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This theory development paper argues that activity theory, as a theory of practice, can help overcome long-standing challenges in the field of information systems (IS) by better accounting for the material in work and social activity. It also suggests ways in which IS research can inform the development of activity theory. The purpose of this paper is to be forward looking as much as reflective to advance an enlarged understanding of activity theory, and argue for its development in IS studies.

The paper is conceptual and draws upon existing literature and research to propose and cultivate an updated understanding of activity theory as a theoretical lens capable of accounting for social and technical aspects in IS.

The paper has three aims. First, to cultivate the use of activity theory in IS. It elaborates on the use and contribution of activity theory in IS, charts it’s use over the last 20 years and discusses how it brings together a range of ideas that have been neglected in other social theories. Second, to explore the challenges surrounding the use of activity theory in understanding interaction between actors and technology. Third, to set an agenda for its advancement in IS, to ruminate upon future research concerning the extension of activity theory and develop a “fourth-generation” activity theory.

The paper presents the first attempt to juxtapose activity theory with other theoretical philosophical perspectives; to chart the use of activity theory in IS over the last 20 years; and, to discuss how activity theory brings together a range of ideas that have hitherto been excluded from – or inadequately formulated in – other contemporary social theories.

This study aims to examine how both activity theory (AT) and actor network theory (ANT) can be complementarily applied in information system (IS) studies.

The interpretivist approach was followed, within which the qualitative methods were used. Existing literature was gathered as data. The analysis was done by following the interpretive approach.

Based on the analysis and discussion, a guide for complementary use of both AT and ANT in IS studies was developed. The guide is divided into two parts, which helps to achieve the objectives of the study: complimentary use of AT and ANT in an IS study and order-of-use of both theories in a study, as depicted in the framework.

This study is original in that it has not previously been published in part or full. The results of the study is intended to be of value to both IS postgraduate students and researchers.

In the domain of information science, affordance is a relatively new concept that deserves further exploration. It may serve as a bridge to narrow the research-practice gap that has persisted in information studies. Building upon previous research, we call for a broader concept of affordance that would help researchers understand information practices from an ecological perspective.

The study focuses on conceptualizing affordances for information practices in order to theorize engagement among people, technology, and sociocultural environments. We develop a hierarchical model and a component model to illustrate how key tenets of affordances can be linked with the decomposition of activities and its mechanism. Following this, we describe an illustrative case of a popular Chinese cloud-based music platform to demonstrate the utility of our conceptual frameworks in guiding studies of information practices.

The study proposes to shift the focus of technology affordances, which highlights the features and functions of particular technologies, to the affordances for practices that are enacted through technology and social construction within a sociocultural environment. The illustrative case of the cloud-based music platform shows that the proposed models can provide a structured view of operations, actions and motives for music information practices. The processes of internalization and externalization offer insight into the decomposition of information practice as a chain of activity-action-operation.

This study contributes to the literature on theorizing engagement among people, technology and sociocultural environments through the theoretical lens of affordances and sheds new light on the challenges of information practice.

Based on the assumption that information access disparity is a highly complex phenomenon demanding integrative explications that heed both structure and agency, the purpose of this paper is to outline the theoretical background against which endeavours to develop such explanations can be planned.

The study is based on a close reading of: existing explanations of information access disparity; research of other library and information science (LIS) issues that have demonstrated conscious attempts to bridge structure and agency; and cross-disciplinary integrative theories that have served as foundations for LIS research. Explanatory power of the first and applicability of the latter two are critically assessed; lessons for future research are drawn.

The examination shows that efforts to develop integrative theories for information access disparity are emerging but remain indistinct; integrative frameworks for other LIS phenomena exist but are developed primarily by adopting concepts from cross-disciplinary theories and are, therefore, both enabled and constrained by them. It also shows that cross-disciplinary integrative theories contribute to LIS by exporting the general integrative theorising approach and a range of specific concepts but, owing to their limitations in dealing with information-specific issues, their adequacy for explaining information access disparity cannot be assumed.

The study demonstrates that a promising way forward for developing integrative theories of information access disparity is to follow the general integrative approach, but to ground related concepts and propositions in empirical data alone, i.e., to begin the journey of integrative theorising theory-free.

This chapter offers a re-description of knowledge organization in light of genre and activity theory. Knowledge organization needs a new description in order to account for those activities and practices constituting and causing concrete knowledge organization activity. Genre and activity theory is put forward as a framework for situating such a re-description.

By means of genre and activity theory, the chapters argues that understanding the genre and activity systems, in which every form of knowledge organization is embedded, makes us capable of seeing how knowledge organization, as a genre, both can be a tool and an object in genred human activities.

In contrast to much research into knowledge organization, this chapter does not emphasize techniques, standards, or rules to be the sole object of study. Instead, an emphasis is put on the genre and activity systems informing and shaping concrete forms of knowledge organization activity. With this, we are able to understand how knowledge organization activity also contributes to construct genre and activity systems and not only aid them.

This paper aims to define a conceptual framework for transforming Big Data into organizational value by focussing on the perspectives of service science and activity theory. In coherence with the agenda on evolutionary research on intellectual capital (IC), the study also provides momentum for researchers and scholars to explore emerging trends and implications of Big Data for IC management.

The paper adopts a qualitative and integrated research method based on a constructive review of existing literature related to IC management, Big Data, service science and activity theory to identify features and processes of a conceptual framework emerging at the intersection of previously identified research topics.

The proposed framework harnesses the power of Big Data, collectively created by the engagement of multiple stakeholders based on the concepts of service ecosystems, by using activity theory. The transformation of Big Data for IC management addresses the process of value creation based on a set of critical dimensions useful to identify goals, main actors and stakeholders, processes and motivations.

The paper indicates how organizational values can be created from Big Data through the co-creation of value in service ecosystems. Activity theory is used as theoretical lens to support IC ecosystem development. This research is exploratory; the framework offers opportunities for refinement and can be used to spearhead directions for future research.

The paper proposes a framework for transforming Big Data into organizational values for IC management in the context of entrepreneurial universities as pivotal contexts of observation that can be replicated in different fields. The framework provides guidelines that can be used to help organizations intending to embark on the emerging paradigm of Big Data for IC management for their competitive advantages.

The paper’s originality is in bringing together research from Big Data, value co-creation from service ecosystems and activity theory to address the complex issues involved in IC management. A further element of originality offered involves integrating such multidisciplinary perspectives as a lens for shaping the complex process of value creation from Big Data in relationship to IC management. The concept of how IC ecosystems can be designed is also introduced.

The purpose of this paper is to theorize the theory-practice gap and to provide examples of how it currently expresses itself and how it might be addressed to better integrate between the worlds of thought and praxis.

Two empirical examples exemplify how the theory-practice gap is an institutionally embodied social reality. Cultural-historical activity theory is described as a means for theorizing the inevitable gap. An example from the airline industry shows how the gap may be dealt with in, and integrated into, practice.

Cultural-historical activity theory suggests different forms of consciousness to exist in different activity systems because of the different object/motives in the world in which we think and the practical world in which we live. A brief case study of the efforts of one airline to integrate reflection on practice (i.e. theory) into their on-the-job training shows how the world in which pilots think about what they do is made part of the world in which pilots live.

First, in some cases, such as teacher education, institutional arrangements can be made to situate education/training in the workplace. Second, even in the training systems with high fidelity, high validity (transferability) cannot be guaranteed.

The approach proposed provides a theory not only for understanding the theory-practice gap but also the gap that exists even between very high-fidelity (“photo-realistic”) training situations and the real-world praxis full of surprises.

This systematic literature review aims to elaborate the research progress of information practices to help other researchers attain a more holistic and comprehensive understanding of the field.

Following a systematic review protocol, 123 research articles from nine academic databases were included in the analysis.

Four separate results can be outlined. First, practice theory, social constructionist theory and activity theory are often used as the theoretical basis for the study of information practices. Second, people will engage in specific information practice activities in different external and internal contexts. The external contexts include social and needs contexts. The internal contexts include information source horizons, user's affection and user's cognition. Third, the existing information practice models can be divided into static and dynamic types. These models mainly reflected activities and influencing factors of information practices. Fourth, qualitative methods were the most used in information practice research.

The field of information practices is a vast, expanding research field. This research will focus only on a specific section, namely concepts, activities, contexts and models. Researchers could contribute to exploring the concepts, components and mechanisms of information practices by combining theories from various disciplines, such as sociology and behavioral science.

This is the first study to reveal the general picture of information practices. It also elaborates the characteristics of people's information practices and shows the potential development direction for future research.

As the workforce is aging and becoming increasingly age diverse, successful aging at work has been proclaimed to be a desirable process and outcome, as well as a responsibility of both workers and their organizations. In this chapter, we first review, compare, and critique theoretical frameworks of successful aging developed in the gerontology and lifespan developmental literatures, including activity, disengagement, and continuity theories; Rowe and Kahn’s model; the resource approach; the model of selective optimization with compensation; the model of assimilative and accommodative coping; the motivational theory of lifespan development; socioemotional selectivity theory; and the strength and vulnerability integration model. Subsequently, we review and critically compare three conceptualizations of successful aging at work developed in the organizational literature. We conclude the chapter by outlining implications for future research on successful aging at work.