Spontaneous emergence of Community OR: self-initiating, self-organising problem structuring mediated by social media
Yearworth, M; White, L
Date: 31 January 2018
Journal
European Journal of Operational Research
Publisher
Elsevier
Publisher DOI
Abstract
We develop a new constitutive definition of Community OR as a self-initiating, selforganising
community actor network emerging spontaneously in response to a triggering event and
showing evidence of non-codified OR behaviours leading to action to improve the problem situation.
From this new definition we have re-conceptualised ...
We develop a new constitutive definition of Community OR as a self-initiating, selforganising
community actor network emerging spontaneously in response to a triggering event and
showing evidence of non-codified OR behaviours leading to action to improve the problem situation.
From this new definition we have re-conceptualised Community OR as a construct that can be
empirically observed emerging from suitable behavioural data. Social media play an instrumental role,
acting as both the source of data and the enabling mechanism through which this form of Community
OR occurs. Social media afford new possibilities for community empowerment and participation, with
consequences for social enterprise and citizenship. We use Actor Network Theory, and specifically the
language of translations, hybrid forums, and Callon’s Co-production of Knowledge Model (CKM), as
the methodological basis for our definition and analysis. The appearance of hybrid forums as a selforganising
response to community needs after an event would seem to be a natural milieu for a range
of OR competencies. However, unlike traditional practitioner-led engagements, here the OR
practitioner’s competency enters in a supportive rather than leading role. We support our argument
through the analysis of social media data arising from the community response to a devastating flooding
event – the Carlisle floods of December 2015.
Management Studies
Business School
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