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Paper info: Interaction sites and resource interfaces: a conceptualization of resource interaction

Title


Interaction sites and resource interfaces: a conceptualization of resource interaction

Authors


Frans PrenkertGabriel Linton, Nina Hasche and Johan Kask

Place of Publication


The paper was published at the 33rd IMP-conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2017.

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Abstract


In this research we investigate the nature of resource interfaces as the shared interconnecting boundary that ties resources together. In a spatial conceptualization of resources that are connected, we suggest not only that two resources can be tied and interact, but also that a resource interaction is enabled when one resource’s certain contact point – interaction site – connects with a matching one of the other resource and form a shared resource interface. The aim of the paper is to empirically demonstrate the conceptualization of resource interfaces as shared boundaries that connect resources, and to explore how these interfaces influence the interacting resources in different ways. To do so, we use a case study to substantiate our conceptual claims and show how our conceptualization enriches our understanding of the functioning of resource interfaces. Following our conceptualization of interaction sites as connect points through whom a resource can connect with other resources, our case reveals an insight that one and the same interaction site of a particular resource may well connect to many other resource interaction sites simultaneously, thus forming a dense multiple resource interface which channels influences from multiple other resources. Conceptually, it is possible that a resource is highly connected through a series of multiple resource interfaces that accommodate many connections, as our case informs. Both cases accommodate multiple connections to other resources, but the multi-part resource interface puts a higher demand on the involved interaction sites to fit with all the connected interaction sites simultaneously. Our conclusion is that resources can be connected with several other resources through a single multi-part resource interface or that resources can connect with several other resources through multiple resource interfaces. Both are connected to multiple other resources, but in different ways.