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Summary:

Discussions on digital transformation—be it of individuals, organisations, or society—often yet implicitly follow simplistic, taken-for-granted narratives. In particular, digitalisation is portrayed as an inevitable future, for which bold, deliberate, ‘top-down’ efforts are supposedly necessary now. In such efforts—that is, in digital transformation projects—speed and efficiency of practices ought to be improved by implementing digital technologies, and this implementation is largely assumed to follow a top-down, almost ‘heroic’ intervention. Along these narratives of digital transformation as an intentionally and heroically enforced sequence of steps, everything outside of this narrow, predetermined frame is painted as ‘resistance’ to be overcome. This ideological hegemony regarding the nature of digital transformation is surprising given that the reality of such processes often overflows their simplistic depictions. Not least, we find most digital transformation processes to be tension-laden and, more often than not, ultimately unsuccessful.

This X-Student Research Group attempts to challenge taken-for-granted views on digital transformation by exploring its complexity through a focus on a) the historical (story-)lines that have brought these transformations into being and b) the imagined futures that propel them forward. We will use the interdisciplinary setting of the research tutorial to investigate specific cases of digital transformation of interest to students, such as in healthcare, public administration, and education. Engaging in methods such as archival research and document analysis, this project culminates in the creation of visualisations and e-lectures. Not only will we deepen scholarly understanding of digital transformation, but we will also provide practical guidance for navigating it in its full complexity.

Modus operandi:

This X-Student Research Group combines elements of a ‘typical’ seminar with elements of a collaborative, interdisciplinary research project. As we will jointly conduct research, this project is inherently open-ended and depends on the active input of students. Participating students are expected to engage in all phases of the research process. This process includes practices such as

1)    reading, presenting, and discussing academic papers;

2)    researching a digitalisation case of interest by gathering and analysing data (e.g., through archival research and document analysis);

3)    visualising and presenting (interim) results; and

4)    collaboratively making sense of cases and comparing them.

I will guide students along the entire research process. Participating students will not only gain a deep understanding of the debate on digital transformation and their particular digitalisation case but will also get acquainted with selected research methods and fundamental ideas of process philosophy.

The seminar will be carried out in English, unless all participants speak German. After successful completion, students obtain 6 ECTS. The seminar can be elected as graded or non-graded.