Andreas Ulfsten

Postdoctoral Fellow - Digital Innovation

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Email andreulf@ifi.uio.no

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Visiting address Gaustadalléen 23B 0373 Oslo

Postal address Postboks 1080 Blindern 0316 Oslo

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Bio

Andreas Ulfsten is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Informatics and the Digital Innovation group at the University of Oslo. He is also an Associate Professor II at the Department of Strategy and Management and is a member of the research group Digital Business at the Norwegian School of Economics. He received his PhD from the Norwegian School of Economics on the subject of large industrial organizations use of big data in their operational management practices.

His research is qualitative and interdisciplinary, drawing from the fields of accounting, information systems, and science and technology studies. His overarching research interest is the sociomaterial practices and institutional arrangements by which data are made to travel across contexts, and how they are combined and recombined into ever-new data constellations to ultimately serve as the foundation for a range of knowledge claims. In particular, he is interested in the role of various calculative devices (like AI/algorithms) in structuring of organizations, networks, and society.

Empirically, his fields of interest and expertise are mainly global industrial firms. He is currently studying the digitalization of distributed maintenance practices in the offshore petroleum sector, as well as the twin transition of the global maritime sector.

Danilova, Kjersti Berg; Ulfsten, Andreas; Eikebrokk, Tom Roar; Iden, Jon; Johannessen, Trond Vegard & Johanson, Bjørn Daniel (2022). Explaining individual job performance in work from home (WFH) arrangements. Information Technology and People. ISSN 0959-3845. doi: 10.1108/ITP-01-2021-0039. Show summary
Purpose – This study investigates which factors are conducive to individual job performance in large-scale work from home (WFH) arrangements that rely on the current generation of technology, such as information and communications platforms. Design/methodology/approach – The researchers proposed a research model based on research on WFH arrangements. The model was tested based on a survey of 1,183 respondents who engaged in large-scale WFH arrangements during an extensive national COVID-19 lockdown. Findings – The proposed research model explains 41% of the variance in individual job performance in WFH arrangements. The findings show that the strongest positive predictors for job performance are home office quality and the reach and communication quality of information and communications platforms. A sense of professional isolation was found to have a negative impact. Originality/value – This study is based on a unique situation of large-scale mandatory WFH arrangements that are comparable to a natural experiment, and it is one of the first studies to conduct an extensive exploration of WFH that relies on the current generation of digital technology.
Bygstad, Bendik; Iden, Jon & Ulfsten, Andreas (2020). Digital Business Strategies for Incumbent Firms. How a Scandinavian hotel chain competes with the internet giants. Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems (SJIS). ISSN 0905-0167. 32(2), p. 77–106. Show summary
The rise of digital platform companies has shaken many business sectors and led to the emergence of new competition arenas, digital business ecosystems. Incumbent firms realize they need to change how they do business, and that conventional business strategies are no longer fit for competing in these new digital arenas. Our research questions are (i) how can incumbent service firms develop and leverage a digital business strategy, and (ii) how can hotels and hotel chains compete with online travel agencies (OTAs) in digital hospitality ecosystems? We chose a longitudinal case study to explore how a large Scandinavian hotel chain implemented a digital business strategy to compete with OTAs in a digital hospitality ecosystem. Our approach was to stay close to the practices and actual behaviours of the company and the individuals engaged in fulfilling the strategy. We contribute to theory and practice by proposing that (i) incumbent firms need two strategies, one for the digital ecosystem and one for the traditional competition arena, (ii) that the two strategies should be implemented ambidextrously but also integrated and (iii) that to succeed, it is essential to establish self-reinforcing interactions between the digital and the physical.
Danilova, Kjersti Berg; Iden, Jon; Knudsen, Dan-Richard; Costabile, Carolina; Johannessen, Trond Vegard & Johanson, Bjørn Daniel [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2020). Virtual work during COVID-19 lockdown - lessons learned. NOKOBIT: Norsk konferanse for organisasjoners bruk av informasjonsteknologi. ISSN 1892-0748. Show summary
The COVID-19 lockdown forced a large proportion of Norwegian office employees into virtual work and collaboration through computer-mediated communication, such as digital meetings. For many organizations, extensive use of virtual work and digital meetings was a novel experience they were not necessarily prepared for. For many employees, the situation entailed handling unfamiliar systems, adopting new work practices, and facing completely new challenges. In this paper, we explore what we might learn from this unique case. We conducted interviews with 29 members of the administrative staff in the higher education sector, in order to find out how they perceived the situation. We find that virtual work and digital meetings were perceived as productive and flexible, but that the change to virtual work also entailed downsides and challenges. Furthermore, our findings indicate that central challenges could have been alleviated through specific measures. Based on the findings, we conclude on four recommendations that we propose apply not just during a period of lockdown, but for organizations today in general.

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Ulfsten, Andreas (2023). Assemblage of certainty: How algorithmic technology and organization fuse to produce trustworthy recommendations.
Ulfsten, Andreas (2023). Risk management as material-discursive practice: A longitudinal case-study of digital transformation of maintenance in a petroleum company.
Ulfsten, Andreas & Berlinski, Elise (2023). Risk management as material-discursive practice: A longitudinal case-study of digital transformation of maintenance in a petroleum company.
Ulfsten, Andreas (2023). Blokkjedeteknologi kan påvirke matvareprisene. Finansavisen. ISSN 0803-9518.
Ulfsten, Andreas (2023). Helseplattformen er helt nødvendig, men komplisert å gjennomføre. Sykepleien.no.
Ulfsten, Andreas (2023). Hva Helseplattformen lærer oss om digitalisering. Khrono.no. ISSN 1894-8995.
Ulfsten, Andreas (2023). Exploring data infrastructure change: Data objects as ‘engine’ in infrastructural reconfiguration.
Ulfsten, Andreas (2022). Digital Platforms and the Role of the Finance Function.
Ulfsten, Andreas (2022). Det Digitale Paradokset.
Ulfsten, Andreas (2022). Concealed pathways: How the visibility of links in a system of inscriptions is influenced.
Ulfsten, Andreas; Catasus, Bino José & Kaarbøe, Katarina (2021). The Dream of Big Data: Performativity and Repair of New Technology.
Ulfsten, Andreas (2021). Concealed Pathways Linking Spaces of Action: A case study of mediation between financial and safety risk in offshore maintenance.
Ulfsten, Andreas; Catasus, Bino José & Kaarbøe, Katarina (2021). Sociomateriality and the incompleteness of Big Data Analytics.
Ulfsten, Andreas; Catasus, Bino José & Kaarbøe, Katarina (2021). Sociomateriality and the incompleteness of Big Data Analytics.
Ulfsten, Andreas; Catasus, Bino José & Kaarbøe, Katarina (2021). Big Data and repair - on the maintenance of oil rigs.
Ulfsten, Andreas (2021). Hva er viktig kunnskap i den digitale verden?
Ulfsten, Andreas (2020). Pandemien viser at ledere må være kritiske til analyser. Forskning.no. ISSN 1891-635X.
Ulfsten, Andreas (2020). Andreas Ulfsten - En skeptisk teknologioptimist. [Newspaper]. Dagens Næringsliv.
Ulfsten, Andreas (2020). Teknogigantenes tryllekunster - tåler de dagslys? Dagens næringsliv. ISSN 0803-9372.
Danilova, Kjersti Berg; Iden, Jon; Knudsen, Dan-Richard; Costabile, Carolina; Johannessen, Trond Vegard & Johanson, Bjørn Daniel [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2020). Kan UH-sektoren lære noe av perioden med hjemmekontor? Khrono.no. ISSN 1894-8995.
Knudsen, Dan-Richard; Iden, Jon & Ulfsten, Andreas (2020). Her er fire lærdommer fra livet på hjemmekontorene. Dagens næringsliv. ISSN 0803-9372.
Ulfsten, Andreas (2020). Maskinen vet ikke alltid best. Dagens næringsliv. ISSN 0803-9372.
Ulfsten, Andreas (2019). Gjenbruk av RPA i offentlig sektor.
Ulfsten, Andreas (2019). Gjenbruk av RPA i offentlig sektor.
Bygstad, Bendik; Iden, Jon & Ulfsten, Andreas (2019). Nordic Choice og eBerry.
Ulfsten, Andreas & Iden, Jon (2018). For mye uavhengighet. Stat og styring. ISSN 0803-0103. 28(4), p. 44–47.
Iden, Jon & Ulfsten, Andreas (2018). Robotisering i norske kommuner. Dagens næringsliv. ISSN 0803-9372.
Ulfsten, Andreas (2022). Disclosing from Disorder: Exploring the Interrelationship Between the Accounting Craft and "Big Data". Norges Handelshøyskole. ISSN 978-82-405-0455-7.

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Published Feb. 13, 2023 12:29 PM - Last modified Jan. 25, 2024 9:29 AM