Digital Narratives – observations about my digital life as a fox

My academic life in computing, or what now is more common to say, information technology (IT) started over 40 years ago when I entered in 1973 as a student to the new field of computer science. Since then my life as a student of computation and later digitalization with IT reflects the mysterious, challenging and shifting meanings and shapes we as a community have tried to give to this phenomenon. In this talk I will reflect upon my role as an active narrator of the ever changing digitalization story; to record and reflect upon my more or less successful attempts to make sense and shape this phenomenon as it has emerged. Especially, I, examine the content and structure of the changing narratives associated with digitalization as reflected in my evolving research profile and agenda.

Many of my colleagues have called me after Isaiah Berlin’s famous characterization of great novelists as a fox- a person who knows a little of many things. The origins of being fox, however, are not only my personal choice though being curious and excited of many things is one reason for this. It is also a call placed upon me and many others in my field by the very nature of the phenomenon we are trying to understand- digitalization in the end is about many things and aspirations. By anchoring the exploration of digital narratives to my fox like behaviors in concrete research situations, related going concerns and aspirations I hope that we can learn something about the active shaping of the grander narrative of digitalization over the last 30 years- a narrative which remains one of the great achievements of the latter part of the 20th century.

CV
Kalle Lyytinen is the Iris S. Wolstein Professor in Information Systems and Management Design and currently the Department Head at the Design & Innovation Department at Weatherhead School of Management.  Professor Lyytinen also currently directs the Doctor of Management Programs for Executives at Weatherhead School of Management. He has consulted numerous government research agencies including Academy of Finland, Swedish, British, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, German, Hong Kong, and Spanish Research Councils, several directorates in EU, and National Science Foundation (NSF).

Kalle Lyytinen received the Association of Information Systems highest recognition - the LEO Award for Lifetime Exceptional Achievement in information systems – in 2013. He has authored or co-authored more than 150 journal articles, over 20 books and special issues, and several hundred conference papers. In the information system field he is among the three most productive scholars over the last two decades and among the 5 most cited scholars. He has also won several awards for his groundbreaking research and guided or examined more than 90 PhD theses.