Watchers, Watched, and Watching in the Digital Age: Reconceptualization of Information Technology Monitoring as Complex Action Nets

Zorina, A; Belanger, F; Kumar, N; Clegg, S

Watchers, Watched, and Watching in the Digital Age: Reconceptualization of Information Technology Monitoring as Complex Action Nets

Zorina, A Belanger, F Kumar, N Clegg, S

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Publisher:: INFORMS
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: ORGANIZATION SCIENCE, 2021, 32, (6)
Issue Date:: 2021-03-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Zorina, A
dc.contributor.author	Belanger, F
dc.contributor.author	Kumar, N
dc.contributor.author	Clegg, S https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6083-4283
dc.date.accessioned	2022-01-30T02:23:55Z
dc.date.available	2022-01-30T02:23:55Z
dc.date.issued	2021-03-01
dc.identifier.citation	ORGANIZATION SCIENCE, 2021, 32, (6)
dc.identifier.issn	1047-7039
dc.identifier.issn	1526-5455
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/153826
dc.description.abstract	<jats:p> Despite increasing studies of information technology (IT) monitoring, our understanding of how IT-mediates relations between the watcher and watched remains limited in two areas. First, either traditional actor-centric frameworks assuming predefined watcher-watched relationships (e.g., panopticon or synopticon) are adopted or monitoring actors are removed to focus on data flows (e.g., dataveillance, assemblages, panspectron). Second, IT monitoring research predominantly assumes IT artifacts to be stable, bounded, designed objects, with prescribed uses which provides an oversimplified view of actor relationships. To redress these limitations, a conceptual framework of veillance applicable to a variety of possible IT or non-IT-mediated relationships between watcher and watched is developed. Using the framework, we conduct a conceptual review of the literature, identifying IT-enabled monitoring and transformations of actors, goals, mechanisms and foci and develop an action net model of IT veillance where IT artifacts are theorized as equivocal, distributable and open for diverse use, open to edits and contributions by unbounded sets of heterogenous actors characterized by diverse goals and capabilities. The action net of IT veillance is defined as a flexible decentralized interconnected web shaped by multidirectional watcher-watched relationships, enabling multiple dynamic goals and foci. Cumulative contributions by heterogenous participants organize and manipulate the net, having an impact through influencing dispositions, visibilities and the inclusion/exclusion of self and others. The model makes three important theoretical contributions to our understanding of IT monitoring of watchers and watched and their relationships. We discuss implications and avenues for future studies on IT veillance. </jats:p>
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	INFORMS
dc.relation.ispartof	ORGANIZATION SCIENCE
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1287/orsc.2021.1435
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
dc.subject	1503 Business and Management, 1505 Marketing
dc.subject.classification	Business & Management
dc.title	Watchers, Watched, and Watching in the Digital Age: Reconceptualization of Information Technology Monitoring as Complex Action Nets
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	32
utslib.for	1503 Business and Management
utslib.for	1505 Marketing
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Business
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Business/Management Discipline
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access	*
dc.date.updated	2022-01-30T02:23:54Z
pubs.issue	6
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	32
utslib.citation.issue	6

Abstract:

Despite increasing studies of information technology (IT) monitoring, our understanding of how IT-mediates relations between the watcher and watched remains limited in two areas. First, either traditional actor-centric frameworks assuming predefined watcher-watched relationships (e.g., panopticon or synopticon) are adopted or monitoring actors are removed to focus on data flows (e.g., dataveillance, assemblages, panspectron). Second, IT monitoring research predominantly assumes IT artifacts to be stable, bounded, designed objects, with prescribed uses which provides an oversimplified view of actor relationships. To redress these limitations, a conceptual framework of veillance applicable to a variety of possible IT or non-IT-mediated relationships between watcher and watched is developed. Using the framework, we conduct a conceptual review of the literature, identifying IT-enabled monitoring and transformations of actors, goals, mechanisms and foci and develop an action net model of IT veillance where IT artifacts are theorized as equivocal, distributable and open for diverse use, open to edits and contributions by unbounded sets of heterogenous actors characterized by diverse goals and capabilities. The action net of IT veillance is defined as a flexible decentralized interconnected web shaped by multidirectional watcher-watched relationships, enabling multiple dynamic goals and foci. Cumulative contributions by heterogenous participants organize and manipulate the net, having an impact through influencing dispositions, visibilities and the inclusion/exclusion of self and others. The model makes three important theoretical contributions to our understanding of IT monitoring of watchers and watched and their relationships. We discuss implications and avenues for future studies on IT veillance.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/153826