Working in Tandem: A Longitudinal Study of the Interplay of Working Practices and Social Enterprise Platforms in the Multinational Workplace

Abstract

This thesis aims to contribute to our understanding of the implications of the social technology use in the work settings, and through this, how value is created in organizations. If enterprise platforms shall replace established ways of working or increase employees’ productivity at work, social enterprise platforms needs to studied closely with employee’s daily work, their working and interacting practices, working processes, and other technologies used for working. In order to get this empirical insight were two closely related research questions asked in this thesis:

1. How do consultants’ working practices interplay with the company’s social enterprise platform?

2. How do consultants’ working practices in contextual offline settings interplay with their interaction practices online?

The theoretical approach in this thesis follows the practice-turn that has emerged as an approach for studying strategic management, organizational decision-making and managerial work, and focuses on the micro-level of social activities, processes and practices that characterize organizational strategy and strategizing.

Through a longitudinal, in-depth study of the multinational consultancy firm offering technology and consultancy services, I explore the relationship between the use of company’s social enterprise platform and the working and interacting practices of consultants.