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A study of emergent organizing and technological affordances after a natural disaster

A study of emergent organizing and technological affordances after a natural disaster PurposeDrawing on the model of technology-in-practice and the literature on bona fide approaches and technological affordances, the purpose of this paper is to argue that collectives involved in emergency response may exhibit similar and different usage patterns for technology due to the combined influence of the temporal development of the response actions and the existing and newly enacted organizational, social, and technological structures.Design/methodology/approachTo enrich the argument about the inter-related influence on response organizations’ use of technology across phases of the disaster response, this research uses a multi-method and longitudinal case study of citizen-based response organizations after Hurricane Sandy.FindingsFindings show that technologies were used similarly by response organizations immediately after the hurricane, whereas the later use of technologies exhibited variations. Moreover, Twitter was used consistently for diverse purposes across the phases of the disaster response, whereas Facebook usage among organizations first diverged and then converged two months after the hurricane. The organizations’ different patterns of social media use also reflected the construction and reconstruction of resource networks for relief operations over time.Research limitations/implicationsThis study integrates multiple theoretical frameworks in explaining the processes and outcomes of technology use for collectives in emergency response, which presents an example of bridging and enriching the theoretical constructs from the areas of technology adaptation and emergency management.Practical implicationsFindings of this study provide practical knowledge about the mechanisms of integrating multiple information systems into the building of resilient social systems for emergency response.Social implicationsFindings of this study enrich social understanding about how the use of technologies for collective activity in emergency situations can go beyond one-time events and lay the foundation for long-term resilient emergency management.Originality/valueThe originality of this study lies in its mixed-method and longitudinal design, which allows for the examination of the timing, circumstances, and outcomes of citizen-based response organizations’ technology use. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Online Information Review Emerald Publishing

A study of emergent organizing and technological affordances after a natural disaster

Online Information Review , Volume 41 (4): 17 – Aug 14, 2017

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References (42)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN
1468-4527
DOI
10.1108/OIR-10-2015-0343
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

PurposeDrawing on the model of technology-in-practice and the literature on bona fide approaches and technological affordances, the purpose of this paper is to argue that collectives involved in emergency response may exhibit similar and different usage patterns for technology due to the combined influence of the temporal development of the response actions and the existing and newly enacted organizational, social, and technological structures.Design/methodology/approachTo enrich the argument about the inter-related influence on response organizations’ use of technology across phases of the disaster response, this research uses a multi-method and longitudinal case study of citizen-based response organizations after Hurricane Sandy.FindingsFindings show that technologies were used similarly by response organizations immediately after the hurricane, whereas the later use of technologies exhibited variations. Moreover, Twitter was used consistently for diverse purposes across the phases of the disaster response, whereas Facebook usage among organizations first diverged and then converged two months after the hurricane. The organizations’ different patterns of social media use also reflected the construction and reconstruction of resource networks for relief operations over time.Research limitations/implicationsThis study integrates multiple theoretical frameworks in explaining the processes and outcomes of technology use for collectives in emergency response, which presents an example of bridging and enriching the theoretical constructs from the areas of technology adaptation and emergency management.Practical implicationsFindings of this study provide practical knowledge about the mechanisms of integrating multiple information systems into the building of resilient social systems for emergency response.Social implicationsFindings of this study enrich social understanding about how the use of technologies for collective activity in emergency situations can go beyond one-time events and lay the foundation for long-term resilient emergency management.Originality/valueThe originality of this study lies in its mixed-method and longitudinal design, which allows for the examination of the timing, circumstances, and outcomes of citizen-based response organizations’ technology use.

Journal

Online Information ReviewEmerald Publishing

Published: Aug 14, 2017

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