Emergent Collaboration Infrastructures: Technology Design for Inter-Organizational Crisis Management

259 Pages·2015·11.327 MB·English

by  Christian Reuter (auth.)

Emergent Collaboration Infrastructures
Christian Reuter
Emergent Collaboration
Infrastructures
Technology Design for Inter-
Organizational Crisis Management
Foreword by Prof. Dr. Volkmar Pipek
and Prof. Dr. Volker Wulf
Christian Reuter
Siegen, Germany
Dissertation University of Siegen, 2014
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DOI 10.1007/978-3-658-08586-5
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Foreword v
Foreword
Christian Reuter’s PhD thesis deals with the research on software infrastructures for emergent
collaboration. Over the past 4 years, Christian has carefully analyzed collaborative work in
inter-organizational crisis management – such as the police, fire departments and energy net-
work operators – in order to inform the design of supportive technology in these contexts.
The dissertation explores most excellently the challenges facing and the opportunities arising
for technology design in emergent environments. The characteristics of the application field
“crisis management” (e.g. time pressure, uncertainty, complexity, need for collaboration, dis-
ruption of infrastructure support) offered a rich problem space. They resemble the dynamics
of many other fields of business dealing with complex collaborative tasks in unstable settings.
The utilization of classical empirical methods in this field is much more complex. Both the
empirical results with regard to the (improvisational) work practices, which sometimes com-
plement official work processes, as well as the related design case studies showed interesting
findings for the field of Computer Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW).
This thesis contributes not only to the identification of collaboration practices that reveal
work infrastructure limitations but also to the design of novel concepts and artifacts towards
enabling emergent collaboration as well as to the discovery of potential organizational effects
on the ability to deal with emergence. Furthermore, it provides methodological implications
for technology design. These can help to improve the process of infrastructuring generally,
but also specifically to design emergent infrastructures such as tools and systems for emer-
gency management. The designed, implemented and evaluated applications ISAC, MoCo and
MoRep illustrated different aspects: they allow inter-organizational self-organized aggrega-
tion, visualization and exchange of geo-referenced information resources (ISAC); they pro-
vide the possibility to integrate actors ad hoc with different locations, organizations and de-
vices in situation assessment (MoCo); and they offer the possibility to articulate information
needs, such as pictures or textual information, to forces on site (MoRep).
Christian Reuter’s dissertation presents outstanding work in targeting the methodological
challenges in a difficult research context, and in connecting a macro perspective on inter-
organizational crisis management with a micro perspective on the actions and processes of
individuals. It provides examples and insights for usable collaboration technology in a setting,
which places improvisation above process while maintaining a high level of responsibility.
The methodological implication – to analyze dimensions of infrastructure use and not just
individual use breakdowns – might well help to address existing constraints in emergent tech-
nology use. This work connects and consolidates research discourses in CSCW, HCI and IS,
which have also been addressed in more than 40 publications arising in the context of this
thesis. Based on its action research methodology, these results also provide examples for
practitioners as well as software developers in similar complex environments.

Prof. Dr. Volkmar Pipek
Prof. Dr. Volker Wulf
Acknowledgements vii
Acknowledgements
This dissertation describes my research activities from 2010 to 2014 at the Institute for Infor-
mation Systems at the University of Siegen. These activities were carried out in the course of
different projects: Firstly, during my PhD scholarship at the Research School of Business and
Economics (2010-2013). Secondly, as part of the joint research project InfoStrom on infor-
mation infrastructures for crisis management (2010-2013), funded by the German Federal
Ministry for Education and Research (No. 13N10712). Lastly, during the project EmerGent
on social media in emergency management (2014), funded by the European Union Frame-
work Programme for Research and Technological Development (No. 608352).
This work would not have been possible without others. With deep gratitude, I would like to
thank my doctoral advisor Prof. Dr. Volkmar Pipek for our discussions and his supportive
guidance in the research field. I also would like to thank my co-advisor Prof. Dr. Volker Wulf
for his helpful support and Prof. Dr. Petra Moog who kindly agreed to join the doctoral
committee.
Furthermore, I am grateful to my InfoStrom colleagues Benedikt Ley, Thomas Ludwig and
Torben Wiedenhoefer with whom I cooperatively executed a large part of my research allow-
ing me to study emergent collaboration infrastructures. I also like to thank my colleagues at
the institute, especially Dr. Dave Randall for his advice, and the research school, especially
Désirée Christofzik, as well as my (former) students, especially Oliver Heger, Marc-André
Kaufhold, Alexandra Marx, Michael Ritzkatis and Tim Siebigteroth, who contributed in sever-
al ways to this thesis, for example by practical work leading to the realization of concepts,
joint research, co-authorship or proof-reading of publications.
Among the afore-mentioned colleagues, I would particularly like to thank the co-authors of
my journal articles and conference papers, which form part of this thesis, for the fruitful col-
laboration and for their contribution to the work. Moreover, I would like to thank the partici-
pants in my empirical studies, especially from the police and fire departments as well as the
energy network provider in the districts Siegen-Wittgenstein and Rhein-Erft, who patiently
allowed me to conduct interviews and observations at their workplaces, and who participated
in discussions and evaluated designed ICT artifacts.
Finally, I would like to thank my parents, my family and friends, and most especially my wife
Lena and our daughter Julina Leonie for their support throughout this exciting adventure.

Christian Reuter
Abstract ix
Abstract
The complexity and interconnectedness of current working environments encourages organi-
zations, businesses and individuals to collaborate beyond spatial, temporal as well as organi-
zational boundaries. These collaborations are potentially supported by information and com-
munication technology (ICT) among mobile and ubiquitous systems. The academic field
Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) is primarily recognized for focusing on ICT
support for collaboration practices as opposed to the computerizing of formal procedures.
ICT, in this view, needs to reflect the dynamic nature of cooperation and collaboration. The
notion emergence as coined by Lewes (1875) and interpreted by Goldstein (1999) refers to
dynamic contexts that cannot be anticipated in their full extent before they actually occur.
Emergent collaboration refers to the need for spontaneous collaboration in novel and chang-
ing structures and occurs in application fields such as inter-organizational crisis and emergen-
cy management, which by definition contain the unforeseeable.
This dissertation contributes to research into infrastructures for emergent collaboration. Us-
ing the example of crisis management, it addresses (1) emergent collaboration practices and
how they reveal work infrastructure limitations, (2) novel concepts and artifacts to support
emergent collaboration, (3) their effects on the ability to deal with emergent situations and (4)
methodological implications for technology design for emergent collaboration infrastructures
in inter-organizational settings.
Design case studies (Wulf et al., 2011), inspired by action research (Lewin, 1958) and fol-
lowing Hevner and Chatterjee’s suggestion (2010) to integrate action research with design
research, are applied as a practice oriented research method. They contain three phases: an
empirical analysis of the practices in the field, the development of innovative ICT artifacts
with continuous participation of end-users related to the empirical findings and the evaluation
of their appropriation (Pipek, 2005) in practice. In the case reported here, the empirical study
on emergent collaboration by police and fire services, aid agencies, energy network operators
and citizens in emergencies in two counties in Germany outlined the importance of improvi-
sation work in situation assessment as well as mobile collaboration and reporting practices.
The ICT design aimed towards the support of these emergent practices, illustrated by various
concepts and prototypes. They comprise (1) an inter-organizational social network for emer-
gency management (SiRena), (2) an inter-organizational situation assessment client (ISAC) as
well as mobile applications for (3) the ad hoc participation in mobile collaboration (MoCo)
and (4) the articulation of information needs in mobile reporting (MoRep).
Based on the empirical, technical and practical findings, the subsequent analysis uses the con-
cept of infrastructuring (Pipek & Wulf, 2009), the integrated perspective on the design and
use of information systems, and derives implications for emergent collaboration infrastruc-
tures, which contribute overall to the academic fields CSCW, Human Computer Interaction
(HCI) and Information Systems (IS).
Content Overview xi
Content Overview
Foreword .................................................................................................................................... v 
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. vii 
Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... ix 
Content Overview ..................................................................................................................... xi 
Table of Contents .................................................................................................................... xiii 
List of Figures ........................................................................................................................ xvii 
List of Tables ........................................................................................................................... xix 
Publications of the Author ....................................................................................................... xxi 
Abbreviations ......................................................................................................................... xxv 
Part I: Foundations .................................................................................................................. 1 
1  Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 3 
2  Related Work .................................................................................................................. 7 
3  Research Design ............................................................................................................ 21 
Part II: Selected Findings ...................................................................................................... 33 
4  Crisis 2.0: Towards a Systematization of Social Software Use (IJISCRAM) ..................... 35 
5  Empirical Perspective on Inter-Organizational Improvisation Work (CHI) .................... 49 
6  Composing Collaborative Information Quality (IJEV) .................................................... 65 
7  Scenario A: Information and Expertise Sharing in Situation Assessment (JCSCW) ......... 77 
8  Scenario B: Ad Hoc Participation in Mobile Collaboration (TOCHI)............................. 109 
9  Scenario C: Articulation Work in Mobile Reporting (ECSCW) ...................................... 135 
10  Perspective: Integrating Real and Virtual Emergent Volunteers (ISCRAM/WI) ............... 153 
Part III: Analysis .................................................................................................................. 169 
11  Empirical Results ........................................................................................................ 171 
12  Concepts and Artifacts ................................................................................................ 177 
13  Evaluation ................................................................................................................... 191 
14  Towards Emergent Collaboration Infrastructures ....................................................... 197 
15  Summary ..................................................................................................................... 211 
Appendix ............................................................................................................................... 215 
Empirical Methods ................................................................................................................. 217 
References .............................................................................................................................. 229 
Index ..................................................................................................................................... 251
Table of Contents xiii
Table of Contents
Foreword ................................................................................................................................... v 
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................. vii 
Abstract .................................................................................................................................... ix 
Content Overview .................................................................................................................... xi 
Table of Contents .................................................................................................................. xiii 
List of Figures ....................................................................................................................... xvii 
List of Tables .......................................................................................................................... xix 
Publications of the Author .................................................................................................... xxi 
Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................ xxv 
Part I: Foundations .................................................................................................................. 1 
1  Introduction ................................................................................................................... 3 
1.1  Motivation ....................................................................................................................... 3 
1.2  Aims and Objectives ....................................................................................................... 4 
1.3  Structure of the Work ...................................................................................................... 5 
2  Related Work ................................................................................................................ 7 
2.1  Emergence, CSCW and Social Software ........................................................................ 7 
2.2  Field of Application: Crisis Informatics and Emergency Management ....................... 10 
2.3  CSCW Applications for Inter-Organizational Collaboration ....................................... 13 
2.4  Social Software for Emergent Civic Participation ........................................................ 15 
2.5  Infrastructures and Infrastructuring .............................................................................. 16 
2.6  Research Potentials ....................................................................................................... 20 
3  Research Design .......................................................................................................... 21 
3.1  Conceptual Background ................................................................................................ 21 
3.2  Research Setting ............................................................................................................ 22 
3.3  Methods ......................................................................................................................... 23 
3.4  Summary ....................................................................................................................... 32 
Part II: Selected Findings ...................................................................................................... 33 
4  Crisis 2.0: Towards a Systematization of Social Software Use (IJISCRAM) ............... 35
xiv Table of Contents
4.1  Introduction ................................................................................................................... 35 
4.2  Potential Social Software in Crisis Communication ..................................................... 36 
4.3  Literature Review: Use of Social Software in Crisis Management .............................. 37 
4.4  Case Studies: Volcanic Eruption in Iceland and Love Parade Disaster 2010 ............... 39 
4.5  Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 43 
4.6  Towards a Systematization of Social Software Use ..................................................... 44 
4.7  Summary and Conclusion ............................................................................................. 47 
5  Empirical Perspective on Inter-Organizational Improvisation Work (CHI) ........... 49 
5.1  Introduction ................................................................................................................... 49 
5.2  Related Work: Improvisation and Information Technology in Crisis
Management .................................................................................................................. 50 
5.3  Research Field ............................................................................................................... 52 
5.4  Methodology ................................................................................................................. 52 
5.5  Results: Improvisation in Practice ................................................................................ 54 
5.6  Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 59 
5.7  Supporting Improvisation Work in Inter-Organizational Crisis Management ............. 61 
5.8  Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 63 
6  Composing Collaborative Information Quality (IJEV) .............................................. 65 
6.1  Introduction ................................................................................................................... 65 
6.2  Characterization of an Inter-Organizational Collaboration System .............................. 66 
6.3  Implications of Different Composition Functions ........................................................ 70 
6.4  Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 76 
7  Scenario A: Information and Expertise Sharing in Situation Assessment
(JCSCW) ........................................................................................................................... 77 
7.1  Introduction ................................................................................................................... 77 
7.2  Related Work ................................................................................................................ 79 
7.3  Research Question and Approach ................................................................................. 84 
7.4  Empirical Study on Information and Expertise Sharing Practices ................................ 85 
7.5  Supporting Information and Expertise Sharing ............................................................ 91 
7.6  Evaluation of ISAC and IOIR ....................................................................................... 98 
7.7  Discussion ................................................................................................................... 104 
7.8  Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 106 
8  Scenario B: Ad Hoc Participation in Mobile Collaboration (TOCHI) ...................... 109 
8.1  Introduction ................................................................................................................. 109 
8.2  Related Work .............................................................................................................. 110