20203: Navigating Challenges in Adopting a Relational Perspective on Data and Emerging Digital Technology

Sunday, July 27, 2025

10:00 - 12:00 CEST (GMT+2)

Location: Bella Center: MR17

Session Type: PDW (workshop)
Orientation: Research
Shareable link: https://cdmcd.co/d6npwY

Organizer(s)

AK

Angelos Kostis

Stanford U., Sweden
AM

Anne-Sophie Mayer

LMU Munich School of Management, Germany
RS

Roni Shen

U. of California, Santa Barbara, United States

Panelist(s)

MB

Michael Barrett

U. of Cambridge, United Kingdom
PH

Pamela Hinds

Stanford U., United States
SP

Stella Pachidi

King's College London, United Kingdom

Presenter(s)

LW

Lauren Waardenburg

ESSEC Business School, France
RB

Reza M. Baygi

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands

Moderator(s)

HT

Hengqi Tian

University of Colorado-Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus, United States

Organizational scholars, particularly those examining the intersection of data, emerging digital technologies, and organizing, are increasingly gravitating towards a relational perspective (Bailey et al., 2022; Barrett et al., 2012; Faraj & Leonardi, 2022; Hinds & von Krogh, 2024). A core tenet of the relational perspective on data and emerging digital technologies is they are both made up from relations and enacted within relations that are constantly evolving. However, conducting empirical work that supports exploration and theory-building from this perspective remains a significant challenge. This is partly because it demands distinct methodological approaches and is often—perhaps mistakenly—treated as an ontological framing. How can we build on the idea that entities are enacted through relations to conduct empirical work and develop theories that genuinely reflect this relational way of understanding phenomena? What new questions does the relational turn introduce to our portfolio of intellectual curiosity? How can a relational perspective contribute to our understanding of technology and organizing? The main objective of this PDW is to bring together scholars who have adopted a relational perspective and those seeking to apply it in their studies to collectively explore answers to those and similar questions, progress on the empirical front, and discuss directions for future research. The PDW will provide a platform for exploring diverse views on the relational perspective on technology and will invite participants to consider methodological changes necessary for conducting empirical studies that foreground relationality and transcend entity-based explanations.