Routinization of Digital Transformation of Work: A Discursive Practice Orientation Toward a Native IS Theory

Ever-complex digitization and heightened interest in exploring new information technologies (IT) have called for more dynamic ways to understand the nature of work, particularly if scholars and organizational strategists want to get a handle on the future of work (Morton et al., 2020). Digital transformation, which embodies IT innovation and digitization, has become a central tenet of IS discipline discourses (Chanias et al., 2019; Rowe, 2018; Vial, 2019) and IS conferences (e.g., ICIS, 2016). It has been advanced as a lens for MIS teaching and research to balance rigor and practice appropriately, and to delineate the IS field as a major disciplinary area (Fichman et al., 2014; Yoo et al., 2010). Indeed, several IS special issue calls, such as Organization and Management’s issue on Data Governance and Digital Innovation and the European Journal of Information Systems’ issue on Managing and Sustaining Digital Transformations, highlight the relevance of digital transformation with emerging technologies (Davidson et al., 2021).