September 21, 2009

Annenberg Research Seminar: Paul Leonardi, Northwestern University
Annenberg Room 207, 12 noon
Join students and faculty for a presentation by Paul Leonardi, assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies, Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences and Management and Organizations at Northwestern University. His topic: “Turning technology into a resource for structuring: A comparative study of materiality and network change”. From Dr. Leonardi: “In this paper, I present longitudinal data on the use of simulation software in two engineering groups at a U.S. automaker showed that the technology was used by engineers for more than three months as a resource for accomplishing various tasks; though not used as a resource for structuring. Initially, divergent uses of the technology’s features precluded users in both groups from structuring their consultation networks differently. Eventually, engineers in one of the groups converged on the use of a common set of features and collectively altered the structuring of their networks. I discuss implications for theory and research on technology use and organizational change.” Lunch will be served.




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