A Socio-Technical Analysis of the Impact of Technological Change in a Retail Organization

Cox, Sharon and Cox, J A (2018) A Socio-Technical Analysis of the Impact of Technological Change in a Retail Organization. In: Eighteenth International Conference on Knowledge, Culture, and Change in Organizations, 15-16 March 2018, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.

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Abstract

Technology offers improvements to the efficiency and effectiveness of retail processes. Previous work has focused on assessing the impact of technological change on business processes and on identifying the barriers and drivers that influence the acceptance of technological change by different stakeholder groups.

This research focuses on analysing the impact of technological change on business practices by surfacing the issues and values that underpin conflict with the technological change.

The paper aims to explain the impact of technological change in retail organizations. It provides a richer conceptual understanding of the organizational context in which stakeholders prescribe meaning to activities.

An ethnographic case study is used to examine the experience of introducing self-service checkouts in a UK retailer over a six month period. A soft systems methodology draws out the underlying reasons for stakeholder reactions to how the technology changed business practices affecting the retail experience.

The implications of this research are that technological change needs to move beyond process efficiency to focus on practice efficacy. An understanding of the inherent values of different stakeholders is key to effective technological change.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Other)
Additional Information:	This is a virtual lightening talk presentation at the Eighteenth International Conference on Knowledge, Culture, and Change in Organizations. The full paper on which the paper has been based is accessible from http://www.managinginformation.org/recent-publications/ The conference fee has been paid for by the authors.
Dates:	Date Event 14 August 2017 Accepted 22 February 2018 Published Online
Subjects:	CAH11 - computing > CAH11-01 - computing > CAH11-01-03 - information systems
Divisions:	Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment > School of Computing and Digital Technology
Depositing User:	Sharon Cox
Date Deposited:	15 May 2018 14:06
Last Modified:	22 Mar 2023 12:01
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/5638

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