Innovating Mindfully with Information Technology

Proposing a Formalised Model for Mindful Information Systems Offshoring

“…Subsequently we introduce the approach of mathematical economics and argue that it can provide a novel lens to enable the development of theory in the area of IS offshoring. In particular, we suggest that the concept of mindfulness, recently proposed to the IS community by Swanson and Ramiller [3], provides a theoretical conceptualization for the deductive development of our offshoring model.…”

“…Models have been developed that simulated offshoring relationships at the country level [13] while Wehrmann & Gull [14] proposed a decision support model for offshore software development projects using the COCOMO (COnstructive COst MOdel) estimation technique that cosidered cost, effort, and schedule for their emprical study. However, this paper takes a deductive approach and argues that the concepts of mindfulness and mindlessness, proposed by Swanson and Ramiller [3] for decisions on IT innovation; can be profitably applied to decisions on offshoring.…”

“…This paper argues that more precision is required in IS offshoring decision making given the growing importance of services in the knowledge economy and the resulting value chain re-alignment from selling product to providing integrated customer solutions [2]. Building on the concept of "mindfulness" and "mindlessness" introduced to the IS literature by Swanson and Ramiller [3], a cost model is developed using "deductive reasoning rather than inductive study" in the tradition of mathematical economics. To address the issues of relevance, the theoretical economic model is presented in the context of German companies looking, like the two-headed Janus, to the East and West.…”

The Service Behind the Service: Sensegiving in the Service Economy

“…[N]aturalization gives to particular ideological representations the status of common sense, and thereby makes them…no longer visible as ideologies" (Fairclough 1995, p. 42). (Willis and Chiasson 2007), or it may encourage unmindful innovation (Swanson and Ramiller 2004). The upshot, then, is that the public discourse will sometimes fail to adequately inform and support an organization's local efforts in service design.…”

“…While sensegiving has always played such a role in services, we will suggest that it is particularly salient where novel IT-enabled services are concerned. This is the case in part because of the demands that innovation makes on sensemaking (Swanson and Ramiller 2004). But it is also true because the potential of IT to transform services presents management (especially) with choices concerning how much to take the sensemaking and sensegiving of participants involved in service delivery into account during technology design and operation.…”