jan Devos - 13/09/2012Faculty of Engineering and Architecture – Campus West
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Jan Devos - 13/09/2012Faculty of Engineering and Architecture – Campus West
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)
Jan Devos - 13/09/2012Faculty of Engineering and Architecture – Campus West
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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)
Jan Devos - 13/09/2012Faculty of Engineering and Architecture – Campus West
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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)
Jan Devos - 13/09/2012Faculty of Engineering and Architecture – Campus West
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Research Question
How can the use of Bricolage facilitatethe adoption of Emergent Collectives inan Entrepreneurial Setting?
Jan Devos - 13/09/2012Faculty of Engineering and Architecture – Campus West
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Research Methodology
- Action Research (Design Science)- Case Endoxa (drop shipping)- Interpretive epistemology (Walsham, 2004)
Jan Devos - 13/09/2012Faculty of Engineering and Architecture – Campus West
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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)
Jan Devos - 13/09/2012Faculty of Engineering and Architecture – Campus West
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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)
Jan Devos - 13/09/2012Faculty of Engineering and Architecture – Campus West
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Jan Devos - 13/09/2012Faculty of Engineering and Architecture – Campus West
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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)
Jan Devos - 13/09/2012Faculty of Engineering and Architecture – Campus West
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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 !!!
Jan Devos - 13/09/2012Faculty of Engineering and Architecture – Campus West
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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
Jan Devos - 13/09/2012Faculty of Engineering and Architecture – Campus West
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Jan Devos - 13/09/2012Faculty of Engineering and Architecture – Campus West
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Questions?