Vertaisarvioitu artikkeli konferenssijulkaisussa (A4)
Are We Discovering or Making Concepts? Performativity in Concept Defining
Julkaisun tekijät: Niemimaa Marko, Zimmer Markus Philipp
Konferenssin vakiintunut nimi: Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems
Julkaisuvuosi: 2022
Journal: Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems
Kirjan nimi *: PACIS 2022 Proceedings
ISBN: 978-1-958200-01-8
ISSN: 2689-6354
Verkko-osoite: https://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2022/97/
Alongside the emergence of new technologies and management trends, new concepts such as Artificial Intelligence, Digital Transformation and Cybersecurity appear. Once introduced, scholars debate these concepts’ definitions. Often, a uniform definition remains elusive in these debates but several different - sometimes conflicting - definitions result. In this short paper, we take a philosophical perspective to concept defining and ask why is it that we end up in these situations where a plurality of definitions exists? We outline two perspectives to concept defining: 1) concept-discovery; and 2) concept-making. We argue that concept defining is largely ill-conceived as an activity of concept-discovery according to which concepts are mirrors of the outside world. In contrast, we argue that viewing concept defining as an act of concept-making will sensitize IS researchers on the practices and processes which make concepts and their ethical as well as political implications.