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SUMMARY:Seminar by Prof. Neil Pollock\, University of Edinburgh
DTSTART:20150918T160000
DTEND:20150918T173000
DTSTAMP:20260916T004926Z
UID:a0fe28bdb2ae8cd765c96acc6682c4bf27b90cad5e4b7bd1c2f12e17
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Neil Pollock\, University of Edinburgh\n"How Industry An
 alysts Shape the Digital Future"Abstract:\nIndustry analysts are in the bu
 siness of shaping the technological and economic future. They attempt to '
 predict' what will become the next big thing\; to spot new emerging trends
  and paradigms\; to decide which hi-tech products will win out over others
  and to figure out which technology vendors can deliver on their promises.
  In just a few short years\, they have developed a surprising degree of au
 thority over technological innovation. Yet we know very little\, if anythi
 ng about them. This seminar seeks to explain how this was achieved and on 
 what this authority rests. Who are the experts who increasingly command th
 e attention of vendor and user communities? What is the nature of this new
  form of technical and business knowledge? We have conducted the first fin
 e grained study into this rarely scrutinized form of business expertise. F
 rom a small group of mainly North American players which arose in the 1970
 s\, Gartner Inc. has emerged as clear leader of a $6 billion industry that
  involves several hundred firms worldwide. Through interviews and observat
 ion of Gartner Inc. and other industry analyst firms\, the seminar explore
 s how these firms create their predictions\, market classifications and ra
 nkings\, as well as with how these outputs are assessed and consumed. The 
 talk asks why many social scientists have ignored the proliferation of the
 se new forms of management and technical expertise. In some cases scholars
  have 'deflated' this kind of business acumen\, portraying it as arbitrary
  knowledge whose methods and content do not deserve enquiry. The valuable 
 exception here has been the path-breaking work on the 'performativity' of 
 economic\, financial or accounting knowledge. Drawing upon recent performa
 tivity arguments\, the seminar argues the case for a Sociology of Business
  Knowledge.Bio\nNeil Pollock\, who was originally trained in computing and
  Science & Technology Studies\, is Professor of Innovation and Social Info
 rmatics at the University of Edinburgh Business School where he heads the 
 Entrepreneurship and Innovation academic subject group. As well as leading
  a department of faculty specialising in the innovation and commercialisat
 ion of new technologies\, he is also a founding member of the Edinburgh So
 cial Informatics Cluster. He is primarily known for his interdisciplinary 
 research on IT that sits at the intersection between Information Systems\,
  Innovation Studies and Economic Sociology. Neil has published in the high
 est rated academic journals which includes MIS Quarterly\, Organization St
 udies\, Information Systems Research\, Accounting\, Organizations & Societ
 y\, Organization Studies\, Social Studies of Science and Science\, Technol
 ogy & Human Values. He is a senior editor of the journal Information and O
 rganization and associate editor of New Technology\, Work and Employment.T
 witter: @neilpollockWebsite: http://www.peelpollock.moonfruit.com/
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STATUS:CONFIRMED
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