Ann Majchrzak

Marshall School of Business
University of Southern California

Term: January 1, 2011 – December 31, 2013

My primary research interest is virtual collaboration and knowledge-sharing. This is broadly defined to include studies in how individuals and groups collaborate virtually with particularly emphasis on the symbiotic relationship between technology affordances and social dynamics. The particular technology studied is less critical to me than how the technology and social context is analyzed. So technology ranging from groupware to social media are of interest to me.

I am particularly interested in research articles that:

• develop theory in a manner in which the IS context is front and center to that theory, not a context variable
• pushes us beyond simplistic views of technology and social dynamics, and beyond simply importing behavioral theories from other disciplines without making the necessary accommodations that an IT-enabled environment affords
• pursues IT-enabled contexts that have received little attention, such as emergencies
• examines emergent phenomenon and how IT and the social context can foster and limit both positive and negatively valued emergence
• considers the complexities of an IT-enabled environment, such as paradoxes, knowledge protection (not just knowledge-sharing), etc.
• focuses on the use of IT not just for corporate profit but for other outcomes at the individual, group and organizational level such as individual ingenuity, innovative problem-solving, political power, global change, sustainability, and agility

E-mail: majchrza@usc.edu