Reconfiguring relations of accountability: Materialization of social media in the travel sector
Expanding use of Web 2.0 technologies has generated complex information dynamics that are propelling organizations in unexpected directions, redrawing boundaries and shifting relationships. Using research on user-generated content, we examine online rating and ranking mechanisms and analyze how thei...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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Elsevier
2017
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/108306 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7313-9466 |
| _version_ | 1826206584009654272 |
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| author | Scott, Susan V. Orlikowski, Wanda J |
| author2 | Sloan School of Management |
| author_facet | Sloan School of Management Scott, Susan V. Orlikowski, Wanda J |
| author_sort | Scott, Susan V. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Expanding use of Web 2.0 technologies has generated complex information dynamics that are propelling organizations in unexpected directions, redrawing boundaries and shifting relationships. Using research on user-generated content, we examine online rating and ranking mechanisms and analyze how their performance reconfigures relations of accountability. Our specific interest is in the use of so-called “social media” such as TripAdvisor, where participant reviews are used to rank the popularity of services provided by the travel sector. Although ranking mechanisms are not new, they become “power-charged”—to use Donna Haraway’s term—when enacted through Web 2.0 technologies. As such, they perform a substantial redistribution of accountability. We draw on data from an on-going field study of small businesses in a remote geographical area for whom TripAdvisor has changed ‘the rules of the game,’ and we explore the moral and strategic implication of this transformation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:35:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/108306 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:35:12Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1083062024-06-28T14:00:57Z Reconfiguring relations of accountability: Materialization of social media in the travel sector Scott, Susan V. Orlikowski, Wanda J Sloan School of Management Orlikowski, Wanda J Orlikowski, Wanda J Expanding use of Web 2.0 technologies has generated complex information dynamics that are propelling organizations in unexpected directions, redrawing boundaries and shifting relationships. Using research on user-generated content, we examine online rating and ranking mechanisms and analyze how their performance reconfigures relations of accountability. Our specific interest is in the use of so-called “social media” such as TripAdvisor, where participant reviews are used to rank the popularity of services provided by the travel sector. Although ranking mechanisms are not new, they become “power-charged”—to use Donna Haraway’s term—when enacted through Web 2.0 technologies. As such, they perform a substantial redistribution of accountability. We draw on data from an on-going field study of small businesses in a remote geographical area for whom TripAdvisor has changed ‘the rules of the game,’ and we explore the moral and strategic implication of this transformation. 2017-04-20T18:15:07Z 2017-04-20T18:15:07Z 2011-12 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0361-3682 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/108306 Scott, Susan V. and Orlikowski, Wanda J. “Reconfiguring Relations of Accountability: Materialization of Social Media in the Travel Sector.” Accounting, Organizations and Society 37, no. 1 (January 2012): 26–40. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7313-9466 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2011.11.005 Accounting Organizations and Society Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ application/pdf Elsevier Prof. Orlinkowski via Alex Caracuzzo |
| spellingShingle | Scott, Susan V. Orlikowski, Wanda J Reconfiguring relations of accountability: Materialization of social media in the travel sector |
| title | Reconfiguring relations of accountability: Materialization of social media in the travel sector |
| title_full | Reconfiguring relations of accountability: Materialization of social media in the travel sector |
| title_fullStr | Reconfiguring relations of accountability: Materialization of social media in the travel sector |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reconfiguring relations of accountability: Materialization of social media in the travel sector |
| title_short | Reconfiguring relations of accountability: Materialization of social media in the travel sector |
| title_sort | reconfiguring relations of accountability materialization of social media in the travel sector |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/108306 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7313-9466 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT scottsusanv reconfiguringrelationsofaccountabilitymaterializationofsocialmediainthetravelsector AT orlikowskiwandaj reconfiguringrelationsofaccountabilitymaterializationofsocialmediainthetravelsector |