Defence of dissertation in the field of industrial engineering and management, M.Sc. Tuomo Eloranta

Issues related to the adoption processes of new technology have been studied for decades in information system and organization sciences. Despite this, many mysteries remain. One of these is how continuous use of new information systems is formed and in particular the role of existing habits and routines in this process.

In his study, Tuomo Eloranta focused on this phenomenon from the perspective of idea management tools (IMTs)-  digital platforms that allow sharing and discussion of new ideas for innovations regardless of time, space, or organizational boundaries. They represent one of the most popular types of information systems explicitly designed to facilitate innovation. While the potential benefits of idea management tools are manifold, the implementation of new information systems is seldom a straightforward process. Unless meaningful continuous use of the IMTs is successfully fostered, the expected business and cultural impacts are likely to remain unrealized. As a key starting point, the study strived to bring together two theoretical frameworks that attempt to explain the long-term use of new technology in organizations from rather different viewpoints: IT continuance theory and theoretical lens of organizational routines.

The results of the study suggest that innovating with idea management tools exhibits key distinctions compared to the traditional ideals of innovation efforts and is perceived disconnected from regular work and innovation-related responsibilities. Further, while organizational actors are keen to try out idea management tools, continuous use at the individual level proves out to be somewhat problematic to foster. Unmanaged interdependencies between use routine and other organizational routines can create dynamics that hinder the legitimacy of the emergent use routine in various ways. Thus results of the study draw attention to how continuous information system use is dependent not only on fostering the formation of new routines but managing the various interfaces between the emergent routine and incumbent organizational routine clusters.

Opponents: Professor Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin, USA
and Professor John Parm Ulhøi, School of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark

Custos: Professor Eila Järvenpää, Aalto University School of Science,Department of Industrial Engineering and Management

Contact information of the doctoral candidate: Tuomo Eloranta, [email protected], +358505344539

The public defence will be organised via Zoom. Link to the defence

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The dissertation is publicly displayed 10 days before the defence in the publication archive Aaltodoc of Aalto University

Electronic dissertation