Research

 

Faculty & Research

Richard J. Boland, Jr.

Professor of Cognitive Science, College of Arts and Sciences
Professor, Information Systems

Telephone: 216/368-6022
Email: Boland@Case.edu
Year of Initial Appointment: 1989

PhD, Case Western Reserve University, 1976
MBA, Northwestern University, 1968
BSBA, Northwestern University, 1967
Interests | Publications | Activities | Websites

I do qualitative studies of individuals as they design and use information. My interest is in how people make meaning as they interpret situations in an organization, or as they interpret data in a report. I have studied this hermeneutic process in a wide range of settings and professions, but primarily I have focused on how managers and consultants turn an ambiguous situation into a problem statement and declare a particular course of action to be rational. I have approached this in a variety of ways, including symbolic interaction, metaphor, cause mapping, frame shifting, language games and exegesis. Most recently I am fascinated with narrative and design as modes of cognition which are systematically undervalued yet dominate our meaning making.

I enjoy visiting at The Judge School of Business at the University of Cambridge for several weeks each semester, where I am a Senior Research Associate, as well as a Visiting Fellow at Sidney Sussex College.

Interests

Teaching
  • Qualitative research methods
  • System thinking
  • Design of social and technical systems
  • Science, technology and society
Research
  • Qualitative studies of technology design and use
  • Design thinking in management
  • Visual representation of knowledge
  • Narrative as a mode of cognition

Selected Publications

Books
  • Boland, Jr., Richard J. "Interpretation and Theory in Qualitative Research." The Art of Science. Barbara Czarniawska (ed.). Copenhagen Libre: Copenhagen Business School 2005.
  • Boland, Jr., Richard J. "An Ecology of Distributed Mediated Cognition." Information Systems and Social Theory. C. Ciborra, C. Angelou (eds.). London Cambridge University Press 2004.
  • Managing as Designing. Richard J Boland, Jr., F. Collopy (eds.). Stanford, CA Stanford University Press 2004.
  • Boland, Jr., Richard J. "Toward a Design Vocabulary for Management." Managing as Designing. Richard J. Boland, F. Collopy (eds.). Stanford, CA Stanford University Press 2004 p. 265-276.
  • Boland, Jr., Richard J, Fred Collopy. "Design Matters for Management." Managing as Designing. Richard J. Boland, Jr., Fred Collopy (eds.). Palo Alto, CA Stanford University Press 2004.
  • Boland, Jr., Richard J. "Information System use as a Hermeneutic Process." Qualitative Research Methods in Information Systems. D. Avison, M. Meyer (eds.). Thousand Oaks, CA Sage Publications 2002.
  • Boland, Jr., Richard J, Y. Yoo. "Sensemaking Processes in Knowledge Management." Handbook of Knowledge Management. C. Holsapple (ed.). , Springer Verlag 2002 p. 381-392.

Articles
  • Yoo, Youngjin, Richard J Boland, Jr., Kalle Lyytinen. "From organization design to organization designing," Organization Science, April 2006.
  • Boland, Jr., Richard J. "Fake!," European Journal of Information Systems, December 2005, p. 446-450.

Academic and Professional Activities

  • Journal Editorship
    Associate Editor, Information and Organization Jan 1993 - present
    Co-Editor, John Wiley Series in Information Systems Jan 1993 - present
    Guest Editor, Organizational Studies Jun 2005 - Dec 2007
  • Review Board Membership
    Review Board Member, Journal of Information Systems Jan 2000 - present
    Review Board Member, South African Computer Journal Jan 2000 - present
    Review Board Member, Systemes d'Information et Management Jan 2000 - present
    Review Board Member, Journal of the Association of Information Systems Jan 2000 - present
    Review Board Member, Frontiers of Information Systems Jan 2000 - present

Websites

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