“Algorithmic Assemblages—Fields, Ecosystems, and Platforms: An Interpretive Approach”

Call for Papers – Special Issue: “Algorithmic Assemblages—Fields, Ecosystems, and Platforms: An Interpretive Approach”

Journal: Information and Organization
Publisher: Elsevier
Submission deadline: 15 May 2026

Overview

This special issue explores the interpretive study of algorithmic assemblages that constitute and are shaped by fields, ecosystems, and platforms. It invites research at the intersection of organization theory and information systems (IS) that examines the co-construction of humans and technologies. The editors seek to bridge micro-dynamics (algorithmic organizing, routines) with mezzo and macro constructs (institutional fields, organizational ecosystems) using relational, interpretive, and often mixed-methodological approaches.

Key Research Themes

• Organizational Dynamics: How algorithmic technologies enable discursive and material interconnections in ecosystems, shape institutional legitimacy, and circumscribe meaning across global fields.

• Relational Approaches: Utilizing theories of "algorithmic assemblages," conjoined agency, and organizational routines to understand how technology influences sensemaking and strategic capabilities.

• Methodological Innovation: Encouraging the use of novel qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-method designs (e.g., relational ethnography, computational text/image analysis, mapping meaning) to examine organizational processes at the platform or field level.

• Socio-Technical Organizing: Parsing the rhetoric and reality of AI and digital platforms in areas such as decentralization, quantum computing, digital policy, and institutional governance.

Submission Details

• Submission window: 15 April 2026 – 15 May 2026.

• Submission portal: https://www.editorialmanager.com/INFORG/default.aspx

• Special Instructions: Select article type “VSI: Algorithmic assemblages” during the submission process.

Guest Editors

• Timothy Hannigan, University of Ottawa (Tim.Hannigan@telfer.uottawa.ca)

• P. Devereaux Jennings, University of Alberta

• Shaila Miranda, University of Arkansas

• Samer Faraj, McGill University

Why This Issue Matters

This special issue is the first of its kind to focus specifically on the collective operation of ecosystems, fields, platforms, and assemblages through the dual lens of organization theory and IS. By synthesizing these trajectories, the editors aim to foster deep empirical studies that avoid "hype" and instead provide a grounded, interpretive understanding of how data science and algorithms are fundamentally transforming decision-making and organizational life.

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