Publications by category
Books
Brown A, Fishenden J, Thompson M (2014).
Digitizing Government., Palgrave Macmillan UK.
DOI.
Journal articles
Thompson M (In Press). Affective Politics and Technology Buy-in: a Framework of Social, Political and Fantasmatic Logics. Journal of the Association of Information Systems
Thompson M, Venters W (In Press). Platform, or technology project? a spectrum of six strategic ‘plays’ from UK government IT initiatives and their implications for policy. Government Information Quarterly: an international journal of information technology management, policies, and practices
Thompson M, Faik I, Walsham G (2019). Designing for ICT-Enabled Openness in Bureaucratic Organizations: Problematizing, Shifting and Augmenting Boundary Work.
Journal of the Association for Information Systems,
20Abstract:
Designing for ICT-Enabled Openness in Bureaucratic Organizations: Problematizing, Shifting and Augmenting Boundary Work
There is a growing focus on achieving ‘openness’ in the design and transformation of organizations, in which the enabling role of ICTs is considered increasingly central. However, bureaucratic organizations with rigid structures continue to face significant challenges in moving towards more open forms of organizing. In this paper, we contribute to our understanding of these challenges by building on existing conceptualizations of openness as a form of boundary work that transforms by challenging both internal and external organizational boundaries. In particular, we draw on a performative view derived from actor-network theory to analyze a case study of ICT-based administrative reforms in a judicial system. Building on our case analysis, we develop a typology of the various roles that ICTs can play in both enabling and constraining ongoing boundary work within the context of their implementation. We thus present a view of ICT-enabled open organizing as a process where ICTs contribute to problematizing, shifting, and augmenting ongoing boundary work. This view highlights the inherently equivocal nature of the role of ICTs in transformations towards higher levels of openness.
Abstract.
DOI.
Brown A, Fishenden J, Thompson M, Venters W (2017). Appraising the impact and role of platform models and Government as a Platform (GaaP) in UK Government public service reform: Towards a Platform Assessment Framework (PAF).
Government Information Quarterly,
34(2), 167-182.
Abstract:
Appraising the impact and role of platform models and Government as a Platform (GaaP) in UK Government public service reform: Towards a Platform Assessment Framework (PAF)
The concept of “Government as a Platform” (GaaP) (O'Reilly, 2009) is coined frequently, but interpreted inconsistently: views of GaaP as being solely about technology and the building of technical components ignore GaaP's radical and disruptive embrace of a new economic and organisational model with the potential to improve the way Government operates – helping resolve the binary political debate about centralised versus localised models of public service delivery. We offer a structured approach to the application of the platforms that underpin GaaP, encompassing not only their technical architecture, but also the other essential aspects of market dynamics and organisational form. Based on a review of information systems platforms literature, we develop a Platform Appraisal Framework (PAF) incorporating the various dimensions that characterise business models based on digital platforms. We propose this PAF as a general contribution to the strategy and audit of platform initiatives and more specifically as an assessment framework to provide consistency of thinking in GaaP initiatives. We demonstrate the utility of our PAF by applying it to UK Government platform initiatives over two distinct periods, 1999–2010 and 2010 to the present day, drawing practical conclusions concerning implementation of platforms within the unique and complex environment of the public sector.
Abstract.
DOI.
Thompson M, Komoporozos-Athanasiou A, Fotaki M (2017). Performing accountability in health research: a socio-spatial framework.
Human Relations,
71(9), 1264-1287.
DOI.
Thompson M, Willmott H (2016). The social potency of affect: Identification and power in the immanent structuring of practice.
HUMAN RELATIONS,
69(2), 483-506.
Author URL.
DOI.
thompson M, Komporozos-Athanasiou A (2015). The role of emotion in enabling and conditioning public deliberation outcomes: a macro-level analysis.
Public Administration,
93(4), 1138-1151.
DOI.
thompson M (2014). Similarity and Difference: the shared ontology and diverse epistemologies of practice theory. A review of. Davide Nicolini (2012) Practice Theory, Work & Organization: an Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (PB, pp. 320, US$40.50, ISBN 978-0199231591). Ephemera
Fishenden J, Thompson M (2013). Digital government, open architecture, and innovation: Why public sector it will never be the same again.
Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory,
23(4), 977-1004.
Abstract:
Digital government, open architecture, and innovation: Why public sector it will never be the same again
This article argues that the future of public services will be shaped increasingly by the evolution of global, Internet-enabled, digital platforms, with two distinctive technical and commercial features. First, use of open standards and architectures that separate standard business logic from supporting applications will allow government to become technology- and vendor-agnostic, freeing it from its overdependence on proprietary systems and suppliers. Second, over time, open standards and increased market choice will drive both innovation and progressive convergence on cheaper, standard "utility" public services. These two features will combine to create a powerful dynamic situation, driving disintegration of traditional "black boxed" technologies and services, traditionally organized around "systems integrators" and departmental structures, and their reaggregation around the citizen in the form of services. Such reaggregation is allowing progressively sharp distinctions between niche/innovative and commodity/standard offerings, supplied by a plural, innovative, and more cost-effective marketplace, with unprecedented implications for the way in which the state buys and deploys technology. We draw on a range of data from across public and private sectors to illustrate our argument and identify some key policy and implementation recommendations. © 2013 the Author. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Inc. All rights reserved.
Abstract.
DOI.
Thompson M (2012). People, practice, and technology: Restoring Giddens' broader philosophy to the study of information systems.
INFORMATION AND ORGANIZATION,
22(3), 188-207.
Author URL.
DOI.
Thompson M (2011). ONTOLOGICAL SHIFT OR ONTOLOGICAL DRIFT? REALITY CLAIMS, EPISTEMOLOGICAL FRAMEWORKS, AND THEORY GENERATION IN ORGANIZATION STUDIES.
ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT REVIEW,
36(4), 754-773.
Author URL.
DOI.
Thompson M, Walsham G (2010). ICT Research in Africa: Need for a Strategic Developmental Focus.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT,
16(2), 112-127.
Author URL.
DOI.
Thompson M (2008). Ict and development studies: Towards development 2.0.
Journal of International Development,
20, 821-835.
DOI.
Thompson M (2005). Structural and epistemic parameters in communities of practice.
ORGANIZATION SCIENCE,
16(2), 151-164.
Author URL.
DOI.
Thompson M (2004). Discourse, ‘Development’ & the ‘Digital Divide’: ICT & the World Bank.
Review of African Political Economy,
31, 103-123.
DOI.
Thompson MPA, Walsham G (2004). Placing knowledge management in context.
JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES,
41(5), 725-747.
Author URL.
DOI.
Thompson MPA (2004). Some proposals for strengthening organizational activity theory.
ORGANIZATION,
11(5), 579-602.
Author URL.
DOI.
Thompson MPA (2002). Cultivating meaning: interpretive fine-tuning of a South African health information system.
Information and Organization,
12, 183-211.
DOI.
Chapters
Günther Arianne W, Thompson M, Mayur, P J, Polykarpou S (2023). Algorithms as Co-Researchers: Exploring Meaning and Bias in Qualitative Research. In Simeonova B, Galliers RD (Eds.)
The Cambridge Handbook of Qualitative Digital Research, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 211-228.
Abstract:
Algorithms as Co-Researchers: Exploring Meaning and Bias in Qualitative Research
Abstract.
DOI.
Komporozos-Athanasiou A, Thompson M (2015). The Social Spaces of Accountability in Hybridized Healthcare Organizations. In (Ed)
Managing Change, Palgrave Macmillan UK, 206-221.
DOI.
thompson M, Holgeid K (2013). A reflection on why large projects fail. In (Ed) The governance of large-scale projects: linking citizens and the state, Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, 219-244.
Conferences
Thompson M (In Press). "Next steps for public cloud? (Plenary talk)". Govnet Next Steps for Government ICT Conference, January 2013.
Thompson M (2023). Public Sector Innovation Conference 2023 Chair's Summary. Digital Leaders Public Sector Innovation Conference 2023. 14th - 14th Mar 2023.
Thompson M (2019). "The death of the vertical! What transforming really means.". Transformation through Technology Conference, 24 May 2012, the Barbican, London, UK.
Pujadas R, Thompson M, Venters W, Wardley S (2019). Building situational awareness in the age of service ecosystems. 27th European Conference on Information Systems: Information Systems for a Sharing Society. 8th - 14th Jun 2019.
Abstract:
Building situational awareness in the age of service ecosystems
Abstract.
Thompson M (2019). Chair's opening remarks. 13th Annual National Digital Conference.
Thompson M, Holgeid K, Stray V, Krogstie J (2018). Strategizing for Successful IT Projects in the Digital Era. International Research Workshop on IT Project Management 2018, Association for Information Systems AIS.
Abstract:
Strategizing for Successful IT Projects in the Digital Era
Abstract.
Thompson M (2017). Chair's opening remarks. 12th Annual National Digital Conference.
Thompson M (2016). Chair's opening remarks. ND16: Building the Nation's Digital DNA.
Thompson M (2015). Digital: Chair's opening remarks. 10th annual National Digital Conference (ND15).
Thompson M (2014). "Digital and the forthcoming election.". How Technology can Reinvent Government, Policy Exchange Media Roundtable, 4 April 2014, London, UK.
Thompson M (2014). "Embracing platforms (Chair and opening remarks).". Govnet Government ICT 2014 Conference, 14 January 2014, QEII Conference Centre, London, England.
Thompson M (2014). "Preparing for political change.". SOCITM Spring Conference, 9 April 2014, the Barbican, London, UK.
Thompson M, Komporozos-Athanasiou A (2014). A performative framework for measuring accountability in healthcare organizations. Biennial International Conference in Organisational Behaviour in Health Care (9th), 23-25 April 2014. 23rd - 23rd Apr 2014.
Thompson M, Komporozos-Athanasiou A (2014). Using affect theory to conceptualise emotion in patient and public involvement. EGOS (European Group for Organizational Studies), 30th EGOS Colloquium, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, July 3–5, 2014. 3rd - 5th Jul 2014.
Thompson M (2013). "Developing digital capacity (Chair and opening/closing remarks).". Digital Leaders' Conference, 3-4 December 2013, Microsoft UK, London, England.
Thompson M (2013). "Digital government and platform.". Digital Panel, Conservative Party Conference, 29 September 2013, Manchester, UK.
Thompson M (2013). "Digital government and platforms.". Digital Panel, Labour Party Conference, 23 September 2013, Brighton, UK.
Thompson M (2013). "Going digital (Chair and opening/closing remarks).". National Digital Conference, 11-12 June 2013, Congress Centre, London, England.
Thompson M (2013). "Public ICT for the future (Chair and opening remarks).". Govnet Government Technology 2.0 Conference, 25 September 2013, QEII Conference Centre, London, England.
Thompson M (2013). "The death of the vertical: government's new IT strategy (Keynote).". Transforming the Public Sector and Focusing on Growth: E-government Conference (Boussias Conferences), 16 May 2013, Athens, Greece.
Thompson M (2012). "Digital government, open architecture, and innovation: why nothing can be the same again." In. the Charity and Finance Directors Association (CFDG) Annual IT Conference. Royal College of Surgeons, London, UK.
Thompson M (2012). "The death of the vertical! Grasping cloud's implications for the public sector.". Govnet Next Steps for Government ICT Conference, 13 September 2012, QE11 Conference Centre, London, UK.
Thompson M (2012). Doing business with SMEs. HM Government Public Procurement Briefing 2012: Driving a Culture of Innovation and Enterprise with SMEs.
Thompson M (2012). Keynote panel discussion with Lord Freud, Paula Venellis (Chief Executive of the Post Office) and Lord Erroll on public sector organisational reform.". Go On: ND2012, National Digital Conference (7th), 30-31 May 2012, Old Billingsgate, London, UK. 30th - 31st May 2012.
Thompson M (2011). "Digital government, open architecture, and innovation: why nothing can be the same again.". SOCITM (Society of Information Technology Management) Conference, 1 December 2011, Birmingham NEC, Birmingham, UK.
Thompson M (2010). Ontological creep within organisation studies: the case of communities of practice. EGOS Colloquium, 26th, 28 June-3 July 2010, Lisbon, Portugal. 28th Jun - 3rd Jul 2010.
Thompson M, Walsham G (2009). Organizational communities of practice: wrong fork in the road?. EGOS. 2nd - 4th Jul 2009.
Thompson M (2009). Where has everyone gone? Re-integrating people into accounts of organizational practice. Cardiff Employment Research Unit (ERU) Annual Conference, 24th, 3-4 September 2009, Cardiff, UK. 3rd - 4th Sep 2009.
Geoff W (2008). ICT Research in Africa: Need for a Strategic Developmental Focus. : IFIP 9.4 Working Conference. 23rd - 24th Feb 2008.
Abstract:
ICT Research in Africa: Need for a Strategic Developmental Focus
Abstract.
Thompson M (2003). ICT, power, and developmental discourse: a critical analysis.
Author URL.
Walsham G, Thompson M (2001). Learning to value the Bardic Tradition: Culture, communication, and organisational knowledge. Global Co-Operation in the New Millennium the 9th European Conference on Information Systems . 27th - 28th Feb 2001.
Abstract:
Learning to value the Bardic Tradition: Culture, communication, and organisational knowledge
Abstract.
Reports
Thompson M (2011). Additional Written Evidence. Government and IT— “a recipe for rip-offs”: time for a new approach. House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee. London, House of Commons.
Thompson M, Maxwell L, Fishenden J, Heath W, Sowler J, Rowlins P, Wardley S (2010).
Better for Less: How to make British government IT save money. https://www.scribd.com/document/37020044/Better-for-Less, Network for the Post-Bureaucratic Age.
Author URL.
Publications by year
In Press
Thompson M (In Press). "Next steps for public cloud? (Plenary talk)". Govnet Next Steps for Government ICT Conference, January 2013.
Thompson M (In Press). Affective Politics and Technology Buy-in: a Framework of Social, Political and Fantasmatic Logics. Journal of the Association of Information Systems
Thompson M (In Press). Brexit: Time to seize the digital day.
Abstract:
Brexit: Time to seize the digital day
Cambridge Judge Business School article
Abstract.
Author URL.
Thompson M (In Press). Digital government isn’t about user needs – it’s more fundamental than that article.
Abstract:
Digital government isn’t about user needs – it’s more fundamental than that article
Computer Weekly
Abstract.
Author URL.
Thompson M (In Press). Digital government: Will it feature in the Labour and Tory manifestos?.
Abstract:
Digital government: Will it feature in the Labour and Tory manifestos?
Guardian Public Leaders article
Abstract.
Author URL.
Thompson M (In Press). Disrupting Government: Reassessing Social Value for the Internet Age.
Abstract:
Disrupting Government: Reassessing Social Value for the Internet Age
Bennett Institute Guest Blog
Abstract.
Author URL.
Thompson M (In Press). Don’t politicise digital government - public platforms belong to no-one.
Abstract:
Don’t politicise digital government - public platforms belong to no-one
Computer Weekly article
Abstract.
Author URL.
Thompson M (In Press). Government as a platform, or a platform for government? Which are we getting?.
Abstract:
Government as a platform, or a platform for government? Which are we getting?
Computer Weekly article
Abstract.
Author URL.
Thompson M (In Press). Government must be a platform entrepreneur to deliver 'digital 2.0'.
Abstract:
Government must be a platform entrepreneur to deliver 'digital 2.0'
Computer Weekly article
Abstract.
Author URL.
Thompson M (In Press). How to liberate Government IT from its hostage situation with system suppliers.
Author URL.
Thompson M (In Press). Intelligent public services, digital politics and the paradox of Brexit.
Abstract:
Intelligent public services, digital politics and the paradox of Brexit
Computer Weekly article
Abstract.
Author URL.
Thompson M (In Press). Introducing ‘focus and leverage’ – the value algorithm of the internet era.
Abstract:
Introducing ‘focus and leverage’ – the value algorithm of the internet era
Computer Weekly article
Abstract.
Author URL.
Thompson M (In Press). Open standards are about the business model, not the technology.
Abstract:
Open standards are about the business model, not the technology
Computer Weekly article
Abstract.
Author URL.
Thompson M, Venters W (In Press). Platform, or technology project? a spectrum of six strategic ‘plays’ from UK government IT initiatives and their implications for policy. Government Information Quarterly: an international journal of information technology management, policies, and practices
Thompson M (In Press). Schools must open their minds to new models.
Abstract:
Schools must open their minds to new models
FT article
Abstract.
Author URL.
Thompson M (In Press). Searching for the signal of open standards amid the growing noise of agile.
Abstract:
Searching for the signal of open standards amid the growing noise of agile
Computer Weekly article
Abstract.
Author URL.
Thompson M (In Press). Strength in numbers: Has the siloed organisation had its day?.
Abstract:
Strength in numbers: Has the siloed organisation had its day?
Economist Intelligence Unit article
Abstract.
Author URL.
Thompson M (In Press). The Great Deverticalisation.
Abstract:
The Great Deverticalisation
Computer Weekly article
Abstract.
Author URL.
Thompson M (In Press). Time to get mapping - how a blind government can develop sight.
Abstract:
Time to get mapping - how a blind government can develop sight
Computer Weekly article
Abstract.
Author URL.
Thompson M (In Press). Updating social value for the internet age.
Abstract:
Updating social value for the internet age
UK Authority article
Abstract.
Author URL.
Thompson M (In Press). What is government as a platform and how do we achieve it?.
Abstract:
What is government as a platform and how do we achieve it?
Computer Weekly article
Abstract.
Author URL.
Thompson M (In Press). Where next for UK government as a platform and GDS?.
Abstract:
Where next for UK government as a platform and GDS?
Computer Weekly article
Abstract.
Author URL.
Thompson M (In Press). Why digital platforms make politicians unelectable.
Abstract:
Why digital platforms make politicians unelectable
Computer Weekly article
Abstract.
Author URL.
2023
Günther Arianne W, Thompson M, Mayur, P J, Polykarpou S (2023). Algorithms as Co-Researchers: Exploring Meaning and Bias in Qualitative Research. In Simeonova B, Galliers RD (Eds.)
The Cambridge Handbook of Qualitative Digital Research, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 211-228.
Abstract:
Algorithms as Co-Researchers: Exploring Meaning and Bias in Qualitative Research
Abstract.
DOI.
Thompson M (2023). Public Sector Innovation Conference 2023 Chair's Summary. Digital Leaders Public Sector Innovation Conference 2023. 14th - 14th Mar 2023.
Thompson M (2023). The Digital Education Problem at the Heart of Government.
Web link.
2021
Fishenden J, Thompson M (2021). CDC0001 Challenges in Implementing Digital Change. Public Accounts Select Committee
2019
Thompson M (2019). "The death of the vertical! What transforming really means.". Transformation through Technology Conference, 24 May 2012, the Barbican, London, UK.
Pujadas R, Thompson M, Venters W, Wardley S (2019). Building situational awareness in the age of service ecosystems. 27th European Conference on Information Systems: Information Systems for a Sharing Society. 8th - 14th Jun 2019.
Abstract:
Building situational awareness in the age of service ecosystems
Abstract.
Thompson M (2019). Chair's opening remarks. 13th Annual National Digital Conference.
Thompson M, Faik I, Walsham G (2019). Designing for ICT-Enabled Openness in Bureaucratic Organizations: Problematizing, Shifting and Augmenting Boundary Work.
Journal of the Association for Information Systems,
20Abstract:
Designing for ICT-Enabled Openness in Bureaucratic Organizations: Problematizing, Shifting and Augmenting Boundary Work
There is a growing focus on achieving ‘openness’ in the design and transformation of organizations, in which the enabling role of ICTs is considered increasingly central. However, bureaucratic organizations with rigid structures continue to face significant challenges in moving towards more open forms of organizing. In this paper, we contribute to our understanding of these challenges by building on existing conceptualizations of openness as a form of boundary work that transforms by challenging both internal and external organizational boundaries. In particular, we draw on a performative view derived from actor-network theory to analyze a case study of ICT-based administrative reforms in a judicial system. Building on our case analysis, we develop a typology of the various roles that ICTs can play in both enabling and constraining ongoing boundary work within the context of their implementation. We thus present a view of ICT-enabled open organizing as a process where ICTs contribute to problematizing, shifting, and augmenting ongoing boundary work. This view highlights the inherently equivocal nature of the role of ICTs in transformations towards higher levels of openness.
Abstract.
DOI.
2018
Thompson M, Holgeid K, Stray V, Krogstie J (2018). Strategizing for Successful IT Projects in the Digital Era. International Research Workshop on IT Project Management 2018, Association for Information Systems AIS.
Abstract:
Strategizing for Successful IT Projects in the Digital Era
Abstract.
2017
Brown A, Fishenden J, Thompson M, Venters W (2017). Appraising the impact and role of platform models and Government as a Platform (GaaP) in UK Government public service reform: Towards a Platform Assessment Framework (PAF).
Government Information Quarterly,
34(2), 167-182.
Abstract:
Appraising the impact and role of platform models and Government as a Platform (GaaP) in UK Government public service reform: Towards a Platform Assessment Framework (PAF)
The concept of “Government as a Platform” (GaaP) (O'Reilly, 2009) is coined frequently, but interpreted inconsistently: views of GaaP as being solely about technology and the building of technical components ignore GaaP's radical and disruptive embrace of a new economic and organisational model with the potential to improve the way Government operates – helping resolve the binary political debate about centralised versus localised models of public service delivery. We offer a structured approach to the application of the platforms that underpin GaaP, encompassing not only their technical architecture, but also the other essential aspects of market dynamics and organisational form. Based on a review of information systems platforms literature, we develop a Platform Appraisal Framework (PAF) incorporating the various dimensions that characterise business models based on digital platforms. We propose this PAF as a general contribution to the strategy and audit of platform initiatives and more specifically as an assessment framework to provide consistency of thinking in GaaP initiatives. We demonstrate the utility of our PAF by applying it to UK Government platform initiatives over two distinct periods, 1999–2010 and 2010 to the present day, drawing practical conclusions concerning implementation of platforms within the unique and complex environment of the public sector.
Abstract.
DOI.
Thompson M (2017). Chair's opening remarks. 12th Annual National Digital Conference.
thompson M (2017). Manifesto for better public services.
Thompson M, Komoporozos-Athanasiou A, Fotaki M (2017). Performing accountability in health research: a socio-spatial framework.
Human Relations,
71(9), 1264-1287.
DOI.
2016
Thompson M (2016). Chair's opening remarks. ND16: Building the Nation's Digital DNA.
Thompson M (2016). NHS Jobs: Using Digital Platforms to Transform Recruitment across the English & Welsh National Health Service.
DOI.
thompson M (2016). The hidden exploitation of staff by their own administrators.
Guardian Public LeadersAbstract:
The hidden exploitation of staff by their own administrators
Guardian Public Leaders article
Abstract.
Author URL.
Thompson M, Willmott H (2016). The social potency of affect: Identification and power in the immanent structuring of practice.
HUMAN RELATIONS,
69(2), 483-506.
Author URL.
DOI.
2015
Thompson M (2015). Digital: Chair's opening remarks. 10th annual National Digital Conference (ND15).
Komporozos-Athanasiou A, Thompson M (2015). The Social Spaces of Accountability in Hybridized Healthcare Organizations. In (Ed)
Managing Change, Palgrave Macmillan UK, 206-221.
DOI.
thompson M, Komporozos-Athanasiou A (2015). The role of emotion in enabling and conditioning public deliberation outcomes: a macro-level analysis.
Public Administration,
93(4), 1138-1151.
DOI.
thompson M (2015). UK voters are being sold a lie. There is no need to cut public services.
Guardian Public LeadersAbstract:
UK voters are being sold a lie. There is no need to cut public services
Guardian Public Leaders article
Abstract.
Author URL.
2014
Thompson M (2014). "Digital and the forthcoming election.". How Technology can Reinvent Government, Policy Exchange Media Roundtable, 4 April 2014, London, UK.
Thompson M (2014). "Embracing platforms (Chair and opening remarks).". Govnet Government ICT 2014 Conference, 14 January 2014, QEII Conference Centre, London, England.
Thompson M (2014). "Preparing for political change.". SOCITM Spring Conference, 9 April 2014, the Barbican, London, UK.
Thompson M, Komporozos-Athanasiou A (2014). A performative framework for measuring accountability in healthcare organizations. Biennial International Conference in Organisational Behaviour in Health Care (9th), 23-25 April 2014. 23rd - 23rd Apr 2014.
Brown A, Fishenden J, Thompson M (2014).
Digitizing Government., Palgrave Macmillan UK.
DOI.
thompson M (2014). Similarity and Difference: the shared ontology and diverse epistemologies of practice theory. A review of. Davide Nicolini (2012) Practice Theory, Work & Organization: an Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (PB, pp. 320, US$40.50, ISBN 978-0199231591). Ephemera
Thompson M, Komporozos-Athanasiou A (2014). Using affect theory to conceptualise emotion in patient and public involvement. EGOS (European Group for Organizational Studies), 30th EGOS Colloquium, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, July 3–5, 2014. 3rd - 5th Jul 2014.
2013
Thompson M (2013). "Developing digital capacity (Chair and opening/closing remarks).". Digital Leaders' Conference, 3-4 December 2013, Microsoft UK, London, England.
Thompson M (2013). "Digital government and platform.". Digital Panel, Conservative Party Conference, 29 September 2013, Manchester, UK.
Thompson M (2013). "Digital government and platforms.". Digital Panel, Labour Party Conference, 23 September 2013, Brighton, UK.
Thompson M (2013). "Going digital (Chair and opening/closing remarks).". National Digital Conference, 11-12 June 2013, Congress Centre, London, England.
Thompson M (2013). "Public ICT for the future (Chair and opening remarks).". Govnet Government Technology 2.0 Conference, 25 September 2013, QEII Conference Centre, London, England.
Thompson M (2013). "The death of the vertical: government's new IT strategy (Keynote).". Transforming the Public Sector and Focusing on Growth: E-government Conference (Boussias Conferences), 16 May 2013, Athens, Greece.
thompson M, Holgeid K (2013). A reflection on why large projects fail. In (Ed) The governance of large-scale projects: linking citizens and the state, Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, 219-244.
Fishenden J, Thompson M (2013). Digital government, open architecture, and innovation: Why public sector it will never be the same again.
Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory,
23(4), 977-1004.
Abstract:
Digital government, open architecture, and innovation: Why public sector it will never be the same again
This article argues that the future of public services will be shaped increasingly by the evolution of global, Internet-enabled, digital platforms, with two distinctive technical and commercial features. First, use of open standards and architectures that separate standard business logic from supporting applications will allow government to become technology- and vendor-agnostic, freeing it from its overdependence on proprietary systems and suppliers. Second, over time, open standards and increased market choice will drive both innovation and progressive convergence on cheaper, standard "utility" public services. These two features will combine to create a powerful dynamic situation, driving disintegration of traditional "black boxed" technologies and services, traditionally organized around "systems integrators" and departmental structures, and their reaggregation around the citizen in the form of services. Such reaggregation is allowing progressively sharp distinctions between niche/innovative and commodity/standard offerings, supplied by a plural, innovative, and more cost-effective marketplace, with unprecedented implications for the way in which the state buys and deploys technology. We draw on a range of data from across public and private sectors to illustrate our argument and identify some key policy and implementation recommendations. © 2013 the Author. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Inc. All rights reserved.
Abstract.
DOI.
2012
Thompson M (2012). "Digital government, open architecture, and innovation: why nothing can be the same again." In. the Charity and Finance Directors Association (CFDG) Annual IT Conference. Royal College of Surgeons, London, UK.
Thompson M (2012). "The death of the vertical! Grasping cloud's implications for the public sector.". Govnet Next Steps for Government ICT Conference, 13 September 2012, QE11 Conference Centre, London, UK.
Thompson M (2012). Doing business with SMEs. HM Government Public Procurement Briefing 2012: Driving a Culture of Innovation and Enterprise with SMEs.
Thompson M (2012). Keynote panel discussion with Lord Freud, Paula Venellis (Chief Executive of the Post Office) and Lord Erroll on public sector organisational reform.". Go On: ND2012, National Digital Conference (7th), 30-31 May 2012, Old Billingsgate, London, UK. 30th - 31st May 2012.
Thompson M (2012). People, practice, and technology: Restoring Giddens' broader philosophy to the study of information systems.
INFORMATION AND ORGANIZATION,
22(3), 188-207.
Author URL.
DOI.
2011
Thompson M (2011). "Digital government, open architecture, and innovation: why nothing can be the same again.". SOCITM (Society of Information Technology Management) Conference, 1 December 2011, Birmingham NEC, Birmingham, UK.
Thompson M (2011). Additional Written Evidence. Government and IT— “a recipe for rip-offs”: time for a new approach. House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee. London, House of Commons.
Thompson M (2011). ONTOLOGICAL SHIFT OR ONTOLOGICAL DRIFT? REALITY CLAIMS, EPISTEMOLOGICAL FRAMEWORKS, AND THEORY GENERATION IN ORGANIZATION STUDIES.
ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT REVIEW,
36(4), 754-773.
Author URL.
DOI.
2010
Thompson M, Maxwell L, Fishenden J, Heath W, Sowler J, Rowlins P, Wardley S (2010).
Better for Less: How to make British government IT save money. https://www.scribd.com/document/37020044/Better-for-Less, Network for the Post-Bureaucratic Age.
Author URL.
Thompson M, Walsham G (2010). ICT Research in Africa: Need for a Strategic Developmental Focus.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT,
16(2), 112-127.
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DOI.
Thompson M (2010). Ontological creep within organisation studies: the case of communities of practice. EGOS Colloquium, 26th, 28 June-3 July 2010, Lisbon, Portugal. 28th Jun - 3rd Jul 2010.
2009
Thompson M, Walsham G (2009). Organizational communities of practice: wrong fork in the road?. EGOS. 2nd - 4th Jul 2009.
Thompson M (2009). Where has everyone gone? Re-integrating people into accounts of organisational practice.
Abstract:
Where has everyone gone? Re-integrating people into accounts of organisational practice
This essay seeks to draw attention to the near invisibility of subjective epistemology within organizational research, particularly within accounts of practice. The result can be an incomplete, depersonalised analysis that engages well with physical and social dimensions of organizational life, but which remains mute about this epistemological ‘missing third’: qualities such as tacit skill, personality, motivation, intention, and emotion. In response, the essay offers a detailed explanation of the objective and subjective components of practice, focusing in particular on the way in which these fuse together in the reflexive intentionality of motivated people. Building on this insight, the essay calls for a much closer integration of traditional sociological accounts of social generation that involve notions of ‘structure’ and ‘agency’, with social psychological accounts of personal generation involving notions of subjective and objective, and builds an initial framework for linking the two fields of enquiry at the level of practice.
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Thompson M (2009). Where has everyone gone? Re-integrating people into accounts of organizational practice. Cardiff Employment Research Unit (ERU) Annual Conference, 24th, 3-4 September 2009, Cardiff, UK. 3rd - 4th Sep 2009.
2008
Geoff W (2008). ICT Research in Africa: Need for a Strategic Developmental Focus. : IFIP 9.4 Working Conference. 23rd - 24th Feb 2008.
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ICT Research in Africa: Need for a Strategic Developmental Focus
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Thompson M (2008). Ict and development studies: Towards development 2.0.
Journal of International Development,
20, 821-835.
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2007
Thompson M (2007). ICT and development studies: towards development 2.0.
2005
Thompson M (2005). Structural and epistemic parameters in communities of practice.
ORGANIZATION SCIENCE,
16(2), 151-164.
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2004
Thompson M (2004). Confessions of an IS consultant, or, the limitations of structuration theory.
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Confessions of an IS consultant, or, the limitations of structuration theory
This paper argues that the ‘structurational tradition’ within interpretive information systems has revealed some useful aspects of the organizational implementation and use of ICT, but that usually this has been achieved at the expense of an intuitively convincing account of human motivation. Although Giddens’ ‘dimensions of the duality of structure’ is an important aspect of his thought, many IS studies have tended to focus almost exclusively on this model, in isolation from the broader canvas of his ideas. It is argued that such an approach offers an unbalanced and incomplete view of social interaction, which reflects neither organizational realities, nor Giddens’ wider theoretical position. In response, the paper resituates the structurational model within the broader context of Giddens’ work, offering researchers a practical framework with which to further sensitise their analyses to actors’ more biographical motivations. The explanatory power of this framework is illustrated with reference to the author’s own biographical experience as an IS consultant working for a major systems integrator in the early 1990s.
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Thompson M (2004). Discourse, ‘Development’ & the ‘Digital Divide’: ICT & the World Bank.
Review of African Political Economy,
31, 103-123.
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Thompson MPA, Walsham G (2004). Placing knowledge management in context.
JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES,
41(5), 725-747.
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Thompson MPA (2004). Some proposals for strengthening organizational activity theory.
ORGANIZATION,
11(5), 579-602.
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2003
Thompson M (2003). ICT, power, and developmental discourse: a critical analysis.
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2002
Thompson MPA (2002). Cultivating meaning: interpretive fine-tuning of a South African health information system.
Information and Organization,
12, 183-211.
DOI.
Thompson M (2002). THE PROCESS OF SELF IN INTERPRETIVE INFORMATION SYSTEMS.
Abstract:
THE PROCESS OF SELF IN INTERPRETIVE INFORMATION SYSTEMS
At a time when so-called theories of practice are enjoying unprecedented popularity within interpretive IS and organisational studies, this thesis argues that researchers’ use of such theories is too often hampered by a residual functionalism which restricts their ability to generate intuitively convincing analyses. It is argued that such theories – which include situated learning, activity theory, actor-network theory, and structuration - are actually ontologies of emergence, founded in various ways upon a relationship of duality between people, and the social systems of which people form a part.
The thesis argues that researchers who adopt an emergent ontology should thus demonstrate a greater commitment to ontological, epistemological and methodological clarity about concepts such as ‘knowledge’, ‘meaning’, ‘context’, ‘interpretation’, ‘motive’, ‘identity’, and organisational culture’, which are seen to comprise shared and non-shared components that combine fleetingly in the interpretive processes of individuals. Although the analyst’s ability to use theories of practice to generate insights at the institutional level remains important, it is argued that such analysis should be grounded in – and ultimately answerable to - the emergent activity upon which any practice-based ontology is built – or risk theoretical and methodological inconsistency.
The thesis is divided into three parts. Part One develops the broad foundations of the argument, combining a literature review with the development of positions on each of the concepts mentioned above, to develop an image of the individual-as-process which appears as authorial as it is reflexive. Non-organisational aspects of peoples’ narratives are seen as important motives for their behaviour within organisations, demanding a shift in focus from exclusively organisational ‘actors’ and ‘roles’, to ‘whole’, biographical individuals, working within an organisational setting.
Part Two builds upon these foundations, presenting two case studies in very different settings, using different methodologies, which demonstrate in different ways the advantages of engaging in committed fashion with the process of self. The first, a piece of action research conducted in a shanty town outside Cape Town, describes how explicit attention to the interpretive process at those points at which users interacted with a health information system allowed certain adjustments to be made which appeared to improve the level of meaning they were able to generate at point of interaction with the system. The second, an interview-based study of a community of practice within a London-based e-business unit of a major hardware and software multinational, underlines the importance of the little-explored concept of identity to achieving a full understanding of Lave and Wenger’s dynamic of situated learning.
Having demonstrated the ability of a focus on the process of self to illuminate hitherto relatively ignored aspects of organisational life, Part Three then examines the implications of this finding for the way in which activity theory, actor network theory, and structuration theory are applied within the IS and organisational fields. For each theory, a critique of existing approaches is followed by a proposed improvement to the way in which the theory might practically be applied, which both avoids the creeping structuralism to which this thesis has been sensitive and, it is argued, remains more faithful to the emergent ontology of the original concepts. Finally, a prominent study is chosen within each genre, in which the additional insights which might have been generated by the application of such a conceptual emphasis are explained.
It is argued that a key benefit of the approaches developed in this thesis may be the development of IS and organisational studies which are better able to address the role of human motive, and which appear more intuitively convincing to the reader as a result.
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2001
Walsham G, Thompson M (2001). Learning to value the Bardic Tradition: Culture, communication, and organisational knowledge. Global Co-Operation in the New Millennium the 9th European Conference on Information Systems . 27th - 28th Feb 2001.
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Learning to value the Bardic Tradition: Culture, communication, and organisational knowledge
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